REVIEW: Marres Kitchen, Maastricht, Netherlands

You’ll never guess where I’ve just come back from – Maastricht, of course. Located at the foot of The Netherlands in the Limburg region this pretty little town is quickly becoming my second home and it’s not a matter of will I move here, the question is more simple than that – it’s when. Marres Kitchen is located a short walk from the idyllic cafe lined Vrijthof and perfect for those who simply want to get away from it all – the restaurant is very relaxed and perfect for perching with a good book and a cup of their excellent coffee or tea. Marres house (in which the restaurant is located) is a sort of art and culture space exhibiting experimental installations and modern art.

The art and design element certainly runs throughout the whole building with everything staged for preparation each morning, from the neatly placed bowl of vibrant oranges on the counter, right through to the huge table filled with a mixed meze selection. That’s the one surprising element about this place, Marres Kitchen is a fusion between both Italian and Middle Eastern cuisines. A pairing I never expected to work particularly great myself but I was proved very wrong indeed, the food here is fabulous in every way. I even opted for a non alcoholic beverage of home-made lemonade and if you know me well, it must have been good to sway me away from the booze!

To whet our appetites here a little, we went with one of the Middle Eastern options from the menu, a perfectly made moutabel. If you’ve never eaten moutabel before you should seek it out immediately. Gorgeous chunks of smokey aubergine is mashed down and mixed with tahini paste and yoghurt, then topped with fresh mint and pomegranate. A surprisingly simple enough dish to make yourself, but getting the balance right with this dip is incredibly hard and will taste different no matter where you go. The most important thing for me is its freshness and it really doesn’t get much better than this.

The head chef here is Maher Al Sabbagh who’s worked in kitchens across the globe, now utilising his talent and experiences here in Maastricht (what a lucky bunch). For main courses we chose some of the dishes from the Italian part of the menu and what a treat it was. The consistent thing about the food here is that no dish is really any better than the other, but instead all of it absolutely faultless. Gorgonzola gnocchi was served in a rich and creamy tomato sauce with parmesan and fresh rocket. The balls of gnocchi actually contained the gorgonzola cheese filling inside which oozed out on to the plate. As far as gnocchi dishes go, this one is right there at the top.

Spaghetti vongole is one dish I’ll admit I never really order, mainly for that fact I can’t deal with a pile of shells and very little clam meat. But once again, Marres Kitchen managed to change all that and instead leave me dreaming of this dish for days after. Perfectly cooked spaghetti pasta, lashings of quality olive oil, chilli, parsley and the best clams I’ve had in a long while, small – yes, but very meaty. This is serious food-porn at its finest.

Marres Kitchen was a restaurant we completely stumbled across by chance and not one we’d planned to visit but its intriguing art display through the window, which led me to thinking I saw a man on the floor (he wasn’t real), enticed us make our way further into this place and subsequently to its restaurant. I’d expected a slice of cake and a good cup of tea but instead we were faced with some of the city’s best food which was simple, effortlessly good, unpretentious and importantly – delicious. If good food, good service and great company is what you’re after then look no further, Marres Kitchen is the coolest place in Maastricht to be and one I can’t wait to come back too.

8/10