The Breuer building has a restaurant again. Marcel, a French restaurant from chef Marie-Aude Rose, opened in April 2026 on the lower level of the brutalist landmark at 945 Madison Avenue — the granite ziggurat that housed the Whitney Museum for decades, then the Met Breuer, and is now the headquarters of auction house Sotheby’s.

The restaurant is named for Marcel Breuer, the Bauhaus-trained architect who designed the inverted-pyramid building, completed in 1966. It was developed by Robin and Stephen Alesch, founders of the design firm Roman and Williams, the same team behind La Mercerie in SoHo.

A chef returning to a familiar pairing

Rose is the chef-partner. She previously led La Mercerie, the French restaurant Roman and Williams built inside its SoHo design gallery, and Marcel reunites her with the firm in a far larger and more architecturally loaded setting. The menu is mostly French — updated takes on classics — served in a dining room of rich walnut paneling and warm candlelight, with a view onto the building’s sunken sculpture garden and the hum of an open kitchen.

The project pairs the restaurant with an all-day bakery and cafe, La Mercerie Patisserie, extending the pastry-and-viennoiserie format from the SoHo location into the new space.

Commerce meets cuisine in a former museum

Marcel arrives as part of Sotheby’s reinvention of the building. The auction house acquired the Breuer building and moved its global headquarters there, turning a space defined for half a century by contemporary art into a hybrid of galleries, salesrooms and hospitality. The Alesches have framed Marcel as a restaurant where cuisine and commerce intersect — a continuation of the La Mercerie idea that a dining room can double as a showcase.

For the Upper East Side, the opening restores a marquee dining destination to a corner that had gone quiet. The Met Breuer closed in 2020, and the building sat largely dormant as a public-facing space until the Sotheby’s move. Marcel reopens its doors to walk-in diners rather than only ticketed museumgoers.

A high-profile spring debut

Marcel landed among the most closely watched openings of spring 2026, drawing attention for the building as much as the food — a brutalist icon, a blue-chip auction house, and a chef-and-design pairing with a track record. Reservations opened on Resy as the dining room began service.

The opening also underscores a broader pattern on the Upper East Side, where cultural and commercial institutions have increasingly anchored ambitious restaurants rather than ceding fine dining to downtown and Brooklyn.

Verification

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Marcel located?
On the lower level of the Marcel Breuer-designed building at 945 Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side, the former home of the Whitney Museum and later the Met Breuer, now Sotheby's headquarters.
Who is the chef at Marcel?
Marie-Aude Rose is the chef-partner. She previously led La Mercerie, the French restaurant in SoHo also developed by the Roman and Williams design firm.
What kind of food does Marcel serve?
A mostly French menu of updated classics, served in a walnut-paneled dining room overlooking the building's sculpture garden. The space also houses La Mercerie Patisserie, an all-day bakery and cafe.
Why is it called Marcel?
The restaurant is named for Marcel Breuer, the Bauhaus architect who designed the granite-clad brutalist building in 1966.