Voila! Bistrot — Restaurant in Seattle

We are big fans of Luc, across the street, but wanted something a bit different last night. A dark, cozy spot for a cold winter night, but there was something "off" about the mâitre d' (or owner?)... He didn't interact with us so much as opine and then dash away. He reeled off way too many specials to be do-able on a slow night, I thought, but after questioning him I ordered one of them: the cassoulet. When it arrived, mouth-scaldingly hot, it took me awhile to realize it was mostly beans poured over a skinless duck leg with a couple of thin slices of sausage. Definitely not a "confit" of duck, which I'd asked him to confirm, and overwhelmingly flavored with oregano and thyme, giving it a Mexican savor. At one point he swooped by to check on our dishes but not long enough to listen, so when the under-waiter asked how it was, I told him in detail. The bombastic one then surfaced and began berating the under-waiter for not reporting this earlier; we had to intervene. Earlier in the evening our peace was marred by hearing the shrill voice of the boss-man hectoring his two staff persons just off the dining room. His personality ruined our meal—and by the way, if you want excellent cassoulet, walk...

This used to be one of my favorite places in the neighborhood, but I feel like the food and the service are both slipping. We came here for dinner tonight with friends, and the whole experience was off from the get-go. I had to send back a glass of wine because the bottle was obviously corked (color was cloudy, smelled like wet dog, tasted sightly vinegary) and the staff made a big deal about smelling the glass and acting like it was fine. I'm pretty sure they still charged me for it. My husband's ordered the escargot, which in the past has been excellent, but tonight was TINY and way over done. I feel the oddest part of the evening though was when they added an automatic gratuity to our bill because of our infant. Their policy states parties of 6 or more will incur a 20% gratuity, and I'm fine with that, but we were 5 adults and a 4 month old! The baby didn't even use one of their highchairs! We was in my lap, my husband's lap, or in his stroller sleeping the entire time. Despite the wine and the snails, we still would have tipped 20% because we always tip at least that unless there is a major screw up, but I think it's just plain wrong to charge a party of five a 20% gratuity over a 4...

We made reservations in advance for a special dinner out for four. When we arrived on time for our reservation, we were told they were just setting our table. We watched as they cleared a table that a couple had just left and started trying to set it for four. It was going to be challenging for them to get four chairs into the space where there had only been two, and there was no way we were going to be able to enjoy our meal without enough table space for our food. There was a larger table set in the corner, so we asked for that one and were told it was reserved for a table of five that would be arriving shortly. At this point a very rude man intervened (the owner?) and said if we wanted to wait, there was a four-top that had not yet ordered dessert, and it might be awhile. There was no offer of a drink at the bar or anything. They clearly overbooked, and since people were waiting for tables, they didn't care that we were upset and walked out. This was one of my parent's favorite restaurants. They used to tell all of their friends in the neighborhood. Not after being...