Marmalade Cafe Sherman Oaks

Wow, waited almost 20 minutes for someone to take our order. Nobody even came to check with us for drinks, and we were seated outside in 85 degree weather. Not sure if I’ll be coming back here.

Went here for Sunday Brunch and wasn’t really impressed. The food & drinks had a long wait time and the décor was unimpressive. The staff didn’t look too happy either. The food tasted ok, wasn’t terrible but nothing to rave about. Doubt I’ll be going back.

I went to this place just out of my curiosity because I always pass this area and from outside it looks very cute. So I thought food is good too, but I was not satisfied with the service and cuisine…

Great service, great food. Came here with family that had a «$ 10 off $ 40» birthday coupon so we split the steak and lobster dish (amazing). Also had the tomato bisque (really good) and bread pudding (okay). They were out of the molten chocolate cake which I really wanted to try. It’s a pretty nice restaurant and I’ve heard a lot about their breakfasts so I’ll be back!
It’s on Ventura Blvd. but in kind of a weird area. Parking in the Wells Fargo lot has been the easiest but you could probably find street parking nearby.

My husband’s 40^th birthday was fast approaching and we still hadn’t found a venue that could accommodate 30 people and meet all the needs and wants we had on our list: private room, affordable, and pretty.
We searched and came upon this little hidden gem. In a way I want to keep it a secret so it will be all mine but I want others to know that such a place does exist. We found it at Marmalade Café in Sherman Oaks. You wouldn’t know from the outside that such a place exists but when you enter it’s a whole new world.
Let me start by saying that out of all the venues we contacted, Marmalade were the quickest to get back to us and always responded back in a timely manner. We met with Oscar, the event coordinator, so we could see the place. The pictures on Unilocal and their own website really don’t do it justice. The restaurant is beautiful and the dining room feels like you are in your own home.
We booked it immediately and couldn’t wait for the big day. Up until the day of the party I kept in touch with Oscar and Shayna. Any question or request I had was always met with a quick pleasant response.
On the day of the event we really didn’t need to do anything. We just showed up. We brought our own centerpieces but the room was set. The guests shortly arrived and we all had a marvelous time. You couldn’t even tell that there was a busy restaurant just beyond the closed doors of the dining room. The acoustics were great. The service was wonderful, always with a smile and very prompt. And the food. The food… We had some picky eaters at our party. People that go to very expensive restaurants and they couldn’t stop praising the food. Not a plate was left untouched.
I can’t thank Shayna and Oscar enough for helping me make my husband’s birthday dinner the success it was. Everyone had such a great time and I owe it to them and the staff at Marmalade Café.
We can’t wait to have another dinner party there and now we found a new restaurant to go to.

Cute Marmalade location in the valley. They serve a nice breakfast, I had the omelette with avocado and bacon, served with potatoes and toast with… marmalade and jelly!
My kids liked their pancakes, eggs, bacon. My husband tried the whole grain pancakes and eggs with chicken and liked that as well.
Capuccino was also delicious and you can get soy milk:).
The reason I dock a star is because when I asked for extra silverware from the person who brought out our food she wouldn’t help and said I had to wait for my server to come back. That was surprising, I’m not sure if this is a job description confusion or the restaurants policy.
Valet parking only. For breakfast it’s $ 4.
Make rezzies too!

The service was *beyond* excellent here. I wish I could remember her name so I could give her kudos (medium length light blond hair). She was the perfect combination of being professional, capable, and courteous without a shred of the obsequiousness I find so grating in a lot of servers. I was once told that the secret to great service is «anticipation», as in anticipating your customers’ needs. She was a step ahead of me just about the whole time:)
Food is very good. I’ve never had a heartier and more substantial appetizer than their chili. It’s been a few weeks so quite honestly I forgot exactly what we had, but I get the impression this is the kind of place where everything is at least pretty good. We left happy and satisfied. Oh. for dessert we had their chocolate ganache cake. something like that. AMAZING
The ambiance is great. It kinda looks and feels like you’re dining in someone’s home.
Just a word to the Groupon Wise: Their Groupon doesn’t really make any sense if you don’t drink alcohol. It wasn’t like the Groupon deal «screwed us», just that our bill would have been a little bit less than the price of the groupon if we hadn’t ordered any drinks. which we normally don’t anyway. Also, the entrees are all 21.99 or less, so the Groupon might influence you to order the most expensive entrees instead of the ones you might prefer:)

I just keep coming back! Must try the upside down pineapple pancake (with the salted caramel butter… because it is unbelievably delicious. I keep bringing all my friends here.
They don’t have bottomless mimosas but the carafes are more than enough for 2 people (3 glasses each). They come in 3 other flavors too, wild berry (my fav), peach and mango.
Valet parking for those who don’t want the trouble of finding parking, although I have never had a problem finding street parking (and I am well aware that this establishment sits on Ventura blvd)
Steak and eggs, Gelson’s Scramble, Free Range Chicken Pot pie, Turkey Sausage and Tortilla scramble. yum yum yum yum!

Crimson and Clover Over and Over
My friend, with his Maltese Falcon service dog, and I cruised into the Marmalade Café like an odd couple of dudes from a cancelled cable sitcom. We were hungry. His service dog was impeccably groomed and well behaved as we settled at a corner table. My friend is a veteran Sherman Oaks Marmalader, but this was my first time a this location. Great service. We each ordered a pasta dish. My penne was perfectly cooked, the pesto sauce and grilled chicken were delicious. I rarely say, «OMG, this is so good» like some Chatty-​Cathy review doll, but I pulled that string over and over. My friend said, «I know how you feel, man. I know.» His service dog did not beg once, even after hearing my moans of delight with his acute service dog ears. That is more control than I could muster, especially after the first taste (and without wearing a leash). Enjoy.

Was looking for a Sunday brunch in the area and Unilocal directed us to this place. I was both happy and sad that there was a long line outside this place while walking towards it. But happy to say that there’s a bar area with open seating and there was 2 spots open. Score!
We ordered: 1) Smoked Salmon Omelette with Fruit and 2) Chorizo & Eggs. Both were delicious! Fresh ingredients, great service and the food came out fairly quickly. Servers were all very attentive and friendly. Everyone was ordering Bloody Mary’s and they looked amazing, but I tried to be good and just got coffee.
Parking may be hard to find, but we found parking a few blocks away which was a nice walk on a sunny Sunday. Overall a great Sunday brunch spot!

Went on a Sunday happy hour. Enjoyed the food, cocktails were great and prices were all reasonable. Worth coming back and forth. Grilled flat iron steak was good too. Love their mojitos.
Perfect for brunch and happy hour.

Santa Barbara location recently closed. Was in the area so I stopped by. Fresh ingredients really make a meal great and Marmalade nailed that for me.
This Marmalade was more then good it was fantastic. Food was nice and hot. They give a good size portion and make sure you don’t leave hungry.
Décor is nice… warm and invirung. Whenever i’m driving through or heading to LA I will stop in.

This place is decent, certainly a great brunch place for any kind of group. Though we didn’t try any brunch cocktails, the coffee bar was on point.
We had the salmon Benedict, the turkey hash, and the salmon scramble (added spinach and goat cheese). The smoked salmon dishes were more delicious than I thought they’d be as smoked salmon tends to get slimy.
Don’t bother getting the seasonal berries upgrade, the regular fruit cup that comes with most plates is genuinely fresh and delicious (read: not just honeydew melon)
PROS: friendly people; no need for reservation 8am Sunday (but they were happy to take it late Saturday night); nice bathroom (I think this matters); sunny porch for indoor seating
CONS: small substitutions are arbitrarily expensive; loud outdoor seating porch

Suzie Q’s Fun Facts:
In ancient times, Marmelade was originally made of quinces cooked slowly with honey. (The old Greek word for quince was «melimēlon,» meaning «honey fruit»).
=≅≅≅≅≅≅≅≅≅≅~
Marmelade is a quintessentially LA chain. And like LA itself, you’ve got to put up with some annoying qualities in order to experience Marmelade’s advantages.
On a typical weekend, the line is out the door here. But on my most recent visit, processing the wait list seemed to be taking longer than usual. Then, my companion noticed a couple who had added their name AFTER us get seated BEFORE us, and politely inquired of the hostess whether there had been some mistake. The hostess’ response: «I’m just following orders.»
Considering Nicole Richie and her husband and kids were eating breakfast within plain sight, it was abundantly clear what the hostess meant: A celebrity, or someone otherwise more «important» than us, had pulled rank to get seated before us. (Nicole herself wasn’t the one who pulled rank — I’m just making a point.)
I can understand being treated that way at The Ivy, where celebrities and power mongers pulling rank is part of the restaurant’s fabric… but here, at an unassuming Valley breakfast spot? Give me a flippin’ break.
The strangeness continued once my friend and I were finally seated. As I try to avoid carbs, I asked the waitress for a substitution option for the toast that came with my meal. Her response: «We have gluten-​free toast.»
How can a waitress in LA — the land of dietary fads and the fanatics who adopt them — not know that gluten-​free toast isn’t low carb… it simply has no gluten?
The waitress was hesitant and unhelpful when I tried to propose my own alternatives — steamed spinach? (No, she’d have to charge me extra). Extra fruit? (She’d have to ask the manager). Sigh…
She never came back to report on what the manager said, and the busser brought my omelet with only the original side of fruit, and no toast. I was ready to complain. But to the waitress’ credit, she later stopped by and on her own initiative, noticed that I hadn’t been given extra fruit and redressed the issue.
I think my rating of Marmelade Café would be lower if the menu weren’t so extensive and creative, with mouth-​watering options ranging from unhealthy (upside down pineapple pancakes, waffles) to fairly healthy (egg white omelets, polenta cakes, lean artisan chorizo)… and if the food itself weren’t so darn good.
I’ll return to Marmelade, but if I get pushed back in line by another more «important» person again (unless that person is President Obama), it’ll be my last visit.
[POSTSCRIPT: The general manager contacted me and advised that the restaurant has since discontinued allowing people to call ahead to reserve a spot on the wait list, which may have accounted for the couple behind us getting fast tracked (though it would have been helpful for the hostess to have explained as much… all she had said was «I’m just following orders.»)]

I was a bit less impressed with this place than others. Maybe I’m just a pill.
We came here on a Sunday for brunch, and the place was a ZOO. I mean, we’re talking the entire entranceway slammed with people standing around waiting. We had a reservation for 11:30 and we didn’t get seated until 11:50. That is super busy. Not a huge deal, really. 20 minutes is nothing in LA. Just sayin’.
Once we sat down, the wait staff actually did a really solid job with us. That’s a 5-​star part of this experience. We had a young lady come with the hostess (since she was too busy) and get us menus of varying shapes and sizes. Then our waiter came only a minute or two later to get drink orders.
Our waiter did a great job with dietary restrictions and nailed the order spot on.
My issue was, really, that I felt like the food was decent. Not great. Certainly better than the steak n’ eggs I had at Denny’s, but not by nearly enough to warrant the other draw-​backs. It was loud to the point of yelling to hear one another. The portions were not very large, and, frankly, my eggs smelled a little funny. No upset tummy, just odd smells. Maybe it was all the other foods coalescing in my schnoz.
In any case, I would probably come back and do lunch here another time, but not sure I’d brave the wave of hungry Angelenos for brunch again.
Still, big ups again to the wait staff for dealing with the pandemonium.

Came here for Thanksgiving lunch. It was a little pricey at $ 32 but did not break the bank. Started out with a carrot ginger soup which was tasty. Did not pick the turkey for entrée but had the artichoke ravioli which was much tastier than the soup and it was supposedly vegan. I think it probably has cheese or cream in it. The 3 course meal ended with pecan pie. The pecan pie was a little lack luster. Could have been warm or topped with some fresh whipped cream. Was so busy talking I completely forgot to take any photos.
Went back recently had the vegan pasta which was alright, nothing to write home about.

Wow, extremely overpriced and sub par to mediocre food and customer service. On a positive note, cute décor and vibrant atmosphere gives this restaurant lots of potential.
My sister ordered the classic eggs benedict (see photo) and this is what was served. I’m no chef (in fact I’m a terrible cook) but this seems bigger than a rookie mistake to serve a hard boiled egg instead of poached. I will say I enjoyed my biscuits & gravy benedict meal but the inconsistency in dishes served is unfortunate.
Marmalade’s customer service was also a bit off. We had two waitresses, one shadowing. I would recommend in the future to perhaps explain that one is in training or whatever the reason may be since it just seemed a bit odd with no explanation.
When I mentioned to our waitress, who only checked on us once 10 seconds after our food was served, about said dish above, we did get 20% off our meal.
No plans to return.

A lovely, upscale café right on Ventura. Valet parking, with street parking also available.
Great menu with lots of healthy food that tastes likes it’s really bad for you! What more could you ask for?
We had café burgers that were free range beef. They were pretty tasty! The service was stellar– even catering to Grandma and the baby.
$ 5 happy hours in the evenings!

Marmalade Café is located on Kester and Ventura where there’s plenty of free meter street parking on Sundays. They do offer valet for I am guessing those busy days but Ventura is a meaty street so not too hard to find parking.
The restaurant is super keep and keeps up with its charm. Although Marmalade Café is a chain restaurant each location has a different vibe correlating with its environment. This place seems very rustic with its French hardwood doors and Greek Iconic columns. It’s certainly an adorable spot from brunch or dinner.
Now my favorite part…
BREAD PUDDING!!!
Bread pudding is my absolute favorite dessert of all time! Its texture, its flavor, I mean really you can’t go wrong. And Marmalade Café surly proved that! I came here specifically to appease my sweets craving and boy was it satisfied. The behemoth of a bread pudding serving they give is almost offensive and the ice cream on top seals the gluttonous seal. Ohhhh if you are looking for a tasty dessert then this is it.
I also had the NY Cheesecake with an indistinguishable strawberry or raspberry compote. It was super creamy with an overwhelming cake to crust ratio. If you like more cheesecake than graham cracker crust you will be in luck!
Both desserts were MASSIVE, huge enough to be shared individually.
Service here is great, our waitress was super friendly!
HH begins 3pm-​7pm daily with $ 5 drink specials and on Wednesdays they allow you to bring in your own wine without a corkage fee.
ONLY problem is the drinks here weren’t that great. It could have just been a one-​off but certainly worth trying especially during HH.

This morning my original plan was to try Blue Jam café, but the wait was 50 minutes and it basically took 50 minutes to find parking. I noticed Marmalade was close by so we decided to check it out, and I’m glad we did!
Upon arrival we noticed a table out front on the patio. The hostess said it would be a 30 minute wait, but we asked if we could sit outside and she said of course, and we were sat immediately. This NEVER happens on a Sunday morning.
One thing I noticed was that their weekend brunch menu was about $ 1 – 2 more per item than their take out menu. I don’t really know why this is since it’s the same food, but not a huge deal.
I ordered the Gilson’s Scramble: three eggs, cheddar & jack cheese, avocado, with mushrooms (it comes with bacon but I subbed mushrooms). It came with a side of Marmalade potatoes and sourdough toast. First of all the potatoes were incredible. They were perfectly cooked with peppers and onions. So much flavor! The scramble itself was great, packed with mushrooms and avocado. I hate when the egg overpowers the dish and that’s not a problem here. The toast was so authentic and fresh and they serve it with four different kinds of marmalade (hence the name). It all felt so fancy haha.
My boyfriend ordered the Biscuits & Gravy Benedict. It was a biscuit cut in half with three poached eggs and sausage gravy on top. I would say his was almost better than mine! The texture of the biscuit was unbeatable and the gravy was so flavorful, filled with herbs.
The house coffee was $ 3.25 but it’s organic and free refills. Really good coffee!
Honestly the only reason I’m giving this place four stars is because the menu isn’t THAT extensive. Yes, we all found something we enjoyed but this would not be a place for someone with food restraints since the menu isn’t huge. Large enough for a non picky eater though!