Le Mari Restaurant Brings Mediterranean Tapas to Newbury Street

With her first restaurant, Fox & the Knife alum Leigh Whittaker aims to transport European communal dining to one of Boston’s most bustling blocks.

By Eden Mor· 8/23/2024, 10:00 a.m.

Photo by Alyssa Blumstein Photography

Restaurant ownership is like marriage, as the adage goes. So when chef Leigh Whittaker had to name her first restaurant, the Massachusetts native opted to call the Newbury Street destination Le Mari, French for “the husband.” It’s a nod to Whittaker’s commitment to the project, as well as the Back Bay restaurant’s European-inspired convivial ambiance that’s meant to conjure the communal dining traditions of Spain or Portugal or the South of France on one of Boston’s most bustling blocks.

Opened this summer in the former Bar à Vin 1855 space below the Newbury Guest House, Le Mari showcases cuisine that is “kind of like Mediterranean tapas,” says Whittaker, an alum of South Boston’s acclaimed Fox & the Knife. For 20 years, the University of Connecticut grad ran a global commercial organization for a medical device company, which had her logging 250,000 miles of travel a year. “I really sort of felt at home when I was in the South of France and Italy and Portugal, Spain, and Greece,” she says. “You’re sitting in the streets of Barcelona and you just get a big shareable plate of food—it’s [a set up] that promotes so much community and conversation.”

Photo by Alyssa Blumstein

Whittaker loves that energy—food and drinks as a social connector, rather than a face-in-the-plate feast. That’s the spirit behind Le Mari, a 1,300-square-foot space that reimagined Bar à Vin 1855’s dining room in Aegean blue, white, and gold accents and expanded the bar area from six to 18 seats. “When I go out, I want to sit at the bar,” Whittaker says. “It’s just a little bit more exciting.” The new set up also has two Parisian-style patios, including one that’s open year-round. “I don’t see the trend as people wanting a full course-out dinner,” Whittaker says. “Everyone just wants a little bite of everything.”

Duck confit with crispy rice, fennel and blood orange. / Photo by Armani Thao

Before getting into the restaurant business, Whittaker loved to cook for family and friends. “People would always say, ‘Oh, you should really do this for a living.’” When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and travel was locked down, Whittaker realized it was “time for a change” and enrolled in the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, where she graduated as valedictorian in 2021. Stints at the farm-to-fork restaurant Earth at Hidden Pond in Kennebunkport, Maine and Fox & the Knife had her thinking about her own place—and then this space opened up. “When this came about, I was just like, ‘Wow, this is my dream,’” Whittaker says. “Who in their wildest dreams can expect that they’re gonna open a restaurant on Newbury Street?”

Le Mari’s menu leads with four crudo dishes. Inspired by Whittaker’s time at Earth at Hidden Pond, the carne crudo is similar to beef tartare, served with a rich bone marrow aioli and roasted beech mushrooms straight on the bone. A personal favorite of Whittaker, the razor clam crudo is served directly atop the half clam shell, its tender meat enhanced with marinella peaches, Calabrian chili caviar, and a sauce made from a dry Cava wine. Other standout small plates include: the duck confit with crispy rice, fennel, and blood orange; and the king crab, another chef favorite that’s a flavorful and sweeter alternative to lobster, prepared with a creamy black garlic confit and a buttery lemon sauce—then torched, steamed, and topped with a lemon espuma whipped cream.

King crab / Photo by Armani Thao

As for entrees, Le Mari offers up land-and-sea options such as: steak frites; sea bass, served with tzatziki, fennel, Granny Smith apple and sumac; and chicken Milanese. Whitakker’s version of the latter is a bit more adventurous than the traditional Italian classic—marinated in harissa, a spicy chili paste, and plated with whipped goat cheese and a dash of honey. Building on that theme of elevated classics, there’s also the cacio e pepe, which Whittaker jokes is a “fancy mac and cheese.” One look at the ingredients tells you that “fancy” is exactly right: The fresh pasta, crafted in-house, is made creamy and decadent with buffalo milk butter and white Alba truffle, and spruced up with some microgreens.

Lastly, the cocktail menu is a selection of cheekily named drinks. Highlights include Yes, Chef—which isn’t a reference to The Bear, but an homage to Whittaker herself, featuring Altos Blanco, agave, and Thai bird chili (“I drink skinny spicy margs,” she explains). Beauty Is Fleeting is a Sex and the City reference with Opihr Gin, Aperitivo Rosato, and ginger, and I’ve Studied Abroad is a teasing moniker for an espresso martini, which Whittaker likens to a “grown-up vodka Red Bull.”

With Le Mari, Whittaker is deeply excited to be a player in the Boston dining scene. “We were always kind of the ugly stepchild to Manhattan, but such a great food scene is starting to pop. It’s nice to hopefully be a part of that.”

259 Newbury St., Back Bay, Boston, 617-224-0285, lemarirestaurant.com. Tuesday through Sunday, 5pm to 10pm, bar stays open later.