‘My biggest hope is to take Marée from a new restaurant with Parisian-Californian cooking into something [like] Zuni Cafe,’ Jernmark told ‘Los Angeles’
In February, acclaimed Swedish chef Marcus Jernmark (Aquavit, Per Se and Stockholm’s three-Michelin-starred Frantzén) opened his set-menu restaurant Lielle in the subterranean space of the Pico-Robertson building that formerly housed Walter and Margarita Manzke’s restaurants Manzke and Bicyclette.
In late June, Lielle — Jernmark’s elevated four-course experience set discordantly against lively music and a cozy, dressed-down dining room — earned its first Michelin star. However, it was always his plan to unveil a more casual sister restaurant in the bright and cheery upstairs space. “We’re not in the most walkable area,” he told Los Angeles in May. “So [we’ll] be able to have two shops stacked on each other seven days a week, always lively.”
On Wednesday, Sept. 9, the 70-seat bistro and wine bar Marée will make its debut. The second-floor eatery shares its downstairs sibling’s appreciation for seasonal ingredients and wine — serving an à la carte menu that nods to both Paris and California, along with rotating wines by the glass.
Credit: Andrea Jernmark
Start with chef Jernmark’s popular Rouge de Bordeaux levain & cultured butter. Then, move on to escargot beignets, salt spring mussels “gratin,” Caledonian blue prawn cocktail “mi-cuit” and halibut crudo with late summer citrus. Like at Lielle, Marée will serve housemade pastas, as well as heartier dishes like a hamburger au poivre with a four-pepper sauce.
To create the warm and welcoming interior of a European cafe, Jernmark’s creative partner Andrea Jernmark worked with design studio Lovers Unite to add touches like zinc and copper accents, weathered walls and vintage mirrors. A chef’s counter looks over an open kitchen in the space that boasts high ceilings, a green onyx marble-topped bar with clam pendant lights and an airy vibe.
Maree’s Salt spring mussels “gratin”Credit: Andrea Jernmark
Marée will open evenings at 5 p.m., seven days a week, starting in its second week of service. The kitchen counter and bar are reserved exclusively for walk-ins, though the dining room will also take walk-ins, subject to availability.
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Jernmark mentioned that he foresees guests coming for an early dinner at Lielle, before popping upstairs to Marée to share a bottle of wine in the bar — or having wine and cheese, then coming downstairs for a later dinner. He also plans to later open the café for weekend brunch.
Credit: Andrea Jernmark
“My biggest hope and my intention in the next 10 years, is to take Marée from a new restaurant with Parisian-Californian cooking into something [like] the Zuni Cafe of Los Angeles,” he said, acknowledging that it’s four times bigger — with capacity for 1,000 guests on a Saturday and Sunday.
“I would love for Marée to be that place where you can pop in for some simple, delicious food, but done in a perfect temperature, with the greatest produce that we can get over here — and done in an impressively unimpressive way, where restraint speaks for itself.”
9575 West Pico Blvd., 2nd Floor, Pico-Robertson, maree.la
Dining and Cooking