Maray Bold Street Liverpool - 27th January 2017

Maray is located on busy Bold Street and as I was unable to get a table, the last time I was in Liverpool, I made a reservation before we went away.   Maray serves eclectic and seasonal food, concentrating on sharing plates, with an excellent vegan menu offered.

Maray is small, but has a great vibe and music, with low lighting perfect for dining, though not ideal for photos so my pics do not do justice to the food.

We had a lovely table for two in the window, so whilst we perused the menus, I ordered a bottle of red Bodegas Ochoa wine from Navarra Spain, after the winemaker confirmed it was vegan friendly, via email correspondence.

I contacted Maray, prior to our visit, asking which wines were vegan and was delighted to find that they are in the process of labelling vegan friendly wines on the list, a great move in my opinion.

Our waitress Lau suggested we order two or three dishes each, plus side orders, depending on how hungry we were, so we kicked off with Nocellara olives with chilli, orange and sea salt, I am a sucker for olives, they were delicious.

I love the unusual combinations, the chefs have created, which work so well, so the first dish was sprouts, medjool dates, lime and sesame.   I adore brussel sprouts and with the sweetness of dates, the acidity of lime and crunch of sesame, I could have eaten this dish on my own, it was wonderful.

Next was salt baked beets, with orange and endive, a light refreshing dish and beetroot and orange is a classic marriage, again I could have eaten it on my own.

This was followed by tenderstem broccoli, dukkah and tahini, another fabulous dish, some of my favourite ingredients all on one plate.

Steven ordered artichoke, miso, coconut and pickles, as he loves artichoke, but it was Jerusalem artichokes, but even so he loved it.

Our two final dishes, were two of the best, half a cauliflower, flaked almonds, pomegranate, tahini and fresh herbs, what a mega dish, the humble cauliflower elevated to a dish of total deliciousness.

Finally fries with houmous and green chilli sauce, not for the faint hearted, as the chillies really packed a punch, but we could easily have polished off two portions, they were that good.

A small break, whilst we finished our wine and then it was impossible to resist the carrot and cardamon baklava served with coconut cream.

An inventive dessert and a far cry from boring sorbet offered, in so many places, it was not dense or too sticky, like most baklava and the coconut cream set it off perfectly.

We thought Maray was a brilliant venue, a relaxed ambience, friendly and cheerful service, if only I lived in Liverpool, maybe they will open a branch in Manchester.   Highly recommended for vegans and interestingly enough, the reason for the vegan menu, is due to the demand from their customers, so great to see the guys at Maray listening to customer feedback.