Mazi

Mazi
12-14 Hillgate street,
London
W8 7SR
Tel: 020 7229 379

http://www.mazi.co.uk

SN: I could waste some words on the vineous desert that is Notting Hill Gate - we went in search of champagne and found one cocktail bar with no bartender....If you go to Notting Hill Gate it should be for one good reason and that is to visit Mazi.  I can't commend this place enough.

First an introduction to the decor/ambience is essential  - in many ways it makes the place.  The clean lines and kitchen style furniture extends out into the vine-sheltered patio (a legacy of the previous Greek restaurant on this site, Costas Grill,  which opened in 1957 no less).  On a warm summer night I imagine this place will be magical.  There are big tables and small tables and the fit is tight though everyone seems to get their own intimate space - not overlooked by others.  This is the place to bring a party to - not just because they can accommodate it - but also because the space almost demands to be filled with happy people.

We kicked off with a shot of alcohol and fruit juice the constituents of which passed me by.  The colour was vibrant and the effect was energising.
LM: there was passionfruit, sugar and booze in it. It was fantastic

SN: The menu is divided into Jars, Salads, Hot Plates, Signature Dishes and Desserts.  The waitress recommended we had five or six dishes and told us that these would arrive as they were cooked. We ordered 2 Jars which arrived with bread, 2 Hot Plates, 1 Signature Dish and a bottle of Lauren Perrier Champagne.

LM: It's worth mentioning that they knew the menu well enough to comment that there might be too much feta in our initial picks, and were happy to 'vegify' one of the other options to suit us. In fact the waiting staff were great all through - organised chaos is the phrase that springs to mind, with the  plan seeming to be whoever got to a table first serving them. They did it well though - partly due to the small size of the restaurant it must be a necessity. At no point did we have to try hard to flag someone's attention which is a win as far as I'm concerned, and the service was consistently warm and polite without being intrusive.

All but one of our picks were vegetarian dishes from the 10 veggie dishes on the menu. Dishes are brought out when ready which is great for snacking, although our table got a bit over-full at times (staff were excellent at clearing away the empties though)

We started with Grilled Aubergine with soy and thyme honey - served in a jar. The aubergine had been either mashed or pureed and was served with shoots of spring onion - spread on the generous supply of bread it was a fantastic start to the meal.

 

SN: It's worth noting these jars are substantial and I'm pretty sure you could make a decent light meal by just ordering jars (£6) and bread.

Tzatziki with only a pinch of garlic: This truly does only have a hint of garlic but it's telling and wonderfully balanced.  I'm a big fan of Tzatziki if its fresh as fresh can be - always easier to make oneself than endure watery supermarket offerings.  This was super and balanced the rich aubergine and feta dishes very well.

LM: Feta Tempura with lemon marmalade and caper meringue absolutely blew my mind - it wasn't oily or greasy, the feta was smooth and melted with a lovely crisp batter. The sweet meringue took a moment to get used to but in combination with the lemon marmalade was basically perfection on a plate.

 

SN: Louise is not kidding - I'm no big fan of feta but this was just divine.  And nice that the taste contrasts in this dish made a real difference on the palate and weren't just there to talk up the menu.  Exquisite - worth the visit on its own!  It was good to see other tables order it and have the same reaction too.

LM: Imam Baildi aubergine, melted stilton and caramelised onion was not dissilimar to a dish we had at the lovely but unreviewed pub near Pentonville (can't remember the name!)*. The aubergine was silky smooth - I'm not usually a fan of strong cheeses but (and this is a recurring theme) Mazi got the flavour balance absolutely spot on.

*SN: The Drapers Arm's - home of that saddest of foods: the burned pie

 

Black Truffle chicken Unkar Begendi (Hunter's delight)

I've seldom had chicken as succulent as this - firm fleshed and not at all watery - it was a delight.  I didn't share for obvious reasons, but there was a substantial serving for one person here. I can't speak highly enough both for the subtle flavour and the presentation of this dish.  Absolutely delightful.

   

Spinach Mousaka, basil and courgette purée was lovely but probably (and unsurprisingly) the least exciting dish of the lot - simply because it's become a bit of a staple dish -  still, technically excellent and we polished the whole lot off promptly.

 

LM: We ended a long and delightful meal with a much discussed (online) Loukoumades (soft, crispy doughnut balls), lavender honey and chocolate sorbet - a bargain at £8 because it is big enough and rich enough to share, washed down with a glass of Samos Vin Doux
 (SN: that's a glass each, I hasten to add - LM does not share glasses of wine!)

 

Kudos again to our waiter who actually stopped us from ordering two portions because of the size - really nice touch. The lavender honey in particular was knockout - the presentation in a box with smoking cinnamon in dried lavender wowed too.

 

SN: I was blown away by this little piece of theatre in a box - such a sensual pleasure and yet so simple. The smell alone turned heads around us and several of the neighbouring tables went ahead to order the same - by some feat of restraint LM didn't execute a smash and grab on the way out.

All in all this was one of the best meals we've had in a long time in terms of the quality of the food and the ambience served by chatty friends from America (in front of our table), meeting of 12 friends (to our left), intimate discussion with shopping (behind us), and young lovers (tucked away at the back).  It was noisy but full of laughter.  It serves all and at a very reasonable rate if that's required - we spent £172 but £70 of that was our well-deserved Champagne.

This restaurant has been open since 2012 and word is getting around about it's many glories.  Their idea is to revolutionise Greek cuisine on the high street - they do that.  'Mazi" means together in Greek - they do it as a team and with what I'm sure is a band of loyal customers - they can add us to their number.

In the strange lands of Notting Hill Gate this restaurant deserves every bit of the reputation it's gaining - superb!