Mazi

Delicious, innovative Greek food, trendy crowd and pleasing staff make this a go to favourite. Clean flavours and wonderful ambience.

My knowledge of Greek food doesn't go much further than feta and taramasalata so I wasn't desperate for a full Greek experience and in fact my dining companion (who has a Greek girlfriend), did say it was a little West London'd Greek food. However, that doesn't detract from how good it was. The concept of the sharing menu is both excellent and a challenge for me, especially in this restaurant since they have so much aubergine and courgette in the dishes. I realise these are staples of Greek cuisine but these are two vegetables I really can't stand, so there was a lot of compromising as we decided on which dishes we would share. The waiter was happy to both recommend the right amount of food if we were hungry (we were) and also put up with my exceptionally particular wine requirements, to the point of letting me taste a couple before deciding. In the end we chose two jars, the Oak Smoked Potato salad and the Squid Ink Fava Bean puree. I loved the way the food was presented. Really charming but they were both so fabulous, that I wish I could have had them to myself. If it hadn't been both undignified and nigh on impossible to reach, I could have licked the jars to get every last morsel out. Incredible flavours that married together so well. The Greek salad we chose (very good but standard Greek salad really) was a great accompaniment. The hot meals were another strenuous negotiation. My friend wanted the courgette cakes but he also wanted the pork tenderloin, celery and leek pie. I wasn't keen on either so we split the difference. We still had the pork but the courgettes were cast aside in favour of the monkfish. I still found the pork a little too heavy but good and the monkfish was just wonderfully prepared. No boring, dull, tasteless fish here. Very impressive. The dessert menu was a mixture of words I just didn't understand though the waiter did try and explain, I think the use of the word ‘fondant’ is misleading for something that is essentially a small cake. It had quite a heavy consistency and was a little too much after that meal. My friend had the loukoumades, which are like little round doughballs. They were described as profiterole type things but I think that was in shape only. Dessert was probably slightly disappointing after it had been preceded by such great food. I liked the extra touches, like the shot of Greek liquor infused with lemon, prior to the meal. They offered my friend have his dessert for free because it had taken a while to get to the table. They also didn't rush us out of the restaurant, despite reminding me on the phone that it was a 2 hour window. My only quibbles would be that it was a very small space so we were all practically eating on top of each other. Very tight for the number of tables. It was also ridiculously hot, so hot that we had to go and stand outside for a few minutes, as we both felt a little overheated. They did attempt to help us by opening the door to the garden, only to be full of complaints from diners who thought it was instantly really cold. Considering how nice an evening it was on Saturday, I just couldn't believe that. Still, I can't praise the food enough. This restaurant is really worth a visit but it's so small that this is definitely one you need to reserve ahead of time.

The jars were like treasure troves for taste buds, a must have is the Oak Smoked Potato salad with quail egg. There were a few of us so did not taste the egg but the potatoes were to live for! Then I was seduced by the Feta Tempura with lemon marmalade and caper meringue and well satisfied with the Black Truffle chicken Hunkar Begendi. Too full to try dessert but then that's the perfect excuse to go back and eat less to make room for all those tempting sweeter dishes. We drank divine Greek white wine, sadly forgot to write down the name but yet another excuse to return.

I am afraid the owners of this restaurant didn't even give us the opportunity to try their food…such was unwelcoming and rude their ‘welcome’ in the restaurant. I am Greek and last Sunday was Greek Orthodox Easter so I had this fabulous idea to book for our Easter lunch a table to MAZI as I read so many nice reviews in the press…I called 3 weeks in advance to make sure I get a nice table for 5 as we had family visiting for the holiday and I really wanted them to enjoy. Upon arrival we had to wait a few minutes for the lady in charge to pay attention to us. When she showed us our table we thought there must be some sort of mistake as it was big enough only for 3!!! When we mentioned that she said that there was no other table available and that they warned us during the reservation that we will be squeezed…No way I would have booked a table for Easter lunch with family knowing that we will be squeezed like being in the northern line during rush hour…we proposed to add a second table which was empty next to ours but the response was that there was no more chairs…Seriously??? And to top this extremely unpleasant discussion she then called somebody else who came to tell us in a very rude and obnoxious manner that we should know about the squeezing situation and that he had 100 people on his waiting list for that day…Again…Seriously??? It’s worth mentioning that it is a very small and narrow restaurant….. Where was he planning to put all those people??? So we left wondering why would we care to go back there? Try the food when the service is so so bad from the moment you enter through the door…and in such a special day…If I was you I would wait to go to Greece to eat Greek food…Don't go there…Ever!!!

The night we went was busy and the restaurant itself is pleasant with a nice welcome. We just had a terrible waiter who after we ordered starters wouldn't let us keep the menu so we could look at the main courses… very strange… He thought this was funny, we didn't. The starters arrived and were wrong, not what we'd ordered although on the bill we noticed they had listed what we had ordered. They were slightly bland but not inoffensive. The main courses arrived and were pretentious and tasteless, (in fact the cod with artichoke fricassee is to be avoided, horribly acidic and couldn't make out the artichokes). Greek food should be full of big flavours and tastes, this food was pretentious and old fashioned in an 80's nouvelle way. On the plus side the wine was excellent and from a small local Greek vineyard. We were asked to leave after an hour and fifteen minutes as the table was needed. I didn't see a queue of people outside waiting for the table… it was their polite way of saying please leave. I understand that this restaurant serves the locals well but really the food and service was terrible.

After reading some great reviews in various high end publications i had to visit this new restaurant in Notting Hill.  Located less than 5 minutes walk away from the tube it turned out to be everything I had hoped for and more.  The food was simply stunning and the service impeccable.  The Greek wine was also a great accompaniment to the meal which started with a shot of local liquor. I have been back a couple of times since and will continue to do so. Top marks for a restaurant that has redefined my thoughts of Greek food.

My experience at MAZI has been amazing! I have been there for lunch a couple of times and enjoyed the delicious food and drinks in their lovely garden as well as for dinner over delicious Mastiha cocktails! I would suggest it to anyone looking for a refreshing lunch or dinner that gives you the vibe of a Greek island holiday! Well done!

Put away your preconceptions about Greek food and enjoy something special. This is the most delicious and elegant Greek food, not “the usual” fare of kebabs, souvlaki, or moussaka; far from it. Instead, we enjoyed first courses of delicious little pots of grilled aubergine with soya and thyme honey, and of “inside out stuffed peppers”. Main courses were equally good, and beautifully presented, as were deserts. These are novel dishes with a distinctly Greek influence, and almost as much a treat for the eye as the palate. The room is pretty, but compact, and the service delightful and efficient.