Fort Worth’s New French Palace of a Restaurant Brings Major Chef and Design Power — Your First Look at Le Margot

Owner and chef Felipe Armenta and Fort Worth’s newest celebrity chef Graham Elliot mingled with friends and supporters at a launch celebration for FAR OUT Hospitality’s first-ever French bistro in anticipation of its opening. Le Margot opens this week at 3150 South Hulen at the corner of Bellaire Drive.

The ever-growing portfolio of the FAR OUT team also includes The Grill, Tavern, Pacific Table, Press Cafe, F1 Smokehouse, Maria’s Mexican Kitchen, Cowboy Prime and Towne Grill, all located in Texas. Armenta collected congratulations and spoke to diners at Le Margot’s launch party, dipping in and out of the kitchen from time to time ― to take its temperature.

Elliot got the show rolling with passed hors d’oeuvres highlighting the new menu at Le Margot ― taking special care with the precision of the oyster course. The chef’s stylish oysters are dressed in rose gelee and caviar.

“I’ll be dropping in to check on our other nearby restaurants,” Elliot tells PaperCity Fort Worth.

He could simply walk across the street to see how things are going at Tavern, and both Maria’s and Pacific Table are less than five minutes away.

“But if you want to find me, most of the time I’ll be right back there cooking,”  Elliot notes, pointing to the open kitchen at Le Margot. He’ll be the one wearing the signature white-rimmed glasses. His newest pair of specs are architect-style rounds (a la Le Corbusier or Philip Johnson).

Other selections teased what is to come at Le Margot. These included crisp bread creations from the tarte flambees section topped with roasted mushrooms, goat cheese and white truffle, or crispy bacon, caramelized onions and chopped herbs. The delicate beef tartare is served atop potato chips and a diminutive serving of the crab salad niçoise with olive tapenade and local tomatoes. Finally, a classic lemon tart with toasted French meringue made the scene.

“Of course, the menus at all of our other restaurants are Felipe’s creations,” Elliot says. “This is the first one that we got to work on together.” Which fits because much of Elliot’s other work in Chicago was really French at its core.

As we spoke about the menu, Elliot fanned through photos on his cellphone of all the oh-so-pretty platings. I’ll be back soon to sample the dover sole meuniere which will be prepared in a caper brown butter sauce, served atop wilted spinach. Another draw? The lavender glazed chicken, which seems to be a favorite of Chef Elliot, is plated in a rich sun-dried tomato sauce.

What to Expect at Le Margot

The new Le Margot’s dramatic space has a massive rectangular bar to your right. With plenty of Côte d’Azur touches, it is backed by a raw bar and topped with three magnificent oyster shell chandeliers with the open kitchen beyond. The bar tops are luxuriously polished pink marble. A collection of copper pans that even Julia Child might covet decorate a wall near the kitchen. While vintage black and white French reels are projected near the bar.

Don’t skip a trip to the le toilettes either ― they are as bold as you’d expect. I can only attest to the design inside the one marked Madame, which brings pink wallpaper with bamboo and antique travel scenes and a smattering of a plate collection covering the upper half of the walls and its ceiling.

The coffered ceiling carries throughout Le Margot, with pops of cabernet red and Riviera blue waters. The Venetian plaster walls in the main dining room are a deep green. Velvet banquettes line the walls in deco-inspired shapes. Three imported, pale pink Murano glass-style chandeliers make a statement, having cost a pretty penny according to the restaurant’s construction team.

Little Margot Armenta (the restaurant’s namesake) was even on hand, with her customary curly locks, posing for a few photos dressed in a frilly white tutu.

Tables at Le Margot are set with pink pearly glass chargers and dinner is served on classically French, thick pink transferware plates. White tablecloths marry well with black wicker-style bistro chairs. Floors are designed in bold black and white, with the far wall covered in cut velvet rosettes adding an acoustic element to the dining room.

No detail appears to be overlooked. However, Rachel Armenta (Felipe’s wife) tells PaperCity that much of the artwork is yet to be installed. So more layers and design details are still to come at this very distinct new Fort Worth French restaurant.

Le Margot will be open from 4 pm to 9 pm Sundays and Mondays, and 4 pm to 10 pm Tuesdays through Saturdays.