Corbeau
Modern French restaurant · Tacoma ·
Updated French classics, wine and cocktails in elegant bistro
Updated French classics, wine and cocktails in elegant bistro
"Some local French restaurants can tip into theme-park territory (cue the “La Vie en Rose” soundtrack and Eiffel Tower knickknacks). But not here. Corbeau skips the gimmicks and lets the food do all the talking in a Parisian accent, convincing you that you’re at a boisterous bistro in the 11th arrondissement, by way of Tacoma. The menu makes it easy to plot your meal (we’d like to formally encourage more restaurants to dedicate entire sections to fried potatoes). Order something from each part, then prepare to be wowed by chic china that makes even a bowl of well-pickled vegetables into fine art. Steak frites get an herby chimichurri upgrade, and wonderful tomato toast arrives stacked with heirloom tomatoes in every color of the sunset. Corbeau works for nearly any dining scenario. A date night can unfold at the bar with front-row views of the open kitchen. Groups can sit and stay awhile among the deep cobalt blue walls of the dining room. And a solo diner can comfortably settle into a corner table by the window, swirling a red blend somewhere between “natty” and “powerful” on the wine list’s clever XY-axis flavor chart. RESERVE A TABLE WITH RESERVE A TABLE Food Rundown Pickle Plate This collection changes each season, but you’ll see things like sea asparagus, carrots, and fennel. The pickled vegetables have a puckering punch and herby brine without leaning too vinegary. photo credit: Kayla Sager-Riley Tomato Toast Plump tomatoes do most of the heavy lifting here, but the velvety house-made ricotta, zing of chive slivers, and a few flecks of flaky salt hold their own. photo credit: Nate Watters Steak Frites Lots of garlic and herbs in the neon green chimichurri cuts through the meatness of rare steak. And it tastes delicious, especially with a creamy smear of garlicky mayo (no steak frites dish is complete without it). The beef-fat fries are perfectly golden, and even though some get almost too crisp, we don't mind. photo credit: Nate Watters Salt & Vinegar Mochi Beignets At first, these beignets sound totally wacky, but just wacky enough that you have to order them. The mochi flour gives them a bouncy, stretchy texture with waffle-like, frizzled edges. The salt-and-vinegar flavor is mild, similar to a seasoned potato chip, with a little tarragon cream and powdered sugar to balance the sour. photo credit: Nate Watters" - Kayla Sager-Riley
"Following the closure of the Table, Tacoma’s famed James Beard-nominated restaurant, this “Franco-Tacoman” brasserie is the new project of two Table alumni: former chef de cuisine Craig Tronset and sommelier Trevor Hamilton. Also a veteran of Seattle’s Bastille (RIP), Tronset has toned his chops down a little on this accessible French-ish menu, full of updated countryside faves. The mushroom cassoulet with a sunny egg and the sablefish with charred radicchio and black garlic molasses are comfort food as all hell, while the croque madame and the skillet-fried pork collar with white beans and za’atar is a page out of Jacques Pepin’s diary. It’s all complemented by Hamilton’s thoughtful, mostly French wine program; he also runs the Crowfriends Wine Club from Corbeau. Meanwhile Megan Henson is doing fascinating things behind the bar, e.g., the Dr. Jacoby (Condesa Oaxacan gin, pear brandy, génépy, Cocchi Americano, orange bitters, lemon oil)." - Meg van Huygen
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