I'm something of a geek for niche restaurants, good or bad, and I have a special affinity for the tradition of the centralized department store eatery. It's just a classy and timeless touch you rarely ever see anymore so I was delighted to see them even try the concept.
The highlights: Unshockingly, being a substantial portion of a floor at Nordstrom, the decor is quite lovely. Some of the soft furnishings lean a little further into "bland hotel" than exciting restaurant but the custom fixtures, especially the bar are nicely done. I will say the layout forces the bar itself to protrude awkwardly out onto the sales floor and I don't know, I just wasn't much for my scenic view of the men's underwear section. I felt this was more of a Nordstrom merchandising error than a Bazille layout error however. Consider removing the glass barriers and replacing with relevant merchandise displays to both cordon the area and transition softly into sales-- Housewares, some spatulas, what have you.
The bar itself seemed competently and contemporarily stocked, their consultant knew their stuff. This didn't seem reflected in the staff however. Nothing was "sold" to me, no mention of the cocktail list and only a passing interesting in whether or not I wanted wine. I tend not to fuss about price but I did notice the patron across from me balk at ordering a house Chardonnay and receiving a $13 pour. I get it, we're in Nordstrom, but the food itself wasn't unreasonably priced. When seeing Yealands' Sauv Blanc also at $13 (about a 30% overcharge) I simply wondered if the sticker shock was intentional to deter excess mall drinking?
In fact, the staff overall seemed listless and without direction. I want to be extremely clear-- While I would categorize the service as a hint below mediocre, I don't believe this to be the fault of the waiters/bartenders. When they did interact it was polite and professional. They simply had nothing else to do with only three other patrons at the bar and a completely empty dining room. It's impossible to be engaged in the work when you're bored senseless.
The food needs the most help out of any facet of the experience. The menu almost seemed like it wanted to be small plates or tapas focused which is a brilliant idea for a quick serve, retail centered operation. But there wasn't enough variety in that segment of the menu to really sell it.
I wound up "playing it safe" by ordering Steak Frites which was priced extremely fairly at around $25. Then I saw why. Noticeably undersized portions of totally underwhelming product. I'll grant Steak Frites is typically a smaller, cheaper cut of beef but this was perhaps a four ounce filet, maximum, of something unidentified (I'd guess tenderloin?) accompanied by about a quarter of a potato worth of shoestring fries and a small molehill of baby arugula. While the steak was seasoned very nicely and cooked to my spec, it would only have been "enough" had there been more substance in the sides. The mid-cold, limpid fries of McDonald's quality and almost baffling pile of overdressed arugula just didn't cut it. By the by, hosing down a single green in dressing does not a salad make, fellas.
I went in not particularly hungry and I very rarely order beyond my initial meal but I was simply not satisfied so, while still seated and reading other yelp reviews, I ordered a cup of the crab bisque which all other remarks here highly suggest.
Again, reasonably priced, slightly under portioned, but certainly more attractively plated than the steak with a nice cheese toast lain on top. Unfortunately, while the flavors and construction suggested what could have been a great soup, its inedible saltiness killed it in the cradle. I am a salt guy, believe me, so for me to say it's overboard means it would be enough to induce a stroke in a normal human. This implied to me that the soup was not particularly fresh, perhaps going unsold two days or more slowly reducing in a baine-marie. Even if fresh and simply over salted, either way nobody bothered to taste before service.
In short-- I hit them on a bad night, clearly. I walked away believing that my experience was atypical and a circumstance of the overall blah atmosphere of the evening itself. The impossible to hide flaws in the menu are more damning but I think the bottom line is, if you go in expecting a top tier dining experience, the letdown is your own damn fault. It is firmly a Nordstrom with a restaurant rather than a Bazille that happens to be in a Nordstrom, get it?
And with that in mind, it's passably inoffensive. read more