Cafe Campagne — Restaurant in Seattle

We had dinner here on a recent Wednesday evening. What a lovely experience! This is one of the very best meals we've ever had since covid wreaked its damage on the restaurant industry. We chose the duck confit and cassoulet for our main course and escargot for the first. Additionally, the baguette and butter that is served to start was absolute perfection. My wife had the house red, and I chose the Trimbach Alsatian. Both were lovely with the meal. The server was very knowledgeable and warm without being intrusive or overly familiar. The atmosphere was one that was conducive to conversation and comfort. Back to the food. The escargot were tender and in a buttery garlic based herb sauce that resulted in our using the baguette slices to absorb every drop (as it's quite impolite to lick one's plate, after all). Lovely morsels that we would definitely have again. The main dishes were absolutely wonderful. The cassoulet was served in an individual Le Creuset lidded small pot and chock full of duck confit, pork, navy beans and cannellini beans. Rich, thick sauce! The entire dish spoke, comfort and on a cold Seattle evening, was perfect. My wife did end up bringing some home as the portion is extremely generous! The duck (leg) confit with potato and escarole was delicious. I ate every morsel! The leg was crispy and tender as described in the menu explanation. The potatoes were perfectly cooked in duck fat, with the exterior beautifully golden and crisp, and the interior soft, fluffy and smooth. The standout in this wonderful plate of food was the escarole. Perfectly braised and seasoned with a complex mix of flavors, it paired with the duck and potato beautifully. We had no room, but ordered dessert anyway. There were several lovely choices, making it a hard decision in some respects. However, no decision at all really, we had to have the crème brûlée. Lovely, rich, smooth as velvet with the sugar topping caramelized to perfection. So, if I sound like we are raving, we are. If you are anywhere in Seattle (and I do mean anywhere, although the restaurant is quite close to Pikes Market) you must dine here. Check out their website for other meal options, but dinner was a stellar experience. We have made this our "must do" for each time we...

My wife and I visit a new restaurant every week for date night (with a few exceptions for places we love - we'll return once a year or so to those). We needed to host a double-date last week, and we needed a reliable venue. We'd been to Cafe Campagne a few months ago; we hoped our good experience was not a fluke. We were not disappointed. This is the best restaurant at its price point in Seattle.

Cafe Campagne is exceptionally decorated. The ambiance is warm, inviting, classy, beautiful, and Euro-casual enough to enjoy a date but not so casual that it wouldn't impress for a business lunch.

After a very brief hiccup when we first arrived, service was beyond exceptional. Our server was attentive, knowledgeable, friendly, and anticipated our every need. We left a 100% tip. She earned it all.

The kitchen distinguishes Cafe Campagne from every other venue at its price point. The food quality exceeds outstanding French restaurants like Loulay and Bateau; rivals Art of the Table, Altura, and The Herbfarm; and blows away kitchens like Daniel's and El Gaucho.

To start we enjoyed escargot, perfectly tender with warm butter and herb flavors. The pate appetizer was rich, perfectly seasoned, and perfectly accompanied with two varieties of mustard and pickled haricot verts. We * also * ordered the haricot vert stand-alone appetizer - perfectly balanced. The two versions of the vegetables were mind-blowing together.

Our main course was beef tartare, duck confit, calamari (a starter, but a good flavor profile to balance the remainder of the dishes), sauteed mushrooms, and roasted vegetables. I can't say enough about the mushrooms - absolutely explosive, pure mushroom flavor. The tartare was delightful with an abundance textural and flavor notes to rival a Mozart symphony.

Dessert - chocolate strawberry ice cream and a chocolate mousse with chantilly cream. Deep, rich chocolate flavor for the ice cream; light, airy texture on the mouse and cream. Neither...

As a group, we split a couple things here - the 3 piece ‘French’ French Toast (actually added another piece to that to make it 4) and the Vegetable Quiche

The french toast was pretty solid - it didn’t really have the egg-like taste nor the fluffy texture that the absolute best french toasts have, but it wasn’t bad. the inside was relatively thick, though, and it did feel like it was on the healthier side. Props for not putting an excessive amount of powdered sugar. I can’t say the maple syrup they provide tasted like much, however.

I really liked the part of the quiche that I had. It was baked perfectly, with a crispy and dark brown top, crust, and bottom. The best part was the inside, though, as it was slightly cheesy but not overly so, had some well-cooked mushrooms, and came apart super easily. The less-than-ideal part was that you get a single slice of the quiche for $22, which isn’t really clear in the menu.

We also got a pitcher of mimosas here, and these were pretty good. They certainly did not taste watered down at all. A pitcher is around $48, and enough for around 5-6 glasses, which is a decent value

This is an expensive place, so I won’t recommend coming here if you’re really hungry. Since we ate a bit before, we were able to split the cost of the meal by only ordering 2 courses + the pitcher, and this still wasn’t that filling. Even with two courses over 4 people it came out to around $32 per person near the end

Overall, some pretty expensive but high quality food, especially the...