First Look: RN74

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Burgundy-inspired wine bar RN74 made its Seattle debut this week, following in the footsteps of the original RN74 located in San Francisco’s financial district.

The concept is an interesting one, where wine is king and all other food and drinks play second fiddle.  Note:  Second fiddle does not mean sub par, though.  This place is targeting perfection.  The menu looks enticing albeit slightly different than the food repertoire in San Francisco to align with what’s seasonal in the Pacific Northwest.  Bar bites that draw my attention are fondue, pomme frites, and the Painted Hills burger.

My only apprehension with this wine bar named after Route National 74 – a national highway route in the Burgundy, France region – is discovering RN74 decided to set up shop smack dab in downtown Seattle on 4th/Pike.  I immediately fear the joint will be devoid of any neighborhood charm.  The space, in the newly renovated Joshua Green Building, used to be a Walgreen’s where I would mundanely pick up my cotton swabs and toothpaste back in the day.

I walk in and am immediately surprised about the coziness of the place – Old school booths with dim overhead lighting take over the entire front part of the joint.  The middle layer is the bar, and then the back is a group of tables for diners (which I am guessing has a full dinner menu).

RN74 is definitely going for a European train style design which mostly works with some quirks (my friend notes the stop lights and lanterns randomly strewn in the front of the joint vaguely bear a slight resemblance to a TGI Fridays, but that small detail is superseded by the decor of the rest of the place).

My friends and I grab half of a c-shaped “good ol’ boy’s” feeling booth and start to comfortably settle in.  Our server is energetic, cute and eagerly rattles off a number of facts about the place:

• There is a real Italian train board in the back of the restaurant, which show the last of each rare bottle in the cellar.  Once someone orders that bottle, the board in real time automatically shuffles to the next rare bottle on the list.  The rare bottles range I see at the moment range  from $39 – $260.
• They are out of their signature mussel souffle, although it is not to be missed.  The mussels are from Bow, Washington’s Taylor Shellfish Farm and when served, the staff burrows a hole in the fluffy concoction and then pour chardonnay-saffron cream into it.
• Come back and check out their lunch menu.  Apparently, they have a tuna nicoise to die for.
• There is an on site sommelier who can give us the skinny on everything and help us order.

We take her up on her offer and within two short minutes the sommelier appears.  He starts by walking us through how the menu is situated (it is over 20 pages):  By type of wine, region.  They have 1,000 wine selections at the moment originating from Washington, Oregon, Europe, New Zealand, and more.  We tell our youthful sommelier what we are craving:  Champagne with a fresh aftertaste for me and an earthy red for my two companions.

Like any good sommelier, he gives me two options with concise and elaborate description of each one – its origin, trademarks of its taste.  I choose a glass of the Legras Ey Hass Blanc de Blancs, NV.  One sip of my bubbly and I immediately recognize it is the best champagne to ever touch my lips.  I refer back to the menu to jot down the name of the liquid treat so I remember to order it again next time and see its price tag – $25.  Wow.  I think it is totally worth it and would probably order it again and bypass the less expensive champagne choices on the menu.

My friends choose a syrah from the Rhone region’s Saint Joseph winery.  The sommelier decants their wine and proceeds to tell us about the region and the terroir of the drinks we have selected.  I start asking a few more questions and our sommelier’s enthusiasm and approachability are apparent.  He proceeds to sit down at a chair across from us as if we are hanging out in a friend’s living room and busts out a ton of interesting information about the wine, the Burgundy region, and about the origin of RN74. He tells us Seattle is actually near and dear to the brainchild of RN74 and James Beard award winning Michael Mina’s heart as the chef grew up in central Washington’s Ellensburg and attended University of Washington before heading to culinary school.

I am learning so much it is making me hungry.  Last call is midnight and we attempt to order the beignets with salted caramel and Macallan 12 butterscotch as we get a whiff of someone’s order, but we find they are sold out.

Aside from selling out of beignets, I see no traces of RN74 as a fledgling new restaurant that is less than a week old. Oftentimes, I notice it takes a while for a new business to get their shiznit sorted out and the first month or two can be shaky in service or quality.  Not here.  I feel like they have been in operations for years.

So, is RN74 devoid of the charm and authenticity you see in neighborhood bars such as Frank’s Oyster House or SAMBAR?  With a staff this friendly – No.  The staff lacks a unified look (preppy East Coast meets young rocker chick), but they share one commonality that is critical – enthusiasm and personality.

I think the only drawback for enticing local Seattle-ites to visit RN74 could be the waves of tourists and bachelorette parties from far-reaching suburbs who I reckon will be drawn to RN74′s location and set-up.  The long booths and communal tables are conducive for big parties and the extensive wine list (ranging from moderate to $2,000 bottle of wine) make it a natural selection for celebrations, but have potential to compromise on factors usch as intimacy and familiarity that keep regulars coming back.

Throughout the night, we witness prime-time people watching –  Bachelorette party with scantily dressed girls cycle through only to be replaced by a group of men celebrating something (?) – Loss of virginity, perhaps?

I also note the presence of  a number of local wine enthusiasts and the crew from Mistral restaurant popping in for a drink.

It will be interesting to see if the Seattle branch of this wine bar will draw in a cohesive group of wine enthusiast regulars.

Will I go back?  Yes.  I don’t know if I will be a RN74 groupie, but I could see myself stopping in for happy hour or late night drinks every now and again.  But I probably won’t find myself ordering the $2,000 bottle of wine.