The top line: Located on Marylebone’s well-heeled Chiltern Street, Maset is the new restaurant from Melody Adams, the restaurateur behind Basque restaurants Lurra and Donostia. This time round she has turned her attention to the coastal French cuisine from the Occitan region with help from head chefs Gianluca Gennaro and Alastair Walling.
On the menu: The food at Maset draws influence from the southern French coastline, stretching to Italy, Spain, and across to North Africa. The menu starts with ‘merenda’, small snacks such as bouillabaisse croquettas; saucisson; and beignets de brandade before moving into a small selection of starters that comprises seabass crudo with yuzu and fennel; pates au pistou; beef tartare with marjoram; and clams with parsley. Mains include the likes of lamb cutlets with salsa verde; Dover sole with hazelnuts and verbena; and an ex-dairy cote de boeuf, that can be enhanced with sides such as charred green beans with crispy capers; hand-cut frites; and Camargue rice with olives, red pepper, and herbs. Desserts are more simple but no less appetising, and include a fig tart with crème fraiche and thyme and the seldom-seen profiteroles with chocolate and chestnut cream. On the drinks front, a generous selection of wines by the glass is available, predominantly from France although Italy does feature, and this trend continues into the bottles section, with wines sourced primarily from small vineyards. Bottles start at £42 for a Maison Ventenac, Cassandre, Languedoc-Roussillon 2024 and rise to £230 for a Serègo Alighieri, Vaio Armaron Amarone della Valpolicella 2017 from Verona.
Maset’s bright and neutral interior (©Maset)
The vibe: Those familiar with the clean lines and neutral colour palette of Lurra will recognise a similar theme in Maset, despite the different concept. Designed by Parisian studio Haddou-Dufourcq to be ‘a calm influence among the vibrancy of Chiltern Street’, features include a light wood herringbone floor, whitewashed walls, a white wooden ceiling and white tables and chairs flanked by light brown banquette seating.
And another thing: A ‘maset’ is a small stone building in the south of France. They were originally used for people working in vineyards to take shelter against the weather and more recently are used as countryside retreats in which people can escape the city.
40-42 Chilterns Street, London, W1U 7QN / www.maset.london/
Dining and Cooking