Gastronomically and economically, Seattle’s casual French cafés are more satisfying than the few pricey special-occasion spots in this genre. In fact, overall, we prefer sister space Café Campagne to this, its fancier older sibling.

But Campagne really dials in the effortless sophistication that we could use more of in this town, and it’s nice to travel back in time to when creating an upmarket feel didn’t require much more than a few white tablecloths and professional (i.e. not overly chatty) service. Campagne’s small bar and café tables draped in starched white are attractive enough, but the main focus of the room is the view. At night, city lights reflect in the water of Puget Sound.

French classics are consistently strong here, especially if they involve steak: a petite rib eye with marrow bones, frites, and red wine jus, for example, is right on the money (and we mean money—it’s priced in the stratosphere). The more experimental inclusions of Pacific Northwest ingredients or global influences are more hit-or-miss, but the hits—oysters and duck confit in harissa, for example—are of the kind that indelibly imprint themselves on your brain and palate.

The quality of Campagne’s wine list has varied greatly over the past few years, but at press time, it seemed to be back on an upward swing.