Le Gourmand, Ballard, WA

[scarlet knight]

We booked a reservation for mid-August while visiting Seattle. Anyone been there recently? Also, any recommendations for a lunch of fresh seafood in Seattle?

[Eden]

Not recently enough, we haven't been in the restaurant since March, though we've made several visits to the Bar. But don't worry Bruce's cooking never dissapoints I highly reccommend the duck in black currant sauce or the beef with cabernet-pressings sauce.

(have to add though, that I'm not so keen on the new decor.)

[little ms foodie]

we went and had an awesome dinner about 2 months ago. the food and wine pairings were sooooo delicious!

and unlike eden I love the decor except for the weird puppets that were hanging on the wall.

do get there early and have a cocktail next door at sambar

[daisy17]

On the first of what will be many visits to Seattle (my brother and sister in law moved there in July), we had dinner at Le Gourmand on Friday night. The food was fantastic - we started with a salad composee and blintzes and then I had steelhead in a pear sauce. Everything I tasted, including the veal chop (especially the veal chop, in a truffle sauce) and the scallops, was incredibly well prepared. Service was warm and welcoming, and the restaurant's emphasis on sourcing local and seasonal ingredients was evident in every dish.

I will say that I was a bit surprised at the prices - there wasn't a single main for under $42, and most were closer to $50. I live in NY and am used to paying a lot for food, but this seemed high to me. How common is this for Seattle? Regardless, the food was delicious, and we had a very enjoyable meal.

We started dinner with cocktails from Sambar (next door) and popped in to take a peek before we left. Jay was most welcoming and mixed up something for us to taste while we chatted about bars in NY and Seattle. I know I'll be back there on my next trip.

[Eden]

I will say that I was a bit surprised at the prices - there wasn't a single main for under $42, and most were closer to $50.  I live in NY and am used to paying a lot for food, but this seemed high to me.  How common is this for Seattle?  Regardless, the food was delicious, and we had a very enjoyable meal.

most places here-abouts are definitely cheaper, but none of them has Bruce's hand with a sauce. You started out at the top

[daisy17]

I will say that I was a bit surprised at the prices - there wasn't a single main for under $42, and most were closer to $50.  I live in NY and am used to paying a lot for food, but this seemed high to me.  How common is this for Seattle?  Regardless, the food was delicious, and we had a very enjoyable meal.

most places here-abouts are definitely cheaper, but none of them has Bruce's hand with a sauce. You started out at the top

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Funny you should mention - every dish was heavily sauced, which I'm not used to, and they were amazing. I wanted to lick everyone's plate. I resisted though - didn't want to come off as an uncivilized New Yorker.

[tsquare]

I will say that I was a bit surprised at the prices - there wasn't a single main for under $42, and most were closer to $50.  I live in NY and am used to paying a lot for food, but this seemed high to me.  How common is this for Seattle?  Regardless, the food was delicious, and we had a very enjoyable meal.

most places here-abouts are definitely cheaper, but none of them has Bruce's hand with a sauce. You started out at the top

←

Funny you should mention - every dish was heavily sauced, which I'm not used to, and they were amazing. I wanted to lick everyone's plate. I resisted though - didn't want to come off as an uncivilized New Yorker.

←

We had a great dinner at Mashiko's in West Seattle recently - $30 each I think. Hajime makes lovely "sauces". One was so good, I asked him if it would be wrong for me to pick up the dish and drink the remainder. He said he would be flattered. It's a lot more casual though.

[mamster]

tsquare, was that the ponzu dressing on some kind of tuna salad? That's always my favorite thing at Mashiko.

[tsquare]

tsquare, was that the ponzu dressing on some kind of tuna salad? That's always my favorite thing at Mashiko.

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To keep us off topic - I think it was a yuzu based dressing for something - it was a lovely green color. No recall on the rest of the dish. Could have been tuna.

[RandyB]

Not recently enough, we haven't been in the restaurant since March, though we've made several visits to the Bar.  But don't worry Bruce's cooking never dissapoints    I highly reccommend the duck in black currant sauce or the beef with cabernet-pressings sauce.

(have to add though, that I'm not so keen on the new decor.)

←

I went there two nights ago, for the first time in many years. We had a wonderful meal. The soup alone was worth the trip. Cream of celeriac with a duck stock base and black Oregon truffles. The cabernet pressing sauce was on venison with a braised endive. Had to get an extra roll to mop up every last bit of the sauce. All the other dishes were excellent. You can see the full menu (and, yes, high prices) online.

Service was perfect, and we love the puppets!