It was delicious! I read some reviews where people didn't like it--specifically the ambience and the "snootiness" but that is kinda what I expected from a restaurant in Madrona. No offense to Madrona people--I'm sure there are some cool ones, but you know, stereotypes are there for a reason.

Anyway, on to the review.

The atmosphere was kinda neat. It was what looked like a ground floor space but as you moved towards the back and sat down at a back table you can see the garden out of the clerestory style windows--so it's really like a daylight basement. A lot of tables for two and small groups, with a little back area that was a little quieter. I liked that it was kind of noisy in the main part of the restaurant, because that is kind of what a French bistro is like. The table was set elegantly but simply and the bench seat was not exactly uncomfortable.

The waitstaff was knowledgable and not intrusive. Helpful with wine and gave us ample time to figure out what we all wanted to order--which took forever with a party of six and most of us indecisive and not too familiar with French food. Answered questions without an attitude. And helped us to sneakily order a creme brulee for my Grandmother, since it was her birthday.

The food was so good. We started with the smoked salmon and a butter lettuce and warm chevre salad with a hazelnut vinaigrette, and a bowl of extra hot and cheesy onion soup with gruyere. All the starters were delicious. So it was hard to then have to order a whole other course, which we had yet to do, thanks to the indecisive people. I placed an order with my cousin to have the whole roast chicken for two, with frites, and it was worth waiting a whole hour. It was actually not really a wait since we placed it pretty much with the starter course and then had that whole deal and only had about 15 minutes between courses. I also tried the duck confit and the pate au roquefort, which were both excellent. The chicken was super moist and not too heavily seasoned, the skin perfectly crisp and the juice was all collected in the bottom of the plate--just the right place to dip the frites into....the frites themselves were perfectly crisp and golden brown without being overdone, and not too salty.

Creme brulee for dessert with a great crust to creme ratio. The creme was not too sweet so it wasn't like eating a whole bowl full of sugar.

I also happened to notice on the wine list that they carry not one but two pineaux, which is a "wine" made from the eau de vie that is used to produce cognac, mixed with unfermented grape must. It's delicious but pretty uncommon is the states--pretty much anywhere outside of the immediate region it's produced in. But that's another entry altogether.

All in all it was delicious and I look forward to another excuse to go back.