BEFORE WALTER MANZKE opened République with his pastry chef extraordinaire wife, Margarita, he sealed his reputation for French-California cooking with cassoulets, bouillabaisse and fried pig’s ear during his run at Church & State, and with tenures at Bastide and Patina before that. With Bicyclette (which shares a space with their tasting-menu restaurant, Manzke), the couple lay claim to their own stylish take on a bistro. The canonical dishes may be refracted through the sensibilities of American chefs, but never in ways that derail their essence. Beef Bourguignonne is full of short rib hunks and chewy lardons and especially satisfying over potato mousseline. The bouillabaisse has been resurrected, its broth again distilled into a seafood liqueur. I love the electric current of nutmeg flowing through the textbook boudin blanc, which comes and goes from the menu. Start the meal with savory tarte tatin with caramelized onions arranged in a swirl over goat cheese, and return to the form at the end for one of Margarita’s seasonal fruit tarts; the precision of the patterns suggests rulers were involved.

• 9575 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, (424) 500-9575, bicyclettela.com