maze

Fantastic meal with creative touches only Jason Atherton could invent. Definitely not Gordon Ramsay's food-- I have been to Gordon Ramsay Restaurant and the two cuisines could not be more different.

Maze is exciting and vibrant. You are constantly surprised and amused throughout the meal.

Jason is a true genius.
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Emily Haurnton
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, February 09, 2010

At the outset, I have to say that if it had not been for the maitre d', this review would have been full of superlative praise about the quality of the food, which is in general excellent. There were also high points in the service, most notably the sommelier, who was knowledgeable, patient, and interested in trying to make sure that what he recommended worked with what we had ordered. The problem is that our experience last Friday night goes to show that one really low point, even in an overall experience that is above average, can have you leaving the restaurant never wanting to come back.

I would support the comments made by other reviewers that the service can be a little too prompt and efficient....I am afraid I never think it is appropriate to put a course down on a table for two when one person is not at the table, particularly in a restaurant with a Michelin star where part of the experience should be the theatre of serving the dish and plating the sauces etc. A plea to the waiting staff...please think about what you would want if you were out to dinner...this is not rocket science. Ironically the second set of dishes then took so long to come out that a waiter came out and apologised profusely for the delay! In general there are too many people moving randomly around the floor, and a disconcerting number of different people who appear at your table throughout the evening to perform various functions. Despite this, we struggled to get our water glasses filled more than once, although the wine flowed freely.

On the very positive side, the food was generally creative and thoroughly enjoyable, as I would expect from Jason Atherton. Several dishes were outstanding, with one of the best being a Cornish lamb and tongue, served with a mutton Shepherd's pie and mint jelly. The lamb was perfectly cooked, and the flavours well balanced. The other dish in this set, a Suffolk pork cheek and belly was simply glorious, (without a doubt the best pork belly I have ever eaten) and was presented with a crunchy spiral of perfectly seasoned and crunchy crackling. The earlier fish dishes were worth their wait, with the highlight being the 'Scottish breakfast' which included a tiny glass of smoky kedgeree, with a quail's egg on the top, which lent a gloriously creamy texture when eaten. The patisserie chef should be congratulated for swaying me by the perfection executed in his chocolate delice, which had molten fudge inside a mousse of a texture I could only aspire to in the kitchen. For someone like me who hates chocolate desserts, I had to admit that my other half had chosen well, as my rice pudding was good, but lacked the extra spark I would have expected from the Maze kitchen. Braised octopus was less successful; though the dish had excellent depth of flavour, the texture verged on the tough.

So that is the positive....as you can see, generally a very good food experience. Trouble was, the dish of red mullet, served with garlic puree and braised cuttlefish with a rabbit bolognese was a disaster. The individual parts were fine, but the garlic puree had been tossed with what appeared to be strips of cuttlefish, and had been burned. We didn't eat it and left it on the plate....as anyone who cooks will know, the flavour of burned garlic is a very unpleasant taint. When we pointed this out to the maitre d' who cleared the plates, noting that it was a very minor criticism, he apologised, then returned about 3 minutes later to tell us that he had discussed this with the chef, and that we were wrong. We were told that we did not know what we were tasting, and that the garlic had not been burned. He had tasted the garlic puree in the kitchen, and it was definitely not burned. He had not tasted ours, but he didn't need to, as we were just flat out wrong. In very condescending tones, he explained that the cuttlefish was cooked on a char-grill, and that the purpose of that is apparently to add a charred flavour to the food....that is what we were tasting, he informed us. We terminated the conversation as quickly as we can....it remains beyond me what would possess a senior member of waiting staff in a top end restaurant to have an argument with a customer over a £10 dish, and what's more to have the sheer arrogance to assume that the customer does not know what they are tasting. Having been cooking at a high level for close to 30 years, I found his assumptions extraordinary. We found the whole experience embarrassing and insulting, and unfortunately it tainted what would otherwise have been a great meal.

Would we go again? Probably not, all things considered, even though the food and wine were good. We had a far better experience, for a similar price, at the Square a few months ago, and felt far less rushed throughout. There is no question that Jason Atherton is a gifted chef, and I really like the tapas style plates that you are able to share, but overall it just has a slight mass-production feel about it, and I have to wonder whether this is a Ramsay influence. In any event, someone needs to tell the maitre d' that it is simply not worth arguing with a customer over a £10 plate of food, even if you think they are talking rubbish. But then again, maybe Maze is happy to manage without repeat custom.
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Kate - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, December 22, 2009

had the most fantastic time t

here the food as always is fantastic . I know its a GR place but dont let that put you off the amazing food and wine
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paul bryny
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Saturday, December 19, 2009

had the most amazing meal, what a place. after seeing jason on masterchef decided to book and it was everything we had thought . simply one of the best in london . well done mr j
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mr o
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Friday, October 30, 2009

The food is absolutely good but not excellent, a lot of the dishes have the same herbs. The garlic puree is much too creamy. The atmosphere is nice but what we didn’t like is that the waiter comes immediately after each sip wine and water and fill up our glasses. Also the food came so quick, just after we ordered we started chatting and the food was right in front of us, two times asking to pause five or ten minutes before serving the next dish didn’t work. This gives us the feeling that they are waiting to prepare our table for the next set of customers.

After finishing our lunch going to the bar to drink our tea, you don’t get much attention anymore. We had to go to the waiter at the bar to ask for our bill.

Overall it was certainly not bad but it could be better.
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Monday, October 26, 2009

We went to Maze last June. The food was excellent, we had the Chef's menu 60 pounds, 7 courses. High quality for a good price. Portions good.

What we didn't like or a least a little disturbing is all that staff. Of course we understand you need a lot, to run the place smoothly. But one guy carries a big tray from the kitchen to the floor, waits untill he gets the attention of the waiter, then 2 of them join him to serve your plate. After that the Sommelier comes to pour the wine and finally the Maitre comes round to ask if everything is OK? This happens every course at every table.

But if you want to eat out and get a trendy dish, great taste you will be delighted!

I'm from the Netherlands and I still have to meet a Dutch chef who can cook as good and original as the restaurants we visited during our stay in London, (mind you for these prices.)
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Anne
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, September 29, 2009

I went to Maze this weekend a little bit worried due to all of the bad press it has had recently.

I have been to a few restaurants at this level and if im honest this was the best meal i have had so far.

The service was good, prices very reasonable and food was delicious. Would definately go back again.
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Amy Wiseman
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Monday, September 14, 2009

A birthday treat for my partner

Food and Service were very good as you would expect. And it wasn't snobish which was my worry before I went.

Scallops was the pick of the tapas style menu along with the salmon

Good wine list

Desserts were good aswell
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Pete
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, September 09, 2009

The problem with self-submitted reviews, is that the reviewer either had a meal they were blown away by or one that left a lot to be desired. Few people take the time to write about a mediocre experience. This is a review about being blown away by mediocrity. A caveat; I do respect Jason Atherton's cooking. I had one of my best meals in London right when Maze was still the fresh-faced kid on the block trying to convince diners to go for "tapas" dishes that weren't quite big enough to share. Now, it is clear Gordon Ramsay's F-word has come to haunt this restaurant. F as in Frugal & Fired. Clearly, in the spirit of culinary cutbacks, the kitchen brigade has been told to source from Tesco's at best; that is those who haven't presumably been fired. It's Tuesday night and not particularly full.

Four to five dishes ordered per head. 3 hours later- that's a half an hour per plate average, and we're finally in a position to ask for the bill. There are only two explanations: not enough kitchen staff, or in a fit of frivolity, el Ramsay has decided to set up a maze in the kitchen and hidden all the ingredients to see how long it takes to whip up a dish without getting lost or dizzy. F as in Flawed. If I wanted ambient temperature white wine, I'd take my own bottles from the fridge and sit on them for half an hour. It's ok if it happens once, but twice (as it did) is worrying. It means they've probably turned off the wine fridges to save on the electricity bill and in an effort to boost the mark-up from 200% to 210%. They may also have turned off the food fridges, given the deterioration in the quality of food, though if you like eating with your eyes, you'll fill up on the finessed presentation. That being said, if I wanted to wait half an hour for every morsel of mediocrity, I'd cook something myself, hire a waiter to make me wait half an hour in between dishes (and who'd of course spend that time sitting on the wine bottles to bring them back to lukewarm) and all in all save myself a few quid. F as in Fiasco.

After raising all these issues (and others) with the manager (which I only rarely do), nothing really improved (though the two waiters we had were very pleasant and cannot be held responsible for the issues we encountered) and more insultingly they did not offer any apologies or a free dessert. I'm not looking for charity, but a bit of concern would have been welcome. Especially, if they're looking to hang on to their Michelin star. Finally, F as in you should Forego this establishment, as it's clearly floundering, if not failing. I know I won't be back.
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Sagat
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, September 02, 2009

I went to maze grill with my GF for my birthday....as a big fan of Gordon Ramsay I was so looking forward to try his food...

However the experience has been shockingly bad....The food is extremely overpriced and of very average quality....

A chewy steak for 30 pounds and a tasteless octopus starter where the negative higlight of the night.

Dear Gordon you are having a laugh....good on you...
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Federico
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, September 02, 2009