The title compound, C23H18FNO4, crystallized as a racemate. It exhibits a cis conformation with respect to the F atom and the methine H atom. The piperidine ring has a screw-boat conformation. The meth-oxy-phenyl ring and the phenyl ring are inclined to the mean plane of the iso-quinoline ring system by 89.85 (4) and 46.62 (5)°, respectively, and by 78.15 (5)° to one another. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by an O-H⋯O hydrogen bond forming chains propagating along the a-axis direction. The chains are linked by C-H⋯F hydrogen bonds, forming layers lying parallel to the ab plane.
Keywords: 1-oxotetrahydroisoquinolinon-4-carboxylic acid; cis conformation; crystal structure; fluorination; hydrogen bonding.