We made the mistake of thinking we could just walt...

We made the mistake of thinking we could just waltz into one of Langley's restaurants at 6:30 on a Saturday night in April and be seated fairly quickly. NOPE. Both Prima Bistro and Cafe Langley next door had an hour-long wait list. So if you have your heart set on eating here, make reservations! Or else you'll stand in the stairwell for an hour and end up sitting in the very back, next to the kitchen.

By the time we were finally seated, we were starving and immediately ordered the chicken liver mousse starter ($7.50). It comes in a short glass jar with five thin slices of grilled bread, which seemed a little skimpy -- and they don't serve complimentary bread and butter ($1.50). But the mousse was creamy, flavorful, and a good size for two to share (though I think I'd recommend getting some extra bread).

I asked the server about the difference in size between the seafood small plates and entrees, because many of them are the same, and I was glad I did, because I would have ordered WAY too many mussels. The small-plate size ($12.50) is about 3/4 lb, a good-sized entree, and is served in a cute little cast-iron Dutch oven. The mussels were good, but nothing was original or noteworthy in the preparation. It doesn't come with anything, but you can order a side of shoestring fries for $4 more. The fries came in a BIG basket and would have been plenty for two people. I thought they were very oversalted and borderline inedible, so it was kind of a waste -- I definitely should have gotten the bread to dip into the mussel broth!

My dining companion got the hangar steak frites ($26.50), on our server's advice, and it too came with a big pile of super-salty shoestring fries (but his came with a delicious gorgonzola-y bearnaise dip that made all the difference). The "medium rare" was seared outside and purpley-red inside with lots of blood. This was perfect for us, but if that makes you queasy, you might err on the side of a little more well-done than you'd normally order. The meat was very juicy and flavorful with or without the dipping sauce. The house red was a good-sized pour, but took so long that we thought our server had forgotten it -- my dining companion was halfway through his steak by the time the wine finally came.

Oddly, the lunch menu seems to be the dinner menu (same prices) plus some under-$20 sandwiches. So you won't necessarily save any money by coming here for lunch. The best way to try their menu may be by sharing a few small plates and then a bigger, shareable entree-sized dish.

A solid 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 because I wasn't expecting much from Langley's restaurant options. "But that's a Langley 4, not a Seattle 4," as my dining companion said. It's a decent place with good food, somewhat high prices, and slightly disorganized service, but if you're looking for more date-night ambiance than the local pizzeria, this is the place.