Artisanal Brasserie and Artisanal Table
The Shops at the Bravern, 11111 N.E. 8th St., Bellevue
The Artisanal Table and Wine Bar, 425.372.2200; The Artisanal Table, 425.372.2222, artisanalwa.com
Artisanal Brasserie Hours:
Lunch: Monday to Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Brunch: Saturday and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Dinner: Sunday and Monday, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Tuesday to Thursday, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.; happy hour: Seven days a week, 3 to 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. to close.
Artisanal Table Hours:
All-day menu: Monday to Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; happy hour: Seven days a week, 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
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Terrance Brennan is jovial and friendly, full of personality. This is a man who frequently charms viewers with appearances on “The Today Show” and more. His warm and inviting smile radiates as he welcomes guests at Artisanal Brasserie and Wine Bar at the Bravern in Bellevue. But in the kitchen, Brennan is all business.
He moves about with ease, delivering sharp orders to his staff as they listen with rapt attention. To the casual eye, his kitchen is large and industrial. It almost sparkles. But Brennan knows better. Some of his sauté pans are not detailed to his liking. Little steps and processes don’t match up to his meticulous expectations. This rigorous attention to detail is part of what made it possible for the celebrated New York chef to open not one, but two restaurants on the same day at the Bravern — The Artisanal Brasserie and Wine Bar and The Artisanal Table, a Neapolitan pizza restaurant next door.
“Restaurants notoriously are known for not opening up on time. These restaurants were literally built from slab four months and one week to the day we opened. Everything was custom made, and so it was quite a feat … what’s really astounding from the team’s perspective is that we opened up two restaurants in one day,” said Brennan.
When he opens a new place, Brennan usually starts with serving just dinner, six days a week. Artisanal Brasserie and the Artisanal Table opened to the public fully, serving lunch and dinner (the Brasserie serves brunch on Saturday and Sunday) seven days a week.
Brennan, like any other good chef/owner of a restaurant, wants this place to succeed. “I don’t take opening up a restaurant lightly. I’m not just wanting to put my name up on this place. I really want to share something new with the people out here,” he said.
At first, Brennan was in town once every other week. He spends time in the area now once a month, making sure his ship is sailing smoothly. He’s charged Seis Kamimura, former executive chef of BOKA in Seattle and the now-closed Postria in San Francisco, as his executive chef.
A brasserie is larger than a café or bistro — but they offer a more casual feel than a fine dining establishment. The menus are more expansive than a café or bistro, and Artisanal’s doesn’t disappoint. Guests at Artisanal can be familiar with French cuisine, or not. There’s plenty of room to savor old favorites or to be adventurous with something new.
Start with a rich foie gras tourchon with confit, salad and cider (tourchon, a French word for towel, also describes this dish’s preparation — the foie gras is cooked, usually poached, with a towel wrapped around it). If foie gras doesn’t do it for you, try the cheese tempura. Can’t go wrong with fried cheese, right? Comte, a French cheese, has complex flavors — nutty with a hint of caramel. The battered cheese is deep-fried and served on a stick (think fried cheese lollipop).
For dinner, try one of Brennan’s signature dishes, the diver scallops with blood orange grenobloise (a sauce usually made with brown butter, capers, parsley and lemon juice) and cauliflower mouselline (think whipped cauliflower, but light and airy). The grenobloise is tart, but a note of sweetness from the blood oranges play well the sea-sweet taste of the scallops.
The classic chicken under the brick, served over a pommes puree and sweet garlic jus, is cooked flawlessly at Artisanal. The crisp skin crunches into moist, flavorful meat. If you’re into steak, go for the cote du boeuf for two. The preparation is stunning and taste is spot-on. The cote du boeuf comes with a shallot confit, béarnaise sauce and bourdelaise sauce so you can flavor to your liking.
Your experience wouldn’t be complete without something sweet. Housemade desserts like crème brulee, cheesecake, ice cream and sorbet are the perfect end to a delicious meal. Chocolate fondue for two is a crowd-pleaser.
Although the menu is French-inspired, Brennan wanted to keep his ingredients as local as possible.
“I want to use local fish, the salmon, halibut, etcetera,” he said. Brennan loves the selection of shellfish in the Northwest, but is considering bringing some fresh fish in from the East Coast because he finds the fish selection somewhat limited here because of the West coast’s seasonal availability.
“One of my signature dishes on the East Coast is skate wing, but we don’t have it out here. So I’m considering introducing some new things to the Northwest. Why not bring monkfish, why not bring skate — give diners something new?”
The Artisanal Brasserie and Wine Bar in Bellevue is based on Brennan’s Artisanal Fromagerie, Bistro and Wine Bar in New York. As such, he’s taken special care to bring his knowledge of artisanal cheese to Bellevue. Diners in the Northwest aren’t strangers to artisanal cheese, especially within the last few years, with local creameries like Estrella Family, Rogue and Mt. Townsend (all of which are on the cheese menu) growing in prominence. If cheese is your thing, sidle up to the cheese bar (think sushi bar, with hundreds of artisanal cheeses for your viewing, and smelling pleasure). Chat with friendly fromagiers Krista McCorkle Davis or Alysson Wilson about all things nutty, sweet, musty, earthy, sharp and buttery.
Artisanal offers wine and cheese classes and other events to guests, but Brennan wants Artisanal to become part of the Bellevue community. He hopes to get involved with some local partnerships to help out where they can. So far, Brennan has found success in Bellevue with Artisanal Brasserie and Wine Bar and The Artisanal Table.
“I was pleasantly surprised at the reception here,” he said. “It’s almost as if they were grateful, and I’m grateful to them to come to my restaurant. We’ve had plenty of repeat business. To see someone to come in for lunch and I chat with them, and to see them again a few nights later with a party of four is really special.”
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