LONDONFOODAHOLIC ABROAD: REVIEW: Scusi, Maastricht, Netherlands

Arriving in Maastricht has been a god send so far, three days of pure relaxation. Only one hour away on a plane to this old, cultural rich city, it’s surprisingly modern given its age. Our hotel, Townhouse Design Hotel is great, minimalistic, soup on tap, rain shower in the bathroom, topped with some soothing jazz beating away. I write all this while sipping a glass of Chardonnay, lying in a hammock! Enough of me gloating.

After some rigorous searching across the internet we heard about a place called Gio's Cucina, it’s apparently supposed to be the BEST Italian in Maastricht, some reviews even go as far to say it is the best restaurant experience they have ever had a very bold statement indeed, so how could I not go and check it out?

Arriving at 6pm I find out the restaurant does not take reservations, nor do they have any space. We end up at another Italian instead called Scusi, located in the centre of the town along a parade of other restaurants. You immediately notice the decor has you walk in, very lavish, gold and black colour scheme with a large open kitchen. Sitting opposite the kitchen we got to watch the chef in action, most of his time seemed to be spent with a pair of tweezers in his hand, a lot of thought and time goes into the presentation of the food here.

We started our meal with an amuse bouche of cauliflower puree, which with cheese added tasted a lot like cauliflower cheese you would have with a Sunday roast, not very Italian, but very nice, I licked my espresso glass clean.

The large prawns in a garlic and herb olive oil marinade was succulent and sweet, the prawns had a real meatyness to them. The side salad was a little disappointing and I would have hoped for something a bit more imaginative, still it was an extremely tasty dish, just a little simple, especially at these prices.

The thin slices of well-cooked tuna sat on a bed of something creamy I couldn't work out and unfortunately the staff couldn't think of an English translation, it tasted a bit like tuna and capers with mayonnaise added. It was good but nothing to get excited about, again it was accompanied by some salad.

The choice of secondi was limited to two types of ravioli. First was the ravioli stuffed with veal cheeks in a rich bisque with lots of parmesan cheese. The filling itself was delicious but there wasn't much of it and I struggled to find much meat. The bisque was beautiful, sweet and salty but it was the pasta itself which let this dish down. It was a little tough which meant the filling came straight out when you cut into it, I think it could have done with an extra thirty second boiling away in the pan.

It was a similar situation for the ravioli stuffed with prawns. The seafood bisque was heavenly, reminisce to the one I had at Medlar in Chelsea. But again the pasta itself let the dish down along with the lack in filling. All the flavours are here though and this dish is almost there to becoming a great one but at the moment it is only very good.

Moving onto the mains, the piece of haddock with a pesto crust and vegetables was an interesting flavour combination. The fish itself was cooked well and the crust added a nice depth but the rest of the flavours on the plate didn't quite match up. A few spots of balsamic glaze a sweet fruity puree with what I think was a cauliflower puree. All the ingredients were nice in their own right, just not together on this plate with the fish.

My favourite dish to come out was this main, a thick cut of beef which was cooked to perfection, and so tender I could tear it apart with my fork. The accompanying puddles of sauce round the plate were exactly the same as came what came with the fish but here the matched the beef perfectly. What was also nice were the different vegetables cooked in different ways, roasted, boiled, raw, fried, it gave a nice selection of textures. I thoroughly enjoyed this dish.

Dessert was tiramisu; heavenly would be the best way to describe it. Quite dense and very firm with just the right amount of coffee and a lovely sweet tone to combat the bitterness. This is a real contender for one of the best tiramisus around and definitely in the Maastricht area.

Coming across Scusi in Maastricht was a great little find and somewhere I can highly recommend for modern Italian cuisine, it offers good value on their set menu and an affordable wine flight to match the courses, though I don't think it’s worth the prices they charge on their a la carte so make sure you choose wisely.

7/10