Café 100

This is an updated review of the Cafe 100 in Bellevue about 1 mile from the Loveless Cafe (and across from the Kroger). It is in the location the old Bria restaurant sat, although you will not recognize the place, even if you routinely went there when it was Bria.Cafe 100 is a new Italian concept owned by Keith Simpkins and his wife Amy Marsalis Simpkins (Amy Marsalis once worked on News Channel 5). Talking to Keith, the idea was opening something with reasonably priced finer dining that had a more neighborhood cafe type of feel. I think he nailed the atmosphere. From his vintage flags and open airy seating area (and a nice custom bar), it does feel a bit like an upscale cheers. Steve is pictured in the bar picture along with the manager (behind the bar) and one of his lead waitresses.In the pictures, I have my first visit (updated review), which was the tomahawk pork chop, which is covered with a blackberry bourbon glaze. I have also included the bread served with every meal and the biscuit donuts. On a return trip, I was with a friend and we both got the cast iron steak (he chose the filet, I chose the ribeye) and I got a bit of his black cherry tira misu.Review time. Atmosphere is on point for a more casual feeling upscale place. Service was excellent. I think a lot of it comes from how the owners treat the employees, which creates a nice culture that is passed on to the employees.For the part you are most interested in? The food! The pork chop was well cooked. I feel the blackberry bourbon glaze could use a skosh more bourbon to bring out the flavor, but was still a nice addition to the pork chop. The side dish is a mac & cheese with a lot going on. The latest menu appears to be white cheddar, but this version was a mix of cheeses including a pepper jack that has a big pepper bite. It is topped with homemade corncake crumble. Perosonally I thought there was too much going on, although the flavors were nice.How about the steaks? This is, again, almost too much. They have a 35+ day wet aged Filet or a 60+ day dry aged ribeye, so we are talking really good beef. Once you get the rosemary butter (more like rosemary chimichurri when I went) and the mushroooms, it is overwhelming. I would honestly ask for the steak with just a light seasoning and get the other stuff on the side. I substitued crispy Brussels for the potatoes to keep from too much carbs, but had a taste of the smashed potatoes. Both are nicely done.Desserts? The signature biscuit donuts are very nice. Served with a cappucino gelato, these are the bomb. But, the tiramisu is even a step above. If you have already eaten and are in Bellevue thinking "wish I had dessert", this is worth a stop. As a note: I think Chef Steve De Vellis is young and bold and may be trying a bit too hard. There is tons of umami in the meals, which makes it hard to finish, even if you are not completely full. I went home and scraped the stuff off the steak and found slapping it in a hot skillet to quickly reheat, sans the rosemary butter, was a much nicer experience. The original mac & cheese was in the same family, so thinking the menu change to cheddar was due to feedback. I think he has some really awesome ideas that just need a bit of tweaking. Overall impression? I really love the vibe Keith and Amy have created and the way they treat everyone leads to a restaurant where customers feel more like friends. I also think with a bit of restraint, Chef could be a very good chef. I will return at some point, probably after they get more legs under them, as I really enjoyed sitting at the bar and talking to the owners and staff. With a few tweaks, I predict they will have a successful run.

We were greeted by a smiling hostess. We asked to sit outside, it was a lovely evening and they have a nice patio.Within minutes a lovely table was set and ready for us. Keith, the owner, came outside to welcome us to his restaurant. Very personable. We ordered the raw oysters appetizer special, delicious! They serve an amazing focaccia bread! For our main courses we got the ribeye with smashed potatoes, salmon with mushroom risotto, and vegetable Ravi with a side of Nonna's meatballs. Everything was cooked to perfection! Absolutely delicious. The waitress,Maggie, was delightful and our water were kept filled. The atmosphere and vibe was fun and uplifting! I give them 5 stars!

The mixed drinks were top-notch, portions were generous and the salmon & risotto was absolutely divine. This might have been the best meal I've had this year - highly recommended!

Hidden Gem. Highly recommend. My wife and I had a fantastic brunch here with friends. Great menu with unique items. The food and pastries were delicious. Good service. Looking forward to stopping back again.

TERRIBLE service and subpar food: The ambience was okay, besides the sick waitress coughing on me. But the presentation of the dishes was misleadingly appealing. The eggs in purgatory paired with cheese grits (I guess that's close enough to the promised polenta...) we're EXTREMELY SALTY, and I'm not a super picky eater, I was actually pretty hungry and tried to stick it out but I knew if I continued I'd give myself pre-hypertension from the mountain of salt that was dumped into the food! When the waitress asked how it was and I was honest with her about the salt, she said she'd talk to the cook, only to come back and say that they can't make it any differently and in fact EVERYTHING on the menu would be that salty unless I ordered pancakes or French toast. It seemed like she didn't want to wait tables and wanted me out the door, but I tried again with the Grandfather breakfast plate (like a fool) and was serve STALE HARD bacon, not well done but STALE as if it had been cooked several hours ago. This place was an EPIC WASTE of money and does not live up to its upscale pricing and white tablecloths. Don't be fooled.

I went on a girls trip to Nashville with one of my friends. We went for brunch on a Sunday and got a cinnamon roll, Eggs Benedict, and some quiche. It was the best cinnamon roll I've ever had in my life! The ambience and the service was exceptional. I cannot wait to go back!

Came here for my boyfriends birthday and we had a great time! Carol was a very attentive server and recommended the olive oil cake, which was delicious!! The fried green tomatoes and bolognese were also great stand outs. We will definitely be back!

We live in the area and desperately need some quality dining. We were excited to try this place, but we were sadly disappointed. First, the bread they served us tasted stale and it was cold like it had just been taken out of the fridge. The menu was limited. Neither of us liked our entrees. Not good at all! It is overpriced and quality poor. We desperately need some decent restaurants in this area!!

We've always had excellent service and food when visiting Cafe 100 several times over the past year!

Would be good if they didn't put some kind of 'chimichurri' sauce on EVERYTHING. The 'sauce' would have been great on fajitas... but not on salmon that was already seasoned with lemon and garlic... Same with the ribeye.... this 'chimichurri' sauce....?