beauty only goes so far (bastille, ballard)

In search of a dinner spot last week, a friend and I found ourselves at Bastille Café & Bar. I'd been to Bastille a number of times before, including once with the same friend when the café first opened almost three years ago. Aesthetically and philosophically speaking, I'm in love with this place. But when it comes to the actual food, there's something left to be desired.

Bastille Café & Bar: 5307 Ballard Avenue NW

Located along Ballard Ave. amidst the many shops and restaurants and shops, Bastille stands out with its large picture windows, expansive ceilings, dark wood, and white subway tiles. Combined with its decorative accents, including sparkling mirrors and vintage pieces throughout, the space has an airy, French bistro look. It's obvious there were many hours of careful planning to create this space, and its beauty is not lost on those who visit.

The front dining room as seen through one of the many mirrors.

In addition, I've heard that Bastille has an impressive rooftop garden built by Seattle Urban Farm Co. Many of the produce and herbs used in the dishes are grown right above the dining room; the salads are an excellent display of their urban gardening efforts. I've never seen the garden in person, but photo evidence can be found online.

Bastille's rooftop garden.
(Photo borrowed from My Ballard.)

Unfortunately, all the lovely décor and dedication to sustainable agriculture can't mask the unremarkable food served here. The concepts are excellent -- house-made pastas, moules (mussels) frites, steak frites, roasted Toulouse sausage, etc. -- but the execution is, shall we say, comme ci, comme ça (so-so).

On this particular visit, I ordered the pasta du jour: cavatelli noodles with spinach, bacon, grana padano, topped with a poached egg. The rich flavors were wonderfully paired, and I really enjoyed the first few bites -- and then I began to notice the chewy, denseness of the noodles and my jaw began to tire.

Cavatelli with spinach, bacon, grana padano and a poached egg.

The Toulouse sausage, a traditional sausage made with pork, wine, garlic and other seasonings, had a nicely crisped outer layer and was full of juicy flavor on the inside. But the accompanying herbed spaetzel was a bit over cooked for my liking and, according to my dinner partner, the jus was a little too salty (gasp!).

Roasted Toulouse sausage with herbed spaetzel, peas, chicory,
and morel jus. 

The food this evening simply missed the mark, conjuring up past memories of gristly steak frites, too-fishy mussels, and overdone lamb burgers. My one brunch visit was quite disappointing as well. However, I should point out that the salads and croque monsieur are wonderful, and both are available on the happy hour menu along with outstanding cocktails.

hhf says: Bastille describes itself as serving "damn good French cuisine," but I've yet to see this claim in action. Still, I find myself drawn back to this beautiful space again and again. If you go, I'd recommend happy hour in Bastille's Back Bar -- literally the bar at the back of the café (walk past the bar in the main dining area and down the hallway).

Jimmy Choo pointed-toe pumps with suede trim and button accent.

Shoes: Camel-colored, pointed-toe pumps with suede trim and button accent by Jimmy Choo.