Mad about Marcel

Beef wagyu tartare with french fries and salad.

The setup

You're stepping into the cozy abode of a Parisian hipster when you enter Marcel. The black and white chequered floor, the French blue walls, the light wooden tables and the sound of Prince all align together nicely, inviting you to stay. Books and newspapers line the bottom of the staircase, as do Polaroid photos of the restaurant's regular attendees, Marcel's extended family. This family has grown bigger in the last year since its opening.

The menu

At the time of our visit, Marcel was dedicating a full week to French oysters, something it intends to do from now on every month. There were 5 different types of oysters to choose from: Royal oyster No. 3; Fine oyster No.4; Marennes Oléron No. 4; Vendée Atlantique No.4 and Wild live oyster No. 4. We went for the Fine oyster No. 4 (B110/piece). These originate from the Baie de St Michel in Cancale, the famous fishing village known to foodies and Frenchies far and wide for cultivating magnificent molluscs. The oysters came with 3 sauces: sweet and sour chilli "dogg sauce"; gin and tonic with cucumber and lastly, mignonette, an interesting combo of minced shallots and red wine vinegar.

Eating oysters is a unique experience, difficult to describe: being slippery, the time an oyster spends on your tongue is fleeting and short-lived so trying to explain it is like trying to catch a butterfly. And the taste was pretty incomparable to, well, anything really, as oysters tend to be; salty and nutrient dense, certainly, and without the risk of us sounding too cliché, they tasted like the ocean.

You do perk up right away after having one of these bad boys though and this could be because oysters are naturally a very rich source of vitamins and minerals. Or it could be because they are nature's aphrodisiac. Who knows? Anyway, we reckon a good dose of oysters once a month wouldn't be such a bad thing, health wise and else wise, so good one Marcel for kicking off this trend. With the ones we were eating from Cancale, we weren't so worried about falling ill -- a concern one should never ignore when it comes to eating oysters -- as we're told the Baie de St Michel has some of the biggest tides in the world, meaning that they are more likely to come without parasitic shells. This order went down nicely with a glass of dry white Bordeaux (Cave du Marmandis, 2014, B290).

We also went for Marcel's classics. For soup, we opted for the mushroom (B210) made using champignons de Paris. This was a real delight and as far as soups go one of the best we've had in a while. It was light, creamy and bursting with flavour. We couldn't quite believe only one type of mushroom was used for this as usually it takes a lot of layering to get that kind of taste. For tapas, we had the Calamari sautéed chorizo and pastis (B240) -- a much more delicious and healthy alternative to the deep fried fare you'll usually find. This was consumed at lightning speed. We also went with the Beef wagyu tartare with french fries and salad (B610) -- pricey but understandable, as the beef comes all the way from Australia. Once the raw egg was mixed into the tartare this dish too was consumed at lightning speed. The capers gave the rare beef a tasty round off. We also opted for the King mackerel with bouillabaisse sauce (B660) -- another dish that had a wonderful taste of the ocean. The Goat cheese salad (B410), although delicious, was a bit too pricey, considering the portion we got.

Insider tip

When the rain stops Marcel will reinstate its electronic weekend brunches, headed by a few of Bangkok's local and talented house DJs who are known to frequent the bistro. They'll be setting their decks up out front and Sathorn 10 is certainly a wonderful street to be playing for and dancing on. Good music, a special brunch menu and a special drinks menu will all fuse into one to make for a weekend that will make you forget about that awful week you had at work. Look out for updates on the facebook page.

Value and verdict

The restaurant's owner a Thai national who spent 10 years working in restaurants and owning one in Paris, says it was there that she became obsessed with the quality of food. For the first time ever she was exposed to frozen foods and microwave dinners and she realised how lucky she had been growing up with a mother who took pride in shopping for fresh food every day from local markets. Using fresh and quality ingredients, cooked there and then with love, became her raison d'être. You really do taste it in every single dish Marcel offers. The emphasis at Marcel is on quality. And the best thing about it is you don't have to be fancy to eat fancy. At Marcel, it's all family vibes; you can put your elbows on the table if you really want to! g

Fine oyster No. 4.

Goat cheese salad.

Hay-smoked yellowtail.

Marcel

French Bistro & Bar, Mon-Fri from 6pm-midnight; Sat-Sun from noon-2am Sathon Soi 10, www.facebook.com/MarcelRestaurantBangkok, 02-635-3533