Position your beret, grab your baguette, and don your Breton stripes in honor of Bastille Day, where Los Angeles’ French community is also set to celebrate liberté, égalité, and fraternité.
A brief primer: Bastille Day is celebrated in France every July 14 and is the national holiday that commemorates the Storming of the Bastille, which was one of the most pivotal events of the French Revolution in 1789. Today, Bastille Day is celebrated by French citizens and Francophiles all over the world, and the French restaurants of L.A. go all out to join in on the festivities. Here are some très bon options.
Monsieur Marcel
The par excellence French experience inside the Original Farmers Market, Monsieur Marcel is a French-lover’s restaurant and marketplace featuring a gourmand’s dream of cheeses, wines, chocolates, and seafood (ooh la la). For Bastille Day, they will have a live accordion player belting out French classics and an all-day menu including delicacies like frog legs a la persillade, braised rabbit, baba Armagnac for dessert, and more. www.mrmarcel.com 6333 W 3rd St.
Coffee & Canvas at TEAPOP
If you want to channel your inner Monet, Cézanne, or Gauguin, sign up for Coffee & Canvas’s Bastille Day painting and coffee class on Saturday, July 15. Artist Mariette will lead you on a French painting journey with a little history weaved in as you create your own Eiffel Tower chef-d’œuvre while sipping on café au lait. Ticket info. 5050 Vineland Ave., North Hollywood
NiteThyme Wine Bar
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Koreatown’s newest wine bar is helmed by former Alinea sommelier Fahara Zamorano and her husband, Daniel Adomian. A Bastille Day pop-up is on the menu with chef Richard Wimbleton (aka @thebonvivantchef) doling out caviar, oysters, foie gras, steak frites, and a lot of French wine. À votre santé! For more info, check Instagram. 600 S. Harvard Blvd., Suite 100
Camphor
On Friday, the Michelin-starred team at buzzy French favorite Camphor is launching two dinner specials to commemorate the revolution. Chefs Lijo George and Max Boonthanakit will serve the most decadent and gooiest Croque Monsieur layered with truffle aioli, Comte cheese, and smoked ham. Or you take the lighter route with A5 wagyu beef salade niçoise with seared ahi and a hazelnut leek vinaigrette. Signature cocktails like the Saint-Germain with tequila blanco and yellow chartreuse will have you feeling like you’re sipping your cocktail overlooking the Seine. www.camphor.la 923 E 3rd St.
Beverly Canon Gardens
While not a restaurant, the venerated Beverly Canon Gardens in the heart of Beverly Hills joins forces with the Consul General of France, Julie Duhaut-Bedos, to kick off a Bastille Day party on the grass on Sunday, July 16. Here you’ll get techno tunes spun by famed French DJ Djemel, dancers, French nibbles, and a magic show with Fra-gician Patricia Magicia. Festivities run from 4 to 7 p.m. Event info here. 241 North Canon Drive, Beverly Hills
Zinqué
The ideal Bastille Day happy hour can be found at all Zinqué locations around Los Angeles. In celebration of July 14, the restaurant is extending its happy hour from 4 to 7 p.m. and serving a special cocktail called ‘La Guillotine,’ which i made with rosemary vodka and pomegranate liqueur. www.lezinque.com/dtla
La Bohème
One of the biggest and best Bastille night parties will take place at this West Hollywood staple. Running from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., a bevy of French entertainment is on deck including cancan dancers, burlesque by Cabaret Versatile, singers, and DJ Franck (who is actually Scottish). Hosted by French Tuesdays (in conjunction with the Alliance Française de Los Angeles), and sponsored by airline FrenchBee, arrive early to enter a drawing for a gratis trip to Paris! frenchtuesdays.com 8400 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood
Zebulon
The team at Coucou, L.A.’s French language school, is throwing a 10th anniversary bash on Thursday, July 13 that runs from 7 p.m. to midnight. The pre-Bastille Day bash will offer up sweet and savory crêpes courtesy of Black Flour Crêpes, a cotton candy cart, and tarot readings. The music venue will also feature Pickle Drag Queen, a LED hoop show, live French music from Keveen, and DJs spinning French beats throughout the night. For info, head here. 2478 Fletcher Dr.
House of Cocotte
DTLA’s House of Cocotte is ringing in Bastille Day with a big fête. If you sign up for their pétanque tournament — an entertaining French game where you throw balls at other balls — you’ll get a beret and have a chance to win over $1,000 in prizes. The party will also have loads of rosé wines, live music, French-inspired cocktails, and classic French morsels. Details on Instagram. 2028 E 7th St.
LouLou
Celebrating its one-year anniversary on the holiday, Santa Monica’s LouLou is throwing a Bal de Versailles party. A $75 pre-set menu includes Petrossian Royal Osetra caviar, Burgundy escargots, duck à l’orange, haricot verts almondine, and crème brulée. Once you’ve been stuffed like a foie gras goose, you can stay for the celebrations that include French singer Chloé Perrier, stilt walkers, cancan dancers, and DJs. They also ask that you dress to impress the king (even though this holiday is about throwing out the monarchy), s’il vous plaît. More info on the LouLou site. 395 Santa Monica Pl. #300, Santa Monica
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