Food & Drink
Restaurant Review: Capitol Hill’s La Bete
A gorgeous reclaiming of the old Chez Gaudy, with carefully prepared, exceptionally good food.
By Seattle Mag January 21, 2011
This article originally appeared in the January 2011 issue of Seattle magazine.
If you ever found your way into Chez Gaudy—down the shadowy hallway and through the small rooms decorated in college-rental fashion—you won’t believe how elegant La Bête is.
Against all odds, the same Capitol Hill space that was Chez Gaudy for five years is now beautiful: The long black walnut bar is polished to a warm glow. Wrought-iron accents add elegance. And with so much space between and around the tables, diners may feel spoiled.
Smart choices are apparent throughout the menu of chefs/owners Tyler Moritz and Aleks Dimitrijevic, and there are scene stealers aplenty: a warm, heavenly popover (spiked with blue cheese and onion jam) accenting a velvety kabocha squash soup ($9); sautéed chanterelles playing sidekick to a perfectly poached duck egg and raising the dish to a new level ($12). Moritz and Dimitrijevic compose their plates with artful touches, such as “blueberry” grapes that pop up around spoonably tender beef cheeks ($18).
Even pork rinds ($5)—snap-crackle-popping from the fryer, with pickled shallots to tame the fat—are better than they have any right to be. I’m impressed.
Brunch Sat.–Sun., dinner Tue.–Sat. Capitol Hill, 1802 Bellevue Ave.; 206.329.4047.labeteseattle.com. $$