Maven

I was conflicted about what rating to give. If it was at least 50% cheaper, I feel like 3 stars would be justified. At this price point, I have to admit I was inclined to give it 2 stars.

I honestly don't understand the high scores, is it just people with too much money who want to show it off and don't want to admit they didn't like it? Or do people actually think this is great food?

Let's start with the positives: the decor is very nice, it's a very cool place, and walking in through the big doors certainly has a bit of a wow effect. Staff is also super friendly, can't fault them at all.

Unfortunately, that's pretty much it... There's a DJ who's blasting inoffensive but not particularly good music at a level that's much too loud for what's supposed to be a nice dinner. Sign of the times, I'm sure, people love their DJs, but I still had hopes of going to dinner without feeling like I'm in a club.

Then, the food, since that's what we're here for, right? I had high hopes for this place, after the reviews and from the general look of it. After reading the menu, my expectations were already knocked down a step. I spotted the Thai Veal Tartare. Great, I love thai food, I love tartare, this is right up my alley, right? Except looking at the ingredients, none of them are even remotely Thai. Soy (ok, could be Thai, albeit it not very typical), yuzu (nope, that's Japanese, not a thing in Thailand), bonito flakes (again, Japanese, not a thing in Thailand) and veal (can't make veal tartare without it, so we'll leave this one out of it). A supposedly high-end restaurant that can't keep their basic cuisines apart, not very promising.

So we decided on the following:

(Appetizer on the house was bread with ham and pickles, quite nice, but the pickles overpowered everything, which would prove to be a trend throughout the meal. Bread was very nice. 7/10)

Secret Iberico with pan con tomate: my boyfriend loved this, I was not particularly impressed, had much better and much cheaper in Spain, meat was a bit flavorless and the tomate was more like pizza sauce. 6.5/10.

Wagyu croquettes: nice enough, but essentially just slightly fancier "bitterballen". Came with a bunch of sauce that I didn't really see the point of, but luckily it was on the side, so no harm done. 7.5/10

Carpaccio with truffle: somebody slipped and landed on this plate with the bowl of truffle facing down... It was hard to find the meat under all the truffle. Generally, I would say that's a good thing, because I love truffle, but it was just too much, could barely taste the meat at all and I felt like I was eating truffle for hours after. 7/10 just because I love carpaccio so you can't really go wrong with that, but boy were they trying.

For the mains we got the Txogitxu (?) and the Mirandesa entrecôtes, bleu chaud, which were presented to us on a plate beforehand, looking good, we're excited. Unfortunately they were a little disappointing. Not a ton of flavor and both of them were really quite chewy. If they'd been 25-30€ I wouldn't have been mad, but at roughly 60€ per piece, I was expecting much more. We went to another place nearby months ago that was also horribly overpriced, but at least their meat was very, very good. Can't say the same for this. 6/10

As sides we got:

Brussel sprouts: nice enough but definitely not great. 6/10

Ratatouille: nice, but some flavors going on that didn't really make the dish any better, bit too salty/sharp? 6.5/10

Fries: decent fries, bit greasy, but nice enough. 7/10

Mushroom sauce: way too salty, don't know if it was just reduced down way too much? I love mushroom sauce, but I didn't even finish this one. 4/10

Also had a glass of rosé champagne, not bad, but at 17€ a glass? Yikes.

We wanted to go for dessert because it looked interesting, but we didn't want to spend even more money only to be disappointed again, so we just had a cocktail. Boyfriend's smoky cocktail seemed nice, my blood orange margarita was a bit watery, and while the "satékruiden" seemed like a cool idea, it didn't really work in practice. 7/10

Delicious place if you want to experience a steak tasting! Go for one of their menus to experience the different cuts and different types of beef. And don’t forget to go write some inspirational quotes in the toilet (you’ll notice once you go)

Restaurant Maven in Antwerp stands out as a culinary gem. With its professional personnel and top-notch quality of meat, it rightfully claims the 33rd spot on the world's best steak restaurants list. The diverse steak options promise a unique taste experience, complemented by special presentation that adds an extra layer of delight to the dining experience. A must-try for those seeking exceptional food in Antwerp.

One of the coolest steak restaurants I've been. There is a dj but the sound is just right so you can still have a conversation. Service was really good and they were very nice as well. Steaks were good but not amazing. After dinner there is also a nice lounge to have some drinks.

It was a long journey of dinner I couldn't resist the melting Japanese Wagyu Kobe beef in my mouth so tender and delicious and the beef shot and the infused tomato salad 😋 will definitely come back again for sure! I had a full set menu with drink and it was just perfect!

Truly amazing dining experience. We ordered the premium menu, but we ordered our drinks separately. The waitress will happily give you advice on which wine to pair with the dish. Its a 4 course meal. All of the dishes are delicious and with the right combination of flavours, which cannot be described by words. The service is friendly and the ambience is nice. It's definitely one of Belgium's best restaurants.

The food was extremely good. Not only the meat, but also all the starters and side dishes. We took the Experience Menu and thoroughly enjoyed it! The staff is also very friendly. The club music and DJ booth isn't necessarily my cup of tea, but at the same time, it wasn't intrusive.