June 26, 2017 By Caleb Pershan Eater SF
Wine bar and bistro Petit Marlowe is now serving more casual, Rive Gauche vibes around the corner from the Marlowe mothership. Big Night Restaurant Group (Park Tavern, Marlowe, Leo’s Oyster Bar) secured the space at 234 Townsend back in December, and there, award-winning designer Ken Fulk and Big Night partners Anna Weinberg and James Nicholas have crafted a Parisian-inspired atmosphere that’s more cohesive than former tenant Les Clos, also a French-inspired wine bar.
Out front, seafood display cases show off the raw material for Big Night partner and Petit Marlowe chef Jennifer Puccio. More on her menu of crudo, escargots, deviled eggs, and foie gras is here.
Inside, the 49-seat dining room sports toile wallpaper stitched with ducks. Diners will find the bird all over the restaurant, in replica form on shelves and in charcuterie form on the menu.
For authenticity points, Fulk, Weinberg, and Big Night creative director Jake Mogelson scoured French flea markets, buying up old-school bistro chairs and vintage utensils they’ve hung above tables. Streetlamp-style globe fixtures light up the marble bar, and behind them is one of the team’s biggest finds: An antique bookcase with all original details, which was shipped back from France in pieces. Pale pink leather banquettes line the dining room, maybe suggesting rosé to diners.
To complement them, wine director Jennifer Gomez has a brut rosé on the list called Big Night Bubbles, made by Vitteaut-Alberti in Burgundy specifically for the Big Night group. Pink wine, which is red-hot these days, also pops up on pastry chef Emily Luchetti’s dessert menu. With Scribe Winery and Smitten Ice Cream, she’s concocted a “Chef Pink” rosé ice cream.
Petit Marlowe is open from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Wednesday and until 11 p.m. on Thursday through Saturday. Only the Raw bar menu is available until 5 p.m., the full menu thereafter, and the restaurant is closed on Sundays.