ABOUT

CHEFS WALTER & MARGARITA MANZKE

A Southern California native, Walter Manzke began his fine dining career in Los Angeles working alongside esteemed Chef Joachin Splichal of Patina. From there, he traveled around the world working with renowned chefs Ferran Adrià and Alain Ducasse. After a few years in the Bay area opening successful Relais & Chateaux properties, he returned to Los Angeles to make his mark on the city as Chef of Bastide, then moved on to take over the kitchen at Church & State.

Chef Walter has several restaurants to his name. Domestically, he and his team have opened numerous critically acclaimed Los Angeles concepts, including Sari Sari Store, & République. Working alongside his wife and business partner Margarita Manzke, they have opened sixteen Wildflour Bakeries in the Philippines.

In one of the most anticipated restaurant debuts for Los Angeles, Chef Walter sought to further his passion for Parisian cuisine with Bicyclette Bistro, which opened in 2021. The following year, Manzke Restaurant—a tasting menu concept and his most ambitious project to date—opened upstairs. In 2023, Manzke received one Michelin Star.

Regarded as an “unassailable cornerstone of Los Angeles dining” by Los Angeles Times Restaurant Critic Bill Addison, Chef Walter’s restaurants have pushed him to the forefront of contemporary French cuisine, earning him recognition from the Michelin Guide, The James Beard Foundation, The Los Angeles Times, and journalists from across the globe.

Born and raised in the Philippines, Margarita Manzke entered the Los Angeles scene working at some of the city’s most celebrated restaurants, including Patina, Spago, and Mélisse. In the early 2000s, she and her husband Walter moved to Carmel, opening critically acclaimed dining concepts Bouchée, Cantinetta Luca and l’Auberge Carmel, which is where her signature French baguette was mastered. Manzke eventually returned to Los Angeles as Pastry Chef of Bastide Restaurant, and, in the years to come, opened several award-winning concepts in Los Angeles, including République, Sari Sari Store, Bicyclette, and Manzke.

Manzke pushed the boundaries of her craft at République, introducing her own distinctive techniques and flavors into her creations. As a result of her inspired work at République, Manzke has been nominated for the James Beard Awards Outstanding Pastry Chef category for eight consecutive years running, with a win for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker in 2023. République has continued to make its mark on the culinary landscape of Los Angeles as a frequent entry on the Los Angeles Times “101 Best” List and one of Restaurant Critic Bill Addison’s most recommended LA restaurants to both friends and readers.

In addition to her other restaurants, Manzke is well known for her Sari Sari Store in the historic Grand Central Market, which brings a fresh take on the Filipino food of her upbringing to Downtown Los Angeles. Internationally, her reach includes sixteen Wildflour Bakery and Cafés in the Philippines. In 2021, she and Chef Walter opened Bicyclette Bistro in Beverly Hills, which celebrates traditional Parisian bistro cuisine through the lens of hyper-seasonal California ingredients. Their latest venture upstairs—simply called ‘Manzke’—opened in March of 2022 and takes her storied career to the next level in the form of a refined tasting menu concept, which earned one Michelin Star in 2023.

Throughout their careers the Manzkes have developed a shared admiration and appreciation of the French bistro culture of Paris, inspiring the creation of their newest concept, Bicyclette. Entirely designed by Walter Manzke himself, Bicyclette is a testament to the Manzke’s passion for French cuisine and the duo’s desire to continue bringing the Los Angeles community an authentic and distinctly Manzke dining experience.