Bastille Cafe & Bar opens in Old Ballard

Update: Bastille Cafe & Bar, the much-anticipated French restaurant on Ballard Avenue, opened Monday evening to a good crowd.

Chef Shannon Galusha has put together a mouth-watering menu with a French lesson or two thrown in. The “Salade Du Toit” ($8) definition explains that “toit” is French for “roof,” and the fresh greens come from planter boxes on Bastille’s roof (shown here). “We strive to use locally sourced ingredients, and this is as local as it gets,” the menu reads. The menu includes the traditional Salade Nicoise ($14), a Charcuterie Plate (cured meats, rillettes, oil-preserved olives and baguette, $14), Braised Lamb Shank ($19), Soupe de Poisson ($22) and several meatless dishes, to just name a few.

Quite a few people enjoyed the beautiful evening on the Bastille patio.

They’re already taking reservations online through opentable.com. Of course it’s not a French restaurant without frites, so stop by the back take-out window next Sunday during the Farmers Market and pick up some free frites.