‘Forget the rain… travel back in time’: What to drink at La Petite Maison
Amelie Maurice-Jones visits Mayfair’s fine-dining French restaurant La Petite Maison, where beverage director Tibor Krascsenics hopes guests will “forget the rain… and travel back in time”. Presented as a vintage magazine, the new cocktail menu, ‘Déjà Vu’, blends horoscopes, crosswords and a healthy dose of nostalgia to transport drinkers to the sea-spritzed glamour of the French Riviera.
The hurried plod of a double bass. No candles, but on each table, one fresh lemon and two ruddy beef tomatoes. A waiter, who darts between tables, grates salt onto ‘Tomatinis’ with a neon-splashed device that’s more akin to a mini Eiffel Tower than a salt-and-pepper shaker. This is La Petite Maison (LPM). Outside autumn’s chill is setting in. You wouldn’t know it though. Through its new cocktail menu, the French fine dining spot in Mayfair is jetting diners to Côte d’Azur.
“We decided to move away from the Belle Époque era to the golden era of the French Rivera,” Tibor Krascsenics, La Petite Maison’s (LPM) global beverage director, tells the drinks business. “The goal is to transport guests back in time: “That’s why we also named the menu Déjà Vu, to bring back the nostalgic feeling that you would enjoy yourself on holiday.”
LPM’s website sets the scene: “The year is 1975. The night is young. Your martini is perfectly chilled. Somewhere, Brigitte Bardot smiles, and the spirit of the Riviera shimmers on…” The cocktail menu, which includes 10 new drinks and takes the form of a glossy vintage magazine, forks into the categories ‘Fashion’, ‘Culture’ and ‘Lifestyle’. It launched officially in October, and cocktails are inspired by iconic French cultural moments.
Like any self-respecting drinks list, there are drinks aplenty: there’s the Birkin, dubbed as LPM’s ‘twist on the Americano’ and made with Charentais melon, Bacardi Cuatro Añejo, a blend of vermouth and light tonic water. The tipple is named after the Hermès Birkin bag – introduced by English actress Jane Birkin – and presented with a custom French silk scarf. There’s also the Soleil, inspired by Fragonard’s Soleil fragrance, which combines LPM x 44°N Gin, bergamot and mandarin, and arrives in a bespoke soda bottle alongside a perfume sample.
What’s on the menu?
But like any self-respecting magazine, there are fun, interactive parts too. My fellow diner and I mull over horoscopes, scribble out crosswords and pick drinks based on our star signs (the gin, salted pink apple and lavender soda and grapefruit bitters Garden of Eden for her, and the gin-based mandarin, peach and RinQuinQuin serve, Bikini, for me).
It’s all part of LPM’s intention to create a fully-immersive experience: “We wanted people to be transported – disconnected from routine, and part of the story,” says Krascsenics. Historically, he adds, people would read magazines on their trips to the beach. Now, people just scroll through news apps on their phones. “That’s why we put a lot of effort into storytelling, to make sure people don’t just come for drinks, but leave with experience.”
Nostalgia is key when it comes to the restaurant’s storytelling. The Douliou Douliou – a twist on a Piña Colada – comes with a Walkman, for instance. “The older generation will remember how they had to rewind the cassette to get back to the song,” Krascsenics explains. “We serve it with a Walkman playing the song Douliou Douliou, which is the main song from the movie Le gendarme de Saint-Tropez.”
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Then there’s the Mr Monaco: “The inspiration comes from the Formula One driver Graham Hill, who won the Monaco Grand Prix five times. The idea for a Champagne-style cocktail comes from the Formula One drivers, as when they stand on the podium they always spray some Champagne, so we serve it in a Champagne bottle, table-side.”
Simple, sophisticated serves
LPM’s London site opened in 2007, and the group boasts nine other branches around the world, including in Miami, Dubai and Hong Kong. Déjà Vu arrived at LPM’s Dubai branch earlier this year. All drinks are Low-ABV, and there’s a ‘mirror menu’ of mocktails.
“It’s more about sophistication than having very strong drinks,” Krascsenics continues. The food menu, too, headed up by chef Maurizio Pace, prioritises “simple, quality ingredients.”
Mediterranean fare spans from hors d’oeuvres (the standout being the rainbow-vibrant cauliflower salad with almond and Callaway dressing) main dishes (from grilled king tiger prawns marinated with green chilli and coriander to homemade pappardelle pasta with beef ragout and mushrooms, to Cornish hen with preserved lemon – the most succulent chicken of our lives), and desserts (around us we admire bowls of hot chocolate mousse and barley ice cream and crème brûlée, but ultimately opt a generous, silky tub of tiramisu, and are certainly not disappointed).
‘Bright lights and shine’
At 11pm and the vibe’s still zingy; there’re no signs of service settling down. Several birthday celebrations erupt in applause. Couples in black satin and tailored suits have only eyes for each other (as well as the lentils, fresh salads and steaks that appear in front of them). Glitzy guests float around in moth-like gossamer and silver sequin. On the walls are paintings of bodies in various acts… dancing, lounging, suited, booted, naked and cruising… it’s as if they’ve just arrived to a party they couldn’t bear to miss.
“In the UK, there is very gloomy weather,” Krascsenics adds, spitting facts. “We wanted to bring some bright lights and shine to the customers as well, to forget about the rain… forget about the umbrella… and travel back in time.”
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