Frenchish is a romantic restaurant. Which is not to say that it’s got the Hollywood trappings of a date spot, like dim lighting and jazz piano in the background. Nor is it purely fancy, a place you take somebody to performatively impress them with your taste or the health of your wallet. Rather, the Nob Hill establishment, co-owned by Chef Jennifer James and Nelle Bauer, is romantic in the way that everyday life is romantic, if you only stop to notice it once in a while: appreciating a particularly beautiful sunset or discovering something remarkable and novel about the partner you’ve been with for nearly a decade.

Indeed, many of Frenchish’s regulars have been coming here for nearly a decade; the restaurant will be ten years old come October 2026. “Some restaurants have regulars, meaning people who go there for every anniversary or birthday,” says Bauer. “We have regulars who have been coming to dinner here three or four times a week, for years—so we have to keep the menu changing.”

And it’s not only the menu that changes. A significant part of Frenchish’s aesthetic charm is imparted by its rotating cast of mismatched antique plateware. What started with the desire to simply “go find dishes we like,” says Bauer, has evolved into a beloved theme that gets their dedicated regulars involved. “People sometimes give us a set of plates from a relative of theirs who’s recently passed. And then when they come in for dinner, we try to serve them on those plates. I think it makes them feel connected, like they’re a part of what we do here.” That these gifts have become such a signature part of their service over the years signals a deep appreciation for the loyal regulars who have, quite literally, helped make the restaurant what it is.

“I’m not trying to give anyone ‘an experience.’ I want them to have a sense of community and being and peacefulness. I want them to feel some consistency, feel taken care of,” says Chef Jennifer James, who has a record of putting hospitality front and center in her restaurants. “I love it when the restaurant is full of people who know each other and everyone is up from their tables visiting with their neighbors or students or whomever, even though it makes executing their meals a little tricky. I want people to feel that they have supported our small staff of people who really enjoy doing what they do. Ultimately, I want people to feel like they’ve found ‘their spot.’”

Chef James has been working in the Albuquerque restaurant scene for almost thirty years, during which she’s experienced plenty of long shifts and burnout. But, she says, she’s finally found a groove that sustains both her day in, day out work in the kitchen and her culinary creativity: “After having done this for so long, I am comfortable with my simple style of cooking, of eating simply, of creating simple dishes. But I am still exploring ways to entice the customer. I do feel more relaxed with my cooking and my food. I get a great deal of comfort in that. I am excited to see the new restaurants and chefs who are doing the creative and exploratory stuff. It’s finally starting to happen in Albuquerque and it’s wonderful.”