Press
“Where to Eat on Capitol Hill, One of Seattle’s Biggest Dining Destinations”
Eater seattle, june 2019
“Many a diner mourned when Bruce and Sara Naftaly closed their iconic French restaurant Le Gourmand in 2012. Luckily, the duo was coaxed out of retirement and have set up in this airy, fashionable dining room. Many dishes are born from the 40-gallon namesake cooking pot — rich broths and seasonal soups — while others, from hearty lunch sandwiches to light-as-air blintzes filled with cheese come accompanied by bread and pastries from Sara’s neighboring bakery Amandine. Above all, each dish celebrates seasonality and produce from area farmers.”
“Off to the races,”
Season 19, Episode 6
BEAT BOBBY FLAY, FOOD NETWORK, MARCH 2019
“Haitian chef Jouvens Jean takes on Francophile and Seattle restaurateur Bruce Naftaly to beat Bobby at his own game.”
“Flowers”
SEASON 6, EPISODE 5
Washington Grown, february 2019
“Eating flowers! We went there with this episode of Washington Grown! We'll visit Marmite and make not one but TWO dishes that incorporate flowers…”
“38 essential seattle restaurants, winter 2019”
Eater Seattle - January 2019
Culinary couple Bruce and Sara Naftaly, whose pioneering French restaurant Le Gourmand broke some hearts when it closed, have healed all wounds with this rustic-chic Capitol Hill restaurant. The stars of the menu are gorgeous French broths, made in the namesake 40-gallon cooking pot, like soupe du pecheur’s halibut stock teeming with Whidbey Island mussels and wild steelhead. Sara’s bakery next door, Amandine, provides lovely pastries and breads, and she also oversees an spot-on cocktail menu.
- Eater Seattle staff
“13 Places to hit the soup spot in seattle”
Seattle Met - January 2019
“The lunchtime soup menu unites Bruce’s saucier knack for deep flavors and wife Sara’s elegantly sturdy bread; the seasonal seafood soup is a Little Mermaid roll call of everything under the sea that’s made it into your bowl—salmon, clams, mussels, and more in a balanced briny broth. Roasted root vegetables with creme fraiche or chicken with cabbage, pork belly, and ham likewise make a midday appearance.”
- Seattle Met staff
“America’s Best New Restaurants 2017”
Bon Appetit Magazine - August 2017
The force is strong with the Obi-Wan Kenobi of soup.
GO HERE: to rediscover the hall-of-fame cooking of legendary chef Bruce Naftaly, who came out of retirement to introduce a new generation of food lovers to the pure pleasures of classic French cooking. Bruce, who resembles a stocking-cap wearing Hemingway, ran the beloved Le Gourmand from 1985 to 2012 with his wife Sara. He is a master of technique and execution. She is a master baker and runs the Spirit in the Bottle, the sibling bar within the restaurant.
“Marmite: Casual elegance from Le Gourmand’s Bruce and Sara Naftaly”
Seattle times - June 2017
“Radish soup currently leads the dinner menu’s dozen or so offerings, ranging from charcuterie and smoked fish to a heartier fare. Small, medium and large plates encourage grazing and are designed to complement a cocktail list that rivals Sambar’s in originality and execution.”
- Providence Cicero
“Marmite Marks the Triumphant Return of Seattle's French Cuisine King”
Seattle Magazine - July 2017
“Marmite, a term for a French cooking pot and not a reference to the funky British toast spread, serves simple French cuisine for lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. There’s a bar in back called Spirit in the Bottle, located in a way similar to how the cocktail lounge Sambar was within Le Gourmand. Regardless of the time of day, the restaurant walks a delicate line between feeling homey and being a place worthy of a special occasion.”
- Chelsea Lin
“Best restaurants 2017: Marmite”
Seattle Met - August 2017
“That persona has much to do with Sara, undoubtedly Marmite’s secret weapon. Dissatisfied with the gnocchi, she crossed a straightforward recipe with one for choux pastry used for profiteroles and eclairs. These hybrids—tinged green with backyard stridolo—can thank her for a texture so airy it seems perpetually on the verge of collapse, even as it holds its own with cubes of pancetta and a brown butter sage sauce with the soul of chicken drippings.”
- Allecia Vermillion