Cassette

Cassette is a modern French bistrot on Maiden Lane from Mark Gurney and Matt Bushnell, the pair behind Levan and Bar Levan in Peckham. It occupies a red-brick Victorian building that was once a stained-glass and church furniture workshop. The dining room rises to a double-height ceiling over whitewashed brick, exposed pipes and an aluminium island bar at the back, and a cream curtain runs around the upper walls to soften the sound.

Essa Fakhry, who cooked at Planque and at Note in Dublin, runs the kitchen. The à la carte changes with the seasons and leans on classical French technique and old-fashioned sauces, and the coq au vin jaune pie is made in limited numbers each day. The wine list is mostly French, with bottles from Italy, Spain and Germany.

The whole restaurant can be taken privately for a seated dinner of up to 44 guests; Cassette does not host standing receptions. Smaller parties take a long table in the main dining room or in the kitchen dining room downstairs, and in summer a table of up to 18 sits out on the pedestrianised terrace, weather permitting.