Mark Gurney and Matt Bushall have been spending a lot of time in Paris recently. So, for their next venture, the restaurateurs behind Levan and Bar Levan in Peckham are moving from the pan-European influences that have shaped Levan, to zoning in on French cuisine. Specifically? Neighbourhood Parisian bistros.
“Cassette is our love letter to Paris and its beautiful food scene,” Mark Gurney tells Broadsheet. Since opening Levan in 2018, and wine-focused Bar Levan in 2023, the pair has been spending time with friends in Paris, and has hosted French restaurants at Levan as part of their French Connection series.
“We want the food at Cassette to take you on a gastronomic journey and it to feel like us taking you around some of our favourite spots in Paris,” Gurney says, “like Parcelles for their brilliant take on modern bistro, Le Dauphin for some delicious niçoise action, a cheeky bottle of wine at Aux Deux Amis, before heading to Bistrot des Tournelles for a hit of trad French bistro done with style.”
Leading the kitchen at Cassette will be head chef Essa Fakhry (ex-Planque and Note in Dublin). Fakhry’s menu will blend comforting dishes with confident technique; this could mean coq-au-vin jaune pie and terrine of framage de tête and tarragon. More details on the menu will be announced ahead of the opening.
The building is a 19th-century former stained-glass workshop with double-height windows (“It’s got bags of character!” Gurney says). “It’s managed to retain all that history and that magical sense of place which is getting rare these days in central London.”
While the restaurant is placed squarely in Covent Garden, Gurney and Bushnall want to imbue it with the same neighbourhood feel as Levan. “We want to retain the vibe and atmosphere, so 45-ish covers – at Cassette we have just a little more,” Gurney says. “The interior feels spacious because of the high ceilings, but once we get the tables and chairs in it will feel intimate at the same time.”
As for the name, Cassette refers to the pair’s love of music; Levan is named after New York City’s legendary DJ Larry Levan, and Gurney owns a record label and regularly DJs in both London and Paris.
Gurney hopes that, like his favourite Parisian bistros, Cassette will form part of the rhythm of everyday life for its regulars. “We want to help champion a [Parisian] culture of dining out in London, of going for a prix fixe for lunch with a glass of wine and popping back to work. Of supporting your local bistrot, becoming a regular, dining for one.”
Cassette will open on 42 Maiden Lane, WC2E 7LJ this September.
