Le Grand Bistro Americain — Restaurant in Kirkland

Not as Grand as we thought it’d be.

I picked this place out to celebrate my twin sister and I 31st birthday. Our first birthday outing since lockdowns. We were all so excited to go to a nice dinner and celebrate / catch up with old friends. I made the reservation only a few days before and was super happy they were able to accommodate our large party of 13. They did inform me that if I had any more than 13 people that they would be charging me a food and beverage minimum of $1500 and limiting the menu, which I’m sure we spent close to anyway but I did not want my guests to feel pressure to spend any money of a certain amount, so I had to cap my group and tell others not to come (this was a bummer but very understandable and okay) I was happy to secure a reservation with the number that we had. The view was great, the table was also greatly set up, not crammed. I have never been here before despite growing up in Woodinville and being in the area my whole life. I was super excited for the food. And let me tell you the food was fantastic! We ate everything from the cheeseboard, to raw oysters, to escargo and steaks! We have zero complaints about the food. They also had excellent wine selection.

We had zero complaints the whole time until the end. We were going to have shots post entrees. The server asked how many, I told him let me get a count because there were some sober friends, he came back a few minutes later to get the count and I told him 10 cosmo shots please. And then a few minutes later he came back and said I’m sorry I didn’t realize the bar already closed, I can’t serve you those shots. I’m gonna speculate a little bit and assume the bartender didn’t wanna to craft us such “complicated” shots because I did see him serve a glass of wine to someone eating at the bar just prior. He then asked us how we should split our tab up. And dropped the checks. We didn’t get last call. we also never got offered any type of dessert menu. They knew well before it was a birthday too. Such a let down. It left a very poor feeling amongst my friends. The server even had the audacity to wish me a “happy birthday btw” and I was like “thank you… so you guys don’t sell desserts or anything? because we didn’t even get a menu” and all he could say was sorry and said he could check with his kitchen staff to see if they could get us some desert or something, but for us it was already too late and there’s no way we were gonna put that on the kitchen at close. I work (and many of my guests) in restaurant management and I can also mention no manager table touched which is unusual. Nothing special for the double birthday. 13 people on a Wednesday night, we brought good business in for your venue. We felt pushed out, not something expected at a fine dining place. we were back in our cars 30 minutes after close. We also weren’t the last to leave. We came in at 8pm, did multiple courses, it took awhile to close us out, we didn’t hold up the staff or came in last minute either. Also a simple last call and dessert offer would have prevented the poor experience and review. One Star because honestly just having good service was all that was expected, (4.4 and $$$ on Google leaves one to expect a higher quality experience) this place is not a dive. Service wrapped up poorly and tarnished the memory. We easily spent $150 a person, the attitude of staff at the end felt classist. We were a mixed group and idk why we were snubbed at the end… I’m at a loss. I had such high expectations! The food was chefs kiss. My friends and the sunset made it beautiful. The poor end was enough for half of them to say they’ll...

Le Grand Bistro has a limited menu of French bistro classics, focused on steak frites and the like. This is not a fine dining restaurant. The appetizers were good, especially the grilled octopus and the seasonal squash soup. However, my medium-rare ribeye steak was profoundly undercooked and arrived cold-center rare (raw). It was sent back for re-fire and came back 5 minutes later a perfect medium rare. However, this is a steak-focused kitchen and even on a busy night, a rookie mistake by the line cook should never have happened. And even though it did, it should have easily been caught by the chef running the pass, who is responsible for double checking all the orders for quality before calling for service. So there is really no excuse. The Brussel sprouts were caramelized with good char, but tasted slightly sweet. This suggests the addition of sugar, which may help caramelize, but the impact on the flavor was out of place. The potato puree and the frites were ordinary. Chocolate mousse and crème broûlée were good, but not exceptional.

Aside from the food, the biggest problems with this restaurant were the noisy dining room and slow service. We brought a special bottle of champagne to celebrate an anniversary, which was served to us shortly after we arrived. But it was another 30 minutes before our orders were taken, and another 20 minutes before appetizers arrived. Main courses arrived 90 minutes after we were seated. I don't blame the server, because they clearly had many tables other than ours to service. It's great that people are dining out again, but for a full house the wait staff seem stretched to their limits. And based on the slow service and mistakes, it was probably the same thing in the kitchen.

I will return to Le Grand Bistro because it is decent food and close to where I live, but in future I will try to avoid peak time on Friday or Saturday night in hopes the place will be quieter, calmer, and the kitchen will not be in the weeds, and will deliver orders at a more reasonable speed. If that had happened last night, it would have given them another star...

Beautiful View, Disappointing Experience

Le Grand Bistro boasts an absolutely stunning location right off the water, and I have to admit the view is hard to beat. On a beautiful day, there are few places I'd rather sit and enjoy a meal - the setting truly is spectacular.

Unfortunately, our recent visit was marred by service issues that completely overshadowed the gorgeous scenery. We arrived promptly for our 5:30pm reservation to find the restaurant sparsely populated with only a few occupied tables. Despite the light crowd, we endured an inexcusable hour and fifteen minutes from the time we placed our order until our food finally arrived.

Our orders weren't complicated - steak, salad, and a burger - dishes that any competent kitchen should be able to execute efficiently. What made the delay even more frustrating was the complete lack of communication from our server. While initially attentive, he seemed to disappear for long stretches, offering no explanation for the delay, no updates on when we might expect our food, and no acknowledgment of the extended wait time.

To add insult to injury, the checks were completely messed up at the end of the evening, capping off an already disappointing experience.

While I genuinely love the waterfront setting and atmosphere, the poor service has unfortunately soured me on returning to Le Grand Bistro. With so many excellent restaurants in the area that can deliver both great food and professional service, I simply can't justify subjecting myself to this type of treatment again. The view may be beautiful, but it's not worth the...