MAXIMILIEN, Seattle There are many reasons why Maximilien is one of downtown's most romantic restaurants, starting with its attractive location. The restaurant is tucked away in a quiet corner of PIKE PLACE MARKET (see Outdoor Kissing), so you can escape the crowds but still experience the vitality of this popular Seattle attraction. Inside, you are greeted by a panorama that takes in Puget Sound, Elliott Bay, West Seattle, and the Olympic Mountains, all framed by huge picture windows. Seen at the right time-during a summer's sunset or a sudden rainstorm-the view could even be called sublime.
Recent renovations have given new luster to the wood floors and a deeper hue to the green walls, which are hung with an imaginative variety of antique mirrors. Small tables covered in crisp white linens are brightened by fresh rosebuds and flickering candles. Second-floor seating offers more astounding views and the same intimate setting. The service is low-key, friendly, and not the least bit pretentious.
Unsurprisingly, considering the culinary bounty available at the Pike Place Market, the food is farm fresh and presented with wonderful panache. Vegetables, meats, and seafood are color-coordinated with garnishes and sauces. Start off with puff pastry stuffed with crab and Brie, or escargot with wild mushrooms. Among the entrees, bouillabaisse is a favorite, as is the assortment of seafood infused with herbs and wrapped in parchment paper. The restaurant also serves an excellent roast pork with sauteed apples and a beef tenderloin with foie gras and truffle sauce. Ice cream-filled cream puffs drizzled with chocolate end the meal on a sweet note. |TOP|

This Week's Happy Hour
by D. Parvaz
Published 09/09/2005

HOURS: 5-7 p.m. daily, upstairs in the bar and lounge

THE SETUP: A $2.95-per-item happy-hour menu that's small, but nevertheless takes you from starters to dessert.

LIBATIONS: Featured red and white wines go for $4 a pop; beers for $2.95. Also on the menu is a French Martini (vodka with pineapple and cranberry juices) for $4.

WHAT'S GOOD: What isn't? The brie and tomato Tarte Flambe was light and crispy; the Belgium Fries, while meager in serving, were delightful, and the big bowl of Moules Mariniere (mussels steamed with butter, white wine, shallots, garlic and parsley) made us swoon. And the mango sorbet -- oy!

THE SCENE: Stunning view and great service. Casual enough for apres-work drinks, yet plenty stylish for a hot date.

SMOKING: Yes, at the bar only. |TOP|

What's Doing In; Seattle
by Timothy Egan
Published 04/09/2004 - Travel Section

With views of ferries on Puget Sound in the heart of the raucous nine-acre Pike Place Market, Maximilien, 81A Pike Street, (206) 682-7270, serves French-Northwest fare, which is to say seafood with sauces that are no strangers to butter. Mussels are a favorite; dinner for two, without drinks, is about $45. Lunch and dinner, Tuesday through Saturday; brunch Sunday. |TOP|

Dining Guide 2004
The narrow passageway that leads to Maximilien is lined with framed reviews declaring it a great place to kiss: a love nest with a view. But when you aren’t necking mid–hors d’oeuvre or gazing glassily upon the water, the kitchen provides sex appeal and pleasant vistas aplenty. The Dungeness crab parfait is a dollop of luscious crab salad finished with chunks of Granny Smith apple and shaved fennel. Papillote de cabillaud aux herbes fraîches (cod in parchment paper with herbs) is like a culinary birthday present; your server might ceremoniously slice the paper to release great plumes of aromatic steam, only to remark, "I just love that smell!" As you eat, you may overhear a suited squadron of traveling businessmen armchair-coach last night’s Red Sox game-until their mussels Provençale and cassoulet arrive. Then a satisfied quiet suffuses the place as the dark bay water glimmers with ferry lights. |TOP|

Restaurant Review
This cozy bistro has been around a lot longer than some of its "in the Market" counterparts, and it’s an experience to be savored. Forget the hype, leave your furs at home, and enjoy a selection of bistro classics while you gaze down upon departing ferries, the Sound, and a few nifty penthouses. Bathed in natural wood and dark green and accented with mirrors, soft lighting, and flowers, Maximilien has all the old-world charm of any hideaway in Paris. To start, try the escargot, cooked in ramekins with garlic butter and parsley; or the French onion soup, a perennial specialty here. Entrees change frequently, but sure bets include the seasonal game (a recent rabbit served over Napa cabbage and the squab with foie gras and Madeira demi-glace were excellent), the tomato-saffron bouillabaisse, wonderful salads, and a creme brulee that is next to perfection. Most of the staff are native French speakers, so be prepared to say "please" and "thank you" like they do. |TOP|

By Nancy Leson
Published: Feb. 15, 2001

Been around a while? You've probably eaten at Maximilien. Tap your brain and you'll likely dislodge flashbacks of brunches past, hours spent lingering over an omelet and a glass of wine, a croque monsieur and endless cups of cream-laced coffee. Perhaps you were once a regular, paying homage to tiny, tender snails and a heart-breaking view of Elliott Bay, visible from every creaky, mismatched wooden seat in the house.

Come back and you'll find your memories intact, though Maximilien now has "new" owners, host Axel Macé and chef Eric Francy. These former employees bought the French café in 1997 when proprietors Francois and Julia Kissel bid Pike Place Market au revoir. Never been? Then you may be surprised to learn that Maximilien has been holding court for more than 20 years, hidden down the corridor under the Market clock, just to the left of Don & Joe's Meats.

Once the definitive answer to the French food question, this unpretentious café quietly suffers from proximity to several higher profile French-accented restaurants (five of them within a two-block radius). With its classic French menu shamelessly adrift in butter and cream, a soundtrack courtesy of Edith Piaf and Jacques Brel and clientele convinced that black clothing is meant only for occasions elegant or funereal, Maximilien could easily be considered - oh, let's face it - a dowager by comparison.

So, why go?

Because age deserves respect! Because frogs have legs! Because Macé and Francy are not faking those accents and because our memories of Seattle's legendary restaurants are fast becoming nothing more than that: fond memories. Coupled with the view, each of these reasons is enough to support the young Frenchmen's efforts. But I'll give you another, anyway: lunch.

Remember lunch? That mid-day favorite of the Ladies Who? That former venue for the three-martini? That enviable excuse to meet your mate and make out (here, at least) over a massive mound of moules marinière ($11.95)? Well, the time has come to resurrect that pastime, and this is the place to do so. Ditch the cup o' noodles. Say ba-bye to Briazz. Play hooky. Make an afternoon of it. That way you won't feel guilty about having "dinner" for lunch. A swell idea since dinner for two (which must start with the fabulous $14 frogs legs or you're missing the point entirely) can swing into the $100 range long before you can say, "I'll have a cognac and a crème brulée."

Go ahead. Have a cognac and a crème brulée. But have it after lunching on a generous seafood salad ($11.50) or tender-breasted chicken ($12) whose luxurious, butter-drenched pan jus earned me two nights in Weight Watchers criminal court. Oh, arrest me! Just bring along more of those slender fries to swipe the excess sauce and ease my pain. And while you're at it, how about another round of oysters Rockefeller ($8.75)? Each briny shucker is gentled to perfection - and not overwhelmed by - the finest dice of bacon and onion, a kiss of butter and a barely wilted robe of spinach.

Chef Francy doesn't toy with tradition. If you crave classic French simplicity - say, garlicky escargot à la Bourguignonne ($8), beefy, Gruyère-draped soupe à l'onion ($3.50/$6.50) or grilled chicken and brie on baguette ($9.75) - come and get it. Each is available at lunch and on the bistro menu served during dinner hours in the cozy upstairs bar. Daffy for duck? Then treat yourself to crisp-skinned, silk-centered duck confit à la sarladaise ($19.75), the meat artfully preserved in its own fat and roasted to perfection. Available at both lunch (where it tops out the menu, pricewise) and dinner (where it rests on the low end), the duck sits astride a bed of tiny lentils, surrounded by potatoes crisped in precious duck fat.

Many dinner menu items appear on the lunch menu at less inflated prices. As for those that don't, take a look and you won't have to be told that the chef is a native of Southwest France, where foie gras is one of the four food groups. He presents the luscious liver on its own as an appetizer ($17), as stuffing for game birds (pheasant, $26, and quail, $22) and as accompaniment to sea scallops ($29) and tenderloin of beef ($30). See you at the cardiologists. See you here for lunch. |TOP|