Café Monique: The South Of France, Served With Delhi NCR Ease

Café Monique unfolds like a love letter to the South of France, where sun-warmed markets, lavender fields and time-honoured kitchens shape the language of food. It is an idea of French living translated for Delhi NCR: slow mornings, honest ingredients, restrained beauty. Across its three addresses at The Manor, Khan Market and Gurugram, Café Monique has carved out its own rhythm, becoming a place where simplicity feels luxurious and every detail is guided by intention.

The story begins with serial entrepreneur Shivan Gupta and Chef Maxime Montay, who built the café not only as a business but also as a tribute. Monique, Chef Maxime’s grandmother, was the keeper of quiet rituals and family recipes that now anchor the menu. Her sensibility lives in every plate: the balance of sweetness, the respect for ingredients, the refusal to force flavours into theatrics.

A Slice Of France 

Every Café Monique outpost carries the brand’s quiet sophistication while revealing its own personality. The Manor, framed by leafy canopies and a sunlit patio of French-blue bistro chairs, feels like a soft exhale in the middle of the city. The space opens gently from the outdoors into a calm, cream-toned room where arched brass sconces, marble-topped tables and warm leather banquettes shape the perfect setting for an unhurried brunch. Khan Market offers a more intimate Parisian vignette. It leans into the romance of small spaces, where the clink of cups and the ease of a mid-day croissant become part of the neighbourhood’s rhythm. Gurugram, the newest location, stretches its limbs with large windows, open layouts and greenery that echoes its surroundings. 

Across all three, the recurring French blue anchors the visual language. It appears on the doors, the chairs, the frames and the refined packaging that lines the bakery counter. Inside, the palette stays intentionally minimal, letting textures do the work. Soft lighting warms the walls, the bakery shelves display rustic loaves with quiet pride, and the glass counters reveal pastries arranged with precision. 

Whether under a tree-dappled shadow on the patio or inside by the glow of brass lighting, the experience holds the same elegance. Dining in brings intimacy and calm. Taking home a pastry, sealed in that signature blue box, feels just as thoughtful. Together, the three locations translate the romance and restraint of the French Riviera into Delhi NCR’s daily life.

Patisserie's Specials

Chef Maxime approaches the kitchen as an atelier where ideas are sketched, refined and shaped with an artist’s discipline. The menu reflects this craftsmanship. Premium French and Belgian chocolates, delicate pistachios, fresh berries and carefully sourced dairy form the palette, but the restraint is the true hallmark. Café Monique’s philosophy hinges on a single belief: when ingredients are treated with honesty, they tell the most beautiful stories.

The menu at Café Monique follows an all-day rhythm, shaped by French technique and a devotion to honest, beautiful produce. Mornings begin with buttery croissants, artisanal sourdoughs, quiches, savoury cakes and eggs cooked the French way. Light sandwiches and warm plates fill the midday hours, followed by an exquisite array of pastries that have become signatures of the brand. Classics such as Le Saint-Honoré, Tarte Tropézienne, Paris Brest, Saint-Michel, delicate macarons and éclairs sit beside seasonal entremets inspired by French regions, landscapes and cultural traditions. Winter brings its own set of indulgences, including the feather-light Winter Feuilleté and the Skillet Baked Brie with roasted berries, walnuts, honey and rosemary served with sourdough soldiers.

Pasta holds a distinctive place in the Café Monique identity. Each dish begins with Italian form but is reimagined through French sensibilities. Gnocchi arrives with Riviera pistou and Provençal olives. Mafaldine curls into a roasted tomato and Provence-herb sauce finished with creamy goat cheese. Radiatori becomes a one-pot ode to French onion flavours with mushrooms and Gruyère, while rigatoni is slow-cooked in a coq-au-vin reduction.

The patisserie is where the café’s soul reveals itself most clearly. Chef Maxime’s creations range from fruit-forward tarts to deeply nostalgic French desserts, each crafted with a purity of flavour. Seasonal showstoppers include La Galette des Rois, La Charlotte aux Fraises, La Pavlova aux Fruits Rouges and a collection of La Bûche variations in dark chocolate, coconut and red currant or spiced citrus.

The year-round tart repertoire celebrates French patisserie in all its elegance, with favourites such as La Tarte au Chocolat Noir, La Tarte Bourdaloue, Lemon Meringuée, La Tarte aux Fraises, La Tarte aux Framboises and the intricately layered Tarte Ispahan. Individual tarts, classic pastries, eggless variations and curated pastry boxes round out the selection, making the experience accessible for every kind of craving.

The beverage programme complements the menu with confidence, with expertly brewed coffees. Chef Maxime’s velvety French hot chocolate, a thoughtful matcha line, kombuchas and refreshing mocktails offer moments of pause throughout the day. Each drink, like the food, is designed to feel comforting, intentional and rooted in the café’s French spirit.

ELLE Gourmet’s Verdict

Café Monique brings something rare to Delhi NCR: a sense of French quietude that feels neither performative nor overly styled. It is a brand built on emotion rather than spectacle, where technique is precise, flavours are honest, and every detail carries intention. The spaces are elegant without excess, the food is rooted without nostalgia, and the patisserie stands among the finest in the city. What stays with you is not one dish but a feeling. The calm of a sunlit table and the assurance that French food can be soulful, modern and beautifully restrained.

Locations:

• The Manor, Friends Colony, New Delhi

• Khan Market, New Delhi

• Gurugram, Sector 27

Timings: 11 am to 11 pm

Average cost for two: INR 1200 (Approx)