So Frenchy, so cheap: Good Food’s verdict on Frenchie, where almost everything is $14

Order whatever you want! Do the caviar bump! Drink three martinis! There’s a giddiness to eating at this vibey new French restaurant, where a devil-may-care attitude permeates the whole joint. But is the food any good?

At 6.30pm on a Tuesday, the small vestibule in front of the host stand at Frenchie is packed. The dark staircase that leads up from Collins Street has a line of diners waiting to even get into the venue, where red velvet curtains surround the doorway to the dining room.

A young waiter in a chambray jumpsuit – prison chic, and the uniform of all the front of house staff – is doing their best to manage the melee of waiting patrons. Most have bookings, some are hopeful walk-ins, no one has anywhere to sit or stand without being in someone else’s way. It’s chaotic, to be sure, but most venues would kill for this problem: overflowing on a rainy Tuesday night.

The allure of Frenchie is multi-faceted, but the drawcard that really matters is simple: value. Yes, the room is moody and vibey, all red and black and blingy, with a huge video projection on the wall behind the bar of highly stylised beautiful people, like the perfume ads you see displayed near duty-free shops in international airports.

And yes, the menu is full of dishes that capture some of Melbourne’s current edible zeitgeist – a little bit French, a little bit playful, mostly snacky. These are all elements you can find some version of in lots of restaurants that don’t have people lined up to speak to a hostess. The difference at Frenchie is that everything costs $14.

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Everything? Well, yes, practically everything. You can buy a bottle rather than one of the ($14) glasses of wine, and that will be more expensive. They do serve basic soft drinks, which cost less than $14. You can add fries to certain dishes for an extra $7. But everything else – the cocktails, the sparkling, the caviar bumps you’re offered from a cart once you get to your coveted seat, and everything on the menu from oysters (three per serve) to steak is $14.

You wouldn’t think such a simple formulation would make such a huge difference to the atmosphere in a room, but it does. There’s a giddiness to eating at Frenchie, a devil-may-care attitude that permeates the whole joint. Order whatever you want! Do the caviar bump! Drink three martinis! The amount of anxiety that $14 price tag alleviates is incalculable, but the relaxation it engenders is palpable.

Operators Julian Diprose and Lucas Boucly have been extremely smart about figuring out ho