Table at Third & Fairfax is a weekly dining column in 2023 where Food and Drink editor Patricia Kelly Yeo will eat her way through the Original Farmers Market. Each column will drop on Thursday for a week-by-week recap of her journey through the classic L.A. tourist attraction. Last week, Kelly ranked the market’s ten best (non-alcoholic) cold drinks.
Like all chain restaurants, the Marmalade Cafe (est. 1990, though the Farmers Market location has only been around since 2002) aspires to be the sort of neighborhood café that people depend on for everyday meals and special occasions alike. Based on recent Yelp reviews, it’s clear that the Original Farmers Market location is often used as a second option when the wait gets to be too long at the Cheesecake Factory, situated just across the street at the Grove. Though I’ve previously only had mediocre brunch at Marmalade Cafe, I decided to finally pay the café a visit for the column this week and take advantage of the ability to sit back and relax on the restaurant’s large patio for a casual Wednesday lunch with a friend I haven’t seen in awhile.
There’s no way we’ll tackle the entire menu here, so I scan over the dozens of different appetizers, all-day brunch items, sandwiches, burgers, salads, pastas and larger dinner entrées in search of a handful of dishes that sound appealing. The menu reads as a cross between California Pizza Kitchen and Blu Jam Cafe—both of which I consider to be among L.A.’s best chain restaurant options. When the server comes to take our order, we decided to go with the artichoke spinach dip ($15.99), crunchy Thai noodle salad ($18.99) and the suspiciously inexpensive lobster tacos ($19.99). Compared to most full-service restaurants I visit for Time Out, these prices are downright cheap.
I’m expecting more quantity than quality, so I’m fairly surprised when I can’t stop eating the housemade kettle-cooked potato chips that accompany the artichoke spinach dip. They’re thick cut and unsalted. The cheesy dip itself, by contrast, runs on the saltier side, and the vegetables aren’t finely chopped, which makes it hard to scoop up and eat. Overall, I consider it slightly inferior to the version offered at CPK. While the salt level balances out in the end, I find myself gravitating toward just eating the chips on their own.
The server paces out our dishes, so we don’t receive the tacos and salad until after we’ve basically polished off the dip. The trio of tacos come with small portions of stringy-tasting lobster, plus a cilantro lime sauce, chipotle aioli, pico de gallo and avocado slices. For the price, I can’t really complain, but obviously this isn’t the luscious lobster taco I once had at Petty Cash Taqueria. The stale-tasting chips and tomatillo salsa that comes with it aren’t worth finishing either. On the other hand, it’s clear the Marmalade Cafe knows how to make a good Asian-inspired salad—the Thai noodle salad mostly consists of grilled chicken and chunks of avocado, and the crispy rice noodles that pepper it give the dish lots of texture. There seems to be more avocado and chicken than vegetables, which isn’t a bad thing in my book, and the lime-cilantro dressing the salad comes tossed in doesn’t overwhelm the dish.
The restaurant is only half-filled, but I have to wave down my server through the window to get my check, which comes out just shy of $80 with tax and tip for two people. You get what you pay for, I suppose. For a full-service spot, the Marmalade Cafe does make for a quick, serviceable sit-down lunch—I was able to get in and out in 90 minutes, the amount of time the market will validate for parking with a purchase from any vendor. But the uneven food and service ultimately end up justifying why you should weather the crowds inside the market itself—or, if you want a chain-style sit-down dining experience, just put your name down and wait for the Cheesecake Factory.
Meals from Table at Third & Fairfax fall into three categories: Skip It, Worth Trying and Must Have.
Vendor: Marmalade Cafe
Order: Artichoke spinach dip, crunchy Thai noodle salad, chipotle lime lobster tacos
Verdict: Skip It. The food here is uneven. If you’re looking for a full-service spot, Monsieur Marcel and Du-Par’s are better options.