Gone is Corner Bakery, the Preston Center cafe that served breakfast and lunch to Dallasites for nearly 25 years. A brasserie called Frenchie has opened in its place, with a menu of classic food served in a restaurant with two patios meant to transport Dallas diners to the south of France.
Frenchie is the most casual restaurant from a pair of French-born Dallas residents, owner Stephan Courseau and chef Bruno Davaillon. Courseau also owns Georgie, Le Bilboquet, Knox Bistro, Le PasSage and the Rose Cafe.
Customers to each of those restaurants clustered on or near Dallas’ Knox Street or Fitzhugh Avenue will notice similarities on the Frenchie menu at Preston Center.
There’s leeks dijonnaise ($14), quiche lorraine ($21) and cheese soufflé ($24) reminiscent of those at Knox Bistro. The filet au poivre, a bestseller at Le Bilboquet, made the menu at Frenchie ($44). And an eventual special on weekends, fried chicken, is the recipe from Courseau’s second-newest restaurant, Le PasSage.
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Customers at Frenchie can start lunch or dinner with leeks dijonnaise.(Steve Hamm / Special Contributor)
Another chicken entree, available at Frenchie every day at lunch and dinner, is roasted on a rotisserie that was once at Georgie but moved to Preston Center. It reminds Courseau of the Sunday dinners he grew up eating with his mother and grandmother in Paris.
“While the chicken was roasting,” he remembered, “it would fill the house with that delicious smell.” They’d hand-punch potatoes and fry them, even though there was hardly any room in the small Parisian kitchen.
Davaillon’s version at Frenchie comes with salsa verde and fries ($27).
Frenchie, a French cafe in Dallas’ Preston Center, is now open
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The menu also includes “classique” French dishes like gougères ($8), escargots ($17), deviled eggs ($10), Croque Monsieur ($18) and Croque Madame ($22), Courseau said.
Many restaurants have a single table that feels made for VIPs. At Frenchie, it’s the circular booth in the corner near the bar.(Steve Hamm / Special Contributor)
It takes diners to the South of France with the provençal tomato tart ($14), salmon served carpaccio-style ($16), whole branzino ($38) and chilled shrimp and avocado ($16).
The room should feel recognizable, the owner said, with its pewter bar a la Le Bilboquet, blue accents from Knox Bistro and rounded fixtures and booths reminiscent of Georgie.
Courseau said the design of the restaurant is “subliminal,” and he hopes customers from his other restaurants choose Frenchie for a lunch or dinner where reservations aren’t required.
“It feels familiar,” he said.
Even more familiar, for some Dallasites, is the address as a former Corner Bakery open in Preston Center for nearly 25 years. To assuage the breakfast crowd from the former restaurant, Frenchie will eventually open earlier, with pastries, chia seed pudding, fruit and espressos available out a grab-and-go door. Courseau said that section of the restaurant was inspired by Balthazar, the French brasserie he lived near for years in New York City.
It’ll be easier to eat Frenchie’s burger au poivre with a knife and fork. But if you want to pick it up, dripping? Go for it.(Steve Hamm / Special Contributor)
Kids are welcome at Frenchie, and Courseau points to the orecchiette pasta with chicken and parmesan cream ($24) or the side of Parisian gnocchi ($12) as child-friendly. Laced with béchamel, gruyere and pieces of ham, he calls the gnocchi “French mac and cheese.”
Kids or adults might eye the burger au poivre ($22): Sitting in a pool of peppercorn sauce, it could be tempting to pick it right up, dripping. That’s not a no-no at Frenchie. But a knife and fork would make the job easier.
We called Frenchie one of the most exciting new restaurants and bars opening in 2025, as its address alone was a talker. Frenchie is also the first of several all-day cafes coming this year in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Courseau repeated a version of the same theme as we walked through his new cafe: “I just want this restaurant to be easy.”
Frenchie is at 8420 Preston Center Plaza, Dallas. It opened June 23, 2025, for lunch and dinner. Breakfast and brunch will be added in July 2025, the owner said.