Maset shines in its simplicity – and brings seaside splendour to London.
Excellent as the cooking is, the real star of this new Marylebone restaurant, Maset, is something far more happy-making and elusive to achieve: its ambience. The Mediterranean restaurant’s dominant colour is serenity-inducing white. This may be bang on trend – Pantone’s Colour of the Year for 2025 is Cloud Dancer white – but it also has the effect of bringing the white-washed walls of a sunny coastal town to a cold and dreary winter evening in London.
The ground-floor restaurant area (there are more tables in the basement) is divided into two by a white partition wall curving around a central bar. You can glimpse the other half through that gap, but you’re entirely separated from it, such that you eat in a long, narrow space with a single row of tables. It feels intimate, but you’re also close enough to your neighbours to be convivial.
Now look up: three gleaming metal ceiling fans are turning slowly, as though to banish a Mediterranean heat. Two arched doorways, one leading to a private dining alcove, complete the Occitan theme that owner Melody Adams is aiming for in both ambience and food, having previously launched two of London’s best Spanish restaurants, Lurra and Donostia, in the same well-heeled area. (“Well-heeled” may be an understatement: an impossibly sleek and beautiful McLaren P1 was parked just outside the restaurant.)
And so on to the food, where the menu structure itself contributes to the convivial ambience. The main courses are almost all for two (a current trend in new restaurants), but the little merenda (snacks) and starters are also made to be shared. Or, for Ozempic diners like the couple we were seated next to, they are good enough to make a satisfying mini-meal on their own.
Our opening small bites were Panisse and Anchoïade and Bouillabaisse Croquettes. The former was a kind of chickpea toast, cut into thin strips and piled like a Jenga tower around a traditional Provençal anchovy paste so rich and flavoursome that it had all the shock value of a punch in the mouth but none of the displeasure. The latter gave a French twist to a Spanish staple by filling the crunchy croquettes with a gooey, deeply fishy centre.
For starters, we had the Spinach and Basil Linguine Pâtes au Pistou, having been assured that the chef was Italian, so it would be a crime not to. It was good, but for me, not quite al dente enough and a little heavy on the pesto sauce. More ecstatic was the on-trend Seabass Crudo, Fennel, Yuzu. We’re seeing yuzu everywhere now, from food to cocktails, and we heartily approve of the delicately aromatic, slightly crunchy East Asian citrus fruit.
For mains to share, the Côte de Boeuf, Ex Dairy, 30 Days Aged, and the Monkfish, Lardo, Moroccan Lemon, Seabeets & Verjus are all recommended. But we liked the look of a nearby diner’s Dover Sole, Hazelnuts and Verbena, so ordered that instead. It did not disappoint. It comes liberally layered with crunchy, toasted hazelnuts, adding depth to the sole’s subtle flavour. And instead of cooking it in butter, which often makes Dover sole too rich, they use a healthier hazelnut oil.
It was also a joy to find chewy, nutty Camargue rice on the menu, which made the perfect accompaniment. We finished with a sweet Chenin Blanc paired with a wonderful Orange Blossom Fougasse and Vanilla Ice Cream. It’s like a posher sticky toffee pudding: light, fluffy, and delicately scented.
It’s people who really make places, and here Maset is blessed with a wonderfully enthusiastic General Manager meets Sommelier. When we ask for a wine recommendation with our fish, he detects our lack of excitement at the Chablis and Sauvignon and quickly pivots to a more esoteric choice: a Cypriot wine. He says he tasted his way through 34 indifferent vineyards before finding this one small grower who could part with just 12 bottles a year. And yes, it was wonderful.
As were the cocktails. The Preserved Lemon Martini, with vodka and lemon brine, was just a touch on the salty side for my taste, but the Fig Leaf Sour, with parafante, brandy and verjus, was one of the best drinks we’ve tasted.
It was a surprise, after that, to stumble out into the unwelcoming embrace of Storm Bram in London, rather than Cézanne pines and sparkling seas. Maset is more than just a restaurant: it’s a portal to a sunnier, more relaxing world.
GO: Visit www.maset.london for more information.
Dining and Cooking