Avieka on Newcastle Quayside is a firm favourite among city diners, so I was eager to try its new sister restaurant within the Vermont Hotel.
Maven opened earlier this year with a menu inspired by cuisines around the world as well as British favourites like fish and chips, roast chicken and steak - but it also has an interesting separate vegan menu as well as vegetarian (ie with eggs and dairy) starters and main courses.
A maven is a connoisseur - and the dining experience of my husband and I did much to back up the claim in the name. As vegetarians of ahem, some years standing, we were impressed by the choice on offer, and its execution.
What's it like inside?
I enjoyed watching darkness descend on the Tyne Bridge and over the spire of St Nicholas Cathedral through the windows by our corner seat, while my husband had a view of the large, luxuriously furnished dining room.
The walls, furniture and tartan carpet - as neutral as a tartan carpet could be - are overwhelmingly brown, as the the pictures - but it is lifted by lots of lighting, touches of brass and gold, and white wisteria-style decorations hung from the ceiling.
The restaurant is, of course, part of Newcastle 's Vermont Hotel, whose Castle Garth entrance is grandly surrounded by flags, two Rolls-Royces, and, just inside, an enormous portrait of the Queen .
And the food?
Enormous framed menus offered main courses from the grill, plus four fish, four meat and four vegetarian. A good selection of dishes were starred under the Signature deal of two courses for £16 or three for £19. We asked for the separate vegan menu, which offers the same deal, though the two sadly can not be intermingled.
The vegan menu has three starters, mains and desserts, and they were all appealing, acknowledging that vegetarian and vegan food does not have to be unfussy and wholemeal and boring!
For starters I opted for curried parsnip soup - which was made to order - with curry oil and two almost caramelised onion bhajis, which combined beautifully with the spicy, peppery soup. It came with the freshest bread roll I can remember eating. It almost seemed to melt in my mouth.
My husband chose the veggie roast cauliflower salad with a yoghurt dressing, spring onion, almond rocket and herbs and slices of tangy sundried tomato (£6.50). The cauliflower was done to a turn and had been roasted in spices, adding to the dish.
On to mains
Though a veggie burger may seem an obvious dish, I chose it for my main course as it contained chickpeas and lentils, making it a giant slice of protein, rather like its meaty brothers and sisters, instead of a mass of carbs dotted with veg. It also contained beetroot, another favourite of mine, which actually gave it a meaty hue.
This came atop hummus and a slice of bread and was topped with delicious pieces of sweet pickled cucumber. And the French fries were so thin and crispy they reminded me of old-style match-like Chipsticks. Heaven.
My husband chose Tandoori spiced vegetable skewers with piquant sticky lime rice and fresh herbs, which he loved. The skewers were aubergine, red pepper and onion and could really have done with some cubes of tofu or tempeh to provide a protein.
And for dessert
Having checked out the desserts before ordering, I almost skipped a starter, which would have been a real shame. The soup was more of a highlight than the raspberry brulee with lemon biscotti (£5).
While brulee, and similar custardy dishes, are always a hit for me, I had expected a base of fresh raspberries, whereas these sat on top and contained sour redcurrants, like you get in those bags of fruits of the forest at the supermarket. My tongue was so on edge I could not discern the lemon in the biscotti.
My husband returned to the vegan menu for his slice of banana and cinammon cake - which he said was good cake - made with a vegan buttercream and also containing welcome walnuts, though this was not mentioned on the menu.
It was served with strawberries and caramelised banana, which my husband could have happily eaten a lot more of.
Overall
The staff were friendly and efficient, appearing instantly when I could be seen puzzling over the bill - due to the non-overlapping menu deals - though not returning with the card machine once this was resolved.
Our meal was accompanied by cover music of varying quality as well as a nice glass of Chenin Blanc wine (£7.20 for 175ml) and an orange juice (£2) for the driver.
It's a classy night out, with comfy seating and, if you can bag the right table, great views. Our bill came to £57.97.
