Marani, 54 Curzon Street, London W1J 8PG
26/04/2014
She said: He loves Georgian food. I
think we’ve been to every Georgian in London so when Marani opened a short walk
from us we didn’t waste any time. This is the first ‘posh’ Georgian we’ve
visited. I’ll get price out of the way up front: Marani is not cheap. It’s
clearly geared to the Mayfair set or a special occasion/client account dining,
although there is a set price lunch menu. But I loved it. Every bit. There are
two dining rooms: a homely ground floor with contemporary décor mixed with
beautiful Georgian artwork; and a first floor classic, more formal dining room
with gorgeous original features and a chandelier made from decanters. As soon
as we arrived, the service was friendly and attentive. As he has spent time in
Georgia many moons ago, I enjoyed his nostalgic ordering and eating! It was
difficult deciding what to order from such a great choice of a la carte dishes
and everything we chose tasted fresh and delicious. This included salmon in a
juicy plum sauce with creamy chestnuts and comforting lobio which melted in the
mouth. Even the cocktails were amazing. While we were eating, we chatted to a
couple a few tables away who turned out to be the owners. They were wonderful
hosts and even sent us complimentary drinks so that we could try a local
favourite, which again was amazing. The staff showed us around the place and
every second of the experience was just perfect. We will definitely return –
it’s just too good not to.
He said: when I heard that a new
Georgian had opened in Mayfair I half expected that it would be some tacky,
overpriced monstrosity designed to fleece local oiligarchs. How nice to be proved wrong [again, she might
say]! The design is a really effective, young and contemporary twist on
traditional Georgia. Same for the cocktail list which remixes the usual list
with Georgian ingredients, like the local moonshine ‘cha cha’. The menu was
pleasingly extensive, listing a number of different regional specialties, and
so evocative that it was genuinely difficult making a choice. And it’s when the
food hits the table that Marani’s USP shines through: Georgian cooking uses a
lot of strong aromatics, like fenugreek, and rich flavours like walnut, or
plum, and it’s a tricky thing to balance everything just right for a western
palate. Some restaurants, like Colchis, chicken-out by producing a fusion of
Georgian and European. But the kitchen at Marani has clearly put a lot of
thought into each dish, tweaking the levels so that the nature and quality of
each ingredient is allowed to shine in genuine Georgian classics. In some cases
I might have liked a little more intensity, like with the bean dish lobio, or
the adjika a fiery condiment like a hot chutney designed to set the roof on
fire, whereas Marani’s isn’t quite hot enough. But that’s personal taste and I
still loved every last bite. Some dishes may seem expensive on their own, like
khacha puri or lobio which are essentially side dishes but priced like mains.
But it evens-out, mostly, if you order Georgian style, with everything to
share. Marani is not cheap, but definitely worth it. I’m looking forward to
going back again and again and working my way through the menu.
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