Knolls Restaurant has long been a staple of the Long Beach community of Bixby Knolls. However, over its past few years, the focus on its food has slowly begun to slip in favor of its bar, where patrons surprisingly don’t turn to pumpkins for staying out past 10PM in Bixby Knolls. So when its owner, Pilar Stanwick, decided to approach someone to reinvigorate the restaurant side, she felt she found the perfect match in none other than Chef André Anglès.
“I was approached, and it was a pretty simple transaction,” Chef André said. “Let’s do this… It’s a fun project that allows me to bring back some of my old dishes—many people have asked me about my Catalina sand dabs or my lamb shanks—and then update some new ones. I wanted to keep it casual—I’ve lowered all the prices—but it’s comfort food. It’s a bistro. Basically, it’s bistro comfort food. That’s what it is.”
Alongside some straight-up French classics, Knolls Restaurant still has familiar staples—but many come with a French twist
And yes, his much-loved sand dabs and lamb shank are on the menu. And yes, prices are remarkably affordable: multiple glasses of wine for under $10. That lamb shank? It could easily feed three and is $27. And there are wonderful little French nods: the ability to add brie to your burger. Classics like shrimp provençale and a pork tenderloin with a mustard sauce.
It’s an incredibly nostalgic turn for a restaurant that has long belonged to the Bixby Knolls community but maybe forgot about the food.
“They had Chilean sea bass on the menu that they were never selling,” Chef André said. “They kept it frozen and they kept some slices in the freezer because they would sell one order once a month… ‘Why do you guys have a $45 item on the menu in this place?’ I would ask. It doesn’t align with the message you’re trying to convey as a community hub. And then the steaks? So I lowered all the prices across the board. They became too expensive just for what they were, and it’s time to return to decent food at decent prices.”
The nostalgic wonder of Chef André Anglès returning to Long Beach to create French food.
Long Beach’s food scene has always thrived on personalities. Chefs who not only bring technique to the table but also create spaces that feel like anchors in the community. Few embodied that better than Chef André Anglès and his much-loved Frenchy’s Bistro.
Born and raised in Avignon, France, Anglès cut his teeth in the kitchens of Europe long before Long Beach diners ever knew his name. He trained for three years in classical French cooking, service, and pastry, and then apprenticed in Switzerland. He eventually worked under the legendary Roger Vergé at the renowned Moulin de Mougins on the French Riviera. By the time he landed in Los Angeles, he had the kind of pedigree most young chefs dream of, finding his footing in high-profile spots like L’Orangerie in Beverly Hills before deciding to head south to Long Beach.
That move would prove transformative—not just for Anglès but for the city’s diners. After a stint at La Grotte, then the only classical French restaurant in town, Anglès opened Frenchy’s Bistro in 1996. For the next 15 years, it became a cornerstone of Long Beach dining: a true French bistro, filled with the aroma of duck à l’orange, braised lamb, and sauces steeped in the precision of his training. Zagat consistently awarded Frenchy’s Bistro a food rating of 27 out of 30, and the restaurant cultivated a loyal following who cherished it as one of the few places in the city offering refined French cuisine without having to trek into L.A.
The continued history of Chef André’s presence in Long Beach…
But fine dining is a fragile business. By the late 2000s, the weight of the recession and the challenges of maintaining a lease caught up with Anglès. After nearly a decade and a half, Frenchy’s Bistro shuttered around 2010. For a community that had grown to love it, the closure felt like the end of an era. Anglès himself took time away—traveling, reconnecting with family in France, and later working at places like the Balboa Bay Club—before eventually finding his way back to Long Beach kitchens.
In 2015, Anglès partnered with chef Ty Theara to open Thai District in Downtown Long Beach, a restaurant that marries Theara’s Northern Thai recipes with Anglès’s refinement and hospitality. For diners who had long missed his presence in the city, it was a welcome return, proving that while Frenchy’s may have closed, Anglès’s impact on Long Beach’s food scene was far from over.
The legacy of Frenchy’s is still felt today. Ask longtime residents and you’ll hear stories of anniversaries, birthdays, and nights out spent in its warmly lit dining room. It was a place where Long Beach got to taste a little piece of Avignon, carried across continents by a chef who believed his adopted city deserved a true French bistro. And though he might have shifted his career himself, the throughline is there: Anglès’s devotion to craft, community, and the belief that food should be memorable.
Knolls Restaurant is located 4354 Atlantic Ave.
