Little Red Bistro

made reservations for 10PM 2 days prior and was told at the door that only appetizers and desserts were available. OK… THAT’S FINE.
ordered onion soup…10 minutes later, «Sorry, that’s unavailable…»
ordered another soup, «Sorry, that’s unavailable too.»
WAITRESS LISTED WHAT WAS AVAILABLE, PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING COLD AND NON-​FAT. BORING.
setteled with a cheese plate :[
. the setting makes me feel like i’m at a five star restaurant but they need to hire cooks that AREN’T trying to dip 2 hours before closing.

I was there for an event tonight, and thought I’d have some French onion soup for the first time in years. All excited. .. mouth watering. .. anticipation…
Tasteless.
I’m not exactly sure how to make french onion soup tasteless.
Did they forget to carmelize the onions?
Did they buy sodium-​free gruyère?
Hours later and I’m still disappointed.

A joke. A big fat joke.
I’m still angry about our experience at this place, meant for a nice late-​night dinner for a friend before she left for home in Brooklyn. Plus, my best friend lives a few minutes down from the restaurant and was wanting to try it for awhile. Understood they close at midnight, we walked in around 10:50, 11ish to stand around watching a full bar being served, looking for someone to seat us.
First thing that should have warned us is that they «weren’t serving entrees, just appetizers and desserts.» WTF. They had some event happening in the back, so it wasn’t as if they were dead and their food was drying up.
Okay, so I accepted it with reservation and attempted to order. My first try, a dish with asparagus was taken, but shot down a few minutes later when the server told us they didn’t have any in the back. Okay. Second try, I believe a varied salad with fruits and nuts was shot down, not available. They tried to laugh it off and say I came in on the wrong night. But I was starving and wasn’t trying to let my friend leave on a sour note (her flight scheduled later on in the early morning) so I settled with an Antipasto platter, which turned out to be a smudge of what tasted like cream cheese, salami slices and Costco-​made baguettes. I ordered an apple pie and ended with a 21 dollar check.
They advertise steak night on Mondays, but I plan on never returning, one of those most outrageous restaurant experiences I’ve had.
I also have one of the biggest pet peeves, using butcher paper as a placemat and they sure do. The ambiance is on point, but everything else is somethin’ else.

I wish I could have liked this place more, but alas, I was vastly underwhelmed by the food.
My beef bourguignon was a mess of old, dry sliced beef in a heavy brown sauce. The ratatouille it claimed to accompany the beef=carrots and mushrooms. Someone snuck in an extra handful of salt on my potatoes. Actually, my whole dish. It was very hard to get through the food without taking large amount of water.
The same goes for the spinach n artichoke dip and cheese and salami plate.
The redeeming qualities? A sort of charming, tucked away feel to the establishment. Really friendly service.
As for authenticity of food. The food is as French as french fries go.

Pro’s: food wasn’t bad, but definitely hit and miss; that’s about it; oh, I liked the piano player!
Con’s: the most personality-​less server ever; cold atmosphere; seemed dirty, but it was probably just the cold atmosphere and concrete floors; hit and miss food; expensive; uncomfortable; etc.

This is the kind of restaurant that makes me want to go back again and again. Not stressy or smelly and quite comfortable.
I have been wanting to try the lemon crêpe forever and it was delicious! So was my other crêpe… cant remember what it was called, but it had avocados that were not bruised or brown and the tomatoes were perfect.
The hostess/​server/​manager smiled and happily accommodated my to go order with a quickness. So glad to have finally made it there today!

I’m a fan of the Little Red Studio, so I thought I’d give the Little Red Bistro a shot.
And I’m soooooooo glad I did. Why?
— Heavyweight Red cab blend
— spinach & artichoke GOODNESS
— hummus tastiness
— super sweet staff
— easy peasy location in SLU
Every dish we saw go by our table looked and smelled mouth watering. It’s my new favourite neighbourhood happy hour place.
Meet me there!

I feel as though I owe it to Little Red Bistro to write about my dinner experience last night. I very nearly canceled my reservation after reading the reviews on Unilocal and other sites. With so many people with similar complaints about bad service and mediocre food, I figured there must be some truth to it. And there probably was, but my dinner last night was great!
Beef Bourguignon, French Onion Soup, Butternut Squash Spear salad, Ratatouille… all were delicious. The Lemon Bar was the only disappointment. Our waitress was friendly and helpful. From my seat, I watched the chef prepare baby red potatoes for roasting. Soon afterward, our waitress apologized that our meal wasn’t ready yet (we really hadn’t waited long). The potatoes, she explained, were almost out of the oven. Does anything beat beef bourguignon served with roasted potatoes right out of the oven?! I don’t think so.

Two things got me in the door:
1. beef bourguignon on the menu…
BUT, to my disappointment they were out of the beef bourguignon and as the waitress put it «we never run out! the Universe is against you tonight!!» Well, okay, I understand that these things happen so I ordered the chicken dijonnaise which turned out to be really good. However, the menu states that you can choose between «baby spinach with frites or basmati rice and a side of ratatouille». I did not get to choose, and was served new potatos and ratatouille. Luckily the potatos were good!
2. live jazz on Thursday nights…

LET DOWN :(The jazz band was supposed to play from 8 — 10pm; we got there at 8:30 and the band stopped at 9pm. We thought they were taking a break, but no, the musicians packed up their instruments and bolted.
Why a rating of 4 stars? The delicious food and the tasty cocktails, are why! My waitress got me to try a French 75 and it was yummy. There is a list of 20 cocktails, and the bartender knows his stuff.
Even though the dish I went in for was sold out, I will go back again so I can have it (and to try the lunch menu). However I am not going back on Thursday for live jazz.

Despite the fact that our server was so sullen and insincere it was almost comical, my «medium» Steak Campagne request was delivered as «medium rare» (I actually took most of it home and popped it in the oven later for left overs,) the rice side was incredibly bland, the menu on the website that states «Available at all times including Late Night Dining and Happy Hour» that I was looking forward to was not offered to us (and there was no «frites» side option as stated on the dinner menu), my boyfriend and I mostly enjoyed our recent trip here.
He was due to make a trip back to Istanbul and I had a Groupon about to expire, so we decided to take a break on the home cooked meals and maximize the chill time the weekend before he left.
It’s a cute little spot, even leaning towards «romantic» despite the somewhat odd location. The hummus appetizer was delicious and our sad-​sack waitress was available, but not annoyingly attentive. The ratatouille was simply inspirational. I don’t even like zucchini, yet he practically had to protect his plate from me as the undercooked steak languished on mine.
Despite all the f*ckery in regards to food and service, I don’t doubt LRB could make a good date spot (maybe not the FIRST date though.) Save yourself some $$$ by grabbing a gift certificate from
and maybe, like us, you won’t be annoyed if it doesn’t go perfectly. Admittedly, had I paid full price I probably would have been a lot less forgiving.

Like Lunchables? And beige? Then look no further.
First, the antipasti, a medley of cheap cheese (mild cheddar and jack — *shudder*) cut into uneven cubes and thick wedges, low-​quality salami and prosciutto, limp baguette, and pimiento-​stuffed green olives that came in a Costco-​sized jar.
Next, a Caesar salad that would make Mr. Cardini roll over in his grave. Bland dressing, Pepperidge Farm-​like croutons, and no acidity to speak of.
Then, the roast pork entrée, a sad, pallid jumble of skinned apples, potatoes, pork, and mushroom sauce. Couldn’t they at least throw a sprig of parsley on there for color? The pork tasted gamy and was sliced too thinly. When potatoes and apples are the stars on the plate, you know something is wrong.
And finally, the piece de resistance: being interrupted in the restroom by a waitress carrying a pitcher of water. Yes, you read that right. I was in the unisex restroom washing my hands, when she barges in and announces that «there’s too much water in this pitcher.» She proceeds to pour some of it out in the toilet (yes, the TOILET), then goes on her merry way to serve her thirsty, unwitting diners. Um, GROSS!
Little Red Bistro, my what little finesse you have. «The better to drive customers away, my dear!»
If you must, go for the friendly, adept bartenders who also serve as bussers when the waitstaff gets lazy.

Ten dollar t-​bones, life drawing models, and brownie ala mode big enough to choke a horse.

The Little Red Bistro is a great restaurant. They make you feel comfortable and serve good food and wine. Its a rather nice dining experience. Also, they take
certificates.
The cocktail menu looks really good, though the bar tender isn’t there on Sundays. They also serve absinthe. For those nights when there isn’t a bar tender (when we were there) the wine selections are nice, with several foreign wines.
The dining service was relaxed — we went with our 3 kids and I was a little concerned, as the restaurants webpage made it seem quite upscale. Our server made us quickly at home and provided attentive service, quite unlike what other reviewers shared about their experience.
The best dish was the beef bourguignon, which our youngest ordered. I had the scallops which were very good and my wife enjoyed them and she’s not that much of a scallop person.
One of the things that made this such a great experience is that with the 5 of us, we could all share and it was like a tasting meal!
Beef bourgenpn was really good, scallops were excellent
On the downside, the dishes did come at different times. It wasn’t like one of us was forgotten, but there was a noticeable delay between the first and last of us being served. And it wasn’t from the walk back and forth to the kitchen.
For the most part, the desserts were excellent. I’m not a big orange in dessert fan, but the crêpe suzette was great and lemon bar was fabulous. I love crème brûlée, it was perfectly carmalized but the crème was slightly over-​cooked and a little curdled. I’ve made enough crème brûlées to know that its hard to make the custard just right and though its my favorite dessert, I won’t kill them for this seeing how good the other desserts were.
Since we had wine, dessert and a big meal and then a drive back to the Eastside, I had an espresso with dessert. It was one of the best espressos I’ve had in long time. Sure, I’ve been spending a lot of time at Peet’s and Starbucks and the night before I was at a Barnes and Noble Starbucks, but this one was really good and caramelly and smooth.
They’re open late, so this would make a great place to stop for late night dessert.
I’m a big fan of this restaurant. The food is great, the drinks are great, the atmosphere is comfortable.

I really liked the atmosphere and the live music. However, I have to say the food was just OK. I ordered a rib-​eye steak. Somehow, half of the steak was over-​cooked and half of the steak was good (rare to medium rare). The service was not up to standard. Water was out and no one refilled until I had to say something. This was a little disappointing!

This is probably now one of my favorite restaurants in Seattle. It was probably while I was cruising Republican street (I still get a kick out of the name) and this place caught my eye, so I decided to check it out.
We seated ourselves and were handed a menu, and I was instantly dismayed that there was such a short menu of items of choose from. I had one of those «well I *guess* I’ll just have this…» and I picked the All American Panini — roast beef, swiss, mustard and lettuce.
Service was friendly and quick, but the food took a bit of time to get to our table. It was plated nicely, and the panini was complimented by some potato chips. *chompchomp* the potato chips were good, so I decided to dig in the panini. «Oh wow, that’s really tender and good roast beef! The mustard is really light and goes well with the bread!» Okay yeah, that moment I was sold. That was a damn good panini. So many things can go wrong with roast beef, even though it seems so easy to do… but the roast beef was so tender and fresh.
So on this trip to Seattle, I decided to check out LRB *again* for Sunday brunch! Who can’t say no to a $ 3 mimosa? I’m from LA, so I’m used to those being double the price. Oh, and I also get excited by savory crêpes. The La Française, with cubed ham, sun-​dried tomatoes, gruyère, Béchamel sauce, and LOVE. I ate that sucker up, and it was damned delicious.
Next time I’m in Seattle, I’m going to get myself an omelette.

I was excited about Little Red Bistro. It all sounded so promising. Vegan, vegetarian and gluten free marked on the menu was nice. Little Red Studio generally seems cool even though I haven’t been there, and I assume this place supports them in some way, so I liked that aspect. Unfortunately, I thought both the food and service so unappealing that I doubt I’ll ever be back.
It began when we entered and were ignored while a couple of the staff chatted with each other. That wasn’t a huge deal; I wasn’t in a hurry. But it was portentous of things to come. I glanced around and the place looked cute. I’d already checked out the menu online and thought the sandwiches looked good, and I was hungry and enthusiastic.
We sat down and were handed dinner menus and immediately asked what we’d like to drink. I hadn’t opened the menu yet. I didn’t know whether they had a full bar. I looked around the room to see if drinks were listed somewhere or if something nearby would give a clue about what I could order. There was an espresso machine visible, but I didn’t want espresso. I requested a minute to look through the menu.
I looked through the menu and it listed neither drinks nor sandwiches. About 60 seconds later the server came back and asked what we’d like to drink. I said I still wasn’t sure and asked whether they still had sandwiches. She seemed irritated by the question and said she didn’t know whether I could still have one. I was confused because the website hadn’t said anything about sandwiches being specific to a certain time of day, but guessed that maybe it was a lunch thing. She asked again what I wanted to drink. I didn’t feel like asking her to list all the drinks since she already seemed frustrated, so I said I’d just stick with water. Then she asked for our food order. The 60 seconds hadn’t been quite enough for me to even get past the point of trying to find the nonexistent drinks on the menu and express confusion to my companion about the sandwich situation. She seemed peeved that all this was taking so long and left again.
I decided to go with the ratatouille, which was vegan and said «steamed eggplant, tomato, pepper, onion, spinach, squash, garlic and herbs, served with frites or jasmine rice» — that sounded great.
We placed our orders and I was feeling anxious and glad that was over with. Meanwhile, the table behind us (the only other table in the restaurant) initially had a few people in it. Someone came in off the street, and a crowd of 10 people gathered. All of them were talking really loud and being rowdy. They were entertaining and didn’t seem like bad people, but I couldn’t hold a conversation at my table anymore. The server which had been appearing every 60 seconds requesting an update had resumed chatting with another employee and ignoring us.
We probably should’ve just taken our stuff and switched tables, and probably would have, except that about 2 minutes later the food that we ordered appeared. I was immediately suspicious about how it could have taken only 2 minutes to prepare, and the first few bites explained why. It was all frozen and reheated, probably via microwave. Frozen vegetables, frozen & reheated rice. I’m an unemployed college student and eat my fair share of frozen food… I’m only picky about that when I’m paying $ 13.
I picked at my food and felt completely confused. This place has great reviews on Unilocal with people talking about chefs liking it. How a trained chef could tolerate this place is beyond me. I wish I’d read the completely accurate review about microwaved ratatouille before I went. I often get food that is just okay at restaurants, but rarely do I feel like I got ripped off.

This place was tasty and awesome. Its design is a little eclectic, and the food (when you can get it) is pretty good.
My bf and I made the mistake of seeing its hours on Unilocal and assuming that they’ll be serving things like sandwiches all day. They don’t serve food all day. On the weekends, food is served from 9am-​2pm and 6−9pm. They only have pastries and the like from 2 – 6. I wasn’t there on a weekday, so I can’t tell you those hours. If you’re looking for a late lunch, call and make sure they’re serving food. ;)
Otherwise, the food was tasty. The most memorable dish was when I was there for Sunday brunch. I had the Crêpe Suzette — a sugared crêpe doused in orange juice, lemon juice, and Grand Marnier, and set alight (before you receive it). That was a better crêpe than I’ve had in a long time. They also had $ 3 mimosas, which made my late morning that much better. The coffee cups there are gigantic — you will not be lacking for coffee or espresso beverage if you order a large at Little Red Bistro.
It looks like this place has music and performances from time to time, and they have food specials and other sorts of interesting events. You might want to find out what’s going on before you go.
I definitely suggest checking this place out with a friend. I just wish I could have checked this place out at Happy Hour (4 – 6 M-​F? I don’t know if food besides pastries is served then.)

What a fun little place. The red door draws you in and the high ceiling and that amazing bar hutch were great to see. Even the bathroom has some fun art and the décor is ‘so me’.
Just went in following a gallery event at Patricia Cameron Gallery, but enjoyed some white wine and appetizers with a friend. My friend had their steak special, ironically they were out of the T-​Bone, but what she got was great! In fact friend cleaned the plate and said she would definitely come back as well.
I had the chicken satay appetizers and they were quite tender and preparation was excellent.
Can’t wait to come back for a show and those crepes… someone else had an order and they looked amazing.
What a fun little place! Staff was very friendly too!

Just went to the Little Red Bistro tonight on a date and LOVED it. The food was delicious, the décor and paintings beautiful and the music was fantastic. What a great date resturant!
In back there’s a huge event space avaiable for private parties n’ such. It’s pretty rad!

I work next to the Little Red Bistro on occasion and it’s the only place near me where I can buy food. I have tried a great deal of the food on the menu and only the fruit and chili are edible. Their paninis and sandwiches are bland and terribly overpriced.
In addition, the bartender recently carded and subsequently banned me from ordering alcoholic beverages even though I’ve been a faithful customer for the past several weeks. I used my real driver’s license and I’m definitely of age. They thought I didn’t look like my picture. What the hell?