There are some moments in life which are built up so much in the preceding time that they are almost bound to come up short of expectations. Going up the Eiffel tower, your first taste of Champagne, having your first adolescent kiss all fall into this bracket for me. Being a sad 'foodie' certain restaurant expectations and openings also fall under the same bracket. The classic case of this was when I went to Gordon Ramsay Royal Hospital Road a couple of years ago to have a lovely meal but somehow for it to fail to live up to the mass of expectation that I had built up in my own mind. A truly magnificent meal to me is one which you can still taste and smell for days after, and it is very rare that this happens when I go to a 'highly praised and recommended' restaurant. It was therefore with some trepidation that one week ago on 5th October that I stepped through the doors of the latest hyped Gordon Ramsay offering of Maze. First of all, don't be scared by the name - the restaurant is not some mirror walled room which you may never escape - it is in fact a very funky New York style room with lots of beige and browns. We arrived at 9 hoping to get in a bit earlier than our 9.45 booking which we'd managed to get 5 days previous. So we sat down in the bar (which you can just go to for drinks) and ordered a couple of the most perfectly made cocktails ever (a Margarita and a lime, mint, ginger and rum concoction of which the name escapes me - both priced at a reasonable £8). After forgetting about the time we were shown to our table at exactly 9.45 which I requested to be in the raised area so that we could view the kitchen. We were then shown the menu and asked if we had dined here before to which the answer was no. We then had it explained to us that there were a range of around 30 'tapas style' (in the loosest sense) from which to choose (£4.50 - £8.50) or a more traditional 'a la carte' version of some of the tapas dishes (£12 - £25). We were also told that the most popular option was to go with the chef's choice of either six (£32) or eight (£42) dishes and we duly chose the eight courses without a moments hesitation. We had no idea what we were about to receive but we crossed our fingers, said a little prayer and 8 miracles duly came forth! The sommelier was very knowledgeable and chose a very good Pinot grigio (£29) as well as suggesting a glass of red wine for our main course (£9). You can also choose what they term 'flights' of wine consisting of three glasses of for example sauvignon, Bordeaux, or even up to champagne, ranging from £14 - £200. The first course (using 'tapas' to describe this food not only insults the food we had but also true tapas) consisted of three pickled beetroot parcels with a ricotta like filling with hazelnuts sprinkled on top. A very simple dish with the flavours perfectly balanced so that the taste of the beetroot, which was marinated in honey and soy came through with the smoothness of the cheese. Next up were two seared scallops with a light curry flavour with a celery cream and apple purée to the side. This again was something to behold. At first I thought the scallops would be overpowered but alas I should have feared not for not only were they not overpowered but the celery and apple brought out the flavour of the scallops like I had never expected. Next up was a dish of swordfish and tuna capriccios which for me was the relevant low point of the meal, not because of the food but merely that I do not have a huge love for capriccio of anything. It has however got to be noted that I have never seen a slice of meet so transparently thin and yet the flavour still so intense - this can only be achieved by perfect preparation, sliced just before serving. Next was the first meat dish (main course no. 1 in my book) of mini breast and confit of quail, with a slab of salted foie gras and onion chutney. The flavours here were so rich and succulent it was like the very first time you'd tasted a proper homemade chocolate truffle or the top layer of a bottle of gold top milk which has been stood outside your front door on a cold winters morning. The foie gras was like non I had experienced before. The salt crust went against the vein of 'just let a quality meat speak for itself' and gave it a whole new vitality and meaning in life, which with the perfectly pink quail brought me a few steps nearer to heaven. At this stage we tried to work out how far we had got and to our horror we were only half way through - trust me you will not be hungry when you finish this tapas offering. Between the main courses was a broad bean and pea risotto with grated black truffle which again was perfectly balanced in flavour with the sweetness of the in season broad beans and the scent of grated truffle. It has to be noted however that it was quite a large portion for this stage in the meal but this is the most minor of negatives when the food was this good. While I spoke of the quail as being a few steps closer to heaven the next course was truly food heaven in its purest, most holy, unadulterated of forms. The highlight and what they classified as the main course consisted of lamb cooked three ways. There was a roasted mini shank, rolled shoulder, and braised lamb wrapped up in a leaf of cos lettuce, all accompanied by a quinnel of mashed potatoes, a roasted shallot and a red wine lamb jus. To try and put the taste of all this into words is near impossible, all I can say is that the shank was perfectly pink and the most tender I have ever consumed, the shoulder melted in the mouth like butter in an oven, and the braised lamb was beyond superlatives! This course was the highlight not just of this meal but of my culinary life - better than Le Gavroche's famed cheese soufflé, Gordon Ramsay's Lobster Ravioli, Le Tour D'Argent's famous duck, my mum's Jam Rolly Polly - it was that good! After we had closed our awestruck jaws, wiped our brows and tried to comeback to reality we had our first desert - a lovely mini trifle, not trifle as Aunt Mildred would make, but consisting of a passion fruit jelly with a creme chantille and lemon sorbet topping, accompanied by a vanilla cake. The second desert was a pineapple capriccio with coconut ice cream and lime liquor. This was a perfect end to the meal as it refreshed the palate while not being overly obtrusive so you could still taste the rest of what had gone before it. Along with the deserts the sommelier chose an exquisite muscat desert wine (£9 per glass) which had a slight fizz but which was a perfect accompaniment to the food. With the bill came a selection of petit fours including frozen, white chocolate covered raspberries, Turkish delight, and lavender flavoured chocolate. What you have just read is why I give the food 10/10, but the quality of the service was equally as good. Not only did they satisfy my table request, choose excellent value wines, describe each dish perfectly, and keep us merrily entertained throughout, they went further. Halfway through the meal I enquired as to whether it was just Jason Atherton on site or if the big scary Scottish monster was in our midst. They replied that it was just Mr Atherton on site and followed up by asking if we would like to see the kitchen to which I blushed, and said o.k. in a rather giggly fashion. I then thought nothing more of it as I assumed this would be forgotten and we would leave at the end of the night forgetting what we were ever offered. But no, at about 11pm (after the heavenly lamb) our waiter came to our table and introduced us to the Maitre d' who had a brief chat to us and then offered to take us round the kitchen. And so off we went into paradise. Not only did we go in but we stayed for 15 minutes, first of all being shown by the Maitre d' all the different areas and introduced to various chefs (while they were still cooking), and then we were introduced to Jason Atherton himself who then tolerated our company for five whole minutes in the middle of what was still a busy service. What a gent! I wish I had thought up some decent questions but no I got tongue tied in the presence of greatness, but boy what a pleasure it was. So all in all a perfect meal? Not quite. The atmosphere as with all Ramsay restaurants was slightly too formal even with piped music playing and the younger than average waiter service. While it is undoubtedly on its way to its first Michelin star in January (and possibly two) there were no canapés or amuse bouches which you would expect from such an establishment. It was like Gordon Ramsay in his days when he was at his experimental peak at Aubergine, not three stars but infinitely more exciting than where he is now at Royal Hospital Road. To round off, get a table before it gets it's first stars (after which you will be very lucky to get one), try and forget about the money (our meal for two including all the drinks and service came to a VERY reasonable £180), do what they suggest, don't think of it as tapas, and most of all enjoy! Mr Bojangles - Thursday, October 13, 2005
