Ambitious French seafood restaurant Mazarine opened this week in Hanover Square, Mayfair, under former Le Gavroche head chef Thierry Laborde.
Mazarine is from restaurateurs Khaled Dandachi and Fred Srouchi, the duo behind nearby Italian Sparrow Italia, who say the new venture is “conceived and curated with the discerning guest in mind”.
Khaled added: “Mazarine in all things aims to epitomise the virtues of timeless refinement, technical perfection, and peerless hospitality in every gesture. We believe in dining over eating, elegance over opulence, ritual over routine, and guests, above all else.”
Dishes include a signature ‘Croque Mazarine’ whose luxury trimmings include black truffle and blue lobster. Also on the menu are smoked eel croquettes; salade niçoise; octopus béarnaise; raviole of Cornish crab with lobster broth; and ‘le grand aïoli Marseillais’ (salt cod, sea urchin, langoustines). Alternatives to seafood range from a French Basque-inspired coquelet with piment d’espelette, to aged filet de boeuf with truffle sauce.
Mazarine is one of several new Gallic restaurants to open in London in recent times, such as Maset in Marylebone which also takes inspiration from France’s southern coasts.