Mamie Good: Two Grandmothers, One Kitchen Philosophy

There is a particular kind of French restaurant that London does well: the one where the lighting is low, the wine list runs longer than the food menu, and the portions suggest someone in the kitchen actually eats dinner. Mamie Good operates two of these. Paulette in Little Venice and Josette in Clerkenwell. Two restaurants named after grandmothers, built around the principle that the best meals are the ones that remind you of someone else's kitchen.

Mamie Good was born from friendship, family and a deep love of food. Francois and Jean-Francois opened Paulette during 2020, named after one of their grandmothers, built around a specific idea: that the South-West of France, particularly Arcachon and the Atlantic coast, could translate to a London neighbourhood. The response was immediate. Paulette became a local fixture. Not a destination restaurant. A neighbourhood one. The kind of place where the staff know your wine order before you sit down. Then came Josette, named after the other grandmother. And it is important to understand: these are not two branches of the same restaurant. They are two grandmothers with different personalities.

From Our Grandmothers with Love

The concept is disarmingly simple. Mamie Good serves 100% homemade French comfort food. Nothing pre-made, nothing assembled from packets. Regional charcuterie from Auvergne. Oysters from Maldon or Jersey, depending on the tide. Mussels from Scotland, cooked with Espelette cream. Steaks from grass-fed British beef, matured for 28 days at Aubrey Allen. The sort of menu that reads like a love letter to a French grandmother's kitchen, because that is exactly what it is.

The name is not decorative. It is a statement of intent. Everything on the menu is made in house. The charcuterie comes from Maison Laborie in Auvergne. The cheeses from Savoie, Normandy and the Basque country. The oysters from Maldon or Jersey, shucked to order. The wine list features sustainable, organic and biodynamic bottles from small French producers, available to take home. This is not a restaurant group chasing trends. It is two people who missed their grandmothers' cooking and decided to build it in London.

Two Characters, One Kitchen

Paulette is the warmer of the two. Intimate, softly lit, with the feel of a bistro you might find on a side street in Arcachon. The menu leans into the generous spirit of the South-West: duck gizzard salad, coco de Paimpol beans with truffle, apricot ice cream in season. The wine list is curated and personal, featuring sustainable, organic and biodynamic bottles from small French producers, available to take home.

Josette, by contrast, matches the rhythm of Clerkenwell. A French neighbourhood restaurant with its own distinctive personality, where countryside tradition meets London style. Head Chef Stephane channels France's culinary heritage through seasonal classics and generous sharing dishes. The filet de boeuf, with its mushroom sauce and properly trimmed frites, has become a signature. The raclette, a winter institution, arrives at the table in the full theatrical manner that the French countryside insists upon.

The distinction matters. These are not two branches of the same chain. They are two grandmothers with different personalities. Paulette is the one who always has something simmering on the stove and insists you stay for dessert. Josette is the one who opens another bottle of wine at midnight and tells stories that get better with each glass. Both share the same kitchen philosophy. Neither would work in the other's neighbourhood.

The Table and the Season

Menus at Mamie Good shift with what is available, not with what is trendy. Summer brings duck gizzard salad, coco de Paimpol beans with truffle, apricot ice cream. Winter brings the raclette at Josette, an interactive experience where half the wheel melts over potatoes and charcuterie while the other half remains as a conversation piece. The charcuterie board, sourced from Maison Laborie in Auvergne, runs through every season without apology.

The oysters, from Maldon or Jersey, are shucked to order. The mussels, from Scotland, arrive in a sauce of Espelette cream that makes you order bread specifically to soak it up. The steaks are properly done: grass-fed, 28-day dry-aged, and priced at a point that suggests the kitchen wants you to order one rather than feel punished for it.

A Neighbourhood Approach

Both restaurants are built on the same idea: that French comfort food, served without pretension and priced without punishment, can become the kind of place you visit twice a week. The neighbourhood approach is not a marketing strategy. It is the whole point. The staff recognise you. The menu changes often enough to keep things interesting but not so often that your favourite disappears. The wine list is personal rather than encyclopaedic. Paulette in Little Venice serves a residential crowd that values consistency and warmth. Josette in Clerkenwell serves a neighbourhood that moves fast and eats well. Both are Mamie Good. Both are exactly what their neighbourhood needs.

The Third Act

Which brings us to the news. Mamie Good is opening its third London restaurant in Notting Hill. It is an exclusive announcement, and it is the natural next step for a brand that has built its reputation one neighbourhood at a time. Paulette proved the concept in Little Venice. Josette proved it could travel to a different neighbourhood with a different rhythm. Notting Hill is where Mamie Good takes the philosophy that has worked twice and brings it to a third community.

The new site will follow the same conviction: 100% homemade, produce-led, neighbourhood-focused. Three grandmothers. Three neighbourhoods. One kitchen philosophy that refuses to cut corners. In a city overflowing with concept restaurants and seasonal pop-ups, Mamie Good's insistence on cooking everything from scratch, sourcing from the same small producers, and keeping the wine list personal rather than encyclopaedic feels less like a business strategy and more like a conviction. The Notting Hill opening proves the point: when the food is this honest, the neighbourhood comes to you.