Francie – the Williamsburg brasserie built inside a bank

On the corner of Broadway and Bedford, in the heart of Williamsburg, Francie occupies a limestone-clad building raised as a bank at the turn of the twentieth century. Chef-Owner Christopher Cipollone, previously of Piora and Cotogna, and Owner-Operator John Winterman, who ran front-of-house at Daniel before co-owning the Michelin-starred Bâtard in Tribeca, opened the restaurant in December 2020 after a year of pandemic-stalled construction. They had meant to call it Trust, after the building's original tenant, the Nassau Trust Company; when New York's financial regulators refused the name, Winterman proposed Francie, the young heroine of Betty Smith's Williamsburg novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Within weeks of finally opening its doors, the dining room earned a MICHELIN Star, turning a pandemic-born brasserie into one of the most discussed tables in the city. It holds one MICHELIN Star today, and the guide lists the spending bracket here plainly as spare no expense.

01The room and the setting

The dining room sits behind the old bank's stone facade, where a vast arched entrance once welcomed depositors rather than diners.

Set in a limestone-clad former bank building in South Williamsburg, the space was reworked by architect Glen Coben, who paired exposed red brick and ash-wood floors with mosaic tile underfoot and deep banquettes lining the walls.

An open kitchen anchors the room, visible from nearly every table and acting as the restaurant's real centrepiece, with cooks seen prepping and plating through a wide pass. Private groups are seated in The Vault, the building's original bank vault, now used for small, memorable dinners away from the main floor. Near the entrance hangs a mural of a girl beneath a tree, commissioned from an artist in the Cipollone family, a quiet nod to the novel that gave the restaurant its name.

02The chef and the story

Francie, debuted December 2020, and is the first independent collaboration between Chef-Owner Christopher Cipollone (Piora, Cotogna) and Owner-Operator John Winterman (Bâtard, Daniel). A third partner, Mark Norbom, a retired General Electric executive with a lifelong passion for cooking, backed the project and still greets guests most evenings at the host stand.

Insider tip

Dinner only, Mon–Sat; book up to 30 days ahead by phone from 2pm or online.

Then Winterman suggested Francie, the name of the young protagonist in Betty Smith's novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, a story set in the very Williamsburg streets where the old bank building stands.

The restaurant's first weeks open were cut short by a second pandemic shutdown; when indoor dining finally returned before Valentine's Day 2021, nearly the whole original staff came back. Within a matter of weeks, Michelin inspectors had quietly visited the dining room several times, and Cipollone learned of his star on a call arranged through chef Daniel Boulud. A glowing New York Times review followed that spring, cementing Francie's reputation beyond the neighbourhood.

03The cooking

The kitchen runs an approachable menu built for flexibility: snacks, shellfish and first courses give way to handmade pastas and mains, finishing with a modern twist on classic desserts.

Duck is the house signature, served whole and dry-aged for the table, a dish the restaurant itself credits with its early reputation. Pastas are made in-house daily, from a bucatini amatriciana to a lobster ravioli finished with saffron and tarragon.

Each evening the cheese cart carries up to twenty selections, weighted toward small creameries across Vermont, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts alongside European classics, rolled table to table by the owners themselves.

04What to order

Start with the Seaweed Madeleines with ossetra caviar and whipped crème fraîche, or the Honeynut Squash Bomboloni with burgundy truffle and parmesan fonduta. From the pasta list, the Ravioli of lobster, saffron and tarragon is the most requested plate, alongside the Pappardelle with duck bolognese and Vacca Rossa parmigiano-reggiano.

For two, the Dry-Aged Crown of Duck with swiss chard, parsnip and soppressata jam remains the dish Francie is known for, with the Prime Côte de Boeuf its carnivorous rival. Finish with the Canard au Citron dessert, bergamot and brown butter standing in for the classic lemon duck, before the cheese cart makes its round.

05Wine and drinks

The bar at Francie, also designed by Glen Coben, runs on textured walls, ebony columns, a warm zinc counter and back-lit bottles that appear to float behind the taps. The house Martini has become enough of a fixture to earn its own following among regulars.

Happy Hour runs at the bar only, Monday to Thursday from 5:30 to 7pm and Friday from 5 to 6:30pm, with oysters, frites and a short pasta list at reduced prices. Monday nights bring free corkage on any bottle purchased from the list, alongside rotating collaborations with spirit producers such as Roku gin and WhistlePig rye. Diners who prefer their own bottle pay a corkage fee of ninety dollars, limited to two bottles per table of four or more.

06When to go and booking

Francie serves dinner Monday to Thursday from 5:30 to 9:30pm and Friday and Saturday from 5 to 10:30pm, information confirmed on the restaurant's own site in October 2026. Reservations open thirty days ahead and the phone line is answered from 2pm, Monday through Saturday; the restaurant does not take bookings by email.

The corner of Broadway and Bedford sits in South Williamsburg, a few minutes' walk from the Williamsburg Bridge and the raised Marcy Avenue station on the J, M and Z lines, making Francie an easy detour from Manhattan as well as a fixture for the neighbourhood it was named for.

For a weekend. For a lifetime.