Cafe Presse, a new French cafe from Le Pichet owners, Joanne Herron and Jim Drohman, opened for business this week, and I couldn’t be happier about it. Cafe Presse is the latest addition to 12th Avenue in the Seattle University neighborhood. This is a really hip area right now. Foodie hotspots Lark, Licorous, Crave, and Osteria La Spiga have all made their homes here in recent years. The owners of Cafe Presse wanted to create a really casual space where people could stop by and sample some French wines, meet up with friends for a few bites of food, or simply read the morning paper over a cup of Cafe Vita coffee (Cafe Presse is also a newsstand offering international magazines and newspapers.) I love that sort of unstructured style, less of a restaurant and more of a hangout where people are allowed to linger a while. If it stays as busy as it was last night, however, it may have a hard time becoming the “alternative living room” that the owners were striving for.

The interior of Cafe Presse has an understated elegance to it. Pretty pale blue wallpaper lines one wall; exposed brick comprises the opposite wall. It is decorated functionally with wine racks and shelves of glassware. High ceilings, tall windows and a huge skylight result in a light, airy atmosphere. There are about 15 tables in the front room with additional seating at the long bar and another small bar with seating at the front window. There is also a back room with more tables.

The menu is broken down into small plates, salads, charcuterie and a short list of entrees. I went with a classic, Salade Nicoise. Robert ordered straight off the small plate menu: baguette sandwich with cured ham, pomme frites and an arugula salad. The baguette sandwiches here aren’t piled high like American sandwiches; instead you get a very slender baguette topped with a bit of mustard and the meat of your choice. Robert really liked his. The pomme frites could have been crisper, but they were tasty anyway. My salad was very good. The tuna was so soft and flavorful. I have a feeling they weren’t using Bumblebee. Even the anchovies were meatier and better than the ones I normally have. Aside from ingredients typically found in Salade Nicoise - tomatoes, potatoes, olives, and boiled eggs - my salad also came sprinkled with tiny chickpeas. An unexpected treat.

Although it just opened, there are already a few things that I’m loving about Cafe Presse. One, the food is all very good. Two, the hours are easy to remember: 7AM to 2AM every single day. Three, the menu is the same all day long. If you want an omelet for dinner, no problem. If you want pan-fried fish over lentils for breakfast, go for it. Finally, and this is a biggie, the prices are totally reasonable, especially given the quality of the food. Small plates run from $3 to $7, salads are $4, and entrees are typically between $12 to $15. Wines are an even better deal. You can order any wine off the list by the glass, demi-pichet (pitcher), pichet, or bottle. We had the most expensive wine, a Sauvignon Blanc from Touraine (in keeping with my Loire Valley theme this week), which was $5 per glass. The other wines on the list were either $3.50 or $4 per glass. $3.50! For a glass of wine! That’s insanely cheap. Let’s see…inexpensive French wines, available by the glass, 5 blocks from my apartment. I think it’s safe to say that I’m coming here all the time! Cafe Presse is located at 1117 12th Avenue.