Marcel's serves what the French cook and eat. It is not pretentious. It is the freshest ingredients purchased daily at the market and placed in the hands of chefs who have the talent and philosophy to be innovative without resorting to trickery.

The Southern French luxuriate in the pure tastes and aromas of the simplest but finest foods treated with respect and integrity.

The restaurants buy fish at the back door caught by local fishermen in cold streams, they sear it quickly on the grill and flavour it simply with the finest olive oil and regional herbs. The cream sauces are rich in flavour (because where would French cuisine be without cream?) but in the master's hands they are as light and fresh as liquid silk on the tongue. And the chefs constantly try new ideas within the framework of their long experience because cooking is a living art.

The French eat where they are always welcome. They return to the restaurants where the conversation flows as easily as the wine. They eat simply but superbly everyday because they can.

We believe the only difference between there and Marcel's Bistro is a few thousand miles and a flight of stairs. Hundreds of regular customers seem to agree: over the past years the steady traffic has worn those stairs down a bit in places as they've made their way through the unconventional entrance and up to Marcel's. Philosophy knows no boundaries, or physical impediments. And we serve our customers with the same integrity practised for generations in France - because we can.