The Marc

Casual or romantic ambience. Great tasting french food. Great service.
The marc has been around for several years. And during the first year of opening I had several issues with the food. Initially quite disappointing flavours and poor service. But now this has all improved and has uped my rating from average to outstanding!
Located just off of Jasper avenue in a little corner (you wont drive by it unless you are looking for it) Theres ample street parking after 6pm. Before this its rather awful downtown metered parking. Reservations are easy to make via opentable. ANd make online bookings super easy. I did this about a month in advance and scored prime seating for a 630pm seating on valentines day.
Once arrived. They have a little coat check area to hang your jackets and the hostess is great for assisting with this. The restaurant is dimly lit and has a modern feel without being too cold. It can be a casual dinner out with family or friends or a romantic dinner with a loved one. Although I personally think it would be a nice first date kinda place to impress! Lol. I was seated in a large booth in the corner right behind the hostess area. And I would have to say these seats are prime seating. Large enough for 2 people to little sprawl out and lay down. Nice. It was very intimate and I didnt feel cramped at all. This was one of my annoyances in the past. As previously I felt the seating was a bit cramped and too close to other patrons for comfort.
The food on my particular visit was outstanding. The complimentary bread was soft and warm. The steak tartar was decent. A bit mushy to my liking. The escargots were buttery and rich. The pâté was a good portion. The Scallop entrée was outstanding and highly recomended. Every item on the plate complemented the dish. The flavours were rich and buttery and cooked to perfection and seasoned just right. The lobster sauce on top of the scallops was delicious. The steak was cooked a perfect medium rare with lots of marbling but not overly fatty. This was not the case on one of my first visits for a pork belly dish which was basically a huge chunk of fat which was extremely unappetizing. I would have to say that these 2 entrees (the steak and the scallops) are a must order.
The beignets were soft but not as tasty as i imagined. But the sauces served with it really upped the wow factor as the caramel sauce was delicious. I personally dont understand all the rage about the beignets (Ive had better). But the chocolate cake was a delicious end to our meal. A rich chocolate dessert not overly rich or too sweet. The sauces accompanied with it and the crunchy walnuts made this dish. And I will definetly order this again.
The service is great. A great balance between friendly, helpful and nonintrusive. Everything was provided for without prompting but is brought fast upon request.
Overall the Marc has worked out many of its kinks since opening. It has now joined my top 5 restaurants in Edmonton and I can now proudly say that it deserves its rating increase from 3 stars to 5!

Another great supper with the hubby for our 13^th anniversary!!! Yah.
We startrd off with the smoked fish croquettes with endives. The presentation was beautiful but unfortunately I was not a fan. The portion was super small with one croquet for each of us. The fish ball itself was super fishy and left a lingering taste in my mouth that didn’t leave till I got to dig into my main entrée. The dijon mustard sauce was the saving grace for this dish, And the endives were fresh and crisp.
For our main course I went with the duck and my husband had the scallops. Once again the scallops did not disappoint. My husband thoroughly enjoyed his plate and used the left over complimentary bread to soak up the last of the lobster sauce.
This was my first go at duck and I really enjoyed it. The duck was flavourful and juicy but it was a little chewy. I actually didn’t mind the extra bit chewing because it left you with more time to enjoy the taste. The plate includes corn with some other mixed veg which was also super delicious. There was a small amount of parsnip purée on the plate. The purée seemed a little out of place and didn’t go well with the other ingredients but it did grow on me. To say the least I was left with an empty plate at the end of the meal.
We didn’t have time for dessert but I cannot wait for my next excuse to eat at this marvelous restaurant again. Happy dining.

What can I say about The Marc? There are probably only a couple words — freaking fantastic!
The Marc was chosen by a colleague for a work meeting. I had no idea what I would be walking into or what kind of food I would be faced with. When I walked in, I thought I was walking into a high-​class restaurant, but it was nice to see I wasn’t the only one in jeans!
The service was incredible. I forgot the name of our waitress, but she was pleasant and knowledgeable. She made sure that we understood the specials for the day and quickly answered any questions that we had.
Oh. My. God. Like I said, the food was fantastic. I ordered one of the daily specials — an open-​faced smoked meat sandwich with Gruyère cheese. It was probably the most amazing sandwich I have ever had — and I don’t even like sandwiches! The combination of meat and cheese paired with the delicious bread it was served on was one for the books!
I would definitely recommend checking out The Marc to anyone — and don’t miss the Monet’s in the bathroom!

Second time to the Marc and it has yet to disappoint, we had the special, salmon as well as seared scallops and beef tartare to start. Our waitress, Kim assured in choosing great wines to pair and was very knowledgable with the menu. The staff here remembered me from a previous visit (over a year ago) –astounding service. This is a must visit for anyone and everyone looking for a quality dinner at a more than reasonable price! Two thumbs up for the Marc

Walked into the Marc because I had heard good things. It offered a cozy retreat from the cold and snow. And lots of windows in which to gloat about how much better it was inside, enjoying some fresh baked bread and a hot beverage. Waitress was very friendly which is always what one likes to see. She recommended the feature that day, which was an open faced montreal smoked meat sandwich with gruyère cheese and house made mustard… I eagerly awaited the sandwich. Took maybe 10 min. Omg i would have waited an hr or more. Bread was so fresh and perfectly crunchy. The mustard was the best i have ever tasted and the meat was piled high. What a treat. Im normally not a fan of coleslaw but apples and radishes together was a heck of a combination and paired perfectly with the rest of the meal. The meat itself was better than bacon. Bacon wishes it could taste as good as this meat. And montreal wishes they could make a Sandwich like this. Havent tried anything else. But I will be back for sure. Five stars… Wait. There’s more. They have Beignets! Of course they do. This place is awesome. Having just come back from New Orleans, I was very excited. Well my friends, they were delicious, like a less cakey and more delicious version of a donut. A different style than I was used to which I was averted too at first. And then I dipped them in the caramel. Game over. No more left on the plate. I know its a classy restaurant but if when the plate of them is gone and you dip your finger in the caramel to lick it off, I wont judge. Nuff said. Cozy high class establishment. A little pricier than most places i would go to for lunch but well worth it. :)

Love this place!
The food is always awesome and the staff is knowledgeable and some of the best out there.

We’ve been wanting to try The Marc for awhile but finally we get to try it for hubby’s birthday! It was not a disappointment!
First we got greeted by the hostess and she was very nice to let us choose where to sit and advised us that there will be a big party coming in and if we wanted more of a quiet evening it was best to sit somewhere else. Everyone was dressed up quite nicely. Glad I didn’t show up with lululemon pants.
For appetizer we tried the Eggs Meurette. The egg is poached in red wine. Which I loved! And the pickled celery was a nice touch. I love eggs so this was a very nice dish. We also tried the Smoked Pork Rillette. I have to admit the first look kinda turned me off because it looked like the pork was raw. The beets didn’t help the look either. It made the plate red. So it really made the pork look raw. I was a bit hesitant to dig in right away but then remembered it was smoked. To my surprise it was very good! Including the beets.
I had the Arctic Char on a bed of risotto and my hubby had the Entrecôte Frites. The Char was excellent. Nice and crispy skin and soft moist meat. The risotto was very good with red baby tomatoes. They had some yellow beets maybe? Not sure what it was but I didn’t like that too much. My hubby’s wasn’t a big fan of his ribeye steak but the frites and truffle aioli sauce is yummy.
We finished off with a chocolate cake and caramel flan. The chocolate was not too sweet and I like the walnuts in there but not a fan of the salt. The caramel flan is delicious! Had to dip the chocolate in the caramel sauce! That was recommended by the server! Good tip!
Can’t wait to try The Marc again!

I dared to venture into this place during lunch hour with no reservation on a Monday. I may have been crazy, but luckily it was only 15 minutes before me and my guest were graciously seated at one of their beautiful wooden tables. By gracious I mean the owner offered to hang our jackets, spent some time explaining the menu to us, and made us feel welcome and comfortable.
I decided on their Mushroom Toast. My guest on their burger and fries. It’s a wonderful feeling when you know you’ve ordered just the thing for a nippy fall day because we were both warm and satisfied, all over a great catch up session after not having seen each other for at least 6 months. I notice the little touches that makes this place decidedly French-​Canadian — and I’m not just talking about the menu — the booth seats, the newsboy cap I spotted on the bartender, the cutlery, the water jugs, the tables. I appreciate little things like that and I’m glad someone spent some time on those details.
I love the atmosphere and would most definitely come back for another round — perhaps dinner next time!

I am definitely a fan of The Marc. I came on the recommendation of a friend and not knowing what to expect. We started with the Pâté with Apricots which I did not enjoy very much at all, not being a fan of that kind of meat but my hubby quite enjoyed. He said it was some of the best Pâté he has ever had so that is a great compliment! Then for the meal, he had the steak as he had heard it was some of the best in town and I had the Duck Confit. Now, the steak was the best. In fact, he said he said it bet the steak he had in Phoenix almost 8 yrs ago at a top rated restaurant there. The duck was amazing. I have never had duck before and I was amazed. It came with lentil and beets which were so well done.
Despite being so full I had to order the Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake (who could resist?). It was SO worth it. The chocolate melted in your mouth, the salt took the edge off the caramel. My mouth is watering as I write about it even and I want to run back and have another slice.
Apparently, they do lunch so I will have to go back and try their lunch menu as dinner was a little on the pricey side but totally worth it. If you have a special meal to go to, don’t do the everyday, try something special. Not only are you supporting your local business but you will get an excellent meal. But, make sure you call ahead and make reservations, they were busy and I’m sure once word gets out they will only get busier!

I Went for lunch at the Marc a couple months ago with family and friends. I Thought I should write this review before my memory of this restaurant is gone. It’s a Cool place with a very clean almost industrial looking modern dining room. The service was very good, servers were very knowledgable and had some great menu recommendations. I was lucky I got to try a few different items on their menu since I was with family and there was not one that I didn’t like. Solid menu with a little something for everyone. My favorite by far was the mushrooms on toast. I would definitely recommend the Marc for a casual lunch with friends.

First time here and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and had a great meal!
Sever was very knowledgable about the drinks and menu items.
Had an amazing salad to start with bacon and a fried egg!
Main courses were the rib eye steak and the bone in veal chop. Both were so tender and melted in your mouth!
For dessert we opted for the chocolate cake. Not quit what we expected. It tasted like regular cake, not a dark chocolate taste as described. Skip the cake.

I came here with a few friends for a very late dinner one evening and was surprised at how busy it was. It was around 9pm on a Thursday night and the place was packed. Not even a table available for us! So we opted to sit at the bar (no complaints, I love sitting at the wood).
We were pleasantly greeted by the lovely bartender. He identified himself as Leo and paid very good attention to us during our visit.
The menu at The Marc isn’t very big, and I like that. I usually have a very difficult time choosing so a limited menu makes it easier for me to decide. That evening I chose the Ribeye, served with frites. I generally ask for my Ribeye to be grilled to a medium and mine was slightly under (which is okay… Better than over cooked!) the fries were sadly very dry (likely over cooked) and appeared to be of the bagged variety… A little disappointing for a restaurant of this caliber. To end the meal I chose the lemon tart for dessert. It was absolutely perfect! Not too sweet and not too tangy, just perfect!
I look forward to dining at The Marc again.

While I’ve had the opportunity to try dishes from The Marc over the years at festivals and events, I’ve only once set foot in the actual dining establishment. And while I wasn’t there for a full meal, I was impressed. Not only is the actual space nice, but the staff are fantastic! I was wowed by the fact that there is a Renoir print in one of the women’s restrooms for example!
I doubt that I’ve ever had as good of a blueberry tea for such an inexpensive price as I had at this restaurant. The fries were top notch — definitely one of my favourite places to eat fries in Edmonton… and oh my goodness the beignets were AMAZING! Definitely one of my absolute favourite places for beignets — definitely the case for Edmonton!
The dishes that my companions had that evening looked delicious as well. I was truly impressed with the caliber of service we had at the bar. I would definitely return given the right occasion.

The Marc is one of the few places in town where the moment you walk through their doors, you know you’re in for a treat and going to taken care of. But let’s not get too ahead ourselves. I’ve been to the Marc only once previously (a few years ago for Edmonton Downtown Dining Week) and I remember being super impressed. I haven’t been back in ages but we decided to have dinner here to celebrate a special occasion.
We went on a Thursday evening (around 6:00pm) and it was already busy. The interior is modern but classic in a good way. A blackboard, with the daily specials written (trout that night), hangs along one of the walls. The service is excellent with our server and other staff coming multiple times to our table to make sure water was always filled and plates/​utensils fresh. Almost too much but they pull it off beautifully.
The menu consists of a single page. If you want dessert, there’s four options that the server recites by memory (lemon tart, crème caramel, beignets and chocolate cake with caramel). Make sure you save room for BEIGNETS.
— Frites with truffle aioli ($ 5.00) — the fries were bomb. Hot, crispy and perfectly deep fried, this is frites done right. The perfect snack to start your meal. The truffle aioli is pretty addictive too.
— Escargot ($ 13.00) — bone marrow, persillade, horseradish and pickled shallots. The presentation of the dish was beautiful, with the escargots placed inside the depths of the bone marrow. The escargots were delicious and comes with three pieces of crostini. Make yourself a little escargot bite size sandwich and drizzle the persillade sauce (made up of parsley, garlic, herbs, oil and vinegar) on top. Holy crap, the sauce is sooooooooooo good.
— Grilled octopus ($ 14.00) — artichoke, grapefruit, arugula, hazelnut, Serrano ham, and caramelized onion purée. The grilled octopus was also nicely done. Tender with a slight chewy bite to give it some texture. The arugula salad tasted a bit overdressed but I thoroughly enjoyed the flavourful bits of hazelnut, Serrano ham and grapefruit that was scattered throughout the dish.
— Seared scallops ($ 27.00) — confit potato, spinach pistou, leek crisps, tomatoes and capers. Three succulent, plump sized scallops that are cooked to perfection. The scallops were tender, melt in your mouth bites of heaven. Favourite dish of the night, hands down. The spinach pistou gave the dish a dash of beautiful green and wow, the baby tomatoes were a punch of flavour. Seriously, the tomatoes were literally bursting with flavour.
— Cornish hen ($ 29.00) — brussel sprouts, roasted heirloom carrots, pearl barley and pan jus. Oh man, I’m a sucker for when barley is done right. Hearty, healthy carbs, yes please. A nice amount of roasted vegetables (carrots and brussel sprouts) rounded the dish off nicely. The Cornish hen was packed with flavour (think a chicken on ‘roids) and the pan jus (sauce from it’s own juices) was divine.
— Duck confit ($ 28.00) — red and golden beet, artisan greens, lentils with an orange vinaigrette. I’m not sure why but I was expecting duck breast in my mind when we ordered this. That’s what I had last time I was at the Marc so I assumed it would be similar. Sadly, it wasn’t. The duck confit was dry. It even looked overcooked when they set the dish on our table. Also, we weren’t impressed with the lentils. They tasted a touch undercooked which resulted in a somewhat unpleasant chewy texture.
— Beignets ($ 8.00) — yes, the beignets don’t even need a write up. SO EFFIN GOOD. Just order them and you’ll thank me. 12 minutes cooked to order, 3 minutes to devour them. Two types of dipping sauce (crème fraîche and caramel). Fluffy, airy, delightful bits lightly sprinkled with sugar.
Did I mention we spotted Donny I? Guess the mayor has good tastes in restaurants too. The Marc is all about unpretentious, high quality fine dining at a reasonable price point. I hope to make it for lunch one of these days (only Monday to Friday). For now, I’ll keep on dreaming about dem beignets, c’est meilleur.

Wanting to hit somewhere more fancy for our anniversary dinner, my wife booked us a table for a Saturday night at The Marc — a place she had been waiting to try for some time.
First impressions — the dining area is intimate but not small. Lots of windows provided a great view of the beautiful May evening. It was busy, but not crowded. The tables were a bit close together, but not nearly as much as I’ve encountered at some of the smaller, trendier eateries.
As for the food — we couldn’t be happier. For an appitizer, I went with the octopus. I expected it to be chewy like calamari, but it was cooked to perfection and fell apart like well bar-​b-​qued chicken.
My wife went with the duck, which was excellent (at least the tiny amount she allowed me to sample was), and I went with the special — a veal chop. I was pleasantly surprised at the size of the cut. I find that usually the pricier the joint, the smaller the meat, but this thing was HUGE. My wife’s comment was along the lines of something that Fred Flintstone would be served.
For dessert, we enjoyed their fresh cooked pasteries (are they a doughnut… are they a creampuff?) that you break open and drizzle a sweet sauce over.
The wait staff were attentive but not intrusive, and we didn’t feel rushed. Overall, an excellent part of our anniversary night out.

I’ve really enjoyed the Marc. It could be the great, but simple atmosphere. It could be the wonderful, friendly service. However, for sure it’s first and foremost the food. We started with the Arctic Char Croquettes (12 $). For the main course we had the duck special (28 $) and the Entrecôte Frites (37 $). A number of specialty cocktails were consumed throughout the night. My favourite was «the Marc.»
Everything was outstanding. The Frites might of been the best steak I’ve ever had. The duck was cooked so perfectly. Very juicy! The cocktails aren’t the best I’ve had in the city but definitely in upper percentile.
I was very impressed and to add I thought it would be much more expensive than it was. I’d give 6 stars if I could. Simply a wonderful experience.

Service was horrendous, the waitress was condescending and rude.
We sat without drinks for long periods. The waitress never came around to see how the food was, one guest was not satisfied with her dish and did not eat it and the waitress took it at the end of the meal and then told her that she should have said something during the meal, even though she never asked.
We were a group of 8 and ordered a variety of dishes, I had the opportunity to try 4 of menu dishes and the special (lamb). The overall impression was very bland and boring dishes. Food was ok, not spectacular and certainly not worth the terrible service.
It was disappointing at best, we will not return.

I’ve been to The Marc a number of times over the last two years for a variety of occasions. I have never been disappointed. Steak frites is my go-​to but the daily specials are often intriguing options. Fresh food done well at reasonable prices… A recipe for success.

What an exquisite little spot!
Like many Unilocalers before me, I found myself in this beautiful room, sipping wine and talking shop across from Edmonton’s own Jennie M. We were originally hoping this catch up would be done on a patio, but when Edmonton’s weather disagreed, this was a fantastic alternative. The room was my favourite part — clean lines & decadent details, it feels sophisticated without dipping into pretentious. Everything from the well placed mirrors to the big bay windows and Renoir in the bathroom felt simple but elegant.
The menu is much the same — simple, standard French cuisine without a lot of fuss and done exceptionally well. I had the burger on special — though in all honesty, after lunch sharing with Calgary’s Dale E, I would have much preferred his order of croque madame.
The wine was fantastic (9oz pours! yay!) and if I lived in the city, I could see this place fast becoming a regular lunch meeting sort of establishment. It would make me feel fancy. Definitely a fan.

Second on my DDW list was The Marc. Three course French meal for $ 25? Count me in! I made the reso for me and my dad and it was packed on a Tuesday night. I think most of the patrons were there to take advantage of the dining week deal, but it was nice to see the place full. I loved the ambience of the Marc. It was intimate without being overly romantic — perfect for business meetings and dinners with parents.
When I arrived my dad had already ordered the starter of scallops. Given the portion size, this didn’t affect my appetite for the rest of the meal but they were delicious! Worth it! We ordered the special and it was amazing. The starter was my favorite and it was purée broccoli, poached egg, capers, anchovy and Grana Padano cheese. It looked beautiful in the bowl and then when you broke the egg it combined nicely with everything to give it a soupy consistency. Very unique and what I was hoping for eating at the Marc. The salmon was also excellent, but there was nothing superior about it. My least favorite was the dessert. It was just ok — a shortbread cookie with grapefruit cream. The cream was unreal, and would have eaten a bowl of that, the cookie however was kinda meh.
Food aside, our server was phenomenal. Best service I have had at a restaurant in a long time. With the place being as busy as it was, she was always on top of bringing us water & clean cutlery, clearing plates, and humoring my dad and his bad jokes. I wish I remembered her name — but she was probably in her mid twenties, tall and blonde. Anyways, she is great and everyone should know it.
On a regular basis I am not sure if I would go to the Marc, just because the portions are small and really pricey. For the price of the DDW special I felt like I was able to sample some great food and enjoy the atmosphere of the place. Until next year the Marc!