The idea of Rise — along with its cute, whimsical vibe — comes from founder Hedda Gioia Dowd, whom the restaurant’s website describes as an “epicure and Francophile” who drew inspiration from her childhood memories of sweet and savory soufflés made by her French mother and grandmother. She and her friend, chef Cherif Brahmi, worked together to open their first restaurant in Dallas in 2008. The pair opened their second location in Fort Worth in 2017 and, later, one in The Woodlands. The Plano location marks their fourth, and we’re happy for both us and them.
The cozy interior has fairy lights strung along tree branches, curious cast iron frog figurines here and there and an open kitchen. In the waiting area, there are bookshelves lined with antique trinkets, custom tea towels, copies of the restaurant’s cookbook (Rise to the Occasion) and children’s books like The Little Prince and Bees: A Honeyed History, all of which guests can buy.
We took our seats at the bar, where our server greeted us with a bonjour. We started with the Chardonnay-apricot iced tea ($4), which comes unsweetened with a nice, fruity flavor. While it would likely be wonderful with sugar, it was perfect without. If it were bottled up and sold in bulk, we’d very happily buy it.
Aside from the signature iced tea, there's French apple cider, freshly squeezed lemonade and limeade, hot tea and hot chocolate. There's also French press coffee, which we can imagine is divine with any one of the desserts.
At some point during our meal, we noticed the drink glasses are made from repurposed wine bottles. So much attention is paid to every detail that it didn’t surprise us much. Additionally, some of the plates and bowls appeared to be hand-painted with abstract brush strokes — no two of ours were alike.
Drinks in hand, our server brought us some bread and butter on a cleaved wooden board. The bread was fresh, warm and soft inside, with a crispy crust on the outside. It reminded us of the scene in Disney Pixar’s Ratatouille when Colette gently squeezes the bread while explaining to Linguini that you can hear whether a loaf of bread is good by the sound its crust makes. Rise's was solid, and it's really hard not to eat too much of it while you wait for your meal, but that’s a tale as old as time.
On a past visit to the original location, we tried the signature Marshmallow Soup — a carrot and tomato bisque topped with miniature goat cheese soufflé “marshmallows” ($12). We can see why it’s a hit, but since we’ve had it before we went with another appetizer. We went with the Soupe à L'Oignon Gratinée ($11), a comforting and cheesy French onion soup.
The service was both genuine and relaxed, with the perfect amount of attentiveness. From the bartender, hosts and a manager who was helping out the host stand, every interaction was kind without being cloying or overbearing.
For our entree, we chose the Salad Niçoise, a salad of spring mix, roasted fingerling potatoes, haricot vert and grape tomatoes with niçoise olives, boiled egg, capers and red onions topped with slices of seared sesame-crusted Ahi tuna ($22). The tuna was rare, seared perfectly, and the salad was, overall, the best reprieve from the richness of the French onion soup we could’ve asked for: bright and fresh.
Rich French dishes are the focus here, from steak pomme de terre to gruyere-laced souffles. If you’re not feeling quite that fancy, two classic French sandwiches are $17 each: the Parisian Jambon sandwich, with ham, Gruyere, butter and cornichons on a baguette, and one with brie and cornichons on a baguette. While it may still be a touch pricey for a sandwich, the environment is worth the extra $5 you might not have spent at Panera Bread, and the food is infinitely better.
Rise's Soupe à L'Oignon Gratinée ($11), a traditional, comforting and tasty French onion soup.
Danielle Beller
We can’t praise Rise enough. We almost wish we had something critical to say, but we simply don’t. It is probably in one’s best interest to get a reservation, as it was very busy. It’s such a cute lunch spot, with love and thought put into every detail, and if you brought a date here, we can’t imagine they’d be unimpressed. In fact, if they were, that might be a red flag. Just kidding (kind of).
Rise, 2444 Preston Road, No. 100, Plano. Sunday – Thursday, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.; Friday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
