Café Presse

Best omelettes in town. Period.

If you’re coming here expecting a French café you might be disappointed. We dropped by because I was missing Paris and wanted a Croissant. My significant other just laughed when I suggested it so I told her I was going to squint and pretend. No amount of squinting made Café Presse into a French café however.
They were out of croissants so she gave me a strawberry puff pastry (or was it raspberry, you couldn’t tell by the flavor) which was dry and over cooked. I ordered a mocha even though that’s not something you’ll ever get in a French café. I ordered it because when in Rome…
The mocha was fairly gritty with very little chocolate flavor. At first glance the outdoor seating might make you feel like you’re at a French café if you ignore the fact that you’re in a wooden box.
I have perused the menu on several occasions thinking I’d come back here for dinner but they want atrocious amounts of money for humdrum fare. A cold half of a chicken served with mayonnaise for $ 16. A whole chicken warm with potatoes $ 32. Are you serious? This isn’t foie gras they’re selling here — it’s chicken!
Some of the smaller items don’t seem to be horrible deals like the Oeufs Mayonnaise which is 2 hard boiled eggs and mayonnaise for $ 5.25. I hope they make their mayonnaise as I can’t imagine eating American mayonnaise this way.
While we were trying our hardest to imagine Café Presse as French we saw a sign on Stumptown Coffees door saying they were giving free coffee for Father’s day so we followed the line of people leaving Café Presse for Stumptown. Stumptown had Macarons and a tarte au poire both of which was much more French than what we had at Café Press although Stumptown isn’t even trying to be French.

My favorite french style place in Seattle. Great selection of smaller dishes that complement very strong and creative entrees. We’ve been there a couple of times at this point and were delighted with everything that we’ve tried! Come in for a big meal or a quick snack you won’t be dissapointed!

DAMN. I love this place. It’s a cute, unassuming, and casual café/​bar next to Stumptown.
I went for their late-​night happy hour and ordered a Les Royales (sparkling wine + cassis), another cocktail (gin, elderflower, grapefruit), and their rilettes de porc.
The simple cocktails were well-​done and fragrant (the Les Royales came with a lemon twist). Now let’s talk about this pork. It was SUPERB. It had the most concentrated pork-​y flavor and came with the usual accompaniments (mustard, cornichons, etc.). They are very generous with baguette and I had a perfect late-​night snack. Everything was inexpensive considering the vibe and quality of their food/​drinks. A personal favorite in Seattle.

Very unusual meals here! I have never been here and was hoping for some onion soup. Apparently that is seasonal… We ended up ordering a dish with beef tongue and a steak. The beef tongue was so tender and flavorful. I didn’t know what to expect but it was delicious. The hubby enjoyed his steak and fries. I found the service to be warm and friendly. It was a great experience.

Our little lunch at Café Presse was one of my favorite meals in Seattle, hands down. I love any place where the food is done well, simply, and full of flavor.
THE OVERVIEW.
— We awkwardly sat ourselves when we came in, as there was no one to greet us and the bartenders just stared at us, but apparently you’ll be brought to a table normally
— The menu isn’t pretentious or frou-​frou, just solid French cuisine
— Cocktails are delicious, and the bar is fully stocked
We shared a simple, perfect meal of their charcuterie plate, marinated olives, and some outstanding beef tartar (with a few drinks, of course). It was an entirely lovely, relaxed, unpretentious experience. This is the sort of restaurant I would frequent in a heartbeat!

Frankly, the food at Presse is acceptable, reasonably creative and respectfully executed but I have a problem with the ‘hipper than thou’ attitude of the help. The «French» ambience created resembles something from a Peter Sellers Inspector Clouseau scene.
Frankly, if you’re going to try to ‘out french’ the general public, I would think the help should at least have actually have more exposure to the culture than 2 years of high school french

The hubby and I came here for Brunch while we’re visiting Seattle. The food was amazing. I had cruque madame and the hubby had spinach and mushroom omelet. The emelet was buttery in texture and very flavorful. The cruque madame took me back to Paris. The coffee was really good as well. My water glass was dirty at first, but once I notified the staff, I got a clean one right away. The refilling of the coffee was a little slow. Other than that it was a great dining experience. We will come back if we’re in town again.

Tried the Madame and custom made hot chocolate. Absolutely delicious. I’m giving 4 instead of 5 stars because they could have more vegan/​vegetarian friendly options.
Also — the fresh mustard is incredible! Definitely a must try with their fresh bread.
The hot chocolate was rich melted chocolate in a warm hug mug. The whip cream was fresh. The atmosphere is cozy and the wait around 11 on a Sunday was maybe 5 min.

I’ve been here twice for brunch and once for dinner, and both were pretty good experiences. The brunch we had the croque madame and chicken liver terrine. Both were surprisingly filling, perhaps even «too much» for brunch? I always came out feeling very bloated. But the croque madame was delicious. I love liver terrine and was happy that the portion here was large. They also give you bread and butter before your meal during brunch. You will definitely not leave here hungry.
The restaurant is actually a bit bigger than you might expect since there is a back section so don’t be afraid of the place looking a bit crowded.

This review needs a huge explanation. I came with a group of friends to celebrate my 20^th birthday. The food was wonderful, no questions, no «eh» moments when eating — five stars. The ambiance: beautiful. The service: piss poor.
We were waited on by a server named Nathan. When we were seated, he only said «there’s a table set for you in the back, go ahead and sit down», without gesturing to the table or directing us where to go. I thought he meant in the back of the restaurant, so I got separated by my group until a very kind waitress back there helped me and two of my friends figure it out.
When at the table, he barely said a word. I can understand: a table full of college kids, why do you feel like you need to bother? They barely tip since they’re poor. Well, he was present at taking our order, only saying «ready?», then absent until he took our plates, silent. No food quality checks through the meal. We paid our checks, got curtly told you don’t take Amex (I wasn’t bothered, I could pay in a different manner), then again when dropping off our checks. He literally dropped off our checks at one location and walked away without a word.
As a prior manager, I would have been appalled by this service. 10% tips are for poor service, but this was clearly a lack of service. Looking around, he became much more involved with other tables. I felt discriminated against because I’m a college student. I tipped very low (maybe 2−3%), I admit that now. I like tipping well, I relied on tips for three years of my life, and it’s a wonderful reward for good service. He came back to my table, said «you are aware this is a very low tip, right?» I confirmed. He said «if you plan on tipping this poorly, please go to a fast food restaurant next time» and walked away, without letting me respond. I changed the tip to $ 0. As we were walking out, he said to us «Don’t come back».
If I waited tables like he did, I could expect similar tips and a short employment. The service he provided would disgust the French. I’ve never felt such a blatant disregard for my dining experience at a place that serves wonderful food. If you would like to have waiters that act like French waiters, they should expect to be tipped like French waiters. I definitely won’t be back for quite a while.
Happy 20^th to me.

I love this unpretentious hole in the wall. Obsessed with the pâté. My entrée of choice is the cold chicken served with the quinoa salad. So good, I’m craving it right now!
Moreover, consistent hours till 2AM!

Sister café to Le Pichet in downtown Seattle, Café Presse holds similar to the quality that its sister French restaurant exemplifies. Many dishes are served in what appears to be a signature dish, which are the skillets. The food is of great quality and if you have not been here then you must at least try it once. Located in Capital Hill and a little out of the main stream area which is nice, this is a great place to share a good time with friends or a small group where you can delight and enjoy in the variety of dishes you order.

One of the best cafés in the area.
Can’t resist their croque monsieur with its savory ham, creamy bechamel and thick, gooey cheese. The rest of menu is also full of high quality, upscale items, but extremely reasonably priced!
The cocktails are well made with a decent pour. I really enjoy their espresso drinks though, very high quality and puts most coffee shops to shame.
The service is prompt and friendly, never had any issues before.
Great place to get some French bistro items on the hill.

i rate it high simply bc it has such good ambience.
i came here on a lazy day at my internship at swedish cherry hill since i wanted coffee.
i wanted to sit down since it’s such a cute café but wanted my coffee in a to go cup to carry.
however i got my sandwich $~7 bagged to go, i guess i should’ve specified. i got a ham and gruyère per the recommendation of the server and it was good, the baguette was quite crispy and hard in a good way.
the coffee is from café vitta. i got a café au lait $ 3.75 and it was alright.
i really cannot justify spending so much money on such simple food, here or elsewhere. the only reason i ordered food was so i could enjoy the ambience but didn’t really get the chance.
the servers were neutral friendly like amiable but no smiles. they were quick to approach when i walked in looking at the coffee menu on the wall (i had never been in before).
overall super cute place but i would not buy food here again, quite overpriced but which cute place isn’t really? maybe i’ll come for a sit down coffee though i didn’t much like the coffee.

Transporting to France right ’bout…the moment you step into Café Presse. I love, love, love this spot. It’s conveniently located on First Hill, by Seattle University, which is walking distance to Capitol Hill. Parking can be found on the street, but have had luck finding on the streets in the nearby neighborhood. There’s also plenty of bike parking nearby.
Right by the entrance are magazines and newspapers for sale, and a sign that warns that if you take any to your table to read, you will be charged. Beware! But just like in France you would normally stop by a newstand with literary journals, Le Monde, etc… before heading to your favorite café, so it was endearing to see the reads for sale here. The selection is also top-​notch with lifestyle magazines, literary journals and French magazines and newspapers.
In my most recent visit I came with a group of friends, so took 10 minutes to wait for a table on a Sunday morning. They unfortunately don’t take reservations, but the hostess was aware of our situation and made sure to clear the first table that would accommodate a large group. The longer we were there the more people would come and have to wait for a table to clear. It gets busy.
We started with Caffe Vita (yay!) drip coffee, mimosas and French 75s. I ordered the Beef Tartare and Hard-​Boiled Eggs. Both were awesome and though I thought they were small plates, it actually filled me up and I ended up not finishing my meal. The tartare had capers in it, which I really liked and came with an arugula salad with radishes and grapefruit slices. The flavor was tart, in a good way. There were also toasted baguette slices to put your tartare on. The hard-​boiled eggs were solid, and were cooked more on the soft side which I really liked because I love that yolk flavor. There’s also a dollop of mayonnaise that comes with, but don’t think is necessary. My friends enjoyed their food as well. The most popular dish at our table was the Croque Madame, which was way more filling than what my friends thought. They noted that it’s worth sharing versus having it all to one’s self since it’s so rich with the bechamel sauce.
Our service was awesome. Even though our server was really busy with the crowded tables and people coming and going, she was friendly and made sure to check in on us. She even remembered me from previous visits. Though I was here for brunch in my last venture I have been for dinner, which is just as bomb dot com. Plus, if you’re here early enough you can grab a seat on the small patio, which is something you of course want to do during the summertime in Seattle. Come with friends or even alone (and pick up a newspaper to read!), as you will find yourself somewhere in France. LOVE.

I love this place, and have for many years now. Whenever I yearn for Paris, this is where I head. I almost always get the sandwich en baguette with the grilled sardine — unexpectedly awesome, flakey fish on the baguette with lettuce, served with mustard. I also usually get the chocolate chaud dessert, which is almost impossible to eat alone — rich, thick hot chocolate with a *plate* of real (not sweet) whipped cream: HEAVEN.
Last time there, which was last week, I ordered the Rue McClanahan cocktail, which was also excellent: gin, sparkling wine, and grapefruit juice. (A splash of St. Germaine, too?) If you love visiting Paris, but exist in the world of budgets and therefore infrequent Parisian vacations, Go.

I love these little French Bistros in Seattle. They seem to be famous for their Croque Monsieur and Madame dishes. If you walk toward the back and look into the little window to the kitchen, you can see hundreds of slices of bread being spread with mustard and piled high with cheese as they prepare to make hundreds of these amazing sandos.
We walked over from the W… it’s a cool neighborhood. It’s got some flavor… some might find a little gritty, but I like that. I love Capitol Hill and could spend my entire visit in this hip little area.
The latte’s take you back to Paris…
Highly recommended for brunch.

Grilled cheese and ham/​cheese are like the annoying millennial fraternal twins of their much cooler/​sophisticated French expatriate parents, Croque Monsieur and Croque Madame. In my sandwich pantheon, I can think of no better example of either Croque than the ones prepared at Café Presse, located in the Capitol Hill district in Seattle.
Cue up the food porn music, let’s Marvin Gaye and get it on starting from the top (of the sheets) and work our way down to the bottom (under the covers).
They must have NASA engineers preparing the fried egg in the kitchen since I have never witnessed such perfect yolk viscosity and uniform thickness draping over the sandwich like a fitted satin sheet. The yolk is smooth enough where you can break it with a fork and let the love run all across the bread or you can work your way from the outside towards the middle and even after biting into the yolk, there is minimal ooze (I’ve eaten one of these on the run with my bare hands so I should know).
Next is the gruyère cheese, which is nutty, salty, and creamy and baked to the consistency of the crunchy goodness plastered along the sides of a boiling cauldron of french onion soup.
Moving further down, one encounters the bechamel sauce, which adds a component of velvety unctuousness and a hint of nutmeg that is just downright sexy. This serves as a wonderful binder that allows the other ingredients to swirl around longer along your tongue before having to make their dreaded descent away from your taste buds.
The bread is perfectly toasted where it makes that whispering crackle sound when your fork tries to cut through it and is infused with butter and a sharp bite of Dijon mustard to cut through the richness and add yet another dimension of flavor.
Finally, there is the thinly sliced black forest ham that adds the perfect note of saltiness to balance out all the flavors above.
Put this on your sandwich bucket list, you must try this Croque before you croak.

I really like this place. It’s simple and quaint. The service is excellent. My girlfriend had some tea and I had their chocolate chaud. Both were really good. My one gripe with this place is that it is a little expensive. Hot chocolate (chocolate chaud) is $ 6. Little steep for my taste but maybe I am being picky.

Only complaint is that I wish there were more seats!
Came here tonight with 4 friends so it took a while to get seated, but well worth it! I had oysters, a black cat? cocktail and pom frites — all great! Every server, even the one that wasn’t serving us was very attentive and would make sure we happy — we all were.

We had our Wedding Lunch here in December. They gave us the entire backroom, and it was absolutely magical.
We had a tough time trying to decided where and how to host a lunch for 30 people. We started by investigating our favorite Seattle restaurants, and quickly discovered that 30 people is a pretty tall order.
Joanna was our main contact at Presse, and from the start she was fantastic. Quick responses, very open to our ideas, and had an incredible sense of what was possible. We had a very tight budget, and she and James did an amazing job giving us a really specific perspective on what to expect. They even crafted a specific veggie sandwich for my Groom which turned out to be the biggest hit.
We arrived at the appointed hour to find the room beautifully prepared and the friendly and warm staff ready to pour. We felt so well taken care of and it really made the lunch have that dose of «special» that we were hoping for. My friends and family could not stop raving about the elegance of the service, the tasty food, and the warm atmosphere.
I don’t know why on earth you’d ever choose a different place!

So lovely… wonderful service, delicious food. I love that it’s open late night. The Chocolate Chaud is amazing.

If you’re into the French café thing with Pâté, coffee, dessert, cocktails and a date then this is a great place.
Me and my wife hit his place up because there is a Parisian thing happening here and it’s nice to reminisce and revisit.
If you want to be cliché order the Croque Madame… it’s a classic that’s well made here.
Also the chicken pâté has been some of the best I’ve had around here. Great place to chill and talk… if only they let us smoke inside now. :)

While the BF and I were wandering around Seattle and while I was starving. I Unilocaled around and found that Café Presse was only a 10 min walk away from our location.
The restaurant is located next to Seattle University. It has a very cute slightly industrial but Parisian vibe to it. I was a bit confused as to how seating worked when we walked in because non of the servers or hosts came up to speak to us. We were like oh. okay…we’ll just sit here. We sat at one of the tables up front and were then given a menu and some water.
The menu had all the menu items named in French and then a short description of what was in it underneath. There weren’t a ton of different choices for breakfast and so I decided upon the Croque-​madame for $ 8.50 which is a
Croque-​monsieur (Baked ham, gruyère and béchamel sandwich) with a sunny side up egg on top. The BF ordered something smaller the Œufs mayonnaise for $ 5.00 which is two hard-​cooked eggs with mayonnaise and cornichons (gherkins or mini pickles).
It didn’t take too long for our food to come out. During the wait, I just sat and looked at their extensive wall of alcohol. I’m going to say… it must have a great night life especially since it’s so close to campus.
My dish the croque-​madame was good but super rich and cheesy. Nothing to complain about nothing to rave about. I did not try the Œufs mayonnaise but the BF said it was good? Then again I’m not 100% sure if I believe that, we basically have an ongoing competition with who orders the best dishes…(it’s usually me). This place has pretty good business and from what I could tell, they have a back room (which I didn’t see).
This place is A-​OK in my book.

This place is so Euro. The menu is (mostly) in French and the food style is probably quite French café as well. What I like about the food is that they keep it pretty simple. You can see from the images there is no need to bling something up when the right combination of ingredients work for themselves! Really delicious and prepared with love.
The coffees are quite nice as well, they get their beans from Caffe Vita (if the fact their coffee cups have their logo are any indication) Staff has been friendly. The prices are a tad high, so I can’t come here as often as I’d like. but great place to bring the partner or meet up with a friend.
The logo rocks.

It’s an overpriced French restaurant near Seattle University. But unfortunately, I just don’t have the money to be spending $ 30 on dinner. It’s nice that there’s a very French atmosphere, but I go to restaurants not for that. A little less pretentious, and I might have been easier on the rating.
I ordered some bread (well, half a sliced baguette) with butter and jam as an appetizer for $ 3.50. Honestly, I might as well just buy the same thing at QFC. The smoked salmon entrée I ordered was a complete letdown. It was good, but it only had onions and potatoes in addition to the salmon. It was also $ 19.00 when it was tiny and barely filled my stomach.
Restaurants like this can be fun sometimes, but not most of the time. If I had more money to blow, I might appreciate places like this. But I simply don’t, which means that visits in the future will have to wait for special occasions. On the plus side, this place has fast Wi-​Fi, not that that means much anymore in the year 2015.

This is a very charming Café! The espresso was incredible and the portion size for the appetizers my friend and I had were very large. We each had a different baguette and next time we plan to split one! I was just there for coffee, so I don’t know about the other dishes, but I am looking forward to trying them.
Also, the complementary peanuts with hot spices were delicious. We finished the entire little bowl our server brought to the table.

This little gem of a restaurant /​café is one of my regular stops whenever I’m in Seattle. A small bustling place with lots of light from the floor to ceiling windows, the space is packed tightly with seats that are more than often always full. They also have a small patio out front which is lovely on a sunny morning.
Though the place is quite busy, the staff are very attentive and fast.
They have also cleverly installed hooks above you on the wall to hang bags/​jackets so they don’t get in your way.
The menu is full of French fare, from simple plates such as charcuterie and baguette with preserves & butter or more complex dishes such as the croque madame.
Whenever I come here, I always start with the salad (butter lettuce with hazelnuts), then proceed to the Croque Madame, and lastly end with the pain au chocolat l’ancienne.
The salad is simple: torn butter lettuce in a hazelnut vinaigrette with toasted hazelnuts. Deceivingly simple, the salad is light, elegant and the perfect accompaniment to a heavier main course.
I can still taste the croque madame as I write this. It is splendidly buttery on the outside, with a slight crisp. When you cut into the sandwich, the egg yolk pools over the entire sandwich, coating it with a buttery yolky sauce. Inside, there is just enough ham to add a saltiness to the sandwich, and yet there is also a creaminess on the inside as well. I love all the various textures the sandwich has to offer.
The pain au chocolat l’ancienne is again very simple: bittersweet dark chocolate is melted onto a toasted rustic baguette. The bread is extra chewy and crunchy, the dark chocolate is sinfully silky and there is just enough of a sweetness to satisfy your sweet tooth. I wish I could emulate this at home, but alas I can’t seem to find the right bread. Until then, I’ll have to continue savouring this simple dessert every time I revisit Café Presse.

Café Presse has been on my list for ages. We finally stopped in for an early brunch around 10 on a Saturday morning. The inside of the café is really cozy and cute — really perfect for a brunch spot. It’s pretty small though, so I feel like there might be a wait if you got there a little later in the morning or for dinner.
We had the pain au chocolat (basically a nutella sandwich, which really tastes as delicious as it sounds) and the croque madame, which is a traditional french dish of bread, topped with ham and cheese and a fried egg on top. SO delicious — and Café Presse possibly has the best croque madame that I’ve had in Seattle! And it could definitely hold its own among the ones from France, as well. I would recommend ordering both of these!
Surprisingly, the croissant we ordered wasn’t that great. It was dense and overly buttery, as opposed to flakey as croissants should be. Also, by the time we got to the café, there was only ONE croissant left, which is pretty sad at only 10 in the morning.
Oh and their fresh squeezed orange juice is delicious!

Awesome spot! I was visiting Seattle with a few friends and we looked this up on Unilocal.I ordered an omelette which was very reasonably priced and had a perfect mix of cheese, herbs, and ham.
The latte was also great! I felt like this was a little slice of Paris in Capitol Hill.

Café Presse is a Capitol Hill staple. There are few things nicer than a thick Croque Madame and a cup of black coffee to chase away a hangover and Café Presse has perfected these.
Other things I am a fan of:
–Beef Tartar
–French Onion Soup
–Les Oeufs Plats Jambon Fromage… gooey cheesy egg dish begging to be devoured with a fresh baguette.
–Frites…guilty pleasure
Although the restaurant is cozy, there is ample seating in the back room and it’s fun to sit along the bar or out on the patio to people watch. Also a great spot to take in soccer matches.

Love, love, love! Imagine taking a flight halfway around the world to Paris and strumbling in to a neighborhood café with damn good food, coffee and drinks. That is Café Presse — a true Capitol Hill gem. Perfect for any meal of the day including late night and breakfast. Going to this café is like taking a little in city vacation. Time just stops for me (in a good way) whenever I come here. They have a small outdoor patio for the summer and play soccer matches throughout the year.
With my demi pichet of red wine and a delicious baguette sandwich, I feel like I’m back in Paris.
I recommend anything and everything on their menu. I’ve been here over a dozen times and have never been disappointed!

From the outside, the café looked kinda small with a few tables outside on the patio. But in the back, there are more tables, which can fit a bigger group. Since I was the first one to arrive at the Unilocal UYE brunch, I put my name down for a table. They apparently don’t take online or phone reservations, it’s first come, first served. There is street parking and I was able to find a spot to park right outside of the restaurant.
I ordered a mimosa and a croque madame. The mimosa was good and the croque madame was great! Service was good. Overall, it’s a cute little french restaurant with good food-​I would come back to try other items on their menu.

Came here for a UYE brunch event, great pick of a spot!!! Café is bigger than I thought, there is a back room too with quite a bit of tables that sat the 6 of us comfortably.
If you speak French, the menu is in French and also English. Great brunch menu from smaller items or more of a heartier brunch. I had afternoon lunch plans so I kept my brunch on the smaller side. I decided to get their yogurt, very delicious, came with candied walnuts and drizzle of honey all mixed in. Also I got a pain au chocolat, baguette bread with dark semi-​sweet chocolate melted inside. Good sized baguette and the chocolate was very nice, it is served warm so the chocolate is nice & melty and may drip on you. Got a Café Au Lait as well and I was good to go!!!
They will give you complimentary drip refill since you ordered a coffee drink, so that was nice.
Service was fine, no issues, pricing is good too. Definitely a place I would come back again. The ambiance is nice, inviting, warm, and friendly. Great brunch spot!

This place is very nostalgic for me. Used to come here on dates when I was still a college student at Seattle University. It’s a little small but I feel they make great use of the space. It doesn’t feel as crowded as it looks.
Finally made my way back here for breakfast after having graduated over 6 years ago (getting so old). It’s conveniently open at 7am, so my gf and I met before she had to head into work. They’ve got a full bar with seating, plus some outdoor seating as well. It’s French themed, so they’ve got yummy dishes like Croque Madame and Oeuf Au Plat. They also had Bloody Mary, Bloody Maria, and Aquvit Bloody Marys (this was very pleasing to me). It was completely empty when we got there around 730, and since it was a beautiful summer morning we sat facing outside. It’s a cute little spot with good food and libations. Service was pretty mediocre, but not terrible.
I do dream of going to Paris one day, so I’ll keep coming here to get a little taste of France from time to time :-).

«Good food, nice ambience, hit and miss on service.»
Café Presse is the type of place you will will want to allot some extra time to enjoy the food. The establishment doesn’t have a wide footprint however the use of space and cleverly designed seating areas can accommodate a decent amount of patrons. I have been to Café Presse multiple times and find the seasonal menu to be a refreshing idea. This is a great approach to showcasing great ingredients and French fares.
My recent experience with the service was not exactly of high ranks. Our table was not hidden, however our server was almost absent. The normality of being asked «how’s your food» or «any dessert today» were both non-​existent. The food was delivered and we enjoyed the dishes. The steak tartare was wonderfully done. The french fries are top notch and the Croque Madame was crispy and flavorful. I recommend the Susie Mosa (Grapefruit Mimosa) or an Aperol Spritz. I would return to Presse as the food remains consistent and never disappoints.

My girlfriend and I were in the Capitol Hill area a few weeks ago, and we decided to check out Café Presse for happy hour. We sat in their outdoor seating area and ordered the following:
Pain et beurre (half baguette with butter and jam) — The baguette had a crisp crust and perfectly chewy interior.
Olives marines au citron (mixed olives) — They had about five types of olives. The saltiness of the olives provided a nice contrast with the sweetness of the jam for the bread.
Pommes frites — The fries were the best of the appetizers that we sampled. You should definitely get them with mayonnaise.
Cheese plate — One of the cheeses on the plate was particularly good. The others were so so. We asked our server what the name was of the cheese that we liked, and she just shrugged and said, «I don’t know. We have five cheeses, and the three on the plate change often.» Then she walked off.
While all of the snacks we had were quite tasty, the service was not great (see the above paragraph). In general, our server seemed quite apathetic about interacting with us. Although this behavior is consistent with what I experienced at some cafes in Paris, I expect better service in Seattle, even at a French café.
If you are looking for some good small plates for happy hour in the Capitol Hill area, you should visit Café Presse.

Finally got to check this place out for dinner last week.
You walk in and think, «This is it?» It’s a small space with just a few tables and a bar to the left. THEN, you walk toward the back, passed the kitchen and realize there is another room with a few more tables. It’s a hip little restaurant with darkened walls, dim lighting and both benches and chairs to sit on. The servers are totally cool with their beards and pony tails as they rush by you; some are friendlier than others.
I ordered the Rue McClanahan. You can get me every time with some sparkly and grapefruit and this cocktail was just fine. To eat, our table ordered the Gâteau aux foies de volailles (smooth chicken liver terrine) and the Rillettes de porc (confit pork spread), and we ordered the Poulet rôti selon votre commande et pommes frites in pairs (roasted chicken and fries; $ 30/​pair). Don’t worry if you can’t read french, they have the English translations for you underneath. :-)
The chicken terrine and pork spread were both delicious. The terrine was extremely smooth and the ground mustard and cherry added a great tangy contrast, cutting into the richness of the terrine. The pork spread was also delicious — more hearty — and porky. Served with some baguette and butter… it was the perfect thing to munch on while we waited for the chicken…
…because if you order the chicken, wait, you will! It takes about 1 hour from the time you order, to be served the dish but I wasn’t disappointed when it came out. The roasted chicken had the wonderfully crispy skin and the meat was tender and juicy. Seriously, juices were running all over my plate, soaking my fries. The fries were awesome too; cut thick enough to enjoy the crunchiness of the outside, while maintaining a softness instead and with just the right amount of salt.
I had a really good time and can’t wait to come back for their Croque-​madame.

Great place for breakfast, and there’s more open seating in the back where I like to sit. Reading the menu makes me wish I took French to avoid sounding like an idiot whenever I order, so now I just point and say «this».
I LOVE the complimentary baguettes they serve with butter. Delicious. This time I ordered the Croque Monsieur: juicy and thick ham pieces between crisp bread slices with perfectly melted and broiled cheese on top. Yum!
To drink I had the hot chocolate after seeing all pictures on Unilocal.Mine, unfortunately, didn’t have the gorgeous latte art (or hot chocolate art) that I saw in the pictures, so no token picture taking from me during that meal (of the hot chocolate). Tasty though!

Quelle petite phrase bouleversante au coeur d’un être?

Après avoir lu le ROTD, j’ai fait le voyage jusqu’à Capitol Hill de le vérifier.
Sardines sur pain baguette, pommes frites avec moutarde mayonnaise, 2 Beaujolais –et pour le dessert, Gâteau de Riz et un decaf-​capuccino.
La perfection!