Maze Grill - Gary's Review

One of the best things about Steak Club is finding a hidden gem of a restaurant – a venue serving great steaks that none of us had previously heard of. Nevertheless, we can’t very well claim to be Steak Club if we ignore the big names amongst the steak establishments. And so it was that I chose Maze Grill for Steakvember’s venue.

Steakvember was to be extra special as we welcomed Andre back to the fold following three months of South American adventures.

The usual last minute online search of pubs in the vicinity yielded up the Golden Eagle. Its quite a small pub. But fortunately it wasn’t too full and we were able to find space inside. For once, I managed to time it well and wasn’t the first to arrive – that “honour” fell to Andre. But yet again, Wassie decided to score himself a free strafdop by arriving late - well after to 15 minute grace period (maybe he’s keen to rack up the straffies as practice for his bachelors?)

For some reason I was expecting the Maze Grill to be quite formal, and was a little wary of this. It turned out to be definitely quite classy but still maintained a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Upon arriving we were certainly not starved for attention, with three friendly staff greeting us, taking care of coats and backpacks and showing us to our table.

The return of Andre to Steak Club clearly was clearly an omen – usually we end up with male waiters when its my turn to host but this time we were served by a French waitress. She was very friendly and attentive and quickly caught our attention by bringing out a display of cuts and talking us through each steak on offer.

There is a wide selection of steaks, in terms of origin, grass-fed / grain-fed / corn-fed, aging etc so certainly no complaints about the menu.

I chose a medium rare Creekstone rib-eye (corn fed and aged 35 days) and thought it was a superb steak. I wouldn’t go as far as to say this was the best I’ve ever had but it was definitely delicious, with great flavour, texture and tenderness. After sampling the other SC members steaks, I’d definitely recommend the Creekstone rib-eye.

Forest Whitaker is apparently in the employ of Maze Grill as the sommelier – a nice touch is that they give you an iPad to select your wines instead of the usual wine menu. Unfortunately they do want it back much to my disappointment. To start with I went with the Bianchi Malbec which is a great wine – a perfect companion for the steaks. The Izadi El Rigalo Riocha was the second wine of the night – a good wine but perhaps not as good as the previous Malbec.

“Value” is always going to be difficult category for a place like Maze Grill. The pricing is certainly not cheap but I do think that Maze Grill offers that premium experience. All-in-all I can’t really complain at £71 per person (though I was unable to negotiate any good deals on shooters)

I have no hesitation in recommending the Maze Grill and without doubt would like to go back there. Another great evening – thanks guys!

Steak – 7 * 5 = 35

Venue – 8

Menu – 8

Waitress – 7

Wine – 7

Value – 6

Total – 71.5