Since late June, the 1895 Blue Rock Inn at 507 Magnolia has been quiet, ever since Left Bank served its last dinner there. The blocks around it have not. Downtown Larkspur's evening never depended on one big room. It runs on a string of smaller ones spread between the 200 block and the 1100 block. The one piece that left the street, French food and wine, has turned up a few minutes east at Marin Country Mart.
A landmark building and a 32-year dinner room
Left Bank came from Larkspur. The Marin Independent Journal reported that it was founded here in 1994, when restaurateur Ed Levine partnered with French chef Roland Passot on the brasserie menu and look. Menlo Park, San Jose and a run of sister restaurants came later.
The closure came fast. According to that same Independent Journal report, the parent company's employees heard the news on a Monday morning in June, right after Father's Day service. The Larkspur dining room stayed open for a final Tuesday and Wednesday. The state layoff notice listed 54 jobs at the Larkspur location, the largest Marin count in a filing that also covered 20 jobs at Petite Left Bank in Tiburon.
The building is older than anything that ever served food inside it. The Town of Larkspur's downtown walking tour says it opened in 1895 as the Hotel Merwin, a two-story Queen Anne hotel on the main north-south county road. It later became the Hotel Larkspur. After a 1910 sale, local designer-builder Gustave Nagel remodeled it with the blue basalt rock pillars that gave the Blue Rock its name. The neon sign went up in the 1920s and the third story in the 1950s. The tour calls it a landmark "whose name is synonymous with Larkspur throughout the Bay Area."
As of this fall, nothing new has been filed for the space. The only downtown Magnolia entry on the Town's list of pending applications is an awning at 473 Magnolia.
The Left Bank group was also known for its calendar parties. The Independent Journal noted that its restaurants marked Bastille Day and Beaujolais Nouveau Day with costumed servers and live music.
The bar down the block chose to change nothing
A month before Left Bank closed, Magnolia's other old institution went through a handoff of its own and came out looking the same as before. The Silver Peso at 450 Magnolia reopened on May 30 after a remodel. Its new managing partners, Max Perry and Conor Flaherty, also run Sam's Anchor Cafe in Tiburon. Over several months they put in new floors, new bar siding, fresh paint and upgraded bathrooms, along with new pool tables and a refurbished shuffleboard table. Marin Magazine notes the bar sits in a former blacksmith shop dating to 1905.
Perry described the goal to the Marin Independent Journal:
"It looks and feels exactly the same. Rebel helped steward it for so long, and we're grateful for the opportunity and for his faith that we'll continue carrying it forward for the next few decades."
The new team did add one thing that matters with Left Bank gone. They told the Independent Journal they plan to keep partnering with food vendors for events and on weekends, starting with The Humble Cheeseburger truck at the reopening. Hours at the time of the reopening were noon to 2 a.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. on weekends. The bar's website still greets visitors with "Welcome Back."
The mile Left Bank used to anchor
Two months after the closure, as the Marin Independent Journal reported, the Larkspur Chamber of Commerce ran its 14th annual Downtown Larkspur Wine Stroll along Magnolia, from the Lark Creek Shops to Ward Street. More than 22 regional wineries and breweries took part, and proceeds went to the Chamber. Restaurant Picco served caviar bumps paired with Kendric Vineyards wine, and Tavola Rustica was among the food vendors. The event shows the street's real shape. It's a walk made up of many small stops, and Left Bank was one large stop along it.
Here is that walk from south to north, with each spot's posted details:
- Perry's on Magnolia, 234 Magnolia. Dinner every night and brunch on weekends, with a patio, a front garden and a redwood grove on top of three indoor rooms.
- Boichik Bagels, 238 Magnolia. Open daily, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Equator Coffees, 240 Magnolia. The downtown corner coffee stop in Marin Magazine's August 2026 guide.
- Keiko Fish, 250 Magnolia, Suite B. Lunch and dinner, Tuesday through Sunday.
- Tavola Rustica, 286 Magnolia. Cal-Italian food and a curated wine list, indoors and out.
- Pizzeria Picco, 316 Magnolia. Pizza is served outside or for takeout only.
- Restaurant Picco, 320 Magnolia. Open Monday through Thursday from 5 to 8:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 4:30 to 9, and Sunday from 4:30 to 8. Every 750ml bottle on the wine list is half price on Mondays. The restaurant reports a 2026 Business of the Year honor from the Larkspur Chamber.
- Emporio Rulli, 424 Magnolia. An Italian pastry counter whose holiday highlight, according to Marin Magazine, is panettone Milanese.
- Silver Peso, 450 Magnolia. Back and, by design, unchanged.
- Red Boy Pizza, 580 Magnolia. Open daily, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
- Internos Wine & Beer Bar, 1110 Magnolia. A C-shaped bar near where Magnolia turns into College Avenue, with charcuterie, salads and flatbreads, plus bottles to take home.
One block off the avenue, Farm House Local at 25 Ward Street serves breakfast and lunch daily from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Taken together, the list explains why the street held up. Picco and Tavola Rustica cover sit-down dinner with wine. Perry's handles groups and weekend brunch. Internos and the Silver Peso cover a drink. The morning trade belongs entirely to Boichik, Equator, Rulli and Farm House Local, which were never competing with a French dinner room to begin with.
French moved east to the Mart
The clearest sign of where Left Bank's niche went is in Marin Magazine's Larkspur dining guide, updated in August 2026. A Left Bank photo still sits at the top of the French section, but the listing under it now belongs to Le Marais Bakery at 2201 Larkspur Landing Circle in Marin Country Mart. The guide describes its buvette concept as pastries and crêpes plus a wine bar, "a glass of white alongside a savory galette Bretonne."
The Mart has had a busy year of its own. Frankie & Jo's closed its Larkspur Landing storefront on Aug. 31. Redwood Bark reported in September that Salt & Straw will open a couple of doors down, with no opening date released yet. The Mart's homepage still lists Salt & Straw as coming soon, while Margaux and Varley now show as open. The Mart also has an all-day Loveski Deli at 1813 Larkspur Landing Circle and El Huarache Loco's Mexico City cooking at 1803.
So the old Magnolia evening, with steak au poivre and a glass of Burgundy, now splits two ways. Dinner and wine stay downtown at places like Picco and Tavola Rustica. The French accent sits by the ferry, at Le Marais.
Halloween weekend at the Mart, then December
The Mart's calendar for Halloween weekend and into December, as listed on its events page:
- Friday, Oct. 30: the last Friday Movie Night of a series that began June 19.
- Through Saturday, Oct. 31: the pumpkin patch's final days. It opened Oct. 1.
- Saturday, Oct. 31, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.: the Halloween Spectacular, with a costume contest in the courtyard and trick-or-treating.
- Friday and Saturday, Dec. 11–12: a Yaser Shaw trunk show at Hero Shop.
On the same Friday, Dec. 11, the Town of Larkspur's calendar lists Hot Cocoa & Train Night at Piper Park, 250 Doherty Drive, from 5 to 8 p.m. The Chamber's downtown holiday events last year were a tree lighting at Perry's on Dec. 3, a downtown open house Dec. 6–7 and a Hanukkah celebration on Dec. 14, 2025, according to a Town memo. Dates for 2026 haven't been posted yet, so check with the Chamber before you plan around them.
Whatever happens next at 507 Magnolia will change the walk more than any other storefront on the street, because the Blue Rock is still the building most people picture when they think of downtown Larkspur. If you'd like to talk about what changes like these mean for your own corner of Larkspur, or just compare notes on a favorite stop along Magnolia, Miranda Hanson is glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.
