Marcus Jernmark, the chef behind Michelin-starred Lielle, will soon debut his next Los Angeles restaurant — a more casual California-inflected bistro and wine bar. Maree, located above Lielle, will open on September 9 with a menu rooted in French cooking
and California’s seasonality.
Maree is the largest and most casual restaurant yet for Jernmark, seating 70 in its spacious dining room. “It feels such a luxury to be able to do something for the first time,” Jernmark says. “I’m 44; I’ve been working in restaurants since I was 14.” He points to San Francisco’s Zuni Cafe as inspiration for the restaurant, citing its timeliness and consistency. “We’re creating food that we want to have with us for a long time, food that is not carved out of concepts, just stuff that we like to eat,” Jernmark says.
While the French influence feels clear at Maree, Jernmark worked to strike a balance between the cuisine’s richness and the California influences on the menu. Instead of the usual through line of saturated, heavy sauces, Jernmark hopes to lean into livelier flavors. “My intention with the food is to really come off the Escoffier era and then do something way lighter, more aromatic, more vibrant, and really fit into the Californian way of eating, but with an ode to the tradition,” he says.
The menu at Maree opens with starters such as briny grilled Cerignola olives, truffled onion soup, and sourdough bread and cultured butter that has an optional add-on of radishes and anchovies. Escargot beignets take inspiration from a trip Jernmark took to Kyoto, where he was served maitake mushrooms along with snails in the shell. As he realized mushrooms would be an ideal grassy pairing for snails and a good way to add volume to the dish, he took the idea back to Maree and began workshopping his own version. “Snails are still snails,” Jernmark says. “Just because it’s delicious doesn’t mean you want to have four snails in your mouth at the same time.” For the escargot beignets at Maree, grilled maitake mushrooms and spinach get creamed down with bechamel and snail butter; once the water cooks out, the mix is formed into a small ball that can be dipped in beignet batter and fried. The beignets get plated on a traditional escargot plate alongside a snail butter emulsion.
Jernmark also knew he wanted to have a shrimp cocktail on the menu. “When I go to a restaurant, and there’s crispy calamari or shrimp cocktail, whether or not I’m going to eat it or not, it’s going to be on my table,” he says. “That is just a default. I just order it right away so it’s on the table because I feel like home.” At Maree, the cocktail swaps in prawns for shrimp, which get cooked until the exterior just starts to turn white, then topped with salt and a squeeze of lemon. The prawns pair with a cocktail sauce made in house with the restaurant’s own hot sauce, ketchup, fresh tomatoes, and plenty of horseradish. These prawns arrive alongside bread pudding meant to be dipped in the cocktail sauce and a reduction of prawn heads and California peppercorns. Other dishes include halibut crudo paired with late-summer citrus, an heirloom tomato salad, and beef tartare with nasturtium.
Pastas include spaghetti vongole, ricotta ravioli with fig XO sauce, and tagliatelle crowned with aged veal ragout. “We’re going to make homemade pasta every day just like we do for Lielle,” Jernmark says. “I really love making it. I’m saying that with laughter, but I know it’s also predictable. You have to have a little bit of that, but we’re excited about it.” Larger dishes include bouillabaisse, veal sausage, and a hamburger split in half and bathed in a four-peppercorn au poivre sauce that will be limited to 30 orders a day.
Shying away from the smash burgers that have dominated menus over the last few years, Maree’s burger arrives with a half-inch-thick patty of seven to eight ounces of beef, cooked in a pan and finished over Japanese charcoal before bedded on a plush homemade brioche bun. Finely chopped barbecued oyster mushrooms braised in vinegar, Espanola sauce, crispy onion rings, and fried kale chips top the burger. Jernmark imagines groups may go for the assortment of grilled meats with beurre de cafe sauce, which uses a maître d’ butter developed at the restaurant. “I understand I’m doing probably the most uncool dish in the world right now, but what is more satisfying?” Jernmark says. “Maree needs to be just that. It’s just relentless pursuit of satisfaction and not trends and trying to create iconic things.”
Mains at Maree can be paired with sides such as pommes frites, pommes puree, roasted summer squash, and sauteed spinach and lemon balm. Desserts include delicate caneles and a salty dark chocolate mousse pocked with hazelnuts. While Lielle has a more California-centric wine menu, Maree’s expands its focus to bottles across France, Italy, Spain, and more. “We have a more well-rounded, traditional, but yet very thoughtful wine list that our wine director put together,” Jernmark says.
Maree’s interior was designed by Jernmark’s wife, Andrew Jernmark, in collaboration with design firm Lovers Unite. Clam-shaped pendant lights from Fritz Hansen cast a warm glow on the wood cream-colored walls and tall ceilings. Pillar candles flicker on wood tables set across the dining room, flanked by a semi-open chef’s kitchen and green onyx marble bar. At opening, the kitchen counter and bar will be reserved for walk-ins, while the main dining room offers reservations.
Jernmark, whose life is so intertwined with his restaurants, is excited for his team to grow and to start welcoming guests through the doors at Maree. “It’s just an extension of people to celebrate life with,” he says. “I didn’t mean to be cheesy; that’s just what it is. If you love hospitality, you then cherish that feeling, and that’s what’s going to be so special with this restaurant.”
Reservations for Maree, which opens on September 9, are now available on Opentable.
