Josh Henderson, one of the busiest restaurateurs in town, originally designed this crisp and breezy fantasy of a French bistro—complete with wooden tables and negronis (and other rotating cocktails) on tap. But the restraint one might see in a French bistro is replaced here with a broad streak of wanton excess (see burger with Beecher’s palate-lacquering white cheddar, see over-buttered grilled Columbia City Bakery bread). The long narrow room—bar on one side, dining tables on the other—is awkwardly cramped, making summer, when the partially covered patio off the Burke-Gilman Trail is roaring morning to night, this restaurant’s prime time.

After Renee Erickson's Sea Creatures group took over, Saint Helens has transformed into Bistro Shirlee.