MAXZI is as much a restaurant as it is a “food shop”. Originally opened as the e-retail arm of Indoguna, a Singaporean owned food-services provider, it has since carved out a name for itself as a top-notch eatery as well as somewhere one can source chef grade products not available in supermarkets. Its interior has an authentic delicatessen look and feel to it, with what I think is a giant olive tree thrown in to give it earthiness. I felt comfortable from the minute I stepped in.
A view from the street 
Interior 
The retail side 
Butchery 
The deli
The MAXZI menu covers everything from breakfasts to steaks; its kitchen uses ingredients from the same Indoguna basket which are supplied to some of the UAE’s top-top restaurants. I am on a low everything diet, so I had to be careful not to order anything with carbs. I ordered the Braai Meal which includes a chef’s steak, boerewors sausages and some salad. As always, I asked for my steak to be done medium rare. Compared to the similarly priced steaks I recently had at caya in Town Square, Swiss Butter and The Huddle (both) in Barsha, the steak at MAXZI was too thin, tough and tasteless. I was shocked considering the pedigree this place has. The salad was good though.
The steak was tough and chewy, the fat unrendered and grizzly 
Instagood presentation 
The boerewors sausages were…okay
Sometimes this happens. You go in somewhere and get such a good vibe from the place. The service staff are friendly and take your order. The food arrives and looks Insagood. Everything is hunky-dory until you start eating the food which, after a couple of minutes, you realise sucks. I was devastated because I really liked this place. So, I am going to go back at the first opportunity I get; my culinary spidey sense couldn’t be this far off whack. Watch this space…
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Xerxes physically dines at, or orders from, each and every venue he reviews. He pays in full for whatever he and his companions eat, drink, take away or occasionally throw at each other. Xerxes accepts no money, gifts, discounts or free meals in return for reviews or favouritism. What you have read was NOT influenced in any way by the venue. Join me on Instagram @ravenousxerxes or email me on xerxes@dellara.com.