Poor and Privileged

Read about my trip to Maze at the Marriot

Recently I was fortunate enough to enjoy a fine dining experience, of which a destitute student such as myself is rarely granted. For someone trained in silver service, experiencing the luxury personally was a delight. As I walked through the restaurant, doors were swiftly opened for my entrance by enthusiastic Maze staff.  My party and I were seated separately from the main restaurant, behind glass sliding doors at the Chef’s table. Situated besides the bustling kitchen, the table offered us the opportunity to watch our food be prepared by a team of fervent chefs.

The transnational wine list was presented on an iPad, which created a more entertaining experience to browsing the menu. A shared starter of sushi platters instigated the meal, the mackerel pate topped with plantain chips was particularly exquisite, yet at £12 a pop for something so small, my destitute ideals tapped at my back and tugged on my purse strings.

We were then served a board of bread with a deliciously smooth butter dip. For the main I chose the cod in a butter and caper sauce, which was accompanied by a creamy mash. The fish was faultlessly cooked and paired well with the delectable yet not over powering sauce. We shared side dishes of Portobello mushrooms, spinach and chips topped with truffle oil and Parmesan. The mushrooms were cooked to perfection and worked well with the main.

To finish, a chocolate brownie topped with salted caramel ice cream. As somewhat a connoisseur of chocolate brownies, the texture was rich, gooey and crumbly, yet not unlike the many I have tasted in restaurants that didn’t charge almost £10 for the treat. The salted caramel ice cream however, was mouthwateringly scrumptious, I feel utterly desirous just reminiscing.

Our evening was topped off with a visit to the Marriot members club in the basement of the hotel, which accommodated several fridges very handsomely housing an array of complimentary drinks. Don’t look at me like that, I’m a student, can’t say no to free beer now can I?