You are here:

Napoleon may remain exiled on St. Helena, but his Gallic empire is alive and well in the form of Seattle bistros, which have sprung to life locally like so many truffles. Hardly a neighborhood remains without a signature soupe á l’onignon, steak frites and pot au crème, and we’re all the better for it.

The newest l’enfant on the block is Lower Queen Anne’s Toulouse Petit Kitchen and Lounge, a bayou-influenced menu of chicken and sausage gumbo or barbecue shrimp set in one of Seattle’s warmest rooms. Hundreds of candles illuminate the Provençal-inspired color wheel of mustards and clay with wrought iron rails and accents. Toulouse recently added another N’Awlins tradition, inspired breakfasts for just $6 an entrée (Mon.–Fri. 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.).

While Toulouse Petit captures the essence of a French Quarter café, you’ll find bistro de Disney over at Ballard’s Bastille, a caricature of a Parisian eatery from the black and white tiled floor to the absinthe decanters in the appealing back bar, a dark, romantic room with a speakeasy motif. The menu is populated with traditional fare including croque monsieur, duck confit and even lapin braise. Bastille gapes along half Ballard Avenue’s block and, when the sun finally appears and temperatures rise, the patio will become one of Seattle’s hotspots from overture to grande finale.

Among all this nouveau bistro buzz, it’s easy to lose the old guard in the lights. But a lazy luncheon or simple dinner at downtown’s Le Pichet remains a favorite diversion for any Emerald City Francophile where menu standards include the city’s best soupe á l’oignon. Le Pichet achieves the same aesthetic of the arrondissement eatery without contrivance.

Located just blocks away from Le Pichet on Post Alley, but far from the urbane environment, Café Campagne offers the rustic menu you’d find in myriad French villages, exceptional kitchens in surprisingly simple surroundings that personify authentic French rural cuisine. True to the rustic gourmand, diners find paté de Campagne, a country-style pork and chicken liver paté and tartare de boeuf, raw beef with shallots, capers, egg yolk and Dijon mustard served upon a baguette.

Back in the neighborhoods, Voila! sits across Madison from the spectacular French fine dining experience at Rover’s. Though the Voila! chef departs the traditional bistro menu more often than his Seattle peers, those who stroll into the wooded, candle lit room can still find steak au poivre amid other familiar fare.

While every Seattle bistro conveys nuance specific to its neighborhood locale, no other room captures the Left Bank ambience of Capitol Hill’s Café Presse, teeming front and back rooms that overflow with bohemian joie de vivre. Priced for a student’s budget that anyone would appreciate these days, a couple can dig into huitre crus, salade verte, steak-frites, and demi-poulet smoothed with a decent bottle of wine and topped off with an effusive pot au creme for well under $100. The price and chattering of aesthetes suggest long-time Paris resident James Joyce may still be holding forth at his customary table in the back corner of the back room.

Bon appetit!