Le Mazet offers a new experience

Clockwise from top left: Co-owner Jared with Prime Flat Iron Steak Frites; colorful Heirloom Tomato Salad; the very-bistro bar area; and Harissa Carrots with whipped feta, honey, & pistachio

Le Mazet is hard to describe but easy to love. After all, 'Mazet' translates to “a stone shelter for farmers, winegrowers and breeders, symbolizing a person in the very middle of the vines.”

The French eatery is part country-style bistro, part wine and cocktail bar, part coffeehouse/cafe and also has an ice cream parlor and dairy farm housed inside it.

Uniting all those elements is a love of high-quality but unpretentious food designed to create the feel of a French cafe in West Hartford says Jared Cohen who co-owns Le Mazet with partner Jacob Studenroth.

“When we were starting to train our servers, we talked about making each table a little dinner party,” he says. He adds that’s why dishes are served family-style. “Things come out as they're ready. We want everybody to sort of dig in and share. It's more about home-cooked meals rather than fine dining.”

To that end, you’ll find dishes such as beef bourguignon, rotisserie chicken, and a wide variety of caviar and tinned fish available in flight form. Jared previously co-owned The Republic restaurants but sold his shares in the business to his partner. After being out of the restaurant business for a bit, he connected with Jacob who owns the Wise Old Dog wine shop. Jacob already had the early vision for Le Mazet in mind and Jared was intrigued by the concept of a countrystyle French restaurant cafe and wine bar — Le Mazet is a French term for a country cottage.

When the creative duo behind the restaurant, learned that Arethusa Farm Dairy & Cafe was looking to do something new with its West Hartford location, they settled on a novel deal with Arethusa in which Le Mazet would take over the space but would utilize Arethusa Dairy products and offer them to customers to go. Arethusa ice cream is still available to restaurant visitors as are other dairy products, and the restaurant serves customers who want to come in and get a scoop or two of ice cream. But overall, the space has been reimagined with a striking wine cooler, tables, and bar seating overlooking the kitchen.

To make the culinary side of the business shine, Jared and Jacob turned to Chef Joseph Cusano. An alum of Johnson & Wales University’s celebrated culinary program and a Connecticut native, Cusano came up through the local restaurant industry with stints at Max Downtown. He was drawn to the concept of Le Mazet because of its emphasis on familystyle dining.

Chef Joseph at the bar; rotisserie chicken with potatoes & mirepoix

“I grew up in a big, Italian household,” he says. His family also owned a 30-acre farm in Southington and food was always special. “Working with food on the farm every Sunday, my mom would cook a family meal.”

He adds that there’s no need to worry about the small portions sometimes associated with French dining at Le Mazet. “Even if it's a small dish, it's enough to feed two people. We strive for really high end quality, but still, you're getting enough food. ”

During a recent visit, the restaurant’s rotisserie chicken lived up to the comfort food promise of the restaurant’s mission. Succulent and moist and served over potatoes, carrots, and shallots, it’s everything you’d want in a rotisserie bird. Also impressive is the steak tartar served with a raw quail egg and a savory tart topped with cheese and heirloom tomatoes. The tinned items or conserva, include grilled sardines and white anchovies. There are also caviar flights available.

The bar program is another strength. The wine list is curated by Jacob and gives a liquid tour of various wine growing regions in France, featuring whites, reds, even an orange wine and Champagne as well as Rose Champagnes. The cocktails also shine with a mix of flavor and flair —the Violet Milk Punch was a clarified punch that excellently mixed aged rum, bourbon, sherry, lemon, lime, ube and banana. It was also nice to see a variety of mocktails including the pre-bottled but excellent Phony Negroni.

A return trip may also be warranted just to try the bar's wide assortment of liqueurs including vermouth flights, Chartreuse tastings, extensive aperitivo and digestivo offerings, and Absinthe drip service. We’ve seldom seen Absinthe drip outside of New Orleans. It was once illegal in the U.S. “The most commonly reported experience is a ‘clear-headed’ feeling of inebriation – a form of 'lucid drunkeness," according to Wikipedia.

On the whole, Le Mazet is very different from most other restaurants in a good way. You can see yourself coming back for just coffee, or just wine and drinks, and/or for the whole dinner vibe. “We wanted to make it a different experience than just walking into another restaurant,” Jared says. “We wanted to bring people into our world. ” We share that sentiment.

• Le Mazet is located at 975 Farmington Avenue in West Hartford.
  www.eatlemazet.com