After a quest to crowdfund a new gourmet restaurant on Capitol Hill didn’t pan out, the right hand man of one of Seattle’s kitchen legends decided to stick to his home turf to open one of the more creative additions to Seattle fine dining to open in the city this year.
Chef Rob Sevcik has opened Petite Galerie in Madison Valley, putting a former chocolate shop to work as “a ‘studio’ where he and his staff could spend their days creating new dishes and working with ingredients to explore taste, texture and food.”
Petite Galerie is an elegant, $$$ experience full of intricate work and creative details that make the small restaurant feel like a $$$$ joint. Part of that is Sevcik’s dedication to “petite cuisine” — small, elegant plates that will fill your senses as much as your gut. “Expect high quality, seasonally appropriate food with a focus on excellent technique and ingredients showcasing French-influenced New American cuisine,” the marketing reads.
CHS first wrote about Sevcik in 2016 as he kicked off his ultimately unsuccessful effort to crowdfund a new restaurant on Capitol Hill. Sevcik was the chef de cuisine at Thierry Rautureau’s Madison Valley classic Rover’s for a decade before branching out on his own.
His Petite Galerie menu is divided into four segments with daily changing ingredients: Land (meat), Sea (seafood), Earth (veggies) and Heaven (sweets). Given his experience in the industry, Sevcik was also bold about his opening, debuting with lunch right from the start — a move first-time restaurateurs often save for later once they have their feet under them.
The lunch menu of “open-faced gourmet sandwiches, homemade soups and slow-cooked comfort food, as well as lighter fare such as salads, seasonal quiche and chilled seafood” seems worth a trip down to Madison Valley, perhaps paired with a visit to the new Arboretum Loop Trail.
With a dedication to things small, Petite Galerie is an exhibition of of why, sometimes, the best art needs limits. The plan for a “gourmet restaurant” on Capitol Hill didn’t work out. But maybe Sevcik can get bigger things done in Madison Valley. And, if he does decide he needs a bigger space, maybe he’ll find a vacancy soon in the area.
Petite Galerie is located at 3131 E Madison. Hours are Monday to Friday for lunch from 11 AM to 2 PM; dinner is served Tuesday to Saturday with the first seating at 5 PM and last seating at 9:30 PM. The restaurant is closed on Sunday. To learn more visit petitegalerie-seattle.com.
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Oh God, another precious restaurant charging too much for tiny vegetables and mesclun. I’m over it.
Maybe, but have you actually been there? If not, I think you should with hold judgment.