Can Can Brasserie

The environment and ambiance were very inviting. I have been multiple times and each time have had a good experience. The staff was well informed of the menu items and recommendations. This is a great spot whether you are stopping in for a warm cozy beverage or dining for any meal. I got the soup of the day and the person I was with got the egg salad. Both were scrumptious and perfectly filling.

Took some friends from out of town here today. I have to say I would go here purely for the atmosphere. I took French for 5 years and went to Paris and the interior is really lovely! It’s a pretty large place with lots of authentic touches like the bathrooms (weird but true old timey toilets!). My friends said the bread was amazing as well as the Mac and cheese. I really enjoyed my meal as well. I really would like to go back for a coffee drink… The mugs were massive! I would definitely suggest making a reservation as it does get crowded quickly!

Another enjoyable experience at Can Can because they ‘can-​can’ deliver on quality food, robust coffee, and unobtrusive service. The perfect place to enjoy great food and friends.

4 stars for the lack of choices in food, but the flavor makes up for it.
At night this place is pretty fancy. A nice place for a date I might say. The price range is expensive, but the plate that I got was worth the 21 bucks. The food was extremely favorable with so many different flavors that you wouldn’t expect to go together that does.
Our waiter was great and since the wine we wanted to buy was the last bottle wasn’t full he gave us 15% off for it too.

The Can Can is a beautiful venue, right in the heart of things on Cary Street. The décor is well conceived, the service friendly, and the menu intriguing.
Can’t say that much for the food, however. My friend (who had suggested the Can Can for our lunch) told me everything was good – and ended up sending his sandwich back. This was an unexpected result after such a grand buildup and expectations based on the elegance of the venue itself.
But, if one is to be truthful, the pastrami within the french dip was indeed excessively fatty. Rather gross, in fact. My sausage ciabatta was good, but nothing at all to write home about. Not quite enough sausage.
The leek soup saved the day, good enough to bump Can Can to three stars. The service was a bit lacking – our server didn’t really seem to know a lot about the food. The guy who brought out our food couldn’t tell the difference between our sandwiches. But everyone was friendly and tried hard.
Worth a trip back to see if the hype is deserved – it was not on this outing.

Hands down –One of my very favorite go-​to spots in Carytown. The staff is amazingly friendly, the food is always satisfying and the crowd is a lot of fun. As a bonus, anytime I am too busy to cook and in a rush to grab a good meal, I head to CanCan for a large soup — to go. Yesterday I had the mushroom soup and today the butternut squash soup. A Perfect wintertime comfort meal and sooo satisfying. A little tip– if you ask, they will provide bread along with the soup for added yum!

Been here twice now – once outside on a nice day, and inside this evening. I won’t rule out returning, but I probably won’t rush back.
I’ve tried the escargots, fried oysters, onion soup, steak frites, moules frites, plat fumee, and chocolate crepes. Decent, all, but perhaps slightly lacking on the seasoning.
Nice beer list, perfect cappuccino, delicious bread.
The atmosphere is great, service is attentive and informed. Best to have a reservation, though, because I’ve tried to go two other times without one and left because of a supposed four-​hour wait.
I think it’s a sweet date night spot, but be prepared to drop a Benjamin.

Wanted to try can can but always got distracted in the carytown area. I’m finally here. Solid food. Friendly staff. 5-​star. Pictures are worth thousand words. See attached.

When you’re eating in a French restaurant on a sunny Saturday directly following a week’s worth of blizzard weather, you make reservations. SO VERY GLAD WE DID. I had never been to Can Can before, but it lives up to a French restaurant: tiny tables, highly attentive waitstaff, and food that makes you weak in the knees. Oh, and a very, VERY loud atmosphere.
The last item there grated on the nerves of the elder gentleman with us, because, well, he’s a small-​town low-​traffic sort of guy. Just getting him to Cary Street was a feat. This? Yeah, he wasn’t prepared for this. Until we got food in front of him. Then the grumbles were stifled by yummy noises. ACHIEVEMENT.
Back to the food. Amazing soups. I had the butternut squash concoction, which was delicious. Considering I’m not a huge fan of soups, this wowed me. I also had the Croque Monsieur. A little on the not-​so-​saucy side, and more ham than I like personally, but solid. And delicious. The frites. OMG THE FRITES.
The staff was super attentive, and the entire experience was delicious. I’ll definitely go back. I still have some wine to drink and dessert to inhale.
But the single most important thing you can do? MAKE A RESERVATION. You’re welcome. Mark this review «useful» below and go stuff your face with rich-​food abandon. :)

Hip. Trendy. Cool. Very surprising to find this place in Richmond.
Don’t forget your hipster glasses when you come here. You’ll need them with all the pseudo-​sophistication that this is oozing.
Anyway, good food, chill atmosphere and an overall nice dining experience.

Brunch Review
The service at the bar and at our table was absolutely on point. The hostess/​greeters were equally friendly and on top of their game. The ambience of this restaurant is of an adorable French café yet still high end chic. I love that in the summer they open the windows so you can sit and people watch.
The only reason I gave them 4 out of 5 stars for brunch would be that I would have liked a champagne cocktail menu. Also, the eggs Benedict was cooked just right but wasn’t anything special. That only means that it tasted great but with all the innovative brunch menus in Richmond, it takes a lot for a restaurant to set themselves apart. The fruit was fresh and delicious and the potatoes were very flavorful.

I’m really shocked Can Can averages 3.5 stars on Unilocal.They deserve at least 4 stars for the location alone. It is next to a parking lot in Cary Town, where parking is not always that easy to find. Also, this parking lot is extremely convenient to Cary Town’s charming boutiques and specialty stores.
I have not eaten there for regular service, yet. My experience is based on a private dinner party for my baby shower. The level of service was executed with so much care and professionalism. The ladies tending to our wet bar, favors, Desserts, and meal service were more than accommodating. Policy prohibits servers from giving guests knives to cut cake, for example. However, our server graciously had the CHEF come out and cut our homemade cake and serve it. So thoughtful!
The menu was absolutely delicious — and please, I’m not just saying that because I was pregnant. Our guests raved about the menu, too!
So, private dining at this fine establishment can be über romantic and elegant. But based on what I saw on a Sunday evening, the dinner service is bustling and lively… Like a true French bistro!

Superb dinner for four. Begin with why 5 stars. To get 5 stars it takes superb service. Great or excellent food gets 4 stars. So, we had superb service. That gives it the 5^th star. The food was wonderful. I had the hanger steak (rare) and it was delish. I’ve got to figure out how to slice the medallions, but that’s another subject. My wife had Prime Rib… she loved it. As I’ve said before this is beautiful restaurant. A great place to dine.

Visiting from Florida we were looking for something different… something we don’t have in Ft Lauderdale. And we Can Can!
We were greeted by a friendly host who sat us without delay. And our server Chloe was even more friendly and gave some great suggestions for lunch.
My amazing gf ordered the CRQ Madame — an open faced ham and cheese sandwich topped with a fried egg… this is one you definitely need a knife & fork for.
I ordered the steak chibatta — great flavors especially the kale pesto was amazing.
We started the meal with crispy oysters — this was a dish that came straight from heaven. The remoulade was absolutely devine!
There are many people giving bad reviews for service and other things but today we did not see it! This was a great experience and don’t take previous reviews to heart.

I’ve been here a handful of times over the years, but only my experience there this past Sunday merits a write up because it was a total customer service fail. The only reason I’m being generous enough to give 2 stars is the fun atmosphere (best described as Disneyfied French) and the food was decent enough, though given how long we waited, I bet anything would have been tasty.
Upon arriving, my date and I are told there’s a 30 min wait by the host but we are welcome to order drinks at the bar while we wait. Ok, it’s Sunday in Carytown on a nice day, no problems there, but the complete lack of communication and service from this point forwards was almost comedic, had we not been hungry.
We order and pay for a latte and beer at the bar. While the beer arrived promptly, it would end up being a total of almost an hour to receive the latte. We’ve been waiting at the bar about 30 minutes (20 minutes after paying for the latte) when we’re seated. The host assures us not to worry about the drink, it will be right out. Once seated, we waited at least 15 minutes before anyone checked in on us. It wasn’t even our actual server, but another waitress asking for our drink order to help him out. She says they are out of the beer we ordered and she will check in on the latte, which has been now been paid for about half an hour ago. Both statements turn out to be lies.
When our waiter finally did show up (so we’ve been seated about 20 or 30 minutes now) he asks would we like a refill on the beer, of which there is plenty it turns out. We inquire about the latte and he says they are working on it, there is only one barista so they get backed up. If you’re reading this Can Can managers, consider either hiring more baristas or figuring out how coffee shops manage their lines. Finally, about 45 minutes to an hour after originally paying for it, the latte arrives. Not worth the wait, by the way. Not by a long shot.
The most hilarious part to me is that despite the fact we explained we had already paid for the coffee a minimum of twice to our waiter and once to the host who seated us as well as the bartender who took our order, the waiter «comped» us for the latte as an apology for the wait. This place seriously lacks some organizational and communication systems. I would go back here again, mostly for the atmosphere, BUT only on a weeknight when it is very slow.

The surroundings are what sells me on this place — it’s a great way to take a trip to Paris without the airfare. I particularly like their hors d’oeuvres menu, since it’s not everyplace (or anyplace else in RVA) where you might find a brandade of cod on the menu.
Have been going here for years, including breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner, and have never been disappointed. My last trip, over Labor Day weekend, included a solid interpretation of bouillabaisse, with lagniappe in the form of Can Can’s own bread atop the piscine delish.
Their wine list is overseen by a real artist, and the raw bar offerings are pretty stellar, although they’re no Rappahannock (no one is, except Rappahannock). The bar is a great place to sit — and where you’ll find me on my visits here, since I am usually à seule — and enjoy either the aforementioned hors d’oeuvres, or a full meal.
Bön appetit.

Stopped by Can Can to beat the heat and have a drink at the bar while attending The Watermelon Festival in Carytown. I have passed this restaurant several times and thought it looked pretentious and bouguie. Well the jokes on me. I loved this place!
The restaurant set up is very Parisian but not snobbish. The open window seating is the jewel of the restaurant, unfortunately this area was for patrons eating due to the festival traffic, which was understandable. Our bartender was adorable and friendly.
The restaurant had a special menu items in honor of the festival. I ordered the watermelon margarita and my boyfriend indulged in a watermelon beer they had on draft. My margarita was absolutely amazing! It came in a quirky glass which I thought was cute and unique.
I did not get to try any food but everything looked good that passed by on serving trays. I can’t wait to come back and get a window seat while trying what else Can Can has to offer.

It’s sad to have over 300 reviews and you don’t respond to the negative reviews by making improvements in your quality.
Don’t waste your time coming here. I came around 3pm on a Wednesday afternoon. It’s not busy and the staff make it apparent they’ve got nothing better to do. A couple of them are eating at he hostess table and another two just babbling away.
I have allergies. When my dermatitis acts up because of these allergies, it’s not fun to deal with. I told the waitress this and had customizations to my order. As she walks away with an attitude, she passes another waiter and he immediately looks back at us. Clearly she had made some sort of comment to him.
This restaurant has potential. Change your staff’s attitude.
She could have gotten a 20% tip, but nope.

This is one of those times where I wholeheartedly disagree with the rating of a restaurant… which is ok! We can agree to disagree. I’m fine with loving a 3.5 star restaurant. But I really, really love Can Can and it’s jumped from being an intimidating place that has been inaccessible to me in the past to one of my favorite places to eat in Richmond.
Did she just say «inaccessible»? Yes, I did. Every time I’ve tried to go to Can Can in the past, the wait has been so ridiculous that my starving stomach wouldn’t allow me to be patient. And, not even going to lie, I was a little intimidated by the menu! I consider myself to be mildly adventurous when it comes to eating, but in the past I just haven’t been able to find something that I really wanted bad enough to deal with the wait. Thank God for a more sophisticated palate because now I’m ready to take on Can Can head on!
There were so many items on the menu that I wanted to choose between, but in the end I got the «Mix of Young Greens» salad and the Crispy Chicken Ciabatta. Both were excellent! The chicken ciabatta wasn’t your average chicken sandwich. The spreads really made the sandwich and took it over the top. The salad was so simple, yet the flavors were incredible! I loved the champagne vinaigrette (because, let’s face it, champagne anything is amazing).
If you haven’t lusted over their open-​air dining room before, then are you even from Richmond? I was so happy that today I actually got to experience it. It was everything I needed and more. I felt so cool sitting in Can Can on a sunny day with the windows open gazing out on Cary Street.
Perfection.

I’ve been meaning to try this Carytown staple for a long time, and I finally made it over for brunch! It was a gorgeous day and I contemplated sitting outside for a split second, but then decided to sit indoors to experience the restaurant atmosphere since it was my very first visit.
The restaurant is quite large, bigger than I expected. The ceilings are very high and with the large windows, it was bright and spacious. There are quite a few bottles of wine on the wall near all the liquor at the bar, and there also random places throughout the restaurant with loaves of bread. Definitely a very lively place!
Our waitress for brunch was phenomenal; I wish I knew her name so that I could give her the commendation she deserves. She checked on us frequently, and was just so approachable and accessible, going out of her way to offer us things before we even asked.
As for the food, I ordered the lobster quiche (quiche of the day) and a small «tasting size» of onion soup. The soup came in a cute little mini-​tureen, and was hot, but a little too cheesy for me. The quiche was unlike any quiche I have ever had; it was a lot spongier with less cheese and more egg, kind of similar to the similar of steamed egg dishes in Chinese food. Also, the crust was super thin, and the edge part of it stuck up several centimeters above the surface of the quiche filling. The quiche came accompanied with some mixed greens.
We also ordered a basket of beignets to start with, which were light and fluffy. I enjoyed them, but could have used a little less cinnamon sugar. There was also complimentary bread (French bread and sourdough wheat) and butter, which was tasty but not warm.
Overall, the food is pretty good and it’s a pleasant dining experience, but it’s a tad pricey for what you get.