Maray has been open for around two and a half years now on Bold Street and I am fairly ashamed to admit that I have never actually darkened its doorway... (waits for the gasps of horror to cease). In my defence, there has been rather a lot going on and it's been one of those things that has been filed under 'get round to it soon' for probably well over 18 months. Fret no more anyway, as I managed to drop by the recently opened sister to the Bold Street eatery on Allerton Road to check out what all the fuss was about.
The fuss was very palpable for a while with the Bold Street premises, numerous friends and acquaintances had eaten there and were generally flowing in their praise; even The Guardian's food write Jay Raynor, one of the hardest of critics, was also remarkably generous in his review. He stated that in lesser hands it could have been a car crash but was very competent in its mission to bring together many Mediterranean and French influences along with some Scandinavian and American influence thrown in with good measure.
The fuss was very palpable for a while with the Bold Street premises, numerous friends and acquaintances had eaten there and were generally flowing in their praise; even The Guardian's food write Jay Raynor, one of the hardest of critics, was also remarkably generous in his review. He stated that in lesser hands it could have been a car crash but was very competent in its mission to bring together many Mediterranean and French influences along with some Scandinavian and American influence thrown in with good measure.
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So, the burning question is whether the Allerton Road establishment backs up the big talk?
Maray on Allerton Road is a strange beast, the bright interior décor and large glass windows appear on the face of it a rather stark dining environment, but being seated upstairs, the use of exposed and fatigued brickwork actually brought a comfortable contrast and overall, we did feel quite relaxed. The approach and demeanour of the staff helped with this no end too, service was brisk, competent and timely from start to finish.
The menu on first glance appears fairly scattershot, with some clear north African and middle eastern influence, but there are other elements which have clear French bistro or Asian heritage to them. Nonetheless, Jay Rayner was correct in his assertion that all this did come together quite well, nothing felt clumsy about the food that we ordered and was put in front of us.
Maray on Allerton Road is a strange beast, the bright interior décor and large glass windows appear on the face of it a rather stark dining environment, but being seated upstairs, the use of exposed and fatigued brickwork actually brought a comfortable contrast and overall, we did feel quite relaxed. The approach and demeanour of the staff helped with this no end too, service was brisk, competent and timely from start to finish.
The menu on first glance appears fairly scattershot, with some clear north African and middle eastern influence, but there are other elements which have clear French bistro or Asian heritage to them. Nonetheless, Jay Rayner was correct in his assertion that all this did come together quite well, nothing felt clumsy about the food that we ordered and was put in front of us.
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From the sourdough loaf with chilli butter to the excellent, tender smoked duck with raisins and aubergine there was a lovely array of textures and flavours to get involved with. The lamb koftas retained plenty of moisture and a huge amount of flavour and nearly ran the meal off the rails due to their strength, but using the softer elements of the superb whipped goats cheese and honey with crisp flatbread and the gentle saltiness of the larger than expected whitebait, there was some come back. Overall, the food was brilliant aside from one or two dishes suffering from a bit of heavy-handed seasoning; not usually a gripe - it seems most complaints in the industry are about underseasoned food, but then it might just be a personal preference to take the salt content of some food down a notch or two?
Sadly there was no room for dessert, but the selection did look incredibly tempting, notably espresso kulfi and hazelnuts for me. In terms of drinks menu, there is a heavy, heavy slant towards cocktails and from what I can gather a little something for everyone. The wine selection is short, but looks to have been very well thought out, with the top end selections in both white and red coming from some surprising regions instead of the usual Italian or French safe bets. The beer selection was (for admittedly, someone who is primarily a beer writer these days) pretty disappointing. A couple of lagers, a Vienna-style lager and Icelandic brewed Einstok pale do not give the range which could best work with this menu.
Summing things up, it's worth your time. The food is well sourced (they are fairly open about their suppliers online) and put together for enjoyment in a competent and reasonably attractive fashion. Things are continuing to be on the up in Liverpool, they are also thankfully filtering out quite nicely into the suburbs, with this latest addition to the Allerton Road scene, there is now some additional substance.
Pedro
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Maray
57 Allerton Road, Liverpool, L18 2DA
Tel: 0151 709 5820
Email: Allerton@maray.co.uk
Web: https://www.maray.co.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarayLiverpool
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marayliverpool/
Summing things up, it's worth your time. The food is well sourced (they are fairly open about their suppliers online) and put together for enjoyment in a competent and reasonably attractive fashion. Things are continuing to be on the up in Liverpool, they are also thankfully filtering out quite nicely into the suburbs, with this latest addition to the Allerton Road scene, there is now some additional substance.
Pedro
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Maray
57 Allerton Road, Liverpool, L18 2DA
Tel: 0151 709 5820
Email: Allerton@maray.co.uk
Web: https://www.maray.co.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarayLiverpool
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marayliverpool/
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