Cremant

I have been to Cremant on several occasions -- in fact, it is a favorite date-night spot for my boyfriend and I, so long as our wallets allow. The food is rich, but that is half the charm of such a wonderfully authentic French spot. I have become entranced by the French onion soup, which, although it might seem to be a simple thing to be raving over, is simply the best onion soup in the city, hands down. The other menu item I am stuck on is the steakfrites, which is so satisfyingly gluttonous. I love having a "French 75" cocktail, as well, or a glass of nice bubbly Cremant (their namesake -- I just learned that the other day!) The chocolate cognac which another member alluded to is really rich and wonderfully fabulous for dessert, as is the creme brule. If you haven't dropped into Cremant, you should definitely try it out! It is worth the money for a special occasion. more

Cremant, located in the Madrona neighborhood of Seattle, is the most recent addition to the French bistro scene in Seattle. To my recollection, there are really only three places that 'stand-out' to me and another two to mention. The others are Le Pichet and Campagne (both in The Market), Voila (inferior French on Madison) and Maximillian and Crepe de Paris. The thing that Cremant does that none of these other places seem to do is hone in on the authentic feeling of an imperfect french bistro while keeping with the charm, casualness and upscaleablity. Le Pichet is good food, but the menu rarely changes and the atmosphere is cold at best. Campagne is so overpriced and filled with pretension that it's not even funny. Voila, well, it's a cliche of what we 'expect' a French restaurant to be complete with oversized 'stock' posters and bad colors and lighting and the food has been horribly over-salted both times I've been. Maximillian is good, but too hidden and unknown to be a real player. Crepe de Paris is great, but you can only do cabaret so many times. That brings us to Cremant. A very enjoyable mix of what all the other places could, or aspire, to be. The atmosphere is sparce yet cozy. Lighting is right on. The no frills seating is some of the most comfortable of any Seattle restaurant. The decor is nuanced and almost plain, but in a way designed to catch the eye and make you take a second look (especially the wallpaper). The interesting details, such as cement walls formed with wood and the angular, seemingly mismatched ceiling fit the new building perfectly. On to the food. Wow, and what a price point. Never have I had such amazing food for such a reasonable price. The Cassoulet for 18 dollars is really the deal of the night, as it totally feeds two people or leaves one enough for a meal the next day. You'd never pay so little for so much at any other place in Seattle. Every wine on the menu is available by the glass, which is really nice, because you can try whatever you want before spending 50 bucks on a bottle. I'd recommend the Sparkling Rose or a Kir Royale to start and then get a bottle of Pic Saint Lup to go with dinner. The menu is extensive and the frites are a real high point. The vegetables are seasonal and I've tried the asparagus, greens, and brussels. All exceptional. Dessert is a must. The one to have is the drinkable chocolate liquer (the name escapes me at the moment). So yes, try it, it's above and beyond what you would ever expect for a new restaurant in Seattle and it's so above and beyond any French restaurant that Seattle currently houses. I love French food, and I've been burned in the past by the Seattle French scene. But I love this place so much and it's so affordable that I've probably gone a dozen times since it opened. Not only that, the staff is truly remarkable and you'll get NO attitude if you ask questions about food or pronunciations or wine. more

Cremant has had numerous fabulous write-ups on the web, however I want to point out that this is a fantastic neighborhood restaurant that provides both the sophisticated food mixed in with low-key neighborhood attitude. A perfect addition to Madrona, we'll be there a lot. Another plus - their wines are very reasonably priced. Think that they have a great approach. more

I was there last night for a friend's birthday dinner. Before going, I went to city search and read the reviews, which were all very positive. The reviews recommended the steak tartare and the onion soup which sounded pretty tasty. The tartare is a meaty indulgence of Kobe sirloin hand-chopped with herbs and capers. When we arrived, the service was great and the place is definitely really cute! We were really excited, for appetizers we ordered the foie gra pate, spicy pork pate, and the bone marrow. We each also ordered the French onion soup. We were pretty hungry, and when our first course came out, the pates, let's just say we weren't impressed. They chilled their pates, so there was a very visible layer of fat that you can see. As for the taste, it was a bit bland, but the baguette was good though! The bone marrow was interesting, it's basically a cow's bone probably braised. The bone came out plain, no accompanying garnishes. You eat what's inside the bone marrow, which pretty much tasted very bland, oily, and fatty. I've had lots of French food, but this dish is definitely different and I can't say I liked it. Our next course was the onion soup, I was thinking this was raved about it must be really good. Well, the soup came in a hot bowl which looks pretty cool. But when I digged into it, it was way too cheesy and lacking in the onion. The broth was good, but overall, not as amazing as everybody thought. Quite disappointed at this point, I was looking forward to my steak tare-tare, that's what most of us ordered. The main course finally came out, accompanied with some fries. I tried my first bite and was disappointed! The tartare was so salty! They overdid on the capers, every bite I took had about 5-10 pieces of capers and the Dijon honey mustard was too overpowering, I couldn't taste the beef. It wasn't just me, my three other friends also thought it was too salty. We each ate about a 1/4 of it and left it. The fries were also very salty. The whole meal was just salty. By the end of our meal we were just disappointed with the whole experience, that we didn't really want to try the dessert. Besides the food being really ok, the service was excellent and the decor of the place was very nice! However, I'm not sure if I would come back to the place. If I do, I will definitely try the seafood, since the table next to us had it and it looked pretty good. more