Mazi, Notting Hill

Get ready for one of the best places to eat in Notting Hill. If you're feeling fed up with the recent trend for dude food (posh pizzas, fancy frankfurters, gourmet burgers) then the fresh flavours at Mazi, one of the latest great restaurants in London, will be a welcome change. Say goodbye to meat feasts in sticky marinades, paper plates and greaseproof paper – for spring has sprung, and with it a welcome shift on the culinary scene: clean eating has arrived.
This is no faddy diet: clean eating in London is about colour, freshness, vibrancy and flavour. Mazi has brought all and a dollop of cool to Notting Hill's best restaurants. Taking over from a popular traditional but tired Greek local, the new proprietors were prepared for an uphill battle. However, the food that comes out of this kitchen silenced the critics immediately — and those reluctant locals are now regulars. Specialising in new-school Greek cuisine, the menu isn't limited by tradition. There’s wild cod, black garlic skordalia, sweet and sour beets and feta tempura with lemon marmalade and caper meringue on the menu, alongside a perfect Greek salad – get ready for some of the best food in London. And you can forget what they say about Greek wine: the recommended white (similar to a Chardonnay) was so good we had to have another bottle. And another. The ambience is snug but barefoot chic, with simple decor and cosy seating. “Beware the perils of a busy life,” reads the downstairs loo, and it's this emphasis on taking time to enjoy life and food that makes this clean, fresh cuisine such a delicious change – one of the new unique places to eat in London: restaurants, best watch out as Mazi is cleaning up the foodie scene.