The French Market & Tavern

Went family peach picking today and when we got done it was lunch time. Went onto yelp saw great reviews. Got there at 11 am when opened on a Friday few tables filled. The front part is a store very cute. Nice variety menu. Do have a child's menu as well . Limited wine by glass selection would have liked to see more country choices like French . Ordered verde , shrimp poboy and turkey and smoked Gouda melt  good side choices had to have onion rings based on reviews. Desserts where just so so. Save the money and calories

It's not often that I venture outside the Perimeter for dinner with so many options close at hand.  Had visited the French Market 18 months ago and found they were going through some typical growing pains new restaurants face, such as erratic service and food timing issues. In some ways it seemed as if the proprietors were trying to take on too much at once?

But a trusted foodie friend had been back recently and convinced me to give them another try and found a totally transformed experience. It is spotless and immaculate, clearly every lighting and decorating touch has been given careful thought. They've also added a large outside dining area and a spacious banquet room, which was being used for live acoustic music the night we dined.

Started off with a round of Patron margaritas which were made to perfection. A starter of crawfish bread would have passed muster in New Orleans. For entrees we had whitefish with a crab sauce and an order of freshly prepared low country boil. Both were fresh and not overly seasoned, always a delight when a chef has confidence in the seafood!  Even though we were stuffed and satisfied the gleaming dessert counter beckoned to us and we made surprisingly quick work of two large cupcakes, the red velvet being especially moist and memorable.

Service was attentive without being annoying. Not only a manager but also one of the owners, Rick, stopped by our table briefly to check on us and "make sure everything is perfect" - we had no complaints.

Will definitely be adding the French Market to my rotation of favorites.  The Jazz Brunch offered on Sundays looks especially appealing, planning to head back down to check that out soon!

Found this place on Yelp while driving back home from Florida. We didn't want to stop at the usual chain restaurants found near outlet malls, so it was a surprise to find such a cute, local restaurant in Locust Grove. Atmosphere was excellent with chic decor and a piano player! The market has a quaint store in the front and once you move towards the bar you see a display case that shows the most delicious looking desserts! We planned on getting some cupcakes on our way out, unfortunately all of the desserts were taken away by the time we finished (it was 9:00 on a Friday, so I'm not sure what was going on). On to the food: a big downside for me was the lack of vegetarian options. I ended up getting Fried Spinach, Red Beans & Rice (I have a feeling this might not be vegetarian; I wish I had asked), and Grilled Asparagus. The spinach was delicious until I got towards the bottom of the plate where the balsamic reduction that covered the spinach got to be too sticky and too sweet. If I'm ever in the area again I would go back to this restaurant just for the beans & rice, and asparagus though; and hopefully get to try the beautiful cupcakes.