The new kid on the Carnoustie block is Maxibell, promoted as “a touch of French” which opened three weeks ago. This tapas bar and restaurant is run by a husband and wife team who have moved back to the area from London. They are front of house and happy to chat about their newest venture even detailing the teething problems they’ve had since opening – not that we would have noticed any had they not been mentioned.
The public areas are split into two rooms, a traditional bar on one side and a restaurant on the other. When walking between them, the kitchen is open to view which I always find refreshing as you can tell how clean it is; thankfully, the days of spit ‘n’ sawdust cooking environments are long gone but it’s still reassuring to see an aluminium and white kitchen with a professional, visible chef.
The colour of the dining room walls is a trendy graphite grey and the lines are sleek and modern and I particularly enjoyed the large hand-painted and vibrantly adorned French can-can ladies on the walls.
We had booked ahead but I was surprised to see that there was only one other table of diners seated when we arrived albeit on a Tuesday evening. Perhaps the word hasn’t quite got out about the place just yet.
We decided to go for the tapas menu so that we could sample a larger range of dishes and with 17 plates on offer, we were certainly spoilt for choice. All dishes were clearly home made right down to the aioli and presented beautifully with delicate and colourful garnishes and sauces that gave each plate style and pizazz.
Mr Kerry’s favourite dish was the Ceviche Classico – raw white fish marinaded in lime and chilli which was fresh and zingy and not often found on menus in the area. My two favourites were the figs with melting blue cheese – a classic combination and one that was executed perfectly to form a sticky, squidgy contrast of flavours and the other was the deep fried cauliflower with garlic and parsley which still held a firm bite in the middle and hadn’t deteriorated into a bland mush as it could easily do.
We also had the deep fried squid, hazelnut crusted pork ribs, chicken satay, meatballs and bouillabaisse all of which we enjoyed in varying degrees my least favourite being the bouillabaisse which I normally adore but which was rather thick and heavily flavoured with orange which was not to my taste. Most remaining sauces and dressings were mopped up with the accompanying french bread.
We decided that our eight small dishes were the right amount for our evening as we weren’t left hungry but we still had a little room to share a perfectly cooked, smooth and cool creme brûlée.
It’s lovely to have the option of going somewhere a bit different in the area. Tapas is obviously designed to be a social concept but to satisfy those who just don’t share food, there is also an a la carte menu available.
Opening at 5pm, this place is perfect for an after work tipple and a couple of small plates on the way home which may well descend into a decision to just make an evening of it. Now that Maxibell has settled in, I hope that the bookings start cranking up and that this little touch of France is here to stay.
Info
Price: Tapas: £3 – £4.90; starters: £4.10 – £6.50; main courses: £14.90 – £24.00; desserts: £4.90
Value: 8/10
Menu: 8/10
Atmosphere: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Food: 8/10
Total: 41/50
Info: Maxibell
Address: 5 Park Avenue, Carnoustie, DD7 7AJ
Tel: 01241 410979
