Dinner last month with Hayley Evans (and unexpectedly Matt Abé of Restaurant Gordon Ramsey) at Mãos in London. Gareth Ward and the team from Ynyshir in Wales came for two nights to cook their menu in the Mãos kitchen with the assistance of Nuno Mendez, Eduardo Pellicano and their team. The food was, as expected from Gareth, flawless, delicious and focused on flavour rather than elaborate and unnecessary presentation. Ynyshir if you remember is the restaurant that me and Gerhard Huber went for lunch but pleaded with them to let us stay for dinner to enjoy the menu all over again, so it’s safe to say that I am a fan of the cooking there.
Mãos is kind of a supper club, with just one communal table seating 16 people. The kitchen is open for you to wander around and chat to the chefs as they cook and also the wine room so it’s kind of like a dinner party at someone’s house (what, don’t your friends have a wine room???‍♂️). I have been once before and enjoyed it thoroughly. You don’t have to ask me twice to hang out in the kitchen drinking wine. As with any communal table it’s a bit hit and miss with who you end up dining with so I was glad to click straight away with the people next to me and opposite me on that visit.
The company during this visit was also great (Hayley ?) and it was a pleasant surprise to be sharing the table with Matt Abé, the head chef at Royal Hospital Road for the evening. Although slightly annoying to have your conversation with him interrupted every few minutes by a lady saying things like “Oh you’re a cook are you? I love to cook. Do you cook pies? I have a great recipe for steak & kidney pie. What’s your email? Ill send it to you.” (Matt had the patience of a saint).
I think putting Gareth’s team in to Mãos was great and gives them some more exposure in the capital, (not that he needs it really as Ynyshir is a tough reservation now) of course, as I’ve said the food was great but the vibe did feel a little weird at times. Just purely because Ynyshir has a lively vibrant atmosphere (they have a DJ now during some services) with an emphasis on “Fun dine not Fine dine” and that’s difficult to put across in someone else’s restaurant while also trying to collaborate with them during the service. And with a communal table, everyone is a bit more focused on having a dinner party rather than a restaurant experience I guess.
That’s no disservice to the Mãos team who were fantastic. I would and will go back to both restaurants again as soon as I can.