Food was excellent and the service matched. The half chicken with morels was divine.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Danny Walker
This place is so underrated! The foie gras is awesome!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
David Antal
Loved the atmosphere, yet surprisingly small number of diners for a 6:30 Saturday reservation. The calamari was the best- grease free and crunchy. Good quality bread and well made mixed salad.The main, "ravioli", was a $30+ abomination. ONE unimpressive ravioli circled with way too many chopped vegetables in a weird sauce crowned with a frizzy addition hiding the disappointment below. AVOID THIS DISH!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Norah E
The escargot, mushroom chicken, food gras, cocktails, service, all so enjoyable!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Steak-Frites
Parker Knowles
L’Oursin is the gold standard of what a great restaurant should be. Lovely and knowledgeable staff, perfectly seasoned and well constructed food, and an ambiance that allows you to come as you are and enjoy a great meal no matter the occasion.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Daniel Tuesta
the food was daaawg. bread was good
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 4
Erica King
delicious
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Steak-Frites
Akin Uslu
Exceptional French cuisine. Highlights include crispy calamar grits, fresh salads fermiere, flavorful tartare de boeuf, and classic steak-frites. Amgen in Seattle.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tuna, Steak-Frites
Jackie S
A charming atmosphere with friendly people who give great service. The food is beautifully put together, and it tastes wonderful.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Blue Jae
Fantastic little restaurant. The food is amazing. The drinks are delightful. Service is top notch. Really can't complain. Menu is small, which is great because with such wonderful choices it makes it that much easier to decide. The dessert menu is equally as excellent. Really cannot go wrong. Try it out, you won't regret it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mousse, Confit De Canard, Tartare De Boeuf, Steak-Frites
Best affordable restaurant in town ! Food was great and the service too. If you want to eat french cuisine with some food wine, i definitely recommend
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Flétan Au Saveurs de l'automne, Crème Brûlée, Jardinière, Mousse de Foie, Consommé En Croûte
Cherry C.
Did you know that L'Oursin is sea urchin or uni in French? That's what this place serves local and fresh straight out of the shell! I came here for my birthday several weeks ago with my husband and made reservations around 6pm for 2. Parking was easy to find on the street and free! The restaurant wasn't very busy at 6pm, but around 9pm when we left, it was bumping! Super lively and all the tables were full (even for a non-weekend date).We tried a little bit of everything on the menu. We got the bread basket, local/fresh uni, beef tartare, st Jacques scallops, ris de veau (sweetbread), gnocchi Parisienne, 2 different cocktails and then a bottle of orange wine. The cocktails were nice and well balanced - my husband loved his and the menu is adorable! The orange wine was nice too and the waiter actually let us try some before committing to the full bottle. My favorite food items were definitely the gnocchi and uni (caught locally in Washignton)! My husband's favorite was probably the scallops and beef tartare (good portion size). The bread was not my favorite - not warm and tasted a bit stale? But it was nice to have some extra carbs for the beef to eat a long with. Overall a great experience! The restaurant is not "quiet" by any means for a romantic French spot in Capitol Hill. I would say it's a good in-between for nice meal but not white-table-cloth. I like how it was still casual enough to not feel like you're breaking the bank but also refined food and a good assortment to try from. We paid a little over $200 before tax and tip for the 2 of us. Would definitely come again and highly recommend for a special occasion. Even if it's not a special occasion, it's a great French restaurant to experience.
Michael S.
Verdict: the current avg rating for this place (4.2 at time of writing) is way too low for how good it is. This place is underrated! Fantastic French food, great for anywhere between 2 and 4 people. Bring your friends! We had a reservation for two at 7:45pm on a Saturday (Nov 11). There was plenty of options to book; parking was a tad concerning, but we found some nearby across the way (across from the bakery).We ordered two drinks (beer and American'to), three appetizers (oysters, escargot, pate), two mains (fletan, cassoulet), and two desserts (ice cream, creme brulee). After tax and the 20% service charge, it came out to $230 for two people. Given how much food we'd ordered, this was great! The portion sizes were reasonable, and we both left extremely full.The missus rates this place a 4.8/5, I'm in the same ballpark (4.75/5) - between the two of us, the only dish that slightly missed was the escargot (bit salty), but everything else we ordered was fantastic.The ambience of this place is quiet, but intimate. There's background music, but the tables are spaced well enough that you can have a conversation with your table without feeling like everyone else around you can listen in.The service was great - they gave great recommendations, and were prompt with both serving the food (everything came out within 35 minutes, even if it required the oven) and any other requests we had.We're definitely coming back to try more stuff. I'm curious how the mousse is, and my partner wants to try the "ris de veau" and the gnocchi.
Rick G.
Cool little French bistro that uses Northwest ingredients. It has a warm, inviting atmosphere - casual, but classy. The offer a nice-looking wine and cocktail list, with a notable selection of Armagnac, if that's your thing. The flétan à la marseillaise (poached halibut) comes with a tasty rockfish sauce, shrimp, and scallops. While not cheap (halibut never is), it's a good amount of quality seafood for the price. The service at the bar was friendly, with the bartenders offering some good suggestions.
Saptarshi Bhattacharya
Not sure why this place is so highly rated. We went on a weekday and we thought that the place was quite mediocre compared to restaurants of similar price range and cuisine.Drinks were OK and food was not bad but disappointing for the almost $50 entrees.
Food was excellent and the service matched. The half chicken with morels was divine.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This place is so underrated! The foie gras is awesome!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Loved the atmosphere, yet surprisingly small number of diners for a 6:30 Saturday reservation. The calamari was the best- grease free and crunchy. Good quality bread and well made mixed salad.The main, "ravioli", was a $30+ abomination. ONE unimpressive ravioli circled with way too many chopped vegetables in a weird sauce crowned with a frizzy addition hiding the disappointment below. AVOID THIS DISH!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
The escargot, mushroom chicken, food gras, cocktails, service, all so enjoyable!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Steak-Frites
L’Oursin is the gold standard of what a great restaurant should be. Lovely and knowledgeable staff, perfectly seasoned and well constructed food, and an ambiance that allows you to come as you are and enjoy a great meal no matter the occasion.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
the food was daaawg. bread was good
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 4
delicious
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Steak-Frites
Exceptional French cuisine. Highlights include crispy calamar grits, fresh salads fermiere, flavorful tartare de boeuf, and classic steak-frites. Amgen in Seattle.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tuna, Steak-Frites
A charming atmosphere with friendly people who give great service. The food is beautifully put together, and it tastes wonderful.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Fantastic little restaurant. The food is amazing. The drinks are delightful. Service is top notch. Really can't complain. Menu is small, which is great because with such wonderful choices it makes it that much easier to decide. The dessert menu is equally as excellent. Really cannot go wrong. Try it out, you won't regret it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mousse, Confit De Canard, Tartare De Boeuf, Steak-Frites
Restaurantji Recommends
Best affordable restaurant in town ! Food was great and the service too. If you want to eat french cuisine with some food wine, i definitely recommend
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Flétan Au Saveurs de l'automne, Crème Brûlée, Jardinière, Mousse de Foie, Consommé En Croûte
Did you know that L'Oursin is sea urchin or uni in French? That's what this place serves local and fresh straight out of the shell! I came here for my birthday several weeks ago with my husband and made reservations around 6pm for 2. Parking was easy to find on the street and free! The restaurant wasn't very busy at 6pm, but around 9pm when we left, it was bumping! Super lively and all the tables were full (even for a non-weekend date).We tried a little bit of everything on the menu. We got the bread basket, local/fresh uni, beef tartare, st Jacques scallops, ris de veau (sweetbread), gnocchi Parisienne, 2 different cocktails and then a bottle of orange wine. The cocktails were nice and well balanced - my husband loved his and the menu is adorable! The orange wine was nice too and the waiter actually let us try some before committing to the full bottle. My favorite food items were definitely the gnocchi and uni (caught locally in Washignton)! My husband's favorite was probably the scallops and beef tartare (good portion size). The bread was not my favorite - not warm and tasted a bit stale? But it was nice to have some extra carbs for the beef to eat a long with. Overall a great experience! The restaurant is not "quiet" by any means for a romantic French spot in Capitol Hill. I would say it's a good in-between for nice meal but not white-table-cloth. I like how it was still casual enough to not feel like you're breaking the bank but also refined food and a good assortment to try from. We paid a little over $200 before tax and tip for the 2 of us. Would definitely come again and highly recommend for a special occasion. Even if it's not a special occasion, it's a great French restaurant to experience.
Verdict: the current avg rating for this place (4.2 at time of writing) is way too low for how good it is. This place is underrated! Fantastic French food, great for anywhere between 2 and 4 people. Bring your friends! We had a reservation for two at 7:45pm on a Saturday (Nov 11). There was plenty of options to book; parking was a tad concerning, but we found some nearby across the way (across from the bakery).We ordered two drinks (beer and American'to), three appetizers (oysters, escargot, pate), two mains (fletan, cassoulet), and two desserts (ice cream, creme brulee). After tax and the 20% service charge, it came out to $230 for two people. Given how much food we'd ordered, this was great! The portion sizes were reasonable, and we both left extremely full.The missus rates this place a 4.8/5, I'm in the same ballpark (4.75/5) - between the two of us, the only dish that slightly missed was the escargot (bit salty), but everything else we ordered was fantastic.The ambience of this place is quiet, but intimate. There's background music, but the tables are spaced well enough that you can have a conversation with your table without feeling like everyone else around you can listen in.The service was great - they gave great recommendations, and were prompt with both serving the food (everything came out within 35 minutes, even if it required the oven) and any other requests we had.We're definitely coming back to try more stuff. I'm curious how the mousse is, and my partner wants to try the "ris de veau" and the gnocchi.
Cool little French bistro that uses Northwest ingredients. It has a warm, inviting atmosphere - casual, but classy. The offer a nice-looking wine and cocktail list, with a notable selection of Armagnac, if that's your thing. The flétan à la marseillaise (poached halibut) comes with a tasty rockfish sauce, shrimp, and scallops. While not cheap (halibut never is), it's a good amount of quality seafood for the price. The service at the bar was friendly, with the bartenders offering some good suggestions.
Not sure why this place is so highly rated. We went on a weekday and we thought that the place was quite mediocre compared to restaurants of similar price range and cuisine.Drinks were OK and food was not bad but disappointing for the almost $50 entrees.