Maize is the name and “maize” is the game as this restaurant features a wonderful array of dishes. The very best from Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine among other Mediterranean countries. “Maize” is a word from the old Kuwaiti dialect meaning “table” and what a spread on ours we thoroughly enjoyed.

With our bazaar reviews, we generally love to talk about food more than décor, but the stylishly designed interiors of Maize warrant mentioning. Immediately as you enter, you’re met with a warm glow, reminiscent of a Levantine sunset. Furniture designer Kallio’s white-oiled, oak chairs sit amid earthy tones, dusky rose colors with bronze lowlights, smoked mirror finishes, and myriad textures make the simple and repeated use of geometric shape stand out, all supported by a speckled floor with the same greys, pinks and earthy tones within it. The restaurant features rough, rectangular, ecru colored bricks protruding randomly to pattern the walls.

This rectangular shape is repeated in the structure of the metal cage dividing wall that separates the coffee bar from the restaurant main, and these rectangular shapes are repeated again in slats that top the wooden surround that discreetly secludes two intimate private dining booths. If you look closely, the rectangle design theme can be observed again in the leather backrests of the booth couches. 

You can spot ever–increasing circles all around you; from the candles in the candle holders to the round bottom water glasses upcycled from green bottles, beautifully simple side and main plates by British furniture and product designer Aaron Probyn, the green velvet round seat chairs in the coffee bar to the massive round mirror on the wall literally reflecting the large circle cut out of the dividing cage-wall. The tables’ low hanging lightbulbs look like they’ve been dipped in liquid metal, similar to the mini vases on the tables which look like they have been poured over with smoky liquid metal paint, similar again to the “dip” effect on the smoke grey mirror in the washrooms, the ‘dip’ made by a section of nugget-gold colored mirror. The dusky rose color theme is again referenced in the washroom, by rose-scented hand soap and lotion.

The entire interior at Maize reflects early western twentieth century stylings which can be seen in the use of dark wood, velvet materials, featured metals, geometric shapes, and even the table napkin holders exude the Art Deco sophistication of a 1930’s dining experience. The constant design references, similar effects seen everywhere, and the layered quality of the design theme, this is no mistake. This is a deliberate and accurate indication of the dining experience you are about to enjoy.

As is best in this kind of restaurant, all the dishes come at once, each arrival to the table greeted by a greater sigh of appreciation from the group. You can hear the sizzle of The Shrimp Pil Pil before you can see it! The table displays a veritable rainbow of color due to the use of fresh ingredients, artful plating and baskets of pita featuring the signature naturally colored green and pink breads. Perfect for deeply scraping into the sundried tomato or, the oddly bright but again naturally green, kale hummus. 

The fattouche is nothing like you’ve ever tasted before, with five herbs keeping the salad super sharp and tasty. Fresh zaatar, dill, coriander, parsley, and mint combine with a home-made sumac and lemon vinaigrette to carefully layer flavor in each and every forkful. The substantially weighty Spicy Chickpea Salad with crumbled feta cheese and sunflower seeds over crunchy cucumber is also worth sampling and would be a good main for vegetarians for whom there are lots of options.

The other dishes that have arrived come from the sokhon section and include the Levantine inspired Betenjan Mashwe. Super-thin slices of eggplant are grilled and layered with a drizzled dill yogurt sauce, cerise pink pickled onion slices decorating the bulgar topped dish with feta crumbs scattered on top along with pomegranate and pine nuts. So many flavors and textures in one dish, all working delightfully together.

Khibez is a great choice if you have a pizza craving but want to keep it healthier with flatbreads. The Roasted Cauliflower version sits on top of a sesame paste spread base with cherry tomatoes, peppery arugula, and pickled onion. The robustly earthy flavors make this a worthy sharing dish. For those of you that like a cheesier affair the Pesto Tomato Mozzarella features perlini mozzarella balls on a melted bed of grated mozzarella that pulls like the best of them as long as it’s oven–hot. Grab a piece quickly!

A huge mound of meat shawarma, surrounded and decorated by thick triangles of golden-fried pita, so the dish looks like a colorfully animated sun, indicates one of the house signature dishes, Fattet Shawarma; incredibly well-spiced meat topped with home-made light yogurt. The fresh parsley with more pomegranate seeds and pine nuts, is not only aesthetically pleasing but also keeps the whole dish light and fresh tasting. It is the high quality of the fresh ingredients used in these dishes that shows bazaarhow important the high-quality part of the dining experience is to Maize, and you can’t but help appreciate this. The fattet is superbly moreish and a favorite for half the table.

Trying the grills next, the lamb kababs are delicious even for those who are not grill fans. The way in which the lamb has been flavored is tasty but you can discover these flavors only because the kababs are still so juicy and succulent. It’s melt-in-your-mouth goodness and the Kebab Iraqi with lashings of sumac and parsley is divinely palatable. The lamb chops are once again another dish which is flavorsome and comes with a pomegranate molasses chili flake infused light syrup. It has to be said that the way in which the kitchen subtly layers of flavor is a skillful culinary art, and they do this flavor layering with everything.

For dessert we a tried kunafa-filled croissant. The croissant itself was perfect, cut in half without a dent in its dome, and inside a thick serving of crunchy kunafa and kashkaval cheese, the perfect cheese choice, was melted on top of the kunafa noodles. A sugar syrup to drizzle added a beautifully glistening touch to the rose petal-strewn dessert, but the entire experience was not one of overwhelming sweetness but terrifically juxtaposed textures. Finally, the San Sabastian Cheesecake; baked and fluffy, light and flavorsome was an outstanding finish to a wonderful meal. For one final taste, we divided the raspberry that topped the dessert into two and each popped a half into our mouths. Wow, this was fresh, fruity and sharp. One of the best raspberries we’d ever tasted. A tiny detail that was not overlooked; Maize had taken care to ensure the quality of just this single raspberry was high, and this is what makes this restaurant so special. 

We didn’t try the shisha but did ask to see the famous fume designs. This is shisha done super modern, with a glass alien spaceship or a glass steam engine train being among your bottle options. There’s a range of flavors to choose from but we can only imagine the Maize Blend or Maize Special must be just as tasty as the menu offerings. If you look upwards in the smoking area of the restaurant, you will see four industrial-strength extractor fans above you, and we had to be told that the area in which we were sitting was actually the smoking side of Maize. We couldn’t tell otherwise. The restaurant is a joy to spend time in and ideal for a group of friends or family to take time over sharing a meal, or relaxing and enjoying each other’s company. 

Maize Restaurant & Café is located on the first floor of Vibes Complex, Abu Al Hasaniya and open from 7:00 am to 01:00 am every day. For more information follow Instagram @maizekw and DM for catering enquiries.