The new, hip restaurants get all the love. The fancy woodwork. The cutting edge ice machines. The roll-up garage doors and the hot, young chefs. So now it’s time to cast light on one of the most classic restaurants in San Diego beginning a new chapter. Tapenade, a La Jolla mainstay since 1998 from exec chef Jean-Michel Diot, a French bistro classicist who opened Les Halles in New York (where Anthony Bourdain cooked for years)—has a new home and a new name.
Welcome to the dining scene Bistro du Marche by Tapenade, where Diot and chef de cuisine Christopher Santos will create an all-new French experience. Their menu will be derived from the farmers market that operates once a week in front of their new space at 7347 Girard Ave.
Expect some Tapenade classics, like veal osso bucco, rabbit, Magret duck breasts, steak tartare, plus a bevy of new creations.
Diot is the real deal, raised in France and trained the long, hard, right way in Provencal cuisine while working his way through Michelin-starred Gallic restaurants. When they were forced from their 15-year location on Fay Avenue when the owner sold the building, some worried we’d be losing a classic. Instead, we get a new chapter by an experienced master.
Enough with the words. Please enjoy the first known photos of Bistro du Marche.