Last Updated on March 20, 2026
Does Mayfair’s Mazarine have London’s Most Interesting Fish Menu?
5.0 out of 5.0 stars
Mazarine is a relatively new addition to the Mayfair dining scene, having opened in December 2025. It sits on the corner site of the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Hanover Square, although the restaurant is not part of the hotel.
In charge of the kitchen is Thierry Laborde (ex-Head Chef at Le Gavroche), who has created a menu that celebrates coastal French cuisine from Biarritz to Monaco.
The interior was designed by New York design studio Bolt, which has run with the seaside theme. The ceiling undulates like a sand dune, the walls are textured, and the edges are all softened. The banquette seats are mazarine-coloured, the dusky shade of blue from which the restaurant takes its name. But be under no illusion, this is the posh seaside, the seaside with classical table service, fresh linen tablecloths and a romantic French soundtrack.
The menu is full of unusual dishes that we don’t often see in London, and while we choose, we try a couple of the ‘Signature Cocktails’. The Dassault 28, a blend of Moët et Chandon Brut Impérial fizz, peach and lavender, seems Provençal in intention but is underpowered. The Margarita St Martin, Olmeca Altos Reposado, pomelo, Cointreau and lime is similarly too gentle for my taste, hardened from years of drinking Negronis.
The food at Mazarine is a different matter. After some fabulous hot sourdough bread, tangy with a crisp crust, we launch into a sequence of stunning hors d’oeuvres. Generous dollops of shiny Aquitaine caviar sit on crisp brioche ‘chips’, the salty, luscious eggs bursting in the mouth over the pastry shards. Smoked eel croquettes, oozing with tangy melted Comté cheese, sit on a stunning herbal lovage and horseradish sauce that cuts the smoky richness of the croquettes. A luxe take on a Croque Monsieur is stuffed with black truffle and lobster; it’s a bit like eating a Rolls-Royce and makes me very happy.
Moving on from the cocktails, we drink an oaky glass of O Con Albarino Xose Lois Sebio, full of citrus and mineral notes. With its long aftertaste, the wine is a good match for the seafood.
Creamy sea urchin taramasalata doughnuts (Tarama d’Oursin de Mer) are deliciously intense. The flavour of these spiny aquatic wonders can be too much for some palates, but this dish dials down the flavour to an accessible level.
Thin slices of grilled scallop have a soft, delicate flavour enhanced by the surface crumb of roast ground green hazelnuts and a black butter sauce. This dish, superficially simple yet with a sophisticated, subtle use of ingredients, exemplifies Thierry Laborde’s approach.
A beautifully plated dish of tender, sous-vide octopus slivers is lifted by a dollop of a rich Béarnaise sauce sweetened by its tarragon, beetroot preserve and the salinity of salmon roe.
I chose a glass of Domaine de Pallus Chinon 2023, bursting with cherry and blackcurrant flavours to accompany my main dish, Bouillabaisse Classique. With the fish flown in from the South of France, this is a top-level Bouillabaisse made the traditional way with the proper ingredients such as scorpion fish. On top of the fish, there’s a saffrony broth given an aniseed kick by the addition of pastis. Waxy ratte potatoes mop up the broth.
With plenty of Gruyère, a garlicky rouille and crisp croutons to add depth of flavour and texture, this dish is a Bouillabaisse masterclass in Mayfair.
Much less complex is the crab ravioli that sits in a lobster and lemongrass broth. The ravioli has plenty of bite, and the crab filling is full-flavoured. A glass of Daniel-Etienne Defaix, Chablis Premier Cru Vaillon from 2013 is a honeyed, multi-layered taste revelation.
A side dish of ratatouille was exemplary, the finely chopped vegetables creating a smooth mouth feel with the sauce having a deep resonant flavour with just a hint of sweetness.
After a substantial meal, Le Colonel Gascon is the perfect boozy light dessert. It’s a lemon sorbet studded with lemon skin and doused in Armagnac. A light buttery shortbread accompanied.
Mazarine has the most interesting fish menu in London, and the cooking is stellar. With service that is slick, old-fashioned and charming, the restaurant is a fine addition to the Mayfair scene. If you can, do yourself a favour and go.
Mazarine
22 Hanover Square
Mayfair, London W1S 1JA
+44 20 3750 0599
Check our roundup of the best fish restaurants in London for more pescatarian inspiration
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