I have been here with a friend twice now. The first time, the server took away our food before we were finished and then asked us to leave so he could seat more people (we had only been there for 45 minutes). When I complained about the experience, the owner said that our next visit would be "taken care of." Unfortunately, our second visit was not "taken care of" due to a miscommunication within management (despite sending an email that morning to double check that the meal would be complimentary). Definitely would not recommend. read more

Had the purple cauliflower plate for lunch. The friend I was with had an apple tart and café au lait. We both thought that the atmosphere was fine and that the food was great, but we were a little bothered by the price/portion ratio. I would have been less bothered if the amount of food on the cauliflower plate had been a little more generous and if it had come with a roll (or two!). Most of the folks around us were using Maison Marcel as a coffee shop and spending a long time over their coffee. Perhaps the prices are geared for those occupying chairs for hours. read more

Love this bakery! I came here 2 years ago and fell in love with the atmosphere and their food. Deliscous pastries and coffee. I make sure I stop by everytime I'm in Chicago. read more

Definitely a bit of a hidden gem. The food is delicious along with all of the pastry's. Great spot to just go and sit for hours but also nice for a brunch with friends. I highly recommend the avocado toast and the almond croissant- I'm addicted! Love it here read more

I'm sure the restaurant is just going through some growing pains, but it took me 15 minutes from ordering to get my latte. They made the incorrect order first, and then corrected it 5 minutes later. It was reasonably priced for the neighborhood and was an okay latte, but the experience was quite bothersome. I will be returning, but after they have had more time to figure out how to run and organize a restaurant. read more

I really get that Americans can be annoying, especially when you're French. Trust me, I've been embarrassed by plenty of my compatriots when traveling. But if you are going to open up shop and sell pastries in Lakeview Chicago USA - surprise! - you're gonna have to deal with Americans. Even Midwesterners of all things. So don't be a total youknowwhat when I pronounce the name of a pastry, don't stare blankly when I say hello and - oh how gauche - smile. I've been to Maison Marcel several times because it's hard to find authentic French pastries, and have finally had it up to here with snooty treatment at the coffee and pastry counter. Done. I'll wait until I'm next in France where you can treat me however you want, and in the meantime I'll go to the yummy bakery across the street where they sometimes even say hello first! read more

Pastries are good. Service is not--in a mixup by the seat host, we were asked to vacate our seats as we did not order off the brunch menu. This happened after our coffee and pastries arrived...very rude... read more

Favorite French bakery in town. This place has an authentic look, feel and taste unlike so many other "French bakeries". Highly recommended

While the quality of their coffee bean is great, I just had the worse coconut latte ever! The barista made my latte with concentrate coconut milk from a can (the one usually used for making sauces) I had to throw the whole cup in the garbage! Waist of money. read more

This is the most amazing and creative place in Lakeview. Fantastic atmosphere, great staff/ownership, and the food is out of this world. You can't miss with any item on the menu. The eggs Benedict is so unique, yet delicious. This is the theme with most of the items on the menu. They also have a great European style espresso bar with a fantastic barista named Chase who is amazing. read more

This place is adorable and great food! We had the avocado toast and eggs benedict! We also got a few macarons to go! I would recommend painting the side of the ramp outside because as we were walking by my mother tripped and fell cause she didn't see that it was going up since it blends in with the sidewalk. read more

As a French woman, I'll tell you that the pastries are really nice (not spectacular but really good), the service however is just appalling and I still cannot get over the fact that no one customer-facing knew what was in any of the products/pastries (nor their real names!). read more

They have no concept of how to be a place for breakfast. If you just want to grab a pastry and go, this is your place. If you want to order off the menu and sit for a meal, run don't walk elsewhere. The smoothie recipes have also dramatically changed since they first opened. They used to almost be worth the astronomical price since they were loaded with fruit. Now half of the smoothie is milk. Yuck. Staff is either rude or appears to have no idea what's going on. One woman told us there was no quiche and another told us what kind they had. They got half of our order wrong. Disappointing to say the least! Support the business across the street whose croissants are just as fresh and delicious and about a dollar cheaper. read more

The food and coffee was great. I came in to pick up an order for a friend and ended up getting drawn into their scrumptious pastries and even buying a coffee. Their prices are a bit high and the staff are you're typical French folk who aren't as warm as you would expect from a service industry read more

I risk sounding super pretentious when I say I have six plus years of experience as a baker in a small-batch, French bakery. We produced both bread and pastries, but my skills are bread, and not pastry. I can, however, confidently eat pastries, and I can discern the good from the passable. Maison Marcel has the best pain au chocolat I've tasted in Chicago. The ambiance is lively, bright, and welcoming. Clearly, a lot of thought and care went into the environment. The cases were stocked full of fresh pastry on this busy Saturday morning. The bakers were busy behind the counter mixing and preparing the next batch of gorgeous butter treats, which added to the vivaciousness of the place. It appears Maison Marcel knows the language of pastry, which is refreshing. I don't know if they plan to take on bread, but, as a neighbor, I would cast a supporting vote on the decision to do so. The morning we went in for coffee and treats, we noticed they were running a prix fixe brunch. We didn't try it, but it sounded amazing; we plan to come in again. The only reason I withheld one star was because of the coffee. I'm not sure the barista had received proper espresso training and so our americanos were weak, watery, lacking crema and flavor. I understand working for a brand new place and know that a lot of training happens on the ground running. I do hope that they are able to work proper espresso training into their scheduling. Otherwise, I am excited and grateful to have Maison Marcel in the neighborhood! read more

I am so so thrilled to have this place in the neighborhood. First off, it's an absolutely gorgeous space. Perfect for impressing friends for an afternoon coffee date or just doing a bit of reading. They have swing chairs and couches and pillows. Thank God for comfortable seating and natural lighting and calming colors. Ahhh. (I'm looking at you, Intelligentsia) Try their chocolate croissants or chocolate banana tarts. I made a special trip just for their chocolate baguette today which, served with salted butter, is divine. Their draft coffee is prime as well (and served in a mason jar-- talk about cute!). Every time I've been in, service has been prompt and friendly and the place spotless. Pro tip: hit up the fruit-flavored water for a truly refreshing afternoon treat. Sure, the prices are a bit higher than most but it's all organic (or so they say) and you deserve a little treat now and then. Right? Right. read more

Love the decor but they need to decide what they are. A french cafe? A health food restaurant? You kinda can't be both. I find the menu, other than pastries, to be very unappetizing and I have heard from many others the same complaint. I would love nothing better than to have this place be successful, we need it in the neighborhood. Just decide who you are!! I am hoping the answer is french cafe! read more

Like the idea, and the pastries are good but they need to remap the way they serve and host customers. Really rusty service and no leadership. Quality is suffering. Their is still time to improve though. Give them a chance. read more

The pastries are okay; not at par with real European ones. The service is not good; you enter the place and it's confusing, you can't tell if its self service. The best thing is the actual place it's delightful inside but that's about it. read more

Maison Marcel is simply amazing! I'm so glad it opened up right by my house. I've been in a few times now, once to grab a quick pastry and an iced latte to go. They have a wonderful selection of fresh, baked in-house pastries, and the espresso they use for their lattes is amazing. Metric coffee is great. I came in again for dinner with a friend and we had banana pancakes with nutella and their couscous with chicken breast. Both were so delicious, you can tell that the chef thoughtfully prepares each plate and all of the ingredients are fresh. This is a great spot for a meal or even to sit and get some work done with your laptop. Chase has been my server twice now and she is FANTASTIC. She is an amazing example of what customer service should be like and she had great suggestions like a fresh pressed pear juice and a golden latte, which uses tumeric. I highly recommend you try Maison Marcel and ask for Chase when you do! :) read more

Very cute spot but has some service kinks to work through. Croissants were delicious. Coffee on point. BYOB always a bonus. Avocado toast with poached eggs was OK but drowning in seeds. Crepes were dry. The service was friendly but very slow and didn't seem to know the menu very well. I'd love to see this place go fast casual instead of table service! read more

The atmosphere is cute and lovely, and the chocolate croissant passable. But the customer service for a drop-in pastry purchase leaves something to be desired. No clue is given about how the process works, and the line to purchase moves at a crawling pace. Confusion reigns behind the counter, leaving one to wonder if the sack he/she is given will have the requested items. Once you enjoy the privilege of paying, it's pricey: $15 for three pastries. Still some wrinkles to iron out ... hopefully, soon! read more

Pretty place that is it. I waited 30min after a cup of coffee but no one took our order. We even notified two workers that we waited too long but no one showed up for another 10min. Better get togo unless u can wait 1hr to just put an order. Waste of my time . read more

Adorable atmosphere. Wonderful owner. Fantastic food! I've been here several times and always enjoy the food.

Absolutely beautiful French bakery/cafe in a very Boho style. A great simple menu and great coffee choices. Music is a welcome change to what you get other places and the place looks and feels like nothing else in Chicago. read more

Had an amazing time there the food was out of this world! The atmosphere was amazing love the community table it made us feel very comfortable and met lots of people it was great! I had the salmon Benedict everything as it came was delicious! the best hollandaise sauce it was best one I've ever had and the sprouts on top made the whole Benedict complete! I also had the chocolate almond croissant it melts in your mouth love the doughy bottom just amazing all around the staff was accommodating and friendly! definitely worth the trip can't wait to go back read more

Awesome place. The owners and people who work there are super friendly. The food is delicious. I always leave in a better mood than I came! A neighborhood treasure. read more

Yesterday was my first time at Maison Marcel. Very cozy place to meet up with friends and have a cup of coffee and home made everything :) Food was OK, nothing special. Same with cakes. The staff was nice and we got seated right away. I just felt like we were being a tiny bit rushed to leave. And it seems like that is a common thing people complained on here. Even though, we've ordered brunch, coffee, cake... I felt like the bartender kept coming every 5 min to "check on us." And as soon as we said "no refill for coffee", he was like "ok, I'll bring you a check." No coffee refill doesn't necessarily mean - we are ready to leave since I was still sipping on my cappuccino and my friend still had a half of cup himself. We juuust finished eating our brunch and still had our cakes on the table. We wont be back- again nothing wrong with the place, it was just a nice bakery to visit, experience and that's it. read more

Everything you could want in a cafe. Friendly staff, excellent pastries and beautiful interior. Merci.

Horrible service and the food was over salted and cold. Will not return.

I'm between 2 and 3. Experience was very subpar for the price. Mainly from when I walked in the door. Staff is very arrogant and downright rude on occasion. I walked in, stood at the front of the restaurant for over 5 minutes waiting for someone to seat me or even greet me. A waiter asked me if I needed a table, I told him yes and I had 1 more that was coming but hadn't arrived yet. He grabs the menus and goes to seat me, the host appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the people behind me, then stopped the waiter and myself and said he wanted to seat them at the table I was about to sit at. I was pretty annoyed and nearly walked out(wishing I did). Especially considering that there was at least two other open tables that where the exact same size right near the one I was at. I waited by the coffee bar for my friend(servers kept looking at me), my friend arrived and we ordered lattes and food from the counter and sat outside(this was from fall, but hadn't had time to write it) My latte tasted good, but wasn't as warm as I'd expect. Then my omelette was overcooked and had no flavor. The salad was fine. The only positive part was my friends baked bread was great, but that's really it. While we were eating, I saw a couple go to walk in, but one waited outside, and the one that went in just walked out of the restaurant pissed off and didn't say a word about it, but told him to get up and they left, not sure what happened. Overall for the price I highly recommend eating somewhere else. The food is subpar, and the service especially needs work. Perhaps it's changed since I went, but I don't plan on going back to find out. read more

Horrible internet don't try to come here to work. Also asked for simple syrup and they said no what coffee shop doesn't have simple syrup. They didn't even say we ran out read more

My friend and I visited Maison Marcel intending to work on homework and drink some coffee. We both ordered iced lattes (costing about $5 each after tax) and realized we had been served iced coffee with milk. My friend asked to have hers remade, and the barista did not understand that what she had given my friend was not an iced latte. My friend then asked the barista to make it with espresso, not coffee. The barista was confused how a hot latte would turn into an iced one. Luckily, the drink was remade at no charge. However, the wifi also did not work, making it hard to do any work here. I actually ended up using my hotspot and my friend used the wifi from a place across the street. A really pretty cafe, and the bakery treats looked great. We were just expecting the baristas to understand how to make the drinks they offer, and it was a bit pricey (especially for what we ended up getting). Wouldn't really recommend to a friend. Definitely photo worthy and has lots of seating, but the service isn't great. read more

Delicious pastries, great coffee, yummy smoothies, perfect ambience! Cant wait to come back!

This place is so adorable I love the ambience inside. It's the perfect thing to move into this unique and Beautiful building. Just walking by and walking inside reminds me of stopping into cute little places while on vacation. There's a light airy tropical-ish feeling on the inside. My husband and 10-month-old daughter and I went in for brunch today. One negative was that they only have one highchair and it was already being used. So that would be my main recommendation is to have more highchairs. We decided to share the avocado toast which was a good amount to share along with getting an apple tart pastry. The avocado toast and poached eggs were good. It was a cold I had to ask if it was supposed to be cold or supposed to be warm. The gentleman said the eggs should be warm and the avocado spread is supposed to cool down the toast. We ate it all but it would've been nicer if they were warm. We ordered a mocha coffee and it was delicious! Probably the best mocha coffee I've ever had! We also ordered an apple tart and that was amazing as well. If we go back we would most likely get a mocha and a tart or other bakery item versus a breakfast dish. Apparently I never posted the above review so here is an update too. We've been back a few times now and I'm sad to say that there is no standard recipe for their mocha coffee (an employee told me). It has always been different and never as good as the first time. Also, they need to cover their pastries. In the summer there are flies all over everything. It's disgusting. One morning we were in and I saw two pastry cooks and they didn't have hair nets or hats on. One had shoulder length hair that was a mess and she was making dough. read more

Ambiance is about all this place has going for it. The food is mediocre at best. Wish they would make some changes cause the place is very neat on the inside. Just that food though..... read more

Just had a overpriced salad in a small soup bowl with so much salad dressing on it that most of it was inedible. I won't go back and I will not recommend it. read more

Great decor, great music and ambiance, and the most delicious food! They have great service!! I highly recommend for coffee and french baked goods or lunch with a friend. read more

We were told the wait was 10 minutes. More like 30 minutes. When we were finally seated we waited 15 minutes for anyone to acknowledge us and even take a drink order. It wasn't just us, we saw a few people get up and leave because no one was waiting on their table. Someone finally came and apologized and took our order. I ordered a chocolate croissant and my friend ordered a baguette to start with. They both were served cold which I found strange. Even Starbucks heats up my croissant. When I went to the bathroom I heard the waitstaff and the kitchen staff arguing with each other. Talk about unprofessional. I ordered the watermelon feta salad and it was pretty bland and very small for the price. My friend ordered an omlette and she said it wasn't that great. I am giving it one star for the cute, ecletic décor and another star because our waiter comped us 50% for no one waiting on us for such a long time. I probably won't be back. There are much better places in the area with better service. read more

Terrible service, horrible brunch. If they stuck to coffee and pastries with intelligent servers this place would be great but instead they are a pseudo restaurant that fails at being a patisserie and a restaurant. read more