Merci Marcel (Orchard)

Merci Marcel (Orchard) is a French café at Palais Renaissance, a small mall on Orchard Road. It serves food from breakfast until late, with separate menus for breakfast, daytime, afternoon, dinner and brunch.

Merci Marcel runs several cafés around Singapore, including branches in Tiong Bahru and Club Street. This one opened at Palais Renaissance in 2019.

What to order

Mornings start with French pastries made with French butter, such as croissants and pain au chocolat. Egg dishes come with sourdough bread. Choices range from scrambled eggs with truffle paste to eggs Benedict with Bayonne ham. The Croque Marcel, with ham, a fried egg and Morbier cheese, is a filling option.

In the evening, the menu turns to plates for sharing. The café suggests starting with two or three plates and adding more as you go. Cheese is a highlight. It comes from Maison Beillevaire, a French cheesemaker, and is served on platters with cured meats. For a group, there is "La Grande", a cheese and charcuterie platter one metre long.

Other dinner choices include tarte flambée, a thin, crisp flatbread from Alsace. Toppings include truffle and mushroom with Comté, or smoked duck with reblochon and grapes. Duck Parmentier, crab croquettes with chilli crab mayonnaise and ravioles de Royans, small French cheese dumplings, are also worth a look.

For something sweet, the crème brûlée comes with homemade salted caramel. There is also a French toast made with brioche on the breakfast menu.

The setting

The room pairs a French café look with a tropical feel, plus a few nods to Bauhaus design. Old and new furniture are mixed together, and the mood is relaxed rather than busy. It works well for a slow breakfast or a long lunch between shops.

Good to know before you go

• Bookings: tables can be reserved online through the café's website.
• Cash-free: the menus state that the café does not accept cash.
• Dietary needs: vegetarian dishes are marked on the menus. The breakfast egg dishes have a gluten-free option on request.
• Takeaway: the group's Marcel To Go service offers food to take away.

Getting there

Palais Renaissance is at 390 Orchard Road, and the café is on the ground floor. The café's website names Orchard as the nearest MRT station, and there is parking in the building.

Nearby

Take a walk along Orchard Road before or after your meal. For another meal nearby, try Bhoomi, an Indian restaurant at Orchard Towers next door, or Shisen Hanten by Chen Kentaro along Orchard Road. If you are staying nearby, Royal Plaza on Scotts and Grand Hyatt Singapore are close by.

Browse more cafés and bakeries in Singapore or all restaurants in Orchard and River Valley.