Time Out rating:
<strong>Rating: </strong>3/5
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<strong>Rating: </strong>3/5
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Time Out says
Wed Oct 17 2012
Maze’s split-level dining room is a sizeable, sociable space, especially the fabulous bar area. Handcrafted screens induce a maze-like effect, with classy touches such as cream leather, walnut finishes and splashes of mauve.
The restaurant continues to be popular with both Londoners and visitors, and business was brisk during our visit. Service can be a little robotic and charmless, but we had fun browsing through the global wine list on an iPad, with prices starting at £28.
Momentum was temporarily disrupted by the arrival of rather stale bread sticks, and a golden hash brown with pancetta and confit duck egg gussied up with a wild garlic sauce that lacked sparkle. Flavours were more vibrant in a tranche of sea bream teamed with fennel, green olives and a citrous vinaigrette.
The kitchen then moved up a gear with a cross-cultural take on braised feather blade of beef lifted by paprika, served with pomme purée, shimeji mushrooms and a mildly spiced togarashi chilli jus. This was much better than the bland pork dumplings in a mushroom broth.
To finish, a summery apple terrine was complemented by diced apple and rhubarb, and a refreshing custard ice-cream ensured a happy end to the meal.
The cooking here has settled into a nice groove, but most of our dishes lacked pzazz; Maze appears to have lost some of its cutting edge – perhaps the introduction of a sushi bar (September 2012) will pep things up.
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