Pretending to be in Paris on your lunch hour will make going back to work that much harder. But, at Madison Park’s new Saint Germain Bistro & Wine Bar the pleasure is worth the pain. This jaunty blue-and-whie space serves up sandwiches (including tartines, the open-faced variety), salads, and soup for lunch and has a slightly more extensive dinner menu. It doesn’t take reservations, and the space is petit, so have a back-up plan if you go. We chose a corner table for lunch, and settled into a blue banquette across from a black-and-white photo of a Boulevard Saint Germain sign. (The famous street boasts some of the most talked-about cafes in Paris.) We had to try the croque monsieur ($6.50), a classic sandwich made with ham and Gruyère cheese. This one was definitely up to snuff tastewise, though it should have been cut in half and it leaked a little fluid at times. The zesty salade Nicoise ($9) came with a deck-of-cards sized hunk of seared tuna, skinny green beans, olives, tomato hunks, and slightly bitter lavender vinaigrette. For dessert, go for the chocolate mousse cake ($6) and an espresso drink. The tri-color, circular cake is soft, cool, and creamy, just right for soothing jangled nerves. Be sure to sip that latte slowly—the office can wait. MOLLY LORI 2811A E. Madison St., 206-323-9800, www.saintgermainseattle.com. MADISON PARK