LAReview
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
Maison Matho
Included In
We love a big, over-the-top sandwich. Picture the classics at places like Langer's and Bay Cities—layered with toppings and dripping with sauce. But sometimes we’re not in the mood for five different cold cuts, red sauce, and/or coleslaw. Sometimes we just want something simple. When that’s the case, you’ll find us at Maison Matho.
This blink-and-you-miss-it French takeout window in Melrose Hill is a very unassuming place to grab a sandwich, but if you’re craving straightforward, high-quality fillings on baguettes that are baked in-house daily, you won't regret a quick lunch at Maison Matho.
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
Let’s address the location, though. If you’re familiar with this area of Melrose Avenue, you know that it’s one of the most cursed stretches of pavement in East Hollywood, famous for bumper-to-bumper traffic and cars haplessly trying to merge onto the 101, which is somehow even more congested. But here’s the good news: Maison Matho opens from 8am-2pm, a window of time when street parking is plentiful on Melrose and local traffic is lighter, meaning that parking, ordering, and picking up your food is generally a breeze. And once you take a bite of one of their sandwiches, you’ll realize no traffic anxiety would ever stop you from coming here anyway.
By our count, no sandwich on the Maison Matho menu has more than four toppings. Take the jambon-beurre, a Parisian street food staple made with curls of shaved ham, creamy yellow butter, and crunchy cornichons on a baguette baked that morning. It’s an extremely uncomplicated sandwich, yet the quality ingredients and thoughtful balance of flavors are what make it shine. Even Maison’s more complex sandwiches, like a combination of spaghetti squash in a housemade French-style curry, pickled pomegranate seeds, celery, and hazelnuts, are built around simple flavors that complement each other perfectly. There’s also a daily baked goods case filled with things like flaky almond croissants, brioche apple buns, and savory tomato tarts. Order a box of them to go and you’ll be the king of whatever workspace you walk into afterward. If you don’t eat them while stuck in traffic first.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
Pink Praline Latte
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
Baked Goods
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
Daniel's Favorite
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
Omelette
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
Spaghetti Squash
photo credit: Jessie Clapp
Braesaola