Image: Ed Reeve
Image: Ed Reeve
Food & Hosting
Restaurant People with Cassette
22.09.2026
Introducing Restaurant People, a new series about the people who open restaurants, and everything they decide before you ever sit down.
Every restaurant is a list of decisions. What colour the woodwork gets painted. Which table goes to the couple who booked six weeks ago. What plays when the first guests arrive, and what plays when the last ones won't leave. You feel all of it and notice almost none of it. Restaurant People is where we ask the people who made those calls to talk us through them - the building, the room, the menu, the wine list, the record that opens the night.
We're starting with Cassette, which opens to the public tomorrow at 42 Maiden Lane.
Mark Gurney and Matthew Bushnell have spent two decades in South London, Salon in Brixton, then Levan in Peckham since 2018, and have resisted going central for most of it. Cassette is the first time they've said yes: 56 covers inside, 20 on a terrace on a quiet pedestrianised street, in a building where Turner was born and Voltaire spent a year in exile, and which spent the 19th century as a furniture and stained glass workshop. It is French, deliberately and unfashionably so. Deep aubergine woodwork, art from Kempton Market, a 360-degree curtain, and a pair of Grundig Audiorama 8000 speakers playing disco. Essa Fakhry is in the kitchen, Madeleine Fawcett is front of house, and there is a serious commitment to calvados.
Mark talked us through all of it.
THE DETAILS
Restaurant name:
Cassette.
Who's behind it:
Mark Gurney & Matthew Bushnell.
Where:
42 Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7LJ.
Head Chef:
Essa Fakhry.
Front of House:
Madeleine Fawcett.
Opened or opening:
Opening 23rd September to the public.
Covers:
56 inside, 20 outside.
What dinner costs:
£60 - £100 pp - depending on how much / what you drink ;)
Book or walk in:
Bookings recommended, but we also take walk-ins if space.
THE IDEA
Levan's been part of Peckham since 2018. What convinced you it was time to open a restaurant in Central London?
We’ve been living and working in South London for over 20 years (over 40 years collectively between Matt and I), so we love Peckham and know it pretty well and feel part of that community. We had plans to grow a little and have an amazing investor partner who has been a fantastic supporter since the early Salon days in Brixton. Having both worked in central (Mark in St James with Angela Harnett, Matt in Covent Garden with Opera Tavern) we felt this was the next challenge for us, but we were very focused on keeping things small, cosy and intimate; bringing a bit of our neighbourhood feel to central London.
Levan roams all over Europe, and Cassette goes straight to France. What was it about French cooking that deserved a whole restaurant?
French cooking is so diverse, soulful and really hits the pleasure receptors. We’ve found our tastes getting more simplistic over the years, yearning for restraint and quality cooking that champions ingredients, classic techniques and delving into the rich history of French cooking that we love.
You've talked about Parcelles, Le Dauphin, Aux Deux Amis and Bistrot des Tournelles, the Paris places you keep going back to. What have you brought home from them?
French cooking done super well with minimal fuss, all washed down with a fantastic wine list. Each of the places mentioned above draw on its French roots but bring it into the present day. They are all quite different experiences, but they are all quintessentially themselves, so I hope we can nail our personality and essence at Cassette as well as they do.
Image: Ed Reeve
Image: Ed Reeve
THE ROOM
What made you say yes to this building?
When you see enough buildings and possible restaurant sites over the years, you start to discern the good from the bad pretty quickly. We had a very specific shopping list, and 42 Maiden Lane ticked a lot of those boxes for us - a building with charm and character, spacious, high ceilings but without being too big. Outside space was a big one, we’ve got a lovely little terrace on a cute, quiet, pedestrianised street, overlooked by a beautiful Catholic Church on a street with loads of history.
We'd love to know its history. What did you learn about the place along the way?
The street and building has bags of history! The famous English painter JMW Turner was born there in 1775. Voltaire lived there for a year whilst exiled from France. The Gramophone Company set up the first recording studio next door to Rules Restaurant. We learned the building used to be a Victorian furniture and stained glass window workshop in the 19th Century. It’s brimming with history!
Who did you work with on the interiors, and where did you start with the look of the room?
This is our 4th project working with Tyeth Gundry of Ducker + Gundry Architects, so we are well used to his style and approach. For Cassette we wanted something that would feel intimate and decidedly Parisian but with a contemporary energy. Ty came up with a few excellent ideas on how to get the best from the space. My favourite is the 360 degree curtain which really helps frame the room, capturing atmosphere and the energy of our guests.
Then, as always, the colours - deep aubergine for woodwork & the back wall, with a warming cream for the rest of the walls. Downstairs is lavished with a deep sapele wood, which is dark and sumptuous and really adds atmosphere.
Matt and I source all the art from Kempton Market, which we’ve been going to for years. It’s a real treasure trove.
How much did you change, and how much did you leave exactly as you found it?
We changed nearly everything, expect the crazy aircon system on the ground floor, which has its own weird majesty. The kitchen, we had to start again plus add a walk in fridge and functional KP section to make the work flow efficient. The previous owners won't recognise it at all.
What's your favourite thing about the room?
The Grundig Audiorama 8000 speakers, we got them from our friends at Audio Gold and they look both futuristic and retro, and just flood the room beautifully with sound.
Image: Ed Reeve
Image: Ed Reeve
THE MENU
What was the first dish Essa cooked that made you think, that's it, that's Cassette?
Funnily enough, it’s not a dish that's on the opening menu, but one that we were like, YES! It was a grilled ox heart with peppers tartine. Was so damn good and simple. I could just imagine eating this in a tiny bistrot in Paris with a hearty glass of red, chased swiftly down with a Chartreuse before heading out for lunch no. 2.
Which dish do you think everyone will be ordering?
The Pigeon choux farci I hope. It was one of the dishes that we had almost no feedback on and it was sensational. I’ve had many an amazing choux farci over the years in France, and this was up there with the best.
What's the team's favourite, the one you're all eating on a Sunday night after service?
Coq au Vin Jaune pie - hearty, comforting, delectable. Perfect thing to share with your co-workers with a nice glass of something opulent.
You've been doing the French Connection dinners at Levan for years. Has a dish from one of those nights made it onto this menu?
We’ve had a few vol au vents make an appearance on the French Connection menus and we love them, so Essa has come up with a killer one for the opening. Cep & smoked egg yolk vol-au-vent & sauce Parisienne which is divine!
A coq au vin jaune pie sounds delicious, and it's not something you see often. Where did that one come from?
This was Essa’s idea, and was on his first ever menu he sent to us and we loved it. It’s a clever French twist on a classic. Chefs seem to love cooking with Vin Jaune, despite it being quite expensive and a rare ingredient. It spends over 6 years in barrel and then at least another 3 in bottle, it’s quite the undertaking! I’m always a bit miffed when I see them splashing it into a dish. But the outcome is ultimately worth it. Adding a rich, oxy umami quality to anything it touches.
Image: Ed Reeve
Image: Ed Reeve
THE EXTRAS
The wine list carries over Bar Levan's low-intervention approach. Which growers are you most excited to be pouring?
Yes, the low intervention approach can be seen in all our restaurants, it’s super important. For Cassette I wanted to approach it in a slightly different way. Our customer base is going to be a lot broader and international, so you’ve got to be a bit more careful with what you offer. So the list will have a more classic, old school feel but underpinned with a low intervention attitude. Think biodynamic Bordeaux thats drinks like a Rolls Royce. Or classy Burgundy that will get the bankers frothing, that's not seen a chemical in its life.
There's a proper commitment to Calvados here, which we love. How did that come about?
I've always been a big fan of cider and Perry. And I once put on a sidecar but swapped out the cognac for calvados and loved it. Since then I’ve come to appreciate it as a bit of an underdog, an unsung hero of the spirits world next to its big hitting neighbours. And wanted to use our little Modern French Bistrot as a platform to give it its flowers. A calvados and tonic is a wonderful alternative to a G&T or any aperitif. Fresh, tangy and complex.
The name comes from Mark's other life in music. How much is that going to shape the feeling in the room?
It’s going to feel quite subtle in Cassette, we didn’t want to give it a name of a piece of analog equipment and then plaster it about, it would have been a bit crass. So, you’ll feel it in two ways: the playlists have been carefully curated for daytime and evenings. Disco will always be my favourite genre to play whilst eating, it’s got such a lovely positive energy which helps lift the room. And those playlists will be coming out of the aforementioned Grundig Audioramas, which will look amazing and sound superb.
What should we be drinking on a first visit?
Aperitif - Calvados & tonic to start.
Followed by a glass of 2019 Domaine des Roches Neuves, Saumur Blanc ‘Clos de L’Echelier’, Chenin. One of my favourite winemakers from the Loire and this has a stunning energy and texture.
Can’t go wrong with a little chilled Beaujolais with the pigeon choux farci.
Finished of with a shot of Jet Fuel, a frankly silly but very fun concoction of calvados, coffee liqueur and Get 27 creme de menthe. To help you out the door and on to the next party!
QUICK FIRE
Order this on your first visit:
This would be my perfect order from our menu:
Raw beef croustade & comté.
White crab, Vesuvio tomato & crème fraîche.
Pigeon choux farci, foie gras & mirepoi.
Île flottante, roast peach & basil.
The best table in the room:
Table 9 - it’s our table for 6 people, and tucked away but in the window. Feels like your own little corner but you’re still in the hubbub of the restaurant.
Where to sit when you're eating alone:
Table 3 - right in the heart of the restaurant, perfect spot for people watching.
The dish you could eat every day:
Coq au Vin Jaune pie. One of your five a day, surely?
Your drink at the end of a long shift:
The Green Goblin - it’s our Jet Fuel shot, but shaken over ice and tastes like chocolate chip ice cream. Sweet, minty but fresh enough, gives you the spark to get you the final leg home.
The record that opens the room:
Gwen Guthrie, “Seventh Heaven” - a disco boogie classic. That baseline!
The last song of the night:
I’m a bit of a old romantic, so Luther Vandross “The Night I Fell in Love”.
A French classic you'd bring back:
Sauce Talleyrand - one that Essa has on the menu. Sauce Talleyrand is a sauce named after Napoleon’s top diplomat who “famously” told Napoleon if he wanted diplomacy done with neighbouring countries he needed 3 good chefs, not 3 good diplomats, as he believed diplomacy was really done over good meals. It is made by finishing a pork sauce with diced cured pigs tongues and black truffles.
Butter or olive oil:
Butter always. Lots of.
Cheese or pudding:
Cheese, then pudding. Classic French Style.
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