PRESS & ACCOLADES
For press inquiries, please contact us at press@marchemoderne.net.
- Three-stars, The Orange County Register
- Best New Restaurant, The Orange County Register
- Three-stars, Los Angeles Times
- Jonathan Gold’s 101 Best Restaurants, Los Angeles Times
- Best New Restaurant, Orange Coast Magazine
- #1 Orange County Restaurant, Zagat
- James Beard Award Semi-Finalist - Best New Restaurant, 2008
- James Beard Award Semi-Finalist - Best Chef, 2008
- James Beard Award Semi-Finalist - Outstanding Service, 2017
- Orange Coast Magazine 2018 Restaurant Of The Year
- LA Times 101 Restaurants We Love, 2018
- Brad A. Johnson's 75 Best Places to Eat, 2019
- LA Times 101 Best Restaurants, 2019
“Come hungry: Beloved French bistro Marché Moderne is infamous for its Sunday brunch (11am-2pm)—and there's good reason. Full of decadent delights, you can't go wrong with any of the husband-and-wife chef duo's creations, ranging from the savory—see the potato crisp with smoked salmon or the deviled eggs four ways (the black and white truffle scented is a must-order)—to the sweet—don’t miss the Everything Coconut brioche French toast with coco-mango gelato. Chef-owner Florent Marneau and his wife, Amelia, the brilliant pastry chef who’s whipping up memorable croissants and heavenly blueberry clafoutis brulée (complete with the maple syrup ice cream of your dreams), continue to outdo themselves."
- RIVIERA MAGAZINE, "20 OF THE BEST BRUNCH SPOTS ACROSS AMERICA", APRIL 2021
“Marché Moderne: Florent and Amelia Marneau didn't flinch when our lives were upended last year--they immediately segued to curbside service to buoy their team and nourish their customers. In those edgy early months, they doubled down with positive words and a visible commitment to keeping the bar high."
- ORANGE COAST MAGAZINE, APRIL 2021
“As one of the most popular French eateries in the region, Marché Moderne has a loyal following, thanks to the talent and creativity of its chefs, Florent and Amelia Marneau. The husband-and-wife duo helm the kitchen together, with Florent serving as head chef and his wife, Amelia, whipping up delectable desserts."
- NEWPORT BEACH MAGAZINE, SPRING 2021
“Q&A:
Q: Best Part of Working together?
Amelia: We work as a team. We trust each other's advice.
Florent: We don't bring our personal life to work.
Q: Worst part of working together?
Amelia: We do not know how to turn it off at home. We have tried for years”- TIMES OC, "CULINARY COUPLES", FEBRUARY 2021
“The French fanfare continues in Newport Beach at fellow Michelin star favorite Marché Moderne. Executive chef Florent Marneau handles the restaurant's savory offerings while his wife, Amelia, wows as the resident pastry chef. When she's not whipping up flaky breakfast pastries, she's composing artfully plated desserts full of innovative flavors. Her take on the classic French vacherin includes toasted swirls of meringue atop a Grand Marnier genoise cake with lemongrass gelato, grapefruit compote and geleé."
- RIVIERA MAGAZINE, "ARTFUL DESSERTS", DECEMBER 2020
“My most exciting meal of the year came in March just a few days before the first round of shutdowns. It was weekend brunch at Marché Moderne, and almost anything I ate that day could have ranked number one on this list: the chocolate hazelnut croissant, the crab parfait with tomato gelée, the potato crisp with smoked salmon and caviar, the baked eggs with braised pork belly… But then there was that huge square hunk of brioche cooked like French toast and served with creme anglaise, coconut gelato and macadamia nougatine. We should have called an end to 2020 right then because it was going to be downhill from there no matter what."
- BRAD A. JOHNSON'S 20 BEST DISHES OF 2020, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
“On Thursday evenings, head to this James Beard-nominated Newport favorite from husband-and-wife dream team Florent and Amelia Marneau to enjoy the reintroduced six-course chef's tasting menu on the newly expanded patio."
- RIVIERA MAGAZINE, NOVEMBER 2020
“Marché Moderne, easily the finest French restaurant in Orange County, rolled out a three-course dinner (four courses if you count the amuse bouche) packaged for curbside pickup. The menu changes weekly and hasn’t been repeated. One week featured duck confit. Another, it was braised lamb à l’orange, and the week after that seared scallops and shrimp with lemongrass and coconut curry tossed with hand-rolled linguini. I missed out on all three of those, but I managed to snag the braised veal shank with mushroom and tomato risotto along with honey panna cotta with rhubarb compote for dessert. It’s almost as good as having a private chef. The weekly takeout specials cost about $50 per person. Wine and freshly baked bread also available."
- BRAD A. JOHNSON'S BEST PLACES TO EAT 2020
“The Best Places to Dine During the Pandemic”
- ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, OCTOBER 2020
“5 Takeout Splurges When You Want to Celebrate: OC's Best Places to Eat 2020”
- ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, OCTOBER 2020
“Orange Coast Magazine Dish of The Year 2020
Crispy Pork Belly Confit”- ORANGE COAST MAGAZINE, APRIL 2020
“Florent and Amelia Marneau's ode to the French bistro in Newport Beach--serves Orange County's best brunch. To complement repasts such as the deviled eggs, it also serves the best mimosas.”
- WHERE TRAVELER ORANGE COUNTY, MARCH 2020
“The inspection reports from 2019 are in and Marché Moderne in Newport Beach has been elevated to the ranks of restaurants that have been designated with Four Diamonds by AAA and the Auto Club. Four Diamond restaurants offer 'distinctive fine dining, well-served amid upscale ambience,' according to the AAA website. The description certainly fits Marché Moderne ... French classic dishes such as coq au vin and flawless pastries such as kouign-amanns sit side-by-side on a menu with contemporary fare.”
- ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, FEBRUARY 2020
“Marché Moderne is a French restaurant at heart, and its best dishes are an exaltation of classic bistro cooking. That means well-browned roasted marrow bones basted in demi-glace; crisp duck confit with Sauternes-drizzled peach slices; and a tour-de-force coq au vin in an inky wine sauce flavored with burnished onions, mushrooms and lardons. Husband-and-wife chefs Florent and Amelia Marneau are the team behind this sprawling, high-ceilinged dining room .. The kitchen’s range and versatility are laudable; You can lose yourself here in a bowl of celery root soup or a plate of impeccable steak frites ...”
- PATRICIA ESCÁRCEGA, LOS ANGELES TIMES, DECEMBER 2019
“Come hungry: Beloved French bistro Marché Moderne has debuted Sunday brunch (11am-2pm), and it's full of decadent delights, ranging from the savory – see the potato crips with smoked salmon or the deviled eggs three ways – to the sweet – don't miss the Everything Coconut brioche French toast with coco-mango gelato. Chef-owner Florent Marneau and his wife, Amelia, the brilliant pastry chef who's whipping up memorable croissants and heavenly blueberry clafoutis brulee, continue to outdo themselves – now from morning till night.”
- MODERN LUXURY ORANGE COUNTY, SEPTEMBER 2019
“This has always been our dream, to do this day in and day out, in the very traditional way they do in France, where the husband and wife own and operate a restaurant. I’m not sure how many chefs are training in France, getting that kind of nuanced, in-depth culinary experience, then choosing to come to Orange County versus San Francisco or L.A. or New York.”
- Where Traveler, Fall 2019
“Executive pastry chef Amelia Marneau creates fabulous desserts at Marché Moderne in Newport Coast. Her Black Forest Pavlova elevates simple ingredients into a masterpiece.”
– Orange Coast Magazine, September 2019
“At age 18, Amelia Marneau hit the ground running, working in restaurants right out of high school. Her passions certainly paid off when she was accepted to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Under the tutelage of several Meilleur Ouvrier de France chefs -- the highest and most coveted title in the country for culinary masters -- Marneau gained invaluable experience that she brought back to the United States. Before leaving Europe, she worked as the pastry cook at Les Ambassadeurs, a ... Michelin-starred restaurant at the Hotel de Crillon in Paris.”
“Marché Moderne has long been a Southern California favorite when it comes to upscale French food, and now, chefs Florent and Amelia Marneau are bringing their passion to the eatery's highly anticipated Sunday Brunch menu ... with a vast menu of inspired dishes like Everything Coconut brioche French toast ... various types of deviled eggs, ratatouille with poached eggs ... and soft, fluffy pancakes served with lemon curd swirled with Italian ricotta ... fried walnuts and raspberry ice cream.”
– Newport Beach Magazine, August/September 2019
“I know it seems like I just wrote about Marché Moderne. But this needs to be said ... as of a few weeks ago, they now serve Sunday brunch — and this is officially the best brunch in Orange County ... whereas Florent is the obvious star at dinnertime, brunch is where Amelia takes the spotlight. She is probably the best pastry chef south of Beverly Hills, and the brunch menu has her signature all over it.”
– Brad Johnson/Orange County Register, July 2019
“The best French restaurant in California? This is it. Two years after moving their glamorous French bistro to ... Crystal Cove, Florent and Amelia Marneau’s Marché Moderne is still one of the toughest reservations in the county. The steak au poivre, the moules frites, the stewed rabbit, the escargot .. this is quintessential French cuisine. And the desserts are always a special treat here. Must order: Amelia’s Napoleon dessert, served on Fridays and Saturdays only.”
– Brad A. Johnson, The Orange County Register, "75 Best Places to Eat", May 2019
“Perhaps you wouldn’t expect to find incredible French food on the coast of Southern California, but Marché Moderne is one of the best meals you will ever have. Period. I am joyfully haunted by the perfection that is their Coq Au Vin."”
– Corbin Chamberlin/Vogue Man Arabia, December 2018
“Tucked along Newport Beach's picturesque coast, Marché Moderne is run by husband-and-wife-chef duo Florent and Amelia Marneau. The menu features polished French fare with Florent's ever-changing interpretations, from a rich coq au vin to decadent foie gras and pristine preparations of seafood. For the ultimate winter comfort food, split a whole Jidori chicken with truffles tucked under the skin. Then try Amelia's signature macarons and crowd-favorite apple tarts.”
– Sunset Magazine, December 2018/January 2019
“Marché Moderne has all the accouterments of a grand modern restaurant ... briefly seared hamachi and Thai-flavored lobster are nods to the times, but the heart of Amelia and Florent Marneau, the proprietor and the chef, is in classical French preparations: properly roasted marrow bones drizzled with thick, winy demiglace, and crisp-skinned duck confit with a splash of Banyuls vinegar and burnt-edged caramelized figs. And coq au vin, wine reduced with mushrooms, tiny onions and chunks of bacon to near-blackness, is as splendid as you'd hope.”
– Jonathan Gold/Los Angeles Times, December 2018
“Amelia Marneau balances it all. She manages the front of house and the entire pastry department at Marché Moderne. At the award-winning restaurant she co-owns with her husband, Florent, she oversees the business, tends to the restaurant’s needs while simultaneously caring for her two teenage children, and remains a rock for her husband … Marneau juggles all this with grace, and when she smiles she reminds you of a TV personality a la Giada De Laurentiis mixed with a dash of Nigella Lawson.”
– Coast Magazine, August 2018
“After a seven-month hiatus for a taste-bud tour around the globe, the talented husband-and-wife duo Florent and Amelia Marneau moved … to Newport Beach. The dining room is decked out in style and sophistication, with mohair and leather seating and crisp white tablecloths, but the heart and soul of Marché Moderne is in the kitchen. Everything Florent touches is heavenly … but do save room for dessert. Filled with Tahitian vanilla cream, Amelia’s exquisite napoleon is paired with tangerine orange-blossom sorbet and serves as the ultimate palate cleanser.” (2018 Best New Restaurants Across the U.S.)
– Modern Luxury DALLAS | Angeleno | Modern Luxury MIAMI| Modern Luxury ASPEN | Boston Common | The Atlantan – July 2018
“O.C. gourmands were filled with delight when news came that Florent and Amelia Marneau were bringing their storied Parisian-chic dining concept … to Newport Beach. Luxe locals fill the sophisticated dining room by the masses each week to indulge in Florent's heavenly foie gras and chestnut ravioles, and are sure to hold out for Amelia's exquisite napoleon ... another reason to make a res ASAP? The recently launched spontané menu has returned on Mondays only, a three-course prix-fixe menu that's been 11 years in the making and changes weekly ...”
– Modern Luxury Orange County, July 2018
“For years, Marché Moderne was the most consequential and consistent restaurant in Orange County, a benchmark of excellence by which countless others measured themselves ... the restaurant finally feels complete in its new oceanfront home ... (and the) vision remains the same: a particularly precise and global rendering of modern French bistro cooking.”
– Westways Magazine, July 2018
“It’s not an overstatement to say chef Florent Marneau has spent more than half his life perfecting his coq au vin. Enrolled in cooking school in his native France at age 13, and classically trained for years, he then brought his talents to Orange County. His bistro, Marché Moderne, opened in 2008, and gained instant unparalleled attention not just from locals but from critics nationally as well. (It was nominated for James Beard Awards for Best New Restaurant, Best Chef, and Outstanding Service.) In 2017, Marneau moved to a fresh, expansive location close to the beach in Newport … Dinner guests can savor steak frites or foie gras and chestnut ravioli, finished with a tableside pour of poulet jus. Marneau’s wife, Amelia—an acclaimed pastry chef who also trained in France—creates the delicate sweets that punctuate every meal.”
– AFAR Magazine, May 2018
“An extensive menu is bigger than it needs to be, meaning old favorites await and new obsessions are ready to be discovered ... Chef Marneau includes nods to the past with dishes that pay tribute to people and places. I don’t recall 1991 tasting as good his version of Pascal Restaurant’s braised rabbit with hand-rolled tagliatelle. It epitomizes the mining of O.C.’s dining history for touchstones that give rise to contemporary triumph. Other classic bistro fare includes a stellar coq au vin and a grilled Prime hanger steak with the shallot jus and super frites … do leave room for Amelia’s virtuoso desserts. Any of her modern riffs on gateaux or profiteroles supply sweet thrills. The early results are in: the new iteration of Marché Moderne is a joyous coup.”
– Orange Coast Magazine, April 2018
“… The grilled USDA prime hanger steak is wonderful, crusted and crisp but a perfect, drippy pink inside, served with a bowl of skinny, perfectly crisp French fries. There is a kind of schnitzel of pounded pork with tiny roast Brussels sprouts and a sticky sauce flavored with appley Calvados. And that copper pan of coq au vin, wine reduced with mushrooms, tiny onions and chunks of bacon to near-blackness, is as splendid as it ever was.”
– Jonathan Gold, Los Angeles Times, January 2018
“Amelia and Florent Marneau moved their legendary bistro from South Coast Plaza to the Crystal Cove Shopping Center this year. A shiny new kitchen is now enclosed behind a wall of glass, the new space is larger and in many ways more glamorous than the original. A familiar-looking 10-seat bar still flanks one side of the interior, a counter made more for dining than drinking. The patio is lovelier than ever, the outside air scented with orange blossoms from a neighbor’s tree. Amelia is almost always the one to greet you at the front door, and chef Florent seems re-energized. The four-page menu offers hit after hit: Stewed rabbit, steak au poivre, moules frites, hamachi crudo with yuzu-jalapeño sorbet, charred octopus with chorizo emulsion, celery root soup with fresh stone crab … This isn’t the same Marché Moderne of yore, but it is still the best French bistro in California.”
– OC Register, December 2017
“New York has Daniel Boulud, Napa Valley has Thomas Keller; and we have Florent Marneau … Brilliantly talented husband-and-wife duo Florent and Amelia (a pastry chef) are once again delighting palates with fantastic French fare … Everything chef Florent touches is heavenly … you do not want to miss the foie gras and chestnut ravioles. Cooked in duck stock and vin jaune, it’s a flawless dish and the perfect excuse to order a glass of Sancerre.”
– Modern Luxury, November 2017
“The hits are nonstop. Steak au poivre. Moules frites. Hamachi crudo with yuzu-jalapeño sorbet. Charred octopus with chorizo emulsion. Celery root soup with fresh stone crab. Roasted langoustines layered atop uni risotto (possibly the best thing on the menu). Ravioli stuffed with foie gras and chestnut puree. Seared tuna with duck-skin cracklings. Whole roasted Dover sole. Green-tea panna cotta with a coconut madeleine pulled straight from the oven. A beautiful macaron that smells and tastes like roses. The kitchen doesn’t miss a beat. This isn’t the same Marché Moderne. I do believe this is already — once again — the best French bistro in California.”
– OC Register, November 2017