Alfresco Pick: Sambar

By Kathryn Robinson

Photo: Amos Morgan

SHARING A KITCHEN—but not an aesthetic—with the French stalwart Le Gourmand, this modish six-table boite next door serves up feisty little Parisian cocktails and a short list of just-the-thing noshes. Sara Naftaly (wife of Le Gourmand’s Bruce) brings a saucier’s understanding of flavor and a locavore’s passion to the drinks, hand-pureeing the tamarinds and putting up her own Yakima cherries. She hires the best bartenders in town, then complements the drinks with souffles, croque monsieurs, cheese plates, cones of perfect frites, and fabled desserts. It all adds up to a magical place for Bohemian romantics to start or not-quite-end a promising date, particularly in summer when the leafy patio goes all balmy.

Find It: Sambar