Welcome to a community gathering place in the heart of San Rafael.  An oasis for artists and art-lovers alike. Stop by and enjoy a delicious meal or small bite, with just the right glass of wine or beer. Who better to embody our concept than La Grande Odalisque? She is content and amused, both coy and self-assured, and depicted by a French painter imaginatively referencing the Ottoman Empire. Analogous to the painting, the cuisine at Odalisque Café will venture into both French and North African flavors ­­ using fresh, local, sustainably grown produce and meats.

What is an Odalisque?

The French term 'Odalisque' [oh-dah-leesk] originated during 17th century colonialism. Europe's newly expanding world view and cultural fascination with 'exotic' lands spanning from North Africa to the Middle East and Asia was paralleled in the art world by Orientalism -- an art movement so popular that it lasted for decades and permeated European painting, decorative arts, photography, architecture, literature and theater.

Stemming from the Turkish word 'odalisk' (a maidservant to the women of a Turkish harem), the term later became an idiom referencing any painting of a woman at repose. Hundreds of Odalisques were painted during this period in history (many by artists who never travelled beyond Europe) including Eugène Delacroix, Auguste Renoir, Henri Matisse, Roger Fenton, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Edouard Manet, Ferdinand Roybet, Jules Joseph Lefebvre, Marc Chagall and Oskar Kokoschka.

Come try out this welcomed new addition to the Marin restaurant scene in downtown San Rafael featuring a Californian-Mediterranean Grille Cuisine.