What can one expect from an evening spent at The Maine? ‘Revelry, martinis and mischief,’ says the founder of the new London destination, restaurateur Joey Ghazal.
It’s true that within only a few weeks of being open, The Maine has generated enough gossip and gathered enough of a distinguishable crowd that it is worthy of being called a ‘hotspot’. Located in a Georgian townhouse bordering Mayfair and Soho, The Maine features 350 covers across five distinctly different dining rooms and three floors, with a year-round hidden terrace nestled in the former stables of the townhouse.
For Ghazal, the project was an homage to his childhood summers spent in New England, where family-style feasts of fresh seafood are served up in environs that blend preppy-elegance with Shaker-style practicality. Yet, the restaurant has filtered that distinctly American spirit through a London lens in order to bring something novel but still accessible to the city.
‘The American approach towards dining is more provocative and something we felt London was ready for,’ says Ghazal. ‘If there is one thing we have seen, it is that a sense of generosity and indulgence is exactly what the doctor ordered in post lockdown London.
‘Drama comes from contrast,’ he continues. ‘By juxtaposing the refined against the rough, you create something simultaneously absurd and perfect. The aristocratic 18th century Drawing Room and terrace, the Copacabana-style brasserie in a bunker, the brick-vaulted Tavern bar set in the former servants’ quarters, the “air raid shelter” toilets leading on to a 1970s style’ private bar – all these different spaces and secret corners evoke a sense of falling down the rabbit hole.’
Indeed, wandering through the restaurant can feel like a journey into an elegant funhouse with each room offering its own unique entertainment. In the words of the BradyWilliams group, which designed the interiors, The Maine offers ‘a sense of intimacy and theatre fused into a space with distinctive offerings. It is the epitome of a members’ club with no fees.
‘The design allows one to elegantly recline in the Drawing Room, let loose in the Tavern or be transported by the energetic atmosphere of the live music and theatrical experience in the Brasserie.’
Like Soho House and Dean Street Townhouse before it, The Maine promises to be a London destination that is equally suitable for a breakfast meeting with clients or a debaucherous evening out with friends. Yet, its novelty and expansiveness gives it something those other locations don’t have, and which will almost certainly secure its place among London’s best-known watering holes. §