French fine dining seafood spot to launch in London

Mazarine, a fine dining restaurant offering French-inspired coastal fare, is set to launch in Mayfair, central London next month: the kitchen, headed up by Le Gavroche alumnus Thierry Labrode, will serve up dishes ranging from smoked eel croquettes to octopus béarnaise.

Mazarine December launch Mayfair London

It’s the latest in a line of French restaurants to open in the English capital, reflecting a growing appetite for French cuisine. The Canonbury Road pub, Smokehouse, recently transformed into Parisian eatery Bistro Sablé, and just last month, Matt Abé’s hotly-anticipated Bonheur opened to the public in Mayfair. Covent Garden’s Chez Antoinette also recently relaunched after a makeover that increased covers from 30 to 90: “The restaurant has got busier and busier and busier because of so much repeat business,” its owners told the drinks business.

Mazarine – a name derived from the French word for a deep blue colour – will open to the public in Hanover Square on 2 December, and will be the latest project from Khaled Dandachi and Fred Srouchi, the restaurateurs behind Sparrow Italia in Mayfair.

Inspired by the natural rhythms of the ocean, the restaurant will offer dishes influenced by the French seaside and made using classical French techniques, serving up an array of starters, small bites, salads, entrées, sharing mains and desserts, as well as a raw bar menu.

Spearheaded by Thierry Labrode, who helped launch several restaurants across London including LPM and who scored Michelin star at L’Oranger (2003), the menu will focus on seafood. Guests can expect dishes spanning from smoked eel croquettes (or ‘croque Mazarine’), salade Niçoise, octopus béarnaise, raviole of Cornish crab with lobster broth & citronelle, le grand aïoli Marseillais (salt cod, sea urchin, langoustines, seasonal vegetables), coquelet with piment d’espelette, and aged filet de boeuf with truffle sauce.

Ahead of the opening, co-founder Khaled Dandachi shares his vision for the Mazrine: “Mazarine, in all things, aims to epitomize the virtues of timeless refinement, technical perfection, and peerless hospitality in every gesture. At Mazarine, we believe in dining over eating, elegance over opulence, ritual over routine, and guests, above all else.”

The restaurant’s interiors have been designed by American design studio Bolt Design.

Speaking to the drinks business, head sommelier at Alsatian restaurant Paul Biwand recently explained that bartenders are drawn to London for its exciting mix of “reinvention and innovation,” versus Paris’ “predictability, heritage and tradition.”

He said Crémant d’Alsace is also winning over British consumers as an “interesting alternative to Champagne,” with a new gen of Alsatian winemakers producing a wave of “fresh, experimental” cuvees particularly fitting for the London market.

In September, London restaurant openings peaked at an eight-year high, according to data from Harden’s, with 146 venues launching in the prior 12 months. Despite this, the picture is far from rosy, with hospitality still reeling from the aftershock of Brexit and Covid, as well as coping with increased tax pressures, soaring costs and a recruitment crisis.

Venues that have closed in 2025 include Margot, Pizzeria Mozza, Hora in Mayfair and Forza Win. Sesta, a Hackney-based restaurant recognised by the Michelin Guide, closed earlier this month after just one year of operating. Its owner claimed: “Times are just too hard to make ends meet.” The owner of an Italian restaurant Don Ciccio in Highgate, North London, slammed the “sheer indifference” of locals after being forced to shut in October after six years.