French market, restaurant, bar at international food corner near Larchmont

| September 27, 2018 | 0 Comments

TEAM at Le Petite Marché includes, L-R: Chris Kramer, bar manager; Stephane Liot, chef; Bernard Pichereau, general manager; and co-owner Mathew Cape.

Within one block of the northern terminus of Larchmont Boulevard, the neighborhood is becoming quite the dining capital. Essentially at the corner of Melrose Avenue and Lucerne Boulevard, there now are four restaurants, with the fourth being Le Petite Marché that just opened in the middle of last month. Still in its “soft opening” phase, the enterprise brings more international dining to this corner.

At this intersection, the decidedly French Le Petite Marché joins Fin, an “Asian tapas” restaurant; Osteria Mamma, a family Italian restaurant; and Kali, which specializes in seasonal California cuisine.

OPEN KITCHEN and retail counter welcome visitors.

Le Petite Marché, (which originally expected to be just “Le Marché”) has been on the horizon so long that many people thought it was like a ghost ship that never would be seen up close. But up-close views are available now, and they show that the new place has much to offer.

The result of the vision of restaurateurs Mathew Cape and Spoon Singh, Le Petite Marché indeed has a market — a gourmet one with specialty foods, including fresh bread from Michelina, pastries from La Chouquette, sundries from Monsieur Marcel at the Original Farmers Market and meats from Gwen Butcher Shop on Sunset Boulevard — plus gift items, beers and wine. More on the wine in a moment.

U-SHAPED BAR is in the center of the action.

The wide-open space with floor-to-ceiling windows along Melrose (and some outside tables and chairs next to the sidewalk) has a central, U-shaped bar with craft cocktails orchestrated by Chris Kramer. Le Petite Marché also has a large, open kitchen where Chef Stephane Liot and his team produce a wide variety of traditional French foods for the expansive menu.

In its opening weeks, Le Petite Marché focused on just breakfast, lunch and a small happy hour menu from 5 to 8 p.m.

“Lou is in the room.”

LOU AMDUR, left, consults with co-owner Mathew Cape about the wine selections available at Le Petite Marché.

A welcome surprise is the involvement of wine expert Lou Amdur, who long has been missed locally since the days of his first venture, the wine bar and restaurant, “Lou,” located for many successful years just around the corner in a Vine Street mini-mall still housing Flaming Patty’s restaurant.

Amdur now is the proprietor of Lou Wines and Tastings on Hillhurst Avenue in Los Feliz. However, Lou is lending expertise to Le Petite Marché by making the selections for the market’s offerings in its retail wine section. An entire long wall is devoted to Lou‘s wine choices. His picks also are the wines on the restaurant menu. Welcome back, Lou!

Initial operating hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Later, the hours will be extended, and management is considering seeking permission to keep the bar open beyond the usual 10 p.m. closing hour for restaurant liquor sales in and around the Larchmont, Windsor Square and Hancock Park residential neighborhoods.

Le Petite Marché, 5665 Melrose Avenue (at the corner of Melrose and El Centro avenues). Valet parking is available. The website is expected to be lepetitemarche.com

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