Mazí Mas

Mazí Mas is a pop-up restaurant in London with a difference. Founded by Niki Kopke, the restaurant’s name is Greek, and means ‘With Us’. It is fitting, as togetherness and inclusion sits firmly at its heart.

Inspired by her Greek godmother, Maria Maroulis, a migrant woman who never realised her ambition to cook for a living, Kopke is determined to make food a doorway to a better life for other women. She founded Mazí Mas two years ago and with the help of a successful crowdfunding campaign,has been able to take the roaming restaurant to Ovalhouse Theatre.

In a city brimming with ethnic food and flavours, Kopke realised women were a key element missing from the equation. Though in the home the kitchen is the women’s domain, the restaurant scene seemed to shut them out almost entirely.

Running until the end of May, the restaurant has seven female chefs, from places as disparate as Iran and Senegal, Ethiopia and Peru. Each brings decades of experience, as well as a huge variety of expertise and knowledge about their region’s cuisine.

Expect authentic cooking from all over the world, and a dynamic menu that will reward repeat visits: what’s on offer will change daily depending on who’s in the kitchen. If you want to find out, just follow their Twitter – although all of it, we can assure you, will be well worth trying.

Harnessing the power of London’s food revolution for social change, Mazí Mas provides the perfect antidote to the tired high street chain. With every helping, it’s setting an example the rest of the industry would be wise to follow. Go along, sample something new, then go again – we know we plan to!