I love going to a non-chain restaurant. The thought of going to Olive Garden or even Palomino sickens my stomach. Though there are some nice chains such as Cheesecake Factory and Gordon Biersch.
Last week I went to Pacific Place to watch 'Julie & Julia' and after the movie ended I was ready for a French lunch. A few blocks away, I could feel Cafe Campagne calling out for me. This is my 2nd visit. First was last year with best friend Ron after we had our shopping spree. I wasn't impressed last time so I figured I should give it another chance. I was also not very impressed with the food when Josh and I went to Campagne for our 1st anniversary, other than that the service and ambiance was magnificent.It was romantic since we popped our bottle of champagne while viewing the breathtaking Puget Sound and we came late enough that we were the only people in the entire restaurant. The manager let us stay past their hours and she was very accommodating.
I asked for the outside sitting, where I could see people walking by in the Post Alley - it gave me a very 'French' feeling in addition to the fact that I was already seated in a French restaurant. The waiter came and I started off ordering their champagne (for lunch...I know). When he came back and brought my champagne, I ordered the lunch prix-fix item which was the soup of the day and Nicoise Salad. I also ordered the Provencal Calamari and the Almond Trout. The waiter was kind enough too remind me that the prix-fix item is big enough for one person. "I'm not gonna finish it, I'm going to have a taste of everything"
Champagne (Piper Heidsieck) was amazing. I had 3 glasses and they were well spent on.-------$15.00/glass
The soup of the day was a tomato soup with pureed mushrooms,celery and carrots. It almost taste like the kind of soup you can get from a can. Well that does not mean that it was bad. It simply mean that there is nothing astounding about it. It takes a very attentive person to realize that there is carrot in this soup. You really cannot taste the celery and the mushrooms. It is still very much a usual tomato soup despite the hint of carrot blandness. The Nicoise, what could be more French? The vegetables are very proportionately served, just the right amount of vinegar, the hard-boiled eggs are unsurprisingly boring, and the bread is saltier than the Dead Sea. I understand that the eggs need not be special anyways and therefore they were fine. The Spanish Tuna definitely compensated for the bread. It has the perfect tuna fatty taste and yet has minimal amount of oil. Not the best Nicoise I have had.------------$19.00
Provencal Calamari. This is definitely the highlight of my lunch. The best squid dish I have tasted in a long while. It might seem repugnant to see your squid served in a sea of oil to some people but the olive oil is very thin and doesn't feel disgusting at all. The oil actually bring all the flavors together very well. The limelight of this dish is definitely the capers. My respect for the chef for bringing capers,garlic, parsley and lemon together for this exquisite burst of flavor on the usually bland squids. I can see myself coming again particularly for this divine combination on a platter.-------$10.00
Finally the Almond Trout. I ate half of the trout. And that's how I feel about it. The melted butter combined with the fat from the trout makes this dish taste like eating deep fried animal fat. the fish has lost its taste, overwhelmed by the fatty taste of the butter. The potatoes did little to help ease the oily taste of this dish. I think this dish has more potential if the almond is not simply scattered on the oily and soggy fish but rather infused in the fish taste itself.------$18.00
The waiter was a very competent one and I tipped him a twenty. He was always there when I took my last sip of champagne and asked me if I wanted another one. He did ask if I wanted a complimentary dessert but I was late for my salon appointment so I told him I would save it for another day.
Price---- 9/10. I can see them be a dollar cheaper, but they are just nicely priced right now.
Food---- 7/10. It is not easy to make a perfectly delectable French food and this restaurant has its hits and misses.
Service----- 9/10. I have had good services from this place. Maybe the fact that they are located in the Pike Place Market area have brought them myriads of type of people and therefore they don't bother profiling their customers. I hate snooty servers who think that certain people don't belong in their restaurant.
Ambience-----9/10. Only because I got to sit in the alley. they have fresh flowers in a mini vase. I know it's convenient, but I would love for them to lose the paper cover on the linen tablecloth.
Last week I went to Pacific Place to watch 'Julie & Julia' and after the movie ended I was ready for a French lunch. A few blocks away, I could feel Cafe Campagne calling out for me. This is my 2nd visit. First was last year with best friend Ron after we had our shopping spree. I wasn't impressed last time so I figured I should give it another chance. I was also not very impressed with the food when Josh and I went to Campagne for our 1st anniversary, other than that the service and ambiance was magnificent.It was romantic since we popped our bottle of champagne while viewing the breathtaking Puget Sound and we came late enough that we were the only people in the entire restaurant. The manager let us stay past their hours and she was very accommodating.
I asked for the outside sitting, where I could see people walking by in the Post Alley - it gave me a very 'French' feeling in addition to the fact that I was already seated in a French restaurant. The waiter came and I started off ordering their champagne (for lunch...I know). When he came back and brought my champagne, I ordered the lunch prix-fix item which was the soup of the day and Nicoise Salad. I also ordered the Provencal Calamari and the Almond Trout. The waiter was kind enough too remind me that the prix-fix item is big enough for one person. "I'm not gonna finish it, I'm going to have a taste of everything"
Champagne (Piper Heidsieck) was amazing. I had 3 glasses and they were well spent on.-------$15.00/glass
The soup of the day was a tomato soup with pureed mushrooms,celery and carrots. It almost taste like the kind of soup you can get from a can. Well that does not mean that it was bad. It simply mean that there is nothing astounding about it. It takes a very attentive person to realize that there is carrot in this soup. You really cannot taste the celery and the mushrooms. It is still very much a usual tomato soup despite the hint of carrot blandness. The Nicoise, what could be more French? The vegetables are very proportionately served, just the right amount of vinegar, the hard-boiled eggs are unsurprisingly boring, and the bread is saltier than the Dead Sea. I understand that the eggs need not be special anyways and therefore they were fine. The Spanish Tuna definitely compensated for the bread. It has the perfect tuna fatty taste and yet has minimal amount of oil. Not the best Nicoise I have had.------------$19.00
Provencal Calamari. This is definitely the highlight of my lunch. The best squid dish I have tasted in a long while. It might seem repugnant to see your squid served in a sea of oil to some people but the olive oil is very thin and doesn't feel disgusting at all. The oil actually bring all the flavors together very well. The limelight of this dish is definitely the capers. My respect for the chef for bringing capers,garlic, parsley and lemon together for this exquisite burst of flavor on the usually bland squids. I can see myself coming again particularly for this divine combination on a platter.-------$10.00
Finally the Almond Trout. I ate half of the trout. And that's how I feel about it. The melted butter combined with the fat from the trout makes this dish taste like eating deep fried animal fat. the fish has lost its taste, overwhelmed by the fatty taste of the butter. The potatoes did little to help ease the oily taste of this dish. I think this dish has more potential if the almond is not simply scattered on the oily and soggy fish but rather infused in the fish taste itself.------$18.00
The waiter was a very competent one and I tipped him a twenty. He was always there when I took my last sip of champagne and asked me if I wanted another one. He did ask if I wanted a complimentary dessert but I was late for my salon appointment so I told him I would save it for another day.
Price---- 9/10. I can see them be a dollar cheaper, but they are just nicely priced right now.
Food---- 7/10. It is not easy to make a perfectly delectable French food and this restaurant has its hits and misses.
Service----- 9/10. I have had good services from this place. Maybe the fact that they are located in the Pike Place Market area have brought them myriads of type of people and therefore they don't bother profiling their customers. I hate snooty servers who think that certain people don't belong in their restaurant.
Ambience-----9/10. Only because I got to sit in the alley. they have fresh flowers in a mini vase. I know it's convenient, but I would love for them to lose the paper cover on the linen tablecloth.
If you get the craving for French food again, Le Pichet is excellent, and for something more low-key, Cafe Presse is also very tasty.
ReplyDeleteLe Pichet and Cafe Presse... I might be wrong but they have the same owner don't they? Have not yet been to Le Pichet but have been to Cafe Presse twice. One hit and one miss I would say. Thank you for the suggestion though.
ReplyDelete