L'Assiette in Southbourne

She Said:

Brett's turn to plan date night took us to a sweet little French restaurant over in Southbourne called L'Assiette (French for 'the plate'). He found this place on Trip Adviser - as it is rated NUMBER ONE! of all local restaurants. You can see all the great reviews here! And, we're about to add to them.

This place was spectacular!

We visited on a Thursday night around 7pm, and had the place to ourselves! For such a highly-reviewed restaurant, we were surprised it wasn't more crowded - and it's a tiny spot. Probably no more than 15 tables total. But the fact that we were their only patrons (for about a half hour, then it started filling up), the service we received was impeccable.

Now, as you have read in our past posts, service in England isn't anywhere near what it is in the states, due in part to the fact that tips aren't really a driving incentive over here. But this place - this place breaks the mold. The service was better than most places we'd been to in Seattle!

Once seated, we were immediately brought over a jug of water, and amuse bouche's from the chef - i LOVE this!

Our waiter was quick to help us decide what off the menu to order (as EVERYTHING sounded amazing!). We were sitting by a little window that looked into the kitchen, and was fun to watch the chef hard at work - and the kitchen was impeccable! Spotless.

The menu changes weekly depending on what is in season. We started off with some Parmesan Cheese and Basil Risotto Balls (£5.45) and they were PHENOMENAL. Hot and crispy on the outside, with oozing cheesy rice in the center.

For our mains, Brett ordered the Rib Eye steak (cooked to perfection!) with portobello mushroom (£18.95), and i ordered Pan Fried Fillet Sea Bass with bouillabaisse sauce (£17.95). The fish flaked off the fork, and the sauce was so rich and amazing - brilliant drizzled over the vegetables and potato that accompanied. We also ordered a side of Mediterranean vegetables (£2.50) - but we barely touched these, as we were so full from the rest of the meal!


At the end of the meal, our waiter brought out some homemade shortbread cookies and bon-bons as a post-meal treat. It just kept getting better and better!

Amazing ambiance in this sweet little French spot - impeccable service, sweet little surprises, and melt-in-your-mouth food - L'Assiette is definitely one of Bournemouth's best kept secrets!

Bon Appetite!

L'Assiette
www.lassiette.co.uk
141 Belle Vue Road
Southbourne
Dorset
BH6 3EN
01202 420537

Seattle Date Night: Worst. Date Night. EVER.

June 11, 2009:

Sazerac

She Said:

Okay, this made Brett happy, because he thinks our reviews have been 'too nice' so far. So, he thought we needed to roast someone badly. "But honey!" I exclaim, "All our experiences have been great thus far!"

Until now. (Should've knocked on wood!)

Don't get me wrong, it certainly wasn't TERRIBLE. But we certainly won't be back.

I had my misgivings from the get go. I've never trusted a hotel restaurant. Ever. There's just something so cliche about it. Sazerac is on the ground floor of the Hotel Monaco -- a gorgeous luxury hotel located on 4th Ave and Spring Street in the heart of downtown Seattle.







Brett had his eye on this place for a while, and after a guy at his office had recommended it to him yesterday, he decided this was the place to go for our Date Night.

We arrived and were seated straight away--our first red flag should have been that it was pretty empty for 8pm on a Thursday night. But no matter. We were very impressed with the interior--it was decorated very cool: rich reds and browns, huge blown glass chandeliers, great big cozy booths, a nice large bar, and in the back, an open fire wood stove for making the pizzas. This place looks cool!



We were seated in a nice high-backed booth, and made ourselves familiar with the wine list (no beers listed, we had to ask what was on draught). We ordered 2 Pyramid Heffeweisens ($5 ea) and worked on deciding what to order. The menu has a good mix of proteins, pretty much covered the meat gamut: pork, beef, chicken, fish, pizzas, salads, soups and some great appetizers (cheese and meat plates). Also, the restaurant had two of the prerequisites that Brett uses to judge a good eatery: personal pepper grinder on each table, and cloth napkins. So, by the looks of things, we were off to a pretty good start!



Just as we had decided what to order, the waiter arrived with our two beers. Brett, being the beer connoisseur that he is, immediately noticed that the color of the beer was darker than what a Hef should be... and asked the waiter if this was indeed, hef. "Oh, no, it doesn't look like it, does it... this is the IPA. Do you want me to return it?" (?!?!!?) Brett, being the nice laid back guy he is, responded, "Nah, mate, no worries, we'll drink it. Cheers. Mandy's hot." We also noticed that the beers were not pints, but schooners. Which are noticeably smaller than your average pint glass. Brett was not pleased with this.



So, then we ordered -- i ordered the Chilled Asparagus salad ($9) and the Simplicity Pizza ($9) and Brett ordered the Celery Hearts and Sweet Pea salad ($8) and the half order of the Braised Beef Short Ribs ($8 half order/$15 full order). The waiter left us to our devices, and we sat back and enjoyed our IPAs. Our salads arrived, and they were very good. Both were a bit different than anything i'd had before.


[Celery and Pea Salad]


[Chilled Asparagus Salad]

After finishing our salads, we glanced around and noticed that all the other tables had bread. 15 minutes after we had ordered, we still hadn't received the bread, and finally had to ask for it. It was terrible (VERY salty. and a weird density) so we actually didn't end up eating it.

Seconds later, our entrees arrived. Brett's was very small (he did order the half-order, but still) but had good flavor. My pizza, which i had requested 'minimal cheese' still had a LOT of cheese on it. It was good, but nothing special. VERY oily, and only 3 tomatoes on the whole thing. Hmmm. We were both disappointed in the food. Ordered 2 more hefs, and they were actually hefs this time. So, that's a plus!


[Simplicity Pizza]


[Short Ribs, half size]

Now, for those of you who know me, you know how much i love my pizza crusts. It's my favorite part of a pizza (i know, I'm a weirdo). If you don't eat your crusts, i will. Even if you're at the table next to me and i don't even know you... guard your crusts, i will eat them. SO, you know how disappointed i must've been when the waiter came and took my plate while I'm MID-BITE into my crusts, with 3 crusts still left on the plate. i was CLEARLY still working on it, and he came and snatched it right out from under me. I WAS STILL CHEWING, FOR CHRISSAKE!! wtf? that is a HUGE no-no.

We finally were like, okay, we're done with this place. Cool interior, but that's about it. We got the check, and much to our chagrin, the two mistake IPAs were on the bill. And at $5 a pop for the small schooners, this really chapped our hide. We paid (came to $60) and got the hell out of dodge, bitter taste (of IPA) in our mouth, but excited that we finally get to do a negative review!

RATINGS:

Sazerac
1101 4th Ave
Seattle, WA 98101
(206) 624-7755

Romance: 3
Cool Ambiance/Interior: 4
All Around Service: 1
Cost: $$
Would we recommend it? 2: Once was enough