FOOD BUZZ: A maze in Melbourne

Gordon Ramsay’s first Australian restaurants, maze and maze Grill, open in the centre of Australia’s food capital.

The famous potty-mouthed British Chef is making amends with a maze in Melbourne after a disastrous start with the locals following a very public spat with one of the country’s leading journalist’s in which he called her a ‘fat ugly pig’. Thankfully, there is no pig on the menu at his first Australian restaurant, the maze and maze Grill. Both restaurants are located at the buzzing new Crown Metropol hotel, and are modeled on their highly successful British namesakes, with menus specifically developed to highlight the freshest and finest seasonal ingredients available throughout Australia.

Maze dishes up Modern Australian cuisine with Asian influences in tasting-sized plates under the stewardship of Ramsay’s Kiwi protégé, Chef de Cuisine, Josh Emett. Taking inspiration from the informal style of New York’s grill restaurants, maze Grill offers a wide range of different breeds and cuts of beef cooked over coal, as well as starters, salads and plates to share. The open kitchen creates a hive of activity to complement the menu, with sizzling meat and fish hot off the char-grill presented to diners on handmade Australian wooden boards.

For the full “Ramsay” experience, you’ll have to pick a night when he is in residence and in a foul mood. But on a regular day or night, you’ll get the best of him out of his well-trained and delightful staff, and that is probably enough.

maze and maze Grill is at the Crown Metropol:

8 Whiteman St, Southbank, VIC 3006
Phone: + 03 9292 8300