Il Bistro

D turned 3! Initially, I wanted to go to Maximilien (one of our favorite places) to celebrate, but couldn't get a reservation at the time we wanted. So we thought we'd try out Il Bistro that's also located at Pike Place Market.

We got Bruschetta al Pomodoro and 2 orders of Antipasto Misto from their Restaurant Week selections. The Bruschetta, topping grilled Tuscan bread with vine ripened tomatoes, garlic, basil and olive oil, wasn't as flavorful as I'd like, but it was refreshing. The Antipasto Misto was very small. The selection of Italian meats only included 1 thin piece each of salami and hot capicola, the cheese selection was just as limited with only 1 piece of mozzarella and 1 slice of muenster. That could hardly be called a "selection", if not counting the small pieces of marinated vegetables of olives, asparagus, bell peppers, mushrooms, and garlic.

Hubby had Filetto del Maiale Pan Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Grilled Rustic Potatoes and a Bing Cherry-Port Demi Glace. I often found pork tenderloin to be a bit bland, but the cherry demi glace was nice. The limited few cherries were gobbled down by the kids faster than you can say "cherry". My grilled salmon with lemon herb farro and basil butter was very tender and buttery. Even J who didn't like salmon agreed it was good. (Yes, it's very possible that my kids might grow up as food snobs. When J was 3, he told his daycare that he liked crab cakes and lobster bisque. In his Sunday school, he said his favorite food was sushi. But most of the other kids didn't even know what sushi was. =)

My Torta Cioccolato Flourless Chocolate-Espresso Tort with Raspberry Coulis and Sweetened Mascarpone was definitely definitely decadent! Unfortunately, it was very small, only a sliver. Hubby's pear sorbet was overflowing with the Asian pear fragrance.

Overall, I'd say the meal was OK. But that wasn't good enough to make it a special occasion place.

Il Bistro
93 Pike St (First Avenue), Seattle, WA 98101
(206)682-3049