Blieu Bistro

Not worthy of your patronage

by SeattleRestaurantLover at Citysearch

I would suggest not dining here, unless you want to run the risk of being called a "B*tch."

Yes, I was called that name last night by one of Bleu Bistro's lovely wait staff.

My boyfriend and I walked in to Bleu Bistro last night for a drink at 10:30pm, looking for a place to meet with a couple friends. We walked in after an event, so clad in his slacks and me in my dress, we were dressed for the occasion. When we walked in, we were completely ignored and left standing at the small entrance. After standing there awkwardly for a couple minutes, with no sign up asking not to seat ourselves, my boyfriend and I sat in an unoccupied booth near the front door.

Apparently by sitting there, we exercised a faux pas so atrocious that our water made sure to let us know. This waiter walked around the corner and saw us at the table and said, "Did you want a table?" We said yes, sorry, we sat down here, we didn't realize we needed to wait for someone. At that point he scolded us saying, "You really shouldn't have sat yourselves, we are a restaurant that takes reservations" "I guess since you are already sitting here its fine." He then walked off and came right back with menus. Before even setting them down he said AGAIN, "You really shouldn't have sat yourselves down" then tossed the menus on the table.

At that point, I got mad, I asked him,"do you want to move us somewhere else? Where would you like us to sit." He proceeded to ignore me, wipe the table, and the next words out of his mouth were."Pick those up, PICK THOSE UP" referring to the menus he had just tossed in front of us.

That was the moment where I stood up and I said, "You know what, never mind. We are not going to waste our money here, we will take our business somewhere else if that is how you are going to treat us."

His response as I walked towards the door, "We don't want your business, B*tch"

WOW, classy.

From the moment we met that staff member from the moment we left, he did his best to make us feel as uncomfortable and talk as condescendingly to us as he could. What was our crime? Oops, we sat ourselves because there was no obvious sign saying either way, nor was there anyone at the front of that closet of a restaurant greeting us.

Sorry, we really messed up....

So, to the white, male waiter, clearly in his forties and covering it up with "hip" thick black rimmed glasses, I feel bad for you. There must be something missing in your life for you to lash out at complete strangers. The only thing you have succeeded in doing, is driving away paying patrons from Bleu Bistro who, trust, will tell every single friend and family member not to waste their money there. We live in Seattle, a city with many amazing restaurants to spend money at, and yours will not be a restaurant we will support ever again.

Eavesdropping, making out and great hummus!

by AudreyAudrey , Citysearch Contributor at Citysearch

I don’t go for the food; I go for the eavesdropping and make out possibilities. Don’t get me wrong, the food is good too, but the atmosphere is why I go back. The place feels like a maze of sorts, with curtained off booths hiding among curtained off booths. Some of them are good for snuggling up to your dining companion in the “privacy” of the little booth, and others are so tiny (the two in the hall by the door) involve a lot of awkward knee bumping and trying to figure out where to put your purse when your glass and plate don’t even fit on the table. I’m also a bit of a voyeur and I love that everyone seems to think they are in private so they might talk a bit louder than say, if they could see that I was sitting a mere inch from them rather than being blocked by a curtain that is, surprise, not soundproof. These somewhat louder than average conversations might also be a bit more risqué than if the couple on the other side of the curtain could see me scribbling down notes to try out at home later. Not that I’ve done that…nope, I would never. Ahem. I also go for the STRONG drinks. I’m glad I live only a few blocks from Bleu Bistro so I can have one too many lemon drops (which for me would be 3) and giggly walk the short distance home. I have always loved their very thick drink menu because it seems as though the descriptions are actually someone’s instructions to themselves on how to make it. For example: “Red Wagon Coffee. Start with a clear glass mug with a sweet treat on the side. Garnish with whip cream on top, fill mug with 1 ounce Don Pedro Brandy, ½ ounce St Brendan’s Irish Cream, ½ ounce of Frangelico. Fill with coffee.” Plan on spending some time reading through it while canoodling with your dining mate as that is half the fun. There is also a “lost” item form in the back of the menu that is several pages long, and whether it’s been filled out already or you fill it out while you are there, it is highly entertaining (maybe more so after you have had a drink) to review the questions such as “do you think our employees encouraged you to lose the item in question by plying you with alcohol” or something to that effect. As far as the food goes I tend to always get the same things, I like the Mac and Cheese, the Wasabi Grilled Cheese and the Stelter Salad is a must have for me as their hummus is my favorite hummus of all time. The Herb Cheese and Pears makes quite a spread and is fun to share if you have a few friends with you. But like I said, it’s really the making out and eavesdropping I enjoy the most.

• Pros: "private" booths, strong drinks, cheap fare

place to have an intimate conversation

by CantNotShop at Citysearch

As far as i'm concerned, Bleu Bistro has nearly everything going for it.

They used the french spelling of blue. They have a vast cocktail menu. They have a decent vegetarian selection (please note, *I* am not the vegetarian, The Boyfriend is and it's nice to find a place that can cater to the both of us). Last but definitely not least, when you sit down you kind of feel like you're in a private dining room. Each table is essentially its own secluded alcove complete with curtains you can draw to ensure your secret spy mission debrief is secure/sweet or dirty nothings whispered in your lover's ear stays in your lover's ear/giggles that you actually pulled the curtain closed to make other people think you're up to something don't travel so far as to make the other patrons actually just think you're crazy.

• Pros: cozy atmosphere
• Cons: parking

When they say they have strong drinks, they mean it!

by bryanje at Citysearch

I went here last night for my birthday, we got a table right away (one they call the cave zone) but the people that came in behind us didn't have such an easy time. Past reviews have said this place is cramped and dimly lit...they weren't kidding. In the "cave zone" was the smallest table you've ever seen in your life and a single tiny table lamp...thats it. I could barely see my boyfriend sitting across from this child sized table of ours. Not saying thats a bad thing, it totally worked, It was super romantic and super secluded. The cave zone is great if you really want some privacy but if you're 6ft tall 250 pounds, like my poor boyfriend, this is not the table for you. Our food and drinks came promptly. We started off with the bunny wraps (feta cheese with salsa in a wrap) and it was amazing! A must try. Almost as soon as we were done with that our salads arrived, then our food following shortly after. The first drink I tried was called shake that a**, with a blend of triple sec, sweet and sour, banana liquer, blue caraco and orange juice. Super freaking good! Then I moved on to the long island ice tea, now knowing this drink was strong I decided to end the night with it, but I was unaware of just how strong it would be. First of all they bring it to you in a huge beer mug, not a tall slender glass, and its quite possibly the strongest drink I've ever had. I reccomend not ordering this if you do not want to get wasted. You definately get your monies worth on this drink. The prices at bleu bistro are a bit pricey but trust you me, the food and the drink are far worth it. This place was amazing! I will for sure be going here again.

Oh and as for the cameras, the cave zone doesn't have one. (tee hee) I really reccomend trying that table out if you're looking to have a (private) good time.

• Pros: Strong drinks, curtained nooks and good times
• Cons: Your mom

three words: wasabi grilled cheese.

by tarartrat at Citysearch

Bleu Bistro has that fort-made-out-of- chairs-and- blankets feel to it, which is probably the main reason why this place is totally great, was even better when it had those claustrophobic multi-level cubbyholes, but still- it is like a parallel universe of comfort food and everything you would ever want to drink, including chartreuse-

• Pros: cozy, can I say "magical" atmosphere-?
• Cons: not for claustrophobes