Wine room & small plates

Mara Lane

the evening menu

Cooked over coals and served as it is ready, so plates arrive in waves rather than courses. Three or four between two is a full dinner.

Kitchen: 12:00 – 22:00, Tuesday to Sunday
Snacks & wine: Until 23:00 at the counter
Service: Table service — order with your waiter

The Mara Lane wine room during evening service, with low lighting above a long counter and small tables. — The counter, half past eight

I — Snacks

While you decide

Brought out within a few minutes of ordering. Bread is baked twice a day and sometimes runs out before closing.

01 Castelvetrano olivesVGGF 5
Warmed with orange zest and cracked fennel seed.
02 Sourdough & cultured butterV 6
Thick cut, grilled on the coals, flaked sea salt.
03 Marcona almondsVGGFN 5.5
Fried in olive oil with smoked paprika and rosemary.
04 Anchovy toast 7
Whipped egg yolk, Cantabrian anchovy, chive. Two pieces.

II — Small plates

From the kitchen

Portions are built for sharing. We send them in the order that suits the cooking, not the order you read them.

05 Burrata, charred peachVGFN 13
Basil oil, toasted pistachio, a little aged vinegar.
06 Beef tartare 15
Hand cut, cured yolk, caper berries, rye crisps on the side.
07 Charred leeks, romescoVGFN 11
Hazelnut romesco under them, aged sheep’s cheese over.
08 Octopus & butter beansGF 16
Braised slowly, finished on the grill, preserved lemon and parsley.
09 Courgette frittiV 9
Fine batter, lemon aioli, torn mint.
10 Mackerel escabecheGF 12
Cured two days, pickled shallot, dill, cold from the pass.

III — From the hearth

For the table

One of these plus two small plates feeds two people well. The lamb is limited each evening and takes around twenty minutes to carve and rest.

11 Half chicken, bay & garlicGF 26
Brined overnight, burnt lemon, pan juices poured at the table.
12 Lamb shoulderGFServes two 34
Six hours with anchovy and rosemary until it pulls apart.
13 Whole plaiceGF 29
On the bone, brown butter, capers, a wedge of lemon.
14 Hispi cabbage, miso butterV 14
Quartered and grilled hard, toasted buckwheat for crunch.

IV — Sides

Alongside

All vegetarian, all one price. Ask and we will leave the dressing off anything here.

5.5 each

Rosemary potatoes, olive oil and garlic
Bitter leaves, mustard dressing
Tomatoes, basil, aged vinegar
Buttered greens, lemon, black pepper

V — Sweet

To finish

Short list, made in house, except the crackers with the cheese.

15 Olive oil cakeV 8
Crème fraîche and quince poached in its own syrup.
16 Dark chocolate & sea salt tartV 9
Thin pastry, set soft in the middle, served at room temperature.
17 AffogatoVGF 6
Vanilla ice cream, a double espresso poured over.
18 Cheese, two waysV 12
One hard, one washed rind, quince and seeded crackers.

VI — By the glass

Six open bottles

Poured as 150ml. Bottle prices are for the same wine, and the full cellar list is on the card at the counter.

19 Vermentino, Sardinia Gl9Bt34
Crisp and saline, the easiest start to the menu.
20 Chenin Blanc, Loire Gl10Bt38
Orchard fruit and flint. Good with the leeks or the plaice.
21 Skin-contact Pinot Gris, Friuli Gl11Bt44
Apricot, a firm tannic edge. Ask for a taste first.
22 Gamay, Beaujolais Gl10Bt38
Served chilled, all red fruit, drinks like a summer wine.
23 Nero d’Avola, Sicily Gl9.5Bt36
Plum and warm spice. The pour for the lamb.
24 Fino sherry, Jerez Gl7Bt30
Bone dry and almondy, cold. Drink it with the anchovy toast.

White wine being poured into a glass at the Mara Lane counter.

How the glass list works

Two of the six change each week, usually the whites. If something here is on its last glass we will tell you before you order it.

A taste is always free, and we will happily open a bottle for one glass if you would rather drink something from the cellar card.

VII — Low & no

Nothing or next to it

Everything in this group is alcohol-free, and built with the same care as the wine list rather than left as an afterthought.

25 House soda, rhubarb & bittersVG 5
Pressed in the kitchen, lengthened with soda, plenty of ice.
26 Garden & tonicVGGF 7
Distilled botanicals, Indian tonic, grapefruit peel.
27 Alcohol-free Riesling, MoselVG Gl7Bt26
Off-dry and properly aromatic. The best of the no-alcohol wines.
28 Filter coffee or mint teaVGGF 3.5
Coffee is a medium roast, ground to order. Tea is fresh leaves.

VIII — Dietary key

Reading the markers

Markers describe the dish as written. Several plates can be changed — tell your waiter and they will check with the kitchen.

V: Vegetarian as served
VG: Vegan as served
GF: No gluten-containing ingredients
N: Contains nuts

Our kitchen is small and handles gluten, nuts, dairy, shellfish and sesame on the same surfaces, so we cannot promise a dish is free of traces. Please tell us about any allergy before you order and we will walk the menu with you properly.