Comfort food garbs your tongue in luxurious velveteen knickerbockers of flavour, as opposed to discomfort food, which clings to the face like an overtight ascot. Avoid the embarrassment of culinary crampers with today's Groupon: for $10, get $20 worth of drinks and home-style comfort fare at the Barrie location of Fran’s Restaurant.

A Toronto institution for more than 60 years, Fran’s upholds the tradition of the original at its Barrie location, offering delicious home-style cooking, 24-hour service (on weekends), and welcoming atmosphere. With breakfast available all day, float away on a magic carpet of Fran’s pancakes ($7.99) to a syrupy nirvana. Otherwise, warm up on a cool night with homemade meat chili ($8.99), miso soup ($2.99), or a hearty charbroiled 10-ounce Angus top sirloin and potatoes dinner ($17.99). Vegetarians as well as lonely pod-less peas looking for adoptive families will appreciate the Fran’s abundance of yummy vegetarian options, including a sautéed veggie bowl ($12.99), garden burger with mushrooms ($10.99), and a plate of baked macaroni and cheese ($13.99). With a casual, family-friendly dining room on one side and a sports bar on the other, Fran’s offers something for all walks of life, be they wobbly from hunger or want of drink. On the weekends Fran’s is open 24-hours, providing ample opportunities for post-dinner treats, post-party grub, or post-Risk tournament cups of coffee.

Reviews

Restaurantica reviewers give Fran's Restaurant an average of three stars, and three Yelpers give it an average of 3.5 stars.

• The service is very, very good, and the food it outstanding! The portions are enormous, and there is a very wide variety of items from which to choose. – Annes, Restaurantica
• I ordered the calamari and it was phenomenal! Definitely a modern twist on traditional calamari, Fran's serves theirs with grilled veggies and a spicy Thai sauce. – Marie F., Yelp