maze Grill

My boyfriend and I went to Maze Grill thanks to an offer seen on the web : 3 courses for £21. Looked like a good bargain and booked for 6:30.

The decor is pretty simple, the toilets really nice (the toilets always say a lot about a place !!!), and service always careful and nice.

We were not rushed, we almost stayed 2 hours, but it was monday night, so pretty quiet. My starter -bruschetta- had nothing special, I could have done the same at home really, but it's a bruschetta, nothing too difficult about it ! Then steak-frites for my boyfriend, and rabbit for me. Quite good, but not incredibly tasty either.

The desserts were nice : brownie very rich, and pavlova very sweet but refreshing.

We were very disappointed by the quantity of wine : one "glass" of wine for £13.50, but it was more like a quarter of a glass. Unbelievably small ! A bit frustrated by that. I know it's a Gordon Ramsay restaurant, but we paid £82 check for 2, although we had a 3-course menu for £21. All the money went into the wine and service... That's too bad, especially when we are not great fans of wine (although I'm french...!!!).

Would I go back there ? No, there are too many other restaurants in London, that are probably better value for money than Maze Grill.
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C. Bourreau
6 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Monday, April 19, 2010

My second visit was enjoyable but lacked a "wow" factor. Steaks and lobster were great, but chicken winglets from the small plates list were not well cooked and were correctly removed from the bill. Delays in service were long enough to cause comment but didn't become a major problem. Overall though, not worth the £270 total bill for three people.
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Kentishwanderer
6 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, April 07, 2010

I am unsure how to put this in a steakhouse category. It really sucked. The quality of steaks is similar to Golden Coral, or better yet buy a ribeye at the grocery and cook it yourself. The service was just "eh", sub-standard in my opinion. The meats that they show you are NOTHING like the ones you order. I started with the ceasar salad which had not been properly cleaned thus crunching down on sand. The romaine a bit watery, which explains why it tasted like there was barely a hint of dressing. I then ordered a ribeye (medium), it came to the table rare..so I am unsure if medium in the UK is different from medium in the US. Of eight in our party two ribeyes went back to be re-grilled and one was so bad and guest was comp'd. Who the hell is working in Hell's kitchen anyway? Maybe Gordon Ramsey needs to go visit Bern's steak house in Tampa, FL, or Smith and Wollensky ?Del Frisco's Double Eagle?. Oh and our bill for eight people was a bit over $700.
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Alexa Whitt
3 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 1
Monday, February 08, 2010

Following watching the F word, I finally had the chance to take the real food offered. However I was utterly disappointed. There's nothing delightful about the food, and the service is pretty lame. The waitress looked as if we owe her money and intend not to give her back.
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ming - View all reviews by this user
5 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Sunday, December 20, 2009

So went for Lunch last Friday with some clients and was a bit disappointed to be honest.

The restaurant was pretty busy and felt we were a bit rushed. Starters we ok, soft-shell crab was the best of the bunch.

We all had Steak for main course and the New York Strip was really nice, sides however were a let down. The first portions of garlic fries were cold and had to be sent back, the second portions were hot but smothered in raw garlic which just totally overpowered the meal. The waiter dropped an onion ring into my lap and just left me to try and remove the grease from my trousers without so much as an apology.

Desserts were good, Rice pudding with blackberries & Ice cream was lovely.

We let the sommelier choose the wines and the red he chose was fantastic.

Would I go there again, probably not. My experience of next door was a much better one and I am sure there are grill restaurants that can offer a more complete experience.
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Roger645 - View all reviews by this user
6 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Thursday, December 17, 2009

I want to redress the balance a little, and bring this site up to date, after a visit last night.

Despite handing over a bundle of sopping wet coats our welcome was warm and friendly and we were offered the choice of a drink at the bar or immediate progress to our table. After choosing the table, we were greeted by a waiter who promptly brought menus and offered pre-meal drinks. Everything proceeded smoothly and after I explained to the sommelier we were looking, of necessity, towards the lower end of the wine price range, he suggested two alternatives including a S African red which fitted the bill perfectly.

"Small plates" were interesting and relatively inexpensive starters and our steaks were superb. Only one of us ordered a dessert and when this appeared to be delayed the waiter had already established that the chef wasn't happy with the result and was starting again. This is what I call service and attention to detail. Although dining early, at no time did we feel under pressure to vacate the table for a later booking.

This is by no means bargain price eating but I would have no hesitation in returning - indeed am eager to do so - when the opportunity arises.
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Kentishwanderer
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Thursday, December 03, 2009

Please don't waste your money eating here. Over rated, I wouldn't return. One waiter was over friendly, (I liked him, my husband didn't) and the waitress was continually asking if we had finished, literally taking plates from the table while we ate until we asked her not to. You are paying for the name of this restaurant not the food. Gordon Ramsay stop worrying about how other restaurants don't deliver........you've got one of your own.
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Lally - View all reviews by this user
4 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Thursday, July 30, 2009

We'd booked and looked forward to this visit for some weeks. Sadly, we chose not to eat due to the horrid service and atmosphere.

Greeted at front desk without a smile. Girl at front desk then told our waiter sharply "take them to table 22". He then literally ran, we followed. As we were especially looking forward to a cocktail at the bar (having read the menu online) it was a bit disappointing not to be offered chance to have a drink at bar first. I know we could have asked but really the entire 'service' was so silent and speedy that we didn't get the chance. The waiter after pointing out the table disappeared (ie didn't greet, didn't smile, didn't offer drink, didn't pull out table). Restaurant rang out to very loud dance music - quite throbbing insistent beats that I don't personally find pleasant to eat to. Tables very close together and decor really like a John Lewis cafe, not how I'd imagined from website. We were a bit disappointed as the website described the atmosphere as "warm and relaxed". Website shows some lovely leather booths - only a couple of these, most people sat on Ikea-type bistro chairs and small tables.

Having eaten at Royal Hospital Road, Claridge's etc perhaps we were unrealistic of service and ambience here - but I've liked two of Ramsay's pubs and we weren't looking for fine dining. Just good food and friendly service.

Paper menus were already on our table. Felt a bit 'cheap' given price of the food (£30 for a main course). But I tried not to be so picky!

After five minutes another running waiter (short staffed? but the place was less than half full?) hung onto the back of my husband's chair and said 'anything to drink?'. We'd not been given a wine list or any other drinks menu so it was hard to say but we ordered some sparkling water.

Nothing terrible happened to us here, but in 10 minutes no one either welcomed us, smiled at us or offered any service. So we decided we didn't fancy paying £100 a head for a meal and left (after paying for the water).

I have been such a fan of Ramsay's various establishments I felt I must say how horribly disappointed we were. The food may well have been wonderful, but the service wasn't just indifferent it was insulting. When I'm paying a 12.5% service charge on a £200 meal then I'd like a smile from front desk, from my waiter, and I'd like to feel I wasn't inconveniencing the staff just by being there. I'd like to be offered a drink on arrival and to have the table pulled out for me. I'd like a cloth napkin and a menu that isn't like the ones in a gourmet burger kitchen (fine in gbk but then you're paying 1/10 of the price!). I certainly don't want loud banging dance music during an evening meal at this price.

Of 12-15 reviews on London Eating this is my first negative one. If staff are reading this, you need to find new jobs if smiling and being pleasant to customers is this hard for you.
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0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Monday, June 08, 2009