It’s springtime, and that means restaurants are rolling out new seasonal menus. Last Friday, March 24, La Table hosted a media preview of its newly expanded (and wonderfully shady) patio and spring menu offered at Marché, the casual brasserie located on the first floor of the multi-concept restaurant.

They’ve taken a lighter approach with the new menu, naturally, offering more healthful options as well as marking items on the menu as vegetarian, vegan and gluten free. The French eatery draws a chic, ladies-who-lunch crowd, so the change makes perfect sense.

Spring sliders at La Table’s Marché

You can still order a cheeseburger or croque madame if you please, but if you’re craving those flavors yet watching the waistline, try an order of the sliders ($16, choose between beef, chicken or lamb, photo above) paired with the hummus and cruditès ($9, photo below) and split the duo with a calorie-conscious friend.

Hummus and cruditès at La Table’s Marché

Another new menu feature is the option to add grilled skewers to any of the salads. You can choose between shrimp, salmon and steak. A combination we recommend? The La Table salad ($14), which is dotted with cherry tomatoes, Texas Ruby Red grapefruit segments, radish, endive and a blood orange vinaigrette with a skewer of steak on top ($14 for the skewer, photo below).

La Table salad with steak skewers at Marché

There is also a new section on the menu devoted to light and vibrant flatbreads. The wild mushroom flatbread ($14) is freshened up with zesty pesto and bitter arugula, and the yellowfin tuna flatbread ($23) – our favorite of the tasting – is smeared with a tangy creme fraîche aioli and finished with green onions, Himalayan salt and capers. Each bite bursts with brightness.

It’s easy to spend a few hours on La Table’s new side patio enjoying glasses of rosé or sangria, so we suggest you plan ahead – and by that we mean don’t make any plans at all. Cheers to spring sips.

La Table, 1800 Post Oak Blvd. #6110, bet. San Felipe & Westheimer, 713-439-1000, latablehouston.com
Hours at Marché: Lunch Mon.-Sun. 11 am-5 pm, Sun. 11 am; Dinner Mon.-Thurs. 5 pm-10 pm, Fri.-Sat. 5 pm-11 pm; Brunch Sat.-Sun. 8 am-4 pm