The Room
Thierry Rautureau — James Beard Best Chef Northwest, formerly the chef-owner of Rover's — opened Loulay in 2013 as his downtown Seattle French dining room. The room is intentionally formal-French in the senior-American-restaurant tradition: white-tablecloth, leather banquettes, a long bar at the front, hand-painted French murals.
The Seattle Times review has held Loulay in its top-French-restaurant rankings every year of operation. The booking window has held at one to two weeks for weekend two-tops.
The Food
The menu is brasserie-classic with fine-dining technique. Escargots, country-style pâté, steak frites, Dover sole meunière, duck à l'orange — the canon executed at a level few American French restaurants currently manage. The three-course prix-fixe at $75 is the order for a first visit.
Wine programme runs French — Bordeaux, Burgundy, Loire, Rhône — with a Champagne by-the-glass programme. Cocktail bench is classic-French. Service is brigade-French in rhythm.
Best Occasion Fit
Close a Deal: Loulay is the downtown alternative to a steakhouse for a deal that wants the room to read as French-classic rather than American-classic. The booth tables are quiet, the Bordeaux programme is the closer.
Birthday: Birthdays at Loulay are formal, French-classic, candle-on-the-tarte-tatin affairs the room has hosted for over a decade.
Impress Clients: International visitors recognise Rautureau's name and the French-fine-dining language immediately.