Two Frenchies Cafe Bistro: A Little Bit of France on Lebuh Bishop
There are restaurants in George Town that shout for attention. They have neon signs, photogenic walls, cocktails in oversized glasses and enough industrial lighting to make your nasi lemak look like a fashion campaign.
Then there is Two Frenchies.
Tucked into 36 Lebuh Bishop, in the middle of George Town’s wonderfully chaotic heritage core, Two Frenchies takes a much more appealing approach: come inside, sit down, eat something buttery, and let the French do what the French do best.
This is a proper little French bistro rather than a restaurant pretending to be French because someone put a tricolour flag beside the cashier. The menu goes deep into familiar classics — duck confit, beef bourguignon, French onion soup, escargots, moules frites, handmade ravioles and crème brûlée — while the room itself aims for cosy rather than grand.
And that, frankly, is the charm.
Two Frenchies doesn’t feel like it is trying to convince you that you have somehow been transported to Paris. You’re still in Penang. Outside, George Town is doing its usual thing: scooters buzzing past heritage shophouses, tourists wandering with maps, the afternoon heat sitting heavily over Lebuh Bishop.
Inside, the mood is considerably more relaxed.
The restaurant is air-conditioned, comfortable and casually dressed. There is an old-world bistro character without the stiffness that sometimes accompanies European dining. It is the sort of place where a date night works, but so does a family lunch; where you can order something substantial or simply sit over a French dessert and coffee.
And yes, there is a dog-friendly element here, although the restaurant sensibly asks that dogs which bark constantly stay home. There is also a quota for dogs, so bringing your four-legged dining companion is something to arrange rather than assume.
The setting: French bistro, George Town edition
Lebuh Bishop is one of those George Town streets where the city changes character depending on the hour.
In the morning, the streets can feel almost sleepy. By lunchtime, the humidity starts doing its usual Penang performance, and by evening the heritage quarter takes on that wonderful mix of restaurant aromas, warm pavement and people drifting between bars, cafés and dinner tables.
Two Frenchies provides a welcome escape from all of that.
The interior is cosy and home-like rather than flashy. Think relaxed bistro rather than white-tablecloth fine dining. The atmosphere suits the food: comforting, generous and designed for lingering.
This matters because French food can sometimes come wrapped in unnecessary ceremony.
You don’t need to know the difference between every Burgundy appellation before ordering the beef bourguignon here. You don’t need to arrive wearing linen trousers and an expression of profound culinary seriousness.
You can simply sit down and eat.
That is a very Penang-friendly way of doing French cuisine.
What should you order?
This is where Two Frenchies gets interesting.
The menu isn’t just a greatest-hits compilation of croissants and crème brûlée. There is a surprisingly broad selection, ranging from light dishes and salads to serious slow-cooked mains, steaks, seafood, handmade pasta and large-format sharing dishes.
If I were building a first meal here, I’d start with the Classic French Onion Soup.
It is exactly the sort of dish that tells you whether a kitchen understands restraint. The onions need to be properly caramelised, the stock needs depth, and the bread-and-cheese topping has to contribute something rather than simply sit there looking photogenic.
Two Frenchies describes its version as onions caramelised and cooked in beef stock, herbs and wine, finished with country bread and Gruyère.
That is textbook bistro territory.
For something more indulgent, the Escargots de Bourgogne, baked with parsley and garlic butter and served with crusty bread.
This is not the moment to behave politely with the bread.
The entire point of garlicky escargot butter is to drag that bread through every last bit of it.
The Two Frenchies Sharing Platter, at RM58, is another smart choice if you’re dining with friends. It combines cured meats, chutney, hummus, cheeses, antipasto skewers, crackers and bread. For a table that wants to sample rather than commit immediately to one enormous plate of duck or beef, it makes sense.
There is also a vegetarian sharing platter at the same price, with quiche, chutney and hummus, pesto rosso, cabbage salad, cheese and antipasto.
The main event: duck, beef and everything buttery
The Confit de Canard is probably where I’d start if someone told me I was allowed only one main course.
At RM49, it is also one of the more approachable classic-French mains on the menu.
The duck leg is cooked in its own fat and served with mashed potatoes and salad. In other words, this is not diet food pretending to be exciting.
Duck confit should be about contrast.
The outside should have enough roasting to provide texture, while the meat underneath ought to be yielding and rich. Then comes the mash — soft, buttery and deliberately uncomplicated — with salad providing the necessary bit of freshness.
It is French comfort food in the most literal sense.
If duck isn’t your thing, the Boeuf Bourguignon is the other obvious heavyweight.
At RM75, the beef is slow-cooked for four hours in wine and served with potato purée.
Four hours is the important bit.
This isn’t supposed to taste like steak. It should taste like patience.
A proper bourguignon has that deep, rounded savouriness where the wine, beef and aromatics become difficult to separate. The meat should be tender enough that your fork doesn’t need to negotiate with it.
And then there is the mashed potato.
French cooking has never been shy about butter, and frankly, Penang has no reason to object.
For seafood, the Halibut and Hollandaise, with pan-seared halibut, hollandaise and dill alongside asparagus and broccoli.
The Papillote de Poisson, takes halibut, spinach and tomatoes and bakes them together before serving with rice pilaf.
And then there is Moules Frites: mussels in a creamy onion-and-wine sauce with French fries.
That is one of those dishes that sounds simple until you realise how much can go wrong.
Mussels need to be fresh. The sauce needs enough character to make you want to keep dipping. And the fries need to survive the inevitable assault of creamy sauce without immediately becoming limp potatoes.
For the serious carnivore
Two Frenchies isn’t playing around in the grill section.
The Magret de Canard, with seared duck breast, honey and spices, caramelised peaches, mashed potatoes and salad.
That combination makes considerably more sense than it first appears.
Duck likes sweetness. Peaches bring acidity and fruitiness without overpowering the meat. The honey and spices push the dish toward the richer, more aromatic end of French cooking.
Then the menu gets considerably more ambitious.
The 300g ribeye steak frites, and the 200g tenderloin.
These are not casual add-ons to your George Town street-food itinerary. They are proper sit-down dinner territory.
There is also a signature beef burger, built around a 150g beef patty, Gruyère, crispy bacon, onion confit and brioche, with fries.
That burger is arguably one of the more sensible choices for someone who wants the Two Frenchies experience without committing to a classic French stew.
The sleeper hits: handmade ravioles
One part of the menu deserves more attention than it initially gets: the Ravioles Artisanales.
The restaurant describes the pasta as completely handmade, with several fillings.
The duck version, pairs duck rillette with truffle mushroom sauce.
The salmon version, filled with salmon, barramundi and herbs in a lemon cream sauce.
And the mushroom version combines forest mushrooms, truffle oil, lemon and Parmesan.
This is where the menu becomes particularly interesting because it isn’t locked into a rigid interpretation of French cuisine.
The pasta is French-adjacent comfort food, but the flavours are allowed to wander.
And that is often where good bistros become repeat-visit restaurants rather than one-time tourist stops.
Dessert: don’t make the classic mistake
You know the classic restaurant mistake.
You eat too much.
You announce that you are completely full.
Then someone says, “Should we get dessert?”
Suddenly you discover a previously unknown compartment in your stomach.
Two Frenchies makes this problem worse.
The Traditional Crème Brûlée, with vanilla custard beneath a crisp caramel topping.
The Mousse au Chocolat, made with Valrhona chocolate.
There are also profiteroles, apple tart, a berry parfait and a Valrhona chocolate cake.
If I’m eating French food, I’m going crème brûlée.
There is something wonderfully theatrical about cracking through that thin caramel shell and hitting the cold, creamy custard underneath. It is one of those desserts where the texture is almost more important than the sweetness.
The apple tart is the alternative for people who want something fruitier and less intensely creamy.
The good and the less good
The biggest strength here is breadth.
Two Frenchies can handle a lot of different diners.
One person wants steak.
Someone else wants duck.
Another person doesn’t eat meat.
Someone wants pasta.
The children need something uncomplicated.
And someone at the table inevitably says, “Can we share?”
The menu accommodates all of them.
That makes it particularly useful for groups.
The second strength is the relaxed atmosphere. This isn’t French dining as performance art. It is French food presented in a comfortable George Town setting.
The third is value — although this needs a little qualification.
Two Frenchies isn’t cheap compared with hawker food. Nothing involving a French sauce, imported ingredients and a proper dining room is going to beat char koay teow on price.
But compared with the cost of European dining in many cities, several of the classic dishes remain reasonably accessible.
The less-good side is simply that the menu’s richer dishes can become, well, rich.
Cream.
Butter.
Duck fat.
Cheese.
Wine sauces.
Mashed potato.
If you order three heavy dishes for the table, don’t act surprised when your body starts requesting a lie-down.
This is food for sharing, pacing and enjoying — not a competitive eating exercise.
Who is Two Frenchies good for?
Couples: Very good. The cosy setting and French menu make this an easy date-night choice.
Families: Surprisingly good. There are dedicated children’s dishes, including fish or chicken croquettes, creamy mushroom pasta and BBQ chicken pizza.
Groups: Excellent. The sharing platters and larger-format dishes make it easy to build a meal around the table.
Solo diners: Absolutely, although I’d lean toward the Croque Monsieur, onion soup, duck confit or one of the pasta dishes rather than attempting a feast.
Vegetarians: There are meaningful choices, including the vegetarian platter, quiche, salads and vegetarian tart.
Pet owners: Possible, but contact the restaurant first because dog capacity is limited and constantly barking dogs aren’t permitted.
Insider tips
1. Book ahead for dinner.
The restaurant accepts reservations and specifically recommends calling for same-day bookings.
2. Consider lunch.
Lunch runs Tuesday to Sunday from 11:30am to 3pm, followed by tea time from 3pm to 6pm.
3. Don’t arrive expecting a quick meal.
French food rewards patience. If you’re trying to squeeze dinner between three other George Town attractions, you’re missing the point.
4. Share.
A starter, a main and dessert per person can become an impressive amount of food. The sharing platter and larger mains make a table-style meal particularly sensible.
5. Leave room for dessert.
Yes, this is repeated advice.
Yes, it matters.
6. Check the latest menu before ordering.
Prices and specials can change. The restaurant currently adds 10% service charge and 6% SST to listed prices.
Overview Cheat Sheet
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Restaurant | Two Frenchies Cafe Bistro |
| Cuisine | French / European |
| Location | 36 Lebuh Bishop, George Town |
| Best for | Date nights, families, groups, French comfort food |
| Must-order | Duck confit, French onion soup, beef bourguignon |
| Also worth considering | Escargots, moules frites, handmade ravioles |
| Dessert | Crème brûlée, chocolate mousse, apple tart |
| Opening | Tuesday–Sunday |
| Monday | Closed |
| Breakfast | Sat–Sun, 9am–11:30am |
| Lunch | Tue–Sun, 11:30am–3pm |
| Tea time | Tue–Sun, 3pm–6pm |
| Dinner | Tue–Sun, 6pm–10:30pm |
| Contact | +60 4-261 2000 |
| +60 17-620 2943 |
Getting there
The address is 36 Lebuh Bishop, George Town, Penang 10200.
This is heritage George Town, which means getting there is easy enough but parking can be the real boss battle.
If you’re staying around the heritage core, walking is arguably the least stressful option. From nearby tourist areas, Lebuh Bishop is perfectly manageable on foot, and walking also means you get to enjoy the surrounding architecture rather than staring at the back of a Grab driver’s head.
If you’re coming from farther away, Grab is the painless choice.
For drivers, allow extra time for parking rather than assuming you will magically find a space directly outside the restaurant. George Town’s streets were designed long before the invention of the modern Malaysian car-owning family.
Address & contact
Two Frenchies Cafe Bistro
36 Lebuh Bishop
10200 George Town
Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Phone: +60 4-261 2000
WhatsApp: +60 17-620 2943
Email: [email protected]
Opening hours:
Monday — Closed
Tuesday–Friday — 11:30am–10:30pm
Saturday–Sunday — 9:00am–10:30pm
Breakfast is served on weekends from 9:00am–11:30am; lunch is 11:30am–3:00pm; tea time is 3:00pm–6:00pm; dinner is 6:00pm–10:30pm. Last orders are 30 minutes before closing.
Official Two Frenchies website
Google Map
The verdict
Two Frenchies is not trying to compete with Penang’s hawker stalls, and it shouldn’t.
That would be like asking a French accordion player to beat a kompang troupe in a volume competition.
Its appeal is somewhere else.
This is a comfortable place to sit down when you want something slower, richer and more European after a morning of wandering George Town’s streets. It is somewhere to bring parents who have eaten enough noodles for one holiday. Somewhere to take a partner when you want dinner to feel slightly more special without entering fine-dining territory. Somewhere to gather a group and let everybody order something different.
The strongest reason to come back is the classic French comfort food.
Duck confit is difficult to ignore. Beef bourguignon is the kind of dish that makes sense when Penang’s rain arrives and you suddenly want something warm and deeply savoury. The onion soup is a straightforward classic, while the handmade ravioles give the menu another dimension.
And then there is dessert.
Because really, if you’re going to eat French food, you might as well commit.
Two Frenchies isn’t a once-and-done novelty stop for me. The menu is broad enough that one visit barely scratches it. You could come for the duck one time, return for moules frites, bring the family for a sharing meal, then sneak back on a quiet afternoon for crème brûlée.
That is the mark of a good neighbourhood restaurant.
Not the sort of place you visit because somebody told you to tick it off a list.
The sort of place you remember when you’re hungry.
And in George Town, that is a much more valuable compliment.
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