Review: Maroto
Review: Maroto
By Helen Down
Maroto, the slick new Brazilian restaurant nestling behind Oxford Street, is where hi-end cuisine fuses with the vibrancy of Rio de Janeiro. It has a novel offering where all mains are served under five emulsion scoops spanning spicy, sweet, salty, sour and umami. And it’s so gratifying to see a restaurant identify – and nail – such a fresh concept. But I’m getting ahead of myself here because the pre-dinner cocktails and starters were just as original and sumptuous.
The cocktail menu was as riotous and exuberant as Brazil. Tequila with jalapeño, egg white, lime and salt? Yes please! And a ‘mescalgroni’? Another resounding ‘yes’ for the mescal take on ye olde negroni, with a touch of ‘chocolate wine’. Both were a sign of the innovation yet to come.
It simply would not do to eat our starters with tequila and mescal still rolling around our mouths, so we had a palette cleanser: a light broth made from cassava and potato peelings. Although it sounds like bin juice, it was delightfully flavoursome and refreshing and shows how seriously Maroto takes waste and sustainability.
Our starters comprised silky smoked haddock puree with Exmoor caviar, which my dining partner thought was the star of the show. For me, though, the cured seabass with pickled courgette, finger lime and a fruity but spicy malagueta pimenta sauce was even better. Perhaps because it transported me back to the ceviche of Peru.
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When our mains arrived under a rainbow of five characterful emulsions, it was hard to decide which shone brighter: the marbled, perfectly pink slabs of tomahawk steak and cod fillet (bacalhau) poached in butter, or the sauces themselves. One bite of the tender buttery fish, and I knew. But the house salad also provided stiff competition: baby spinach leaves with miso dressing and crunchy shreds of fried leek. A satisfying meal in its own right. There followed lemon cheesecake, presented adorably like a cartoon piece of swiss cheese. And burnt sugar pie with vanilla ice cream and chocolate crumb. Dangerously good. Five stars all round.
I arrived at Maroto experiencing deja vu, thinking I’d reviewed it before. I sighed with relief when our fun loving waiter confirmed I must have reviewed Maroto’s predecessor, another Brazilian restaurant which I also thoroughly enjoyed. I wondered why like was being replaced with like. But after eating our sumptuous meal, I got it. Maroto is even better than its forerunner. And with a new menu launching in a couple of weeks, I have a great excuse to return.
Address: 4 Vere St, London, W1G 0DJ
Web: https://www.marotolondon.com
Instagram: @marotorestaurant
Opening Hours: Tuesday – Saturday 19:00 – 23:30
