Behind the scenes of Bastille

Geeky Swedes Ballard

The finishing touches are being put on Ballard’s newest French restaurant.

In between the stacks and stacks of black wooden chairs being loaded into the restaurant, owner Deming Maclise tells us that Bastille is on track for their June 29th opening in Old Ballard. Seattle Magazine’s Lorna Yee recently took a tour with chef Shannon Galusha and writes about it in her sneak peek piece. “Much of what you’ll find at Bastille is handmade,” Yee says. “The tables (including an 18-seat communal one), enormous carved mirror frames, and bar tables are all made from alowooe wood.” More details in our post last month.

Geeky Swedes

The founders of My Ballard

86 thoughts to “Behind the scenes of Bastille”

  1. They seem to be well-financed so they'll probably make it. Best of luck to them. I'd love to have a higher end restaurant in Ballard, but I'm not sure I'd want to eat a nice meal there if there's a DJ pumping out tunes. If they don't make it and liquidate I call dibs on the clock in the photo – that's a cool clock.

  3. Good question. But perhaps it's wiser to open a couple weeks earlier to get time to work out the kinks before the big party.

    I'm excited to see the transformation. I was in there a few times when the place was Obermier Machine.

  4. that makes sense. Two opportunities for publicity are better than one.

    what was the obermier machine? sounds like a place from the future,

  5. That picture changes my whole concept of what this place is going to be like. For some reason I was picturing something much smaller. This looks great! Thanks, Swedes!

  6. Okay. I'll wait for a real look at the menu before judging, but it doesn't sound like there will be a lot of vegetarian options. Maybe there aren't a lot of veggie options on a French menu.
    The back bar sounds promising. Except I really hope they nix the DJ idea. They want to make an 'adult atmosphere' yet are considering a DJ?

  7. A bit off topic, my grandpa was born on Bastille Day. During wwII, he was once in charge of a small convoy of airplane fuel. While driving back to the base, he saw a sign for Paris, and thought – “what the heck, I always wanted to go to Paris and it is my birthday”, so off the convoy went, which turned out to be the first Bastille day after the liberation of Paris. So there the spent the afternoon stuck in crowded streets trying to get guys shooting off fireworks, and smoking cigars off of or out of the way of the flamable convoy.

  10. French food isn't exactly what you'd call vegetarian friendly, especially when it comes to main courses. Keep in mind it's the land of duck fat and cheese!

    Agree about the DJ – if I want to hear a DJ I'll go to a club. I really don't like the trend over the past decade of restaurants getting louder and louder. Part of the dining out experience is being able to have a conversation with the people at your table in many restaurants that's getting harder to do.

  13. This place looks lovely! I can't wait to get a babysitter, get dolled up (well, as dolled up as anyone in Ballard gets) and give it a try. I'm just so thrilled to have a french restaurant right here in the hood! Best of luck, Bastille!

  17. It was a machine shop specializing in repairing marine components. Two generations of machinists worked in there dating back to the late 50's. Before that (according to the recently retired Obermier) the building was a car dealership showroom.

  18. Generally, I'm a big fan of not-DJ. I had a pretty good DJ experience at Tiger Tail recently, though. It wasn't very loud at all; the guy just stood in the corner and put music on, seemed to be having a good time; pretty unobtrusive.

  22. I think it's going to fabulous and a really nice touch to Ballard Avenue.
    For all the dj nay-sayers, a dj doesn't mean loud bumping music. It can be a really nice touch to a place to have someone spinning live tunes as opposed to some cd playing in the background.

  26. i couldn't be more excited about this place. a take out window serving grilled sardines on toast? croque monsieurs within walking distance? my only lament is that it will be opening while i'm out of town. rest assured, it will be my first stop when i return.

  30. I think you and I should go together, leavinglasballard! We're the only two who seem as excited by the prospect of Piaf and Croque Monsieurs!

  31. I am really excited about this place. Not sure how I feel about the possible DJ-ing, but it looks like a great venue for live acoustic music…something that is missing from a lot of restaurants in Ballard! And if the owners are reading, here's another vote for some veggie options on the menu (if Rover's can manage an entire vegetarian tasting menu, shouldn't be too hard to have one or two things here).

  32. Hmmmm….dated? trendy? dated? trendy?

    I go to restaurants for food not decor. I have to agree with the loathing of DJs also. Whatever happened to dinner conversation?

  34. i love hearing people complain about “no veggie options” or “limited veggie options”….when you open a restaurant, you are free to have whatever you please on your menu.

  35. This is most excited I have been about a new restaurant opening in Seattle in a long time…and the fact that I work a block away makes it even more promising. Today I walked by after reading this post and they were really hard at work with tons of workers coming in and out. The front door was propped open so I looked in…the pictures here don't do it justice, very nice. Also the “stencil” guy was there stenciling in the words “Bastille” on the front windows….very nice. Can't wait to see this all come together! See you all there…

  36. True, Eric, but even most bar menus manage a couple of meatless options. It's not like we're asking them to stock up on tofu, or anything.
    I look forward to seeing the back bar, anyway. If I have to eat elsewhere it'll at least be another nice bar to go.

  37. I wasn't complaining, just letting the owners know that there's some interest in it. If there aren't any, I'll eat somewhere else. Might as well voice an opinion while they're still developing their menu.

  40. not attacking anyone in particular here, just a general statement.

    i only comment because i'm in the business and i realize that there is a demand (smallish) for veggie stuff, but it seems to come with a sense of entitlement, like there would obviously be a veg selection, or numerous selections..

    fact is that while there is a vocal minority, those items generally sell far less than meat-ish ones.

    all that said, i love veggies and many vegetarian dishes. you should see my garden…

  41. Point taken. But there are high end veggie items. Anything with a portabello mushroom costs a mint, for example. Like Kell said, we're just voicing an opinion while they're still pondering the menu.

  42. Since were making requests can we PLEASE have Macaroons! And available through the walk up window…

    …”if you make them, they will come!”

  45. Anyone going into a French restaurant asking for a vegetarian dish should get slapped upside the side with an escalape de veux….seriously.

  46. not trying to be a dick, but portabellos don't cost a restaurant that much. not enought to justify a $16 + entree, imo…

    there are plenty of “high end” veggies, but that isn't my point. my point is that, by and large, however nice it is for some folks to have that option, veg items don't sell as well.

    anyway, i am anxious to check this place out.

    bening is a cool dude, comes into the place i work from time to time…hope they do well.

  48. Listen, this guy can put whatever the heck he wants to on his menu. That's his right. What part of 'we're just suggesting' don't you guys get?

  50. What does “eating in the 80's” mean, exactly? They haven't been there THAT long…since 2002 I think. I love Carnegies because the food is great, it's QUIET and the service is attentive. Plus, I have have been known to go in and get a glass of wine and a bowl of French onion soup, and not break the bank. They have a great price fixe menu, that makes it affordable. For the price of a 3-course dinner at Carnegies I might, just might, get an entree at Le Gourmand. Plus, I had a weird expereince at their bar (Le Gourmand) and I'm not ever going back.

    I'd rather eat somewhere that has a lovely, elegant ambiance than say, someplace noisy and full of drunks like..well, Matador springs to mind.

  51. OK, I get it, you heard of Edith Piaf. It's not going to be an endless loop of her singing, the article mentioned music along the lines of KEXP. I love that station, but I think I've only heard Piaf on there two times in over a decade. Just as in groups of people talking, the tendancy is for DJs to turn up the music so it can be heard, then people talk louder, than the music goes up until the music simply wins out.

  52. Not true that all French restaurants are incapable of making delicious vegetarian dishes. Like I said, Rover's has some wonderful options! But whatever, like Trix said it's just some input to the owners. I'm sure you don't have to worry about a lack of meat on the menu.

  54. In Seattle? That is an overstatement. Especially when you have Le Pichet down on First or Boast Street Cafe on Western. Both of those are amazing.

  55. I have been saying the only thing we were missing in Ballard was a Cafe Presse/Oddfellows joint…I think this will be perfect! Plus Shannon is amazing!

  59. I went to the Sambar (Le Gourmand's bar) with some friends and ordered some fancy $12 drink Twelve Dollars. The bartender made it in a shaker, poured HALF of the drink into the smallest glass imaginable (juice glass sized), poured the other half or so into a larger glass, and handed it to a passing waitress who knocked back half of MY $12 drink.

  62. I think the Ballard Smokeshop does the classic sandwiches. I've only ever done breakfast there but it seems like they might. Somebody on the Hatties thread called it a 'diner' and I think it's the closest thing we have got to one.
    Unless…..
    Does Vera's only do breakfast?

  63. I said vegetarian, not vegan. :)

    I eat the meat, my husband does not partake. Sometimes makes choosing a restaurant a pain in the ass.

  65. That is just wrong! I've wanted to like that bar but I've always gotten horrible service there. Once my husband and I waited at a table for 15 minutes (it wasn't busy) and the waitress never came over – passed by a few times. She had said goodbye to the people who were sitting there before us so it wasn't just that she didn't know we were new. Anyway, we left and haven't been back.

  67. i was actually referring to the food but the decor was also dated. the menu felt very uninspired and the execution was nothing to write home about.

  69. Looks lovely and lovingly done! That said, I agree with some concerns voiced above -the abundance of tile, high ceilings & exposed wood look like we're in for another loud restaurant space.
    Restaurants, bars, and brasseries in France don't actually play music during service. Quiet conversation fills the air.
    Come to think of it, a Frenchman might even chuckle upon walking into a resto that's blaring Edith Piaf. As I've stated before, would you eat in a joint in Paris serving T-bone steaks and coleslaw, a neon lasso a-flashin' out front, and The Sons of the Pioneers blaring?
    So I think we can just ditch the whole “Authentic or Not” thing right here and now. We'll enjoy it for what it is.

  71. I suppose my imaginary lasso restaurant would be a kick in the pants if one had the money and time to spend on irony.
    I'm simply trying to express, in a rather poor way, that Bastille strikes me as a caricature.

  73. “What part of 'we're just suggesting' don't you guys get?”

    That French Provencal cooking is not in any way shape or form vegetarian. So it's like asking the owners of Carmelita to offer a meat option, because, you know, not everyone's a vegetarian.

  74. Yeah Honore wasn't anything special. They could have ok macaroons but the one time I went they were too old and stale. So I didn't go back. The only decent ones I've had in Seattle are at the French pastry shop at Pike Place….can't remember the name right now. To lazy to look it up. They also have the best Almond Croissants in town, my parents asks first thing to go there when in town.

    Thanks for the heads up about Curio Confections… might have to try it this weekend.

  75. exaclty…people at my work say that the Other Coast's Reuben is the best they have ever had. I haven't tried it but all of thier other sandwiches are GREAT!

  76. It could be a loud place that is true…however the whole DJ comment was just that, something they were thinking about. I'm guessing if they even do it would only be one night a week and maybe for the outside patio or bar.

    Keep in mind as some others have mentioned “DJ” doesn't have to imply loud music where you can't hear yourself.

    A place as classy as this and all the work and money they are putting into it won't make a big mistake like having “club Paris” in the middle of a fine dinning joint.

  77. i always have money and time to spend on irony. there's no better way i'd rather spend either.
    i'm probably more in lone with the caricature of paris than the actuality of it anyway. so clearly, i'm overjoyed.

  79. You're talking to vegetarians, they believe the world must revolve around their choices.

    I like the idea of demanding Carmelita serve escalopes de veau though!

  80. One more time: It's just a suggestion that he have one or two veggie items on his menu. If he doesn't want to do that I'm fine with it. Totally fine. I'll still spend plenty of time at the bar.
    Nobody is 'demanding' anything. Sheesh!

  83. Curio just opened a few weeks ago – so see if you like them (not sure if they always have macaroons but they did the day I went). They also have a bacon croissant which they were out of when I was there – bacon and butter? What could be better?

  84. It's French provencal food…the only vegetarian food will be the wine, so drink up and watch the rest of us slurp up the animal fats, devour the foie gras and binge on the veal.

    A French restaurant is no place for vegetarians or puritans.

  86. Bastille is ruined for me because it is a 300-person restaurant and couldn't leave at least a section of tables available for people when it opened, and then the waitstaff was snooty about it being completely reserved.

    Call me old-fashioned, but I moved to Ballard because I love that it is a true neighborhood. When new restaurants open, they should treat it that way (Ocho does a fantastic job at this despite its popularity).

    When I lived in Venice, CA, the most popular bar always let locals (per zip on license) get in with a friend without waiting in line. Bastille could have done something similar. Perhaps reserving a small section with a waiting list for the locals, is that so hard?

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