What is a bistro? The dictionary defines a bistro as, “a small, modest, European-style restaurant or cafe”. In my mind I see many of the locally owned Seattle coffee shops as being more like a bistro than most restaurants that label themselves with the term. I picture a small kitchen with a limited menu and a few tables scattered in a cramped dining room and several more dotting the sidewalk out front. I also imagine the entrees to fall into the everyday affordable category price-wise. But what I’ve never imagined as a true bistro was a restaurant like 1200 Bistro on Capitol Hill.

This is not to say that 1200 Bistro is not small. There was a cramped little bar area up front and just beyond a main dining area with seating for maybe twenty-five people. I was lucky enough to arrive early and snag a seat in one of the window boxes built to cloister couples. I was alone but soon after my arrival a couple of larger groups of individuals showed up for dinner. While they drew most of my server’s attention and I was afraid that I would be neglected; I was fortunate that, while I did have to wait on some things, most waits were fairly brief. During my waits I was able to enjoy the foot traffic just inches away from my seat and the muted colors of the interior that reminded me, in some sense, of a jazz club.

Once my order was placed from the short menu though, it took no time at all for my dinner to arrive. Out of the handful of choices I decided upon the full order of Bison Meatballs and Orecchiette Pasta ($12.00 Half, $23.00 Full). I was later to lament my mistake. Not due to the meal itself. No, for the meatballs were incredibly soft amount to nothing more than bison meat, sage and other spices. While many times ordering meatballs amounts to little balls of bread dough the fine, slightly chewy meat was allowed to hold itself and it seasonings together out of its own will. This will was easily separated with the edge of a fork as I split a meatball in two and speared it along with a couple of flags of chopped kale. Dipped in some of the gravy-like broth the intense beefy flavor of meatball was coated with a rich, buttery liquid that was punctuated by a slight peppery tingle from the kale. Mounded in the middle was a composition of tiny ear pasta and chewy, woody wild mushrooms. The contrast with the tenderness of the bison was like night and day; the flavors were just as intense. The entire dish was a harmonious balance between the slight sweet and slightly spicy to rich, buttery and bison that was more beefy in flavor than most beef. But my lament was as I reached the halfway mark in my dinner, for I found myself full. For most appetites, and I consider mine to be on the large end of the scale, a half order will more than suffice. One benefit to all this though is that I have leftovers for another time.

There have been many times that I’ve walked by 1200 Bistro in the past and you may ask, “Why?” Well the simple fact is price. While my dinner was full of flavor and thoroughly enjoyed, I just couldn’t get past the pricing. Twenty-three dollars for pasta and meatballs, to me, is a bit much. And on past occasions with others at my side we’ve passed by 1200 Bistro for being too pricey for just a quick dinner. That to me is a shame because I think of a bistro as being just the place to stop in for a quick meal before a movie or the theater. Unfortunately I can only recommend them as a special occasion restaurant.