New CT restaurant strives to make guests feel they’re at a ‘dinner party’

The atmosphere at the new Le Mazet Restaurant in West Hartford Center is as warming as the beef Bourguignon and other French comfort food served there, customers and management say.

Diners have unique options for seating aside from the 47-seat main dining area.

One option is at five person chef’s station where guests can watch rotisserie chicken roasting and chat with the chef. It’s like sitting in front of a fireplace, they say.

Another option is 22-outdoor seats with heaters in a French-style garden of lavender and green.

“We want everyone who walks into this restaurant to feel like they’re at our home. Like they’re at a dinner party,” said Janice Maniatis, co-general manager along with Alexandra Leone, who specializes in cocktails. “The concept is everything should be shared and enjoyed.”

Maniatis said tall, cognac-brown seats catch the eye, there are marble tables, great music with a playlist that includes David Bowie and the Beatles.

In an unusual twist, guests and others can pick up milk, cheese, yogurt made by Litchfield’s Arethusa Farm and even get ice cream at a separate counter

Le Mazet is occupying the farm’s former store/ice cream shop at 975 Farmington Ave.

As part of the deal, Le Mazet is serving Arethusa’s award-winning cheeses in the restaurant.

The new restaurant that serves lunch and dinner is only about two weeks in and business is brisk.

“It’s going amazing, it’s beautiful. It’s a very friendly vibe,” Maniatis said.

Owner/experienced restauranteur Jared Cohen, formerly one of the owners of Republic Gastropub in Hartford and Bloomfield sold his share and took a couple of years off from the business during the pandemic.

He got back into the game and decided to go French on the vision of his close friend, Jacob Studenroth, who owns The Wise Old Dog liquor stores in West Hartford and Litchfield.

Studenroth remains involved with Le Mazet as a consultant and put together the restaurant’s extensive and affordable wine list.

Maniatis said they have half-price bottles every day and the list is spectacular.

“We want the wine list to be available to everyone,” she said.

Cohen, a hands-on owner, is ever present in the new endeavor. One day last week he worked a 15-hour day and stayed for another two hours to catch up on washing dishes, he said.

It’s hard work, but Cohen said it’s worth every minute to make guests happy, as that’s what drives him.

“It’s the joy of watching people eat, of watching people have a good time,” Cohen said of the restaurant magic. “Watching people enjoy something you created, it’s uplifting, soul filling.”

Cohen said he bought the top of the line rotisserie from France and that eventually they’ll also use it to cook other meats too. He said the appliance can do 48 birds at a time.

Cohen is also proud of the menu items the team spent countless hours perfecting.

The extensive menu is filled with French, but it’s all explained in English.

Appetizers include steak tartare; bone marrow with horseradish and parsley; roasted beets with honey nut squash, candied walnuts and pomegranate; seared tuna with egg, olive and vegetables.

In the pots of stew or “Le Ragout” category, in addition to bourguignon or beef stew — slow cooked in red wine — there is ratatouille, a stew of vegetables and basil pesto, and also a chicken stew made with white wine and mushrooms.

Sandwiches served on a warm brioche bun or over greens as a salad include duck, chicken with house-made spicy pickles.

Another category at Le Mazet is fish in parchment, including salmon, bacon, lentils, asparagus and halibut with potatoes, asparagus, olives, onion, lemon.

They also have an extensive selection of tinned fish or conserva, linked to French culture, and served with breads and elaborate sauces and other taste enhancers.

The menu also offers rotisserie chicken and numerous incarnations of grilled cheese, including with ham, chicken, roasted mushrooms.

Caviar or an egg can be added to any dish.

He said West Hartford town officials and guests have guests have been “amazing” in their support of the business.

Customers also are raving about Le Mazet in online reviews.

One customer called the restaurant “a treasure,” another wrote, “This is exactly what we’ve been needing in CT.”

Commenters praised the taste of the food, the service and the atmosphere, calling it “fresh and lively.”

Some were reminded fondly of trips to France.

“A lot of people say it (the restaurant) feels like it’s been here a long time,” Maniatis said.