‘It’s so faux-posh that Nicky Haslam has probably already added it to his things that are common list’
Some restaurants arrive on the scene all guns blazing with self-hype and wild promises. The Maine, newly opened in Mayfair, central London, describes itself as a “blend of old-world British elegance, New England extravagance and subterranean decadence”. I know: I’m exhausted already, too.
Yet, having spent a Saturday lunchtime in this hectic, multi-floored pleasure palace, there are definitely bones of truth among the balderdash. What is more extravagant than taking over a Grade II-listed Georgian building on the west side of Hanover Square and turning it into a gargantuan party venue with seating for 350? If you passed this former residence of the Duke of Montrose during a sightseeing jaunt, you’d certainly be struck by the house’s elegant, imposing frontage, because this is how London looks in a souvenir snowglobe. And now Canadian restaurateur Joey Ghazal has created a vast, dark, twinkling brasserie restaurant/nightclub in its basement, where one could easily imagine Dita Von Teese swirling about in a giant martini glass and where, I’m told, there’s a VIP room through a hole in the bathroom wall.
