Maresco is a Spanish seafood restaurant at 45 Berwick Street in Soho. Its own description puts the idea in one line: take Scotland's traditional seafood and use it to make Spain's traditional recipes.
What the name means
The name is a small piece of wordplay. Mar is Spanish for sea, and Escocia is Spanish for Scotland. Put them together and you get Maresco, which also sums up the concept: Scottish seafood, cooked to Spanish recipes.
Many classic Spanish seafood preparations are simple, built on a hot plancha, olive oil, garlic, lemon or a light sauce, so the quality of the raw product matters a great deal.
The wine list
Maresco's listing says the drinks selection is "all in Spain's hands" too, with wines picked from lesser-known regions, mostly of the low-intervention kind, chosen from bottles the owners came to like on their travels.
For background on the white wines that often sit next to Spanish seafood, see our guide to Albariño and Rías Baixas and our guide to txakoli.
Reading a Spanish seafood menu
Maresco's listing does not name individual dishes, so check its current menu before you go. As general background, these are words you will often see on Spanish seafood menus:
- A la plancha: cooked on a flat, very hot griddle with a little oil.
- A la marinera: in a light sauce, usually with wine, garlic and onion, often used for clams or mussels.
- A la gallega: Galician style; for octopus this means boiled, sliced, and dressed with olive oil, paprika and salt.
- En su tinta: cooked in its own ink, usually squid.
Our menu decoder for Spanish cooking terms covers more of these.
Opening hours (as listed)
These are the hours on Maresco's listing in our directory. They can change, so confirm before you travel:
- Monday and Tuesday: 17:00–22:00
- Wednesday and Thursday: 12:00–15:30 and 17:00–22:00
- Friday and Saturday: 12:00–15:30 and 17:00–23:00
- Sunday: 12:30–21:00
In short, lunch is listed Wednesday to Saturday, Sunday service runs from 12:30, and dinner is listed every day.
Other Spanish places nearby in Soho
Soho has several other Spanish venues in our directory, all within the same few streets:
- Lobos – Soho, 48 Frith Street.
- Barrafina – Dean Street, 26–27 Dean Street.
- Brindisa – Soho, 46 Broadwick Street.
For the wider city, see our guide to Spanish restaurants in London.
