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Restaurants New York New York City Manhattan Midtown West & Theater District Maze at The London
Restaurants New York New York City Manhattan Midtown West & Theater District Maze at The LondonMaze at The London
151 West 54th Street,
New York
NY
10019
TEL: 212-468-8889
Hours
Lunch: Daily 12pm to 4pm, Dinner: 5pm to 11pmServing
Lunch,DinnerPayment
VISA,MasterCard,Amex
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Ratings
based on 5 reviews | |
| Food | 4.0 |
| Service | 4.0 |
| Atmosphere | 4.0 |
| Overall: | |
| Price: | |
Features
Hip Bar Scene,Perfect For Parties,Notable Chef,TrendyCuisine
French,InternationalUser reviews
restaurant week lunch success
Reviewed on Friday, 08 August 2008
Suberb, memorable food. The short rib ravioli was really tasty, and I would eat it again, although it was the least impressive dish I had. I tried someone's seared tuna, served with watermelon, which was so light and refreshing and presented beautifully. The branzino was grilled to flaky perfection and the skin was crispy and added a rich flavor to it. It was served with some sort of broccoli- I think someone said broccoli-cauliflower. It was delicious! I was skeptical to order the chocolate souffle for dessert because I have had so many that weren't anything special. However, I do love chocolate and after a waitress mentioned that it was the best dessert they had, I decided to go for it. I was not disappointed. It was a great mix of gooey chocolate and soft cake. Rich enough to satisfy my sweet tooth, but not overpowering. It was served with sea salt, almond flavored ice cream and the contrast of salt from the ice cream with the cake really made it memorable. It was creative without being over-the-top and probably one of the best souffles I've ever had. The restaurant had a really modern, sleek look- I would love to come back, if only I could afford it's regular prices!
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What I Ate: Short rib ravioli, grilled branzino, chocolate souffle
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a-MAZE-ing food and alright service
Reviewed on Monday, 04 August 2008 — Last updated: Monday, 04 August 2008
Let me first preface this by saying that most fine dining establishments will give great to excellent service - so even so-so service from a fine dining restaurant will probably be much better than what you would get at most 2-3 star restaurants.
Having said that, for a fine dining establishment, the service was... okay. I'm not saying it was bad or horrible, but it was... serviceable. Granted, I did not do my research prior to joining my coworkers for restaurant week, so I came in my sneakers and backpack. That, and, admittedly, we were a young crowd - but by no means obnoxious.
After we were seated, I noticed our servers were much more attentive toward the better dressed patrons and our water glasses weren't refilled until the bread basket arrived... also a bit belatedly - though it was moderately busy that day. The thing is, it's a simple, standard rule at these kinds of establishments to never let a patron's water glass empty for longer than a few minutes. At least, at the ones I've been familiar with on the West Coast, they should refill your glass as soon as it hits the halfway point.
Again, I'm not trying to come off as a snob like "OMGZ, you MUST REFILL my WATER GLASS BEFORE IT'S EMPTY, EXCUSE ME VERY MUCH!!!" -- what I'm trying to stress is that every other table got measurably better service than my table did that day until halfway into the meal. No one came to check in on our table, asked how we liked our food or explained what we were being served, etc.
The thing is, once they saw our magazine, the fact that I was discretely take taking pictures of my food and writing notes in my lap, I was stopped by my server and asked if everything was alright. Embarrassed, I put my notes away and said everything tasted great -- which was true. There were some misses, but overall the food was pretty fantastic.
Anyway, after I'd been "caught" our service improved. By a LOT.
Suddenly the servers were asking us how we liked the food, our water glasses were never more than half empty and even the manager came by to chat with us, give us a complimentary dish of in-house made chocolates and a tour of the kitchen. Of course, after asking us if we were from a publication. She even scraped the crumbs off our table herself with the assistance of another server -- a service we probably would not have gotten at all if they hadn't known we were from Eats Media.
I am not placing any blame or anything on the manager -- whom I thought was fantastic, personable and very generous with her time. But it was the service of the waitstaff prior to discovering that we were with a magazine publication. Inattentive in little, recognizable ways for people semi-familiar with fine-dining establishments, and super attentive after they found out that we might be connected to someone or something of "importance." And a restaurant should never have to make you feel that way -- that you are beneath their service unless you dress of a certain class or are attached to a food-related publication.
I mean, why fork out your money for an experience that leaves you feeling like ur some sort of pauper?
Sigh. Basically, I saw right through them. The servers, specifically. I can see why - we were young, some of us were dressed really casually, hence they probably either thought we weren't going to tip big or that our general presence was a nuisance that affected the overall ambiance of the restaurant. Again, not everyone would notice and yes, the service was better than what you would get at Applebee's, but having frequented fine dining establishments in the past, I could discern something palpably stingy about the service in relation to the service other patrons were receiving.
THAT said, the manager was great and the decor was elegant with clean lines and plenty of sunlight.
FOOD:
I got embarrassed about my camera - due to a coworker of mine who felt embarrassed - so I didn't take a picture of the menu -- hence I don't have all the correct names for all my courses. For $27, you would get your choice of 3 courses.
For my first course, I ordered the seared yellow fin tuna. The raw, red tuna had been seared, sliced into thick rectangles and served over a bed of crisp watermelon niblets and Thai basil seeds. It was lightly dressed in a toasted sesame vinaigrette flavored with the thinnest shreds of basil. It tasted as beautifully fresh and delicate as it looked upon its plate.
For the next course, I got two small filets of branzino that were laid over olive and tomato sofrito. The searing had created a crisp crust while the inner white flesh was relatively moist. It was just smidge overcooked upon the edges, but in general it was a very good example of a properly cooked filet of fish. On the side were a couple pieces of broccoflower bathed in oily pan drippings that tasted a bit like Cheez-its. The toasty cheese drippings were so delicious I kept dipping my bread into them so that I could taste every last drop. Overall, the main entrée was well-balanced in that it wasn´t too heavy or too light.
My coworker had opted for a plate of pea-green risotto flavored with green onion. It was pretty heavy on the cream and cheese, which gave it a heavy, fatty flavor. We both agreed that it was delicious, but we also agreed that it was way too heavy to serve as an actual entrée and not a smaller-portioned appetizer. After the first few bites, it was as though we were eating a rice-y cheese sauce. It was much too rich to eat on its own.
For dessert, I got the Valrhona chocolate souffle. Outside was a puffed up, delicate crust lightly powdered in confectioner's sugar. On the inside was molten chocolate and a thick, drippy, butterscotch-flavored caramel sauce. On the side, I was served a small dish of salted almond ice cream. The salted, toasted flavors of almonds ensured that the soufflé never tasted tooth-achingly sweet.
My coworker got the cinnamon apple trifle with the donut. In a tall shot glass there were three layers comprised of green apple gelee, some apple-pie-flavored goop and apple granita. On the side was a donut hole rolled in cinnamon sugar and injected with what my coworker described as a custardy cream of sorts. The apple-pie-flavored goop and granita were lovely and full flavored. The green apple gelee fell flat in that it tasted like it was trying to be a Jolly Rancher flavored gel. It tasted heavy on some sort of thickening agent (cornstarch?) and too much like candy. I like candy but the flavor didn't mesh well with the rest of the dessert.
We also ordered coffee. $6 per person is understandable at a restaurant of this caliber, but I also expect coffee of some caliber. It doesn't have to be mindblowingly great, but it would be nice if it didn't have that acrid, ammonia-laced after taste. The kind you would find at your average Dunkin Donuts. Starbucks definitely makes a better cup of coffee than does Maze, but perhaps I'm being too harsh, as Maze is a restaurant, not a coffee house.
The in-house made chocolates were as beautiful as they were delectable. The white chocolate wasn't anything too special, but they were pretty, nonetheless -- topped with chopped pistachio, candied orange and dried cranberry. The coffee-filled ones were smooth and not too sweet. The raspberry ones were surprisingly bright and fruity. My favorite were the mint chocolates. You could tell that they used fresh mint in lieu of peppermint oil like most other places.
Having said that, for a fine dining establishment, the service was... okay. I'm not saying it was bad or horrible, but it was... serviceable. Granted, I did not do my research prior to joining my coworkers for restaurant week, so I came in my sneakers and backpack. That, and, admittedly, we were a young crowd - but by no means obnoxious.
After we were seated, I noticed our servers were much more attentive toward the better dressed patrons and our water glasses weren't refilled until the bread basket arrived... also a bit belatedly - though it was moderately busy that day. The thing is, it's a simple, standard rule at these kinds of establishments to never let a patron's water glass empty for longer than a few minutes. At least, at the ones I've been familiar with on the West Coast, they should refill your glass as soon as it hits the halfway point.
Again, I'm not trying to come off as a snob like "OMGZ, you MUST REFILL my WATER GLASS BEFORE IT'S EMPTY, EXCUSE ME VERY MUCH!!!" -- what I'm trying to stress is that every other table got measurably better service than my table did that day until halfway into the meal. No one came to check in on our table, asked how we liked our food or explained what we were being served, etc.
The thing is, once they saw our magazine, the fact that I was discretely take taking pictures of my food and writing notes in my lap, I was stopped by my server and asked if everything was alright. Embarrassed, I put my notes away and said everything tasted great -- which was true. There were some misses, but overall the food was pretty fantastic.
Anyway, after I'd been "caught" our service improved. By a LOT.
Suddenly the servers were asking us how we liked the food, our water glasses were never more than half empty and even the manager came by to chat with us, give us a complimentary dish of in-house made chocolates and a tour of the kitchen. Of course, after asking us if we were from a publication. She even scraped the crumbs off our table herself with the assistance of another server -- a service we probably would not have gotten at all if they hadn't known we were from Eats Media.
I am not placing any blame or anything on the manager -- whom I thought was fantastic, personable and very generous with her time. But it was the service of the waitstaff prior to discovering that we were with a magazine publication. Inattentive in little, recognizable ways for people semi-familiar with fine-dining establishments, and super attentive after they found out that we might be connected to someone or something of "importance." And a restaurant should never have to make you feel that way -- that you are beneath their service unless you dress of a certain class or are attached to a food-related publication.
I mean, why fork out your money for an experience that leaves you feeling like ur some sort of pauper?
Sigh. Basically, I saw right through them. The servers, specifically. I can see why - we were young, some of us were dressed really casually, hence they probably either thought we weren't going to tip big or that our general presence was a nuisance that affected the overall ambiance of the restaurant. Again, not everyone would notice and yes, the service was better than what you would get at Applebee's, but having frequented fine dining establishments in the past, I could discern something palpably stingy about the service in relation to the service other patrons were receiving.
THAT said, the manager was great and the decor was elegant with clean lines and plenty of sunlight.
FOOD:
I got embarrassed about my camera - due to a coworker of mine who felt embarrassed - so I didn't take a picture of the menu -- hence I don't have all the correct names for all my courses. For $27, you would get your choice of 3 courses.
For my first course, I ordered the seared yellow fin tuna. The raw, red tuna had been seared, sliced into thick rectangles and served over a bed of crisp watermelon niblets and Thai basil seeds. It was lightly dressed in a toasted sesame vinaigrette flavored with the thinnest shreds of basil. It tasted as beautifully fresh and delicate as it looked upon its plate.
For the next course, I got two small filets of branzino that were laid over olive and tomato sofrito. The searing had created a crisp crust while the inner white flesh was relatively moist. It was just smidge overcooked upon the edges, but in general it was a very good example of a properly cooked filet of fish. On the side were a couple pieces of broccoflower bathed in oily pan drippings that tasted a bit like Cheez-its. The toasty cheese drippings were so delicious I kept dipping my bread into them so that I could taste every last drop. Overall, the main entrée was well-balanced in that it wasn´t too heavy or too light.
My coworker had opted for a plate of pea-green risotto flavored with green onion. It was pretty heavy on the cream and cheese, which gave it a heavy, fatty flavor. We both agreed that it was delicious, but we also agreed that it was way too heavy to serve as an actual entrée and not a smaller-portioned appetizer. After the first few bites, it was as though we were eating a rice-y cheese sauce. It was much too rich to eat on its own.
For dessert, I got the Valrhona chocolate souffle. Outside was a puffed up, delicate crust lightly powdered in confectioner's sugar. On the inside was molten chocolate and a thick, drippy, butterscotch-flavored caramel sauce. On the side, I was served a small dish of salted almond ice cream. The salted, toasted flavors of almonds ensured that the soufflé never tasted tooth-achingly sweet.
My coworker got the cinnamon apple trifle with the donut. In a tall shot glass there were three layers comprised of green apple gelee, some apple-pie-flavored goop and apple granita. On the side was a donut hole rolled in cinnamon sugar and injected with what my coworker described as a custardy cream of sorts. The apple-pie-flavored goop and granita were lovely and full flavored. The green apple gelee fell flat in that it tasted like it was trying to be a Jolly Rancher flavored gel. It tasted heavy on some sort of thickening agent (cornstarch?) and too much like candy. I like candy but the flavor didn't mesh well with the rest of the dessert.
We also ordered coffee. $6 per person is understandable at a restaurant of this caliber, but I also expect coffee of some caliber. It doesn't have to be mindblowingly great, but it would be nice if it didn't have that acrid, ammonia-laced after taste. The kind you would find at your average Dunkin Donuts. Starbucks definitely makes a better cup of coffee than does Maze, but perhaps I'm being too harsh, as Maze is a restaurant, not a coffee house.
The in-house made chocolates were as beautiful as they were delectable. The white chocolate wasn't anything too special, but they were pretty, nonetheless -- topped with chopped pistachio, candied orange and dried cranberry. The coffee-filled ones were smooth and not too sweet. The raspberry ones were surprisingly bright and fruity. My favorite were the mint chocolates. You could tell that they used fresh mint in lieu of peppermint oil like most other places.
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What I Ate: Valrhona souffle, cinnamon apple trifle, seared yellowfin tuna, green onion risotto, seared branzino, coffee
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Creative
Reviewed on Thursday, 31 July 2008
I came here with co-workers for restaurant week and was excited to experience some fine dining. The appetizer I ordered was great and a combination I never would have considered. The tuna was served on a bed of watermelon and dressed with a tomato and basil vinaigrette. It was beautiful, light, tasty and different. The risotto was fabulous, if not a little too creamy and on the heavy side. It's definitely a treat and not something I could eat everyday. It was topped with asparagus and very earthy mushrooms. Perhaps the most interesting thing about it was it's almost lime green color. The dessert was also very good and a very interesting combination of flavors. The service was great, and the atmosphere was refined but not snooty.
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What I Ate: Seared yellowfin tuna, carnaroli risotto, apple and caramel trifle
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laid back fine dining
Reviewed on Thursday, 31 July 2008
Awesome place to go for an upscale business lunch. The service is attentive and the food is solidly tasty. Like wshikani, I especially enjoyed the branzino--fresh and flaky and the one side of the skin was left on which added a nice crisp that wasn't overly fishy.
My dessert was out of this world. It was a decadent, creamy chocolate soufflet with caramel, served with a scoop of salted almond ice cream--awesome sweet and salty flavor combos.
My dessert was out of this world. It was a decadent, creamy chocolate soufflet with caramel, served with a scoop of salted almond ice cream--awesome sweet and salty flavor combos.
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What I Ate: beef short ribs ravioli, branzino, chocolate soufflet
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Outstanding food and service
Reviewed on Thursday, 31 July 2008 — Last updated: Friday, 01 August 2008
Maze knows how to serve a delicious meal and how to do it well. The atmosphere of the restaurant is best described as business casual, with a bright interior to welcome you and an immaculately dressed staff to give an aura of elegance. Everyone from our hostess to our waiter to the busboys was extremely polite, helpful, and attentive to detail. The food was equally delicious. The tuna tartare was light, refreshing, and full of flavor; the branzino was crispy and delicious, with a wonderful vegetable accompaniment; the apple cider trifle, finally, was a tasty fruity finish with an impressive presentation (a double shot glass with a distinct apple green gelatin at the bottom). For a great business lunch in midtown, this is certainly the place to go.
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What I Ate: Tuna Tartare, Branzino, Apple Cider Trifle
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