Occasionally, there will be that special occasion that merits an outing to sample the excellent Seattle restaurant scene. A favorite family destination that we find ourselves visiting time and again is the very authentic bistro français ‘Bastille Café & Bar’ in old Ballard. Its interior of corrugated iron beams, white metro tiles, a genuine Parisian metro clock and wooden café chairs make you feel like you’ve just stepped into a 5th arrondissement-café on Paris’ left bank.
The menu is ‘French rustic´ with bistro classics like duck confit and moules frites. For dessert, we love the ice cream-filled profiteroles with warm chocolate sauce. Bastille has an excellent selection of – mostly French, but also local – wine, aperitifs, and quite an impressive assortment of gin. A fun thing to do is their ‘Featured Flights’ — three 2.5oz wine pours that focus on a different theme each month, e.g. 3 different styles of Syrah.
Bastille prides itself on sourcing their products from – preferably organic – local farmers and purveyors whenever possible. Additionally, they have a rooftop garden with planter boxes where they grow lettuce and herbs throughout the year.
Bastille is a great place to meet with friends or family, and they throw a killer Bastille-day (French revolution) celebration every 14th of July in their backyard. On Thursday nights, they cater to the night crowd in their chandelier-lit back bar with food & drink specials and a DJ playing mid-century detective funk, big-band Parisian pop, and other rare grooves from around the globe. Open for brunch on Sundays.
