A new French brasserie floats in London's financial centre

Canary Wharf has been crying out for a proper French brasserie and what it’s got is a grander, sunnier, foodier version of Paris’s best.

Floating on Wood Wharf, amid London’s tallest towers, Marceline is a double-height glass box fashioned to look timeless, with soft-leather banquettes, a zinc bar and brass accents with Art Nouveau flavour. Designed in collaboration with Madrid-based architects Alba Hurlé and Alicia Martín of Hurlé Martín, the space plays with light and shadow. Louvres on the glazed walls cast shafts of natural light onto the striped marble floor. After dark, soft light glows from ceiling coffers and milky-glass globes and reflects in a giant central pillar reminiscent of a Parisian street light.

A moodier, more intimate mezzanine is accessed by a swooping feature staircase and fronted by metal railings. Backed by a wall of mirrors, the room is enveloped in tactile red, from the thick pile rug to the painted ceiling. Equipped with a dedicated bar, it can be hired for private events or meetings. In warmer weather, the action shifts to the alfresco terrace, dressed up with woven bistro chairs and round marble tables.

Operating morning through night, the kitchen is headed by Robert Aikens, a veteran of Le Gavroche and New York’s Pastis. Specialities are his playful takes on cheese soufflé and teak tartare with artichoke chips, followed by classic mille-feuille, rosewater madeleines, crème caramel and Aikens’ signature apple tarte fine. The wine list goes off-message, encompassing the gamut of European varietals and the finest British fizz.

www.marceline.london