The kitchen has mixed luck with Asian fusion, hitting a winner with a tuna sushi roll wrapped in a crisp panko crust, but missing on a greasy duck spring roll. The orange-glazed five-spiced duck was far better, superbly tender over soft polenta infused with orange zest.
Max & David's works so hard to avoid the old deli cliches, I wonder why it bothers to serve such an ordinary scoop of pasty chopped liver, made from the pre-broiled livers required by the kosher law. Yet, a zaftig slice of homey veal breast - rolled around a stuffing of rice, Swiss chard and mushrooms - and slowly braised, is a welcome reminder that the Eastern European Jewish tradition still has plenty of treasures to mine.