Cafe Mangii, a venture by the owners of Mangi Ferra and Taxi: The Fusion Kitchen, is all but prepared to please the discerning Bandra foodie. Bhairavi Jhaveri says, tie up the loose ends
Cafe Mangii, a venture by the owners of Mangi Ferra and Taxi: The Fusion Kitchen, is all but prepared to please the discerning Bandra foodie. Bhairavi Jhaveri says, tie up the loose ends
We understand the commercial viability of owning a plot on bustling Linking Road without putting it to good use. But what may seem like ready-to-go-into-business bedecked interiors, a servile staff and a menu dressed up in Italian marvels may still require some tweaking, the kind you expect a third-time restaurateur to pay attention to.
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The mini bar at Cafe Mangii, Khar (W). pics/Bhairavi Jhaveri |
As we walked in on Day 2 with high expectations of the wood-fire oven pizza we have loved at Mangi Ferra, the place looked error-free. Keeping the same floor plan of pub Vertigo that stood here earlier, the restobar is split into semi-private sections. Some tables come with settee-like seating in bright orange and yellow, others with comfortable arm chairs. The whitewashed walls sport pop-art poster-sized murals hanging from them. A little window dressed with a curtain, a magazine rack mounted near the doorway, green wooden rafters running across the breadth of the ceiling and Persian-style light fittings gives the restaurant a posh, cosy living room feel. A mini bar is plotted under a plasma screen that can occupy 3-odd bar stools.u00a0 The blaring house music gave the restaurant a kind of buzz and captured the perfect in-between feel of a restobar.
Scanning through the extensive menu replete with lesser-known Italian recipes, we settled for Green Cactus and Muddy Mojito for drinks (both Rs 275), Gnocchi Cous Cous and Halloume Bruschetta for antipasti (both for Rs 185)u00a0 and a Lobster Bisque Soup (Rs 205). The Mojito was watered down, the Green Cactus tasted like an ultra-sweet khus drink, and the Halloume Bruschetta contrary to its drool-worthy appearance was salty. The Lobster Bisque was average, just like the Gnocchi Cous Cous, a fried preparation with a cheese and pesto filling.
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We struggled to explain to our steward that we wanted a Singapore Sling, to which his polite response was, "What's that?" Exasperated, we got them to switch our Green Cactus for a Mango Martini, the first thing on the table that made us smile.
As we continued to mull over why so many drinks on the bar menu weren't available, a pizza was in the offing Mediterranean with sundried tomatoes, capers, green olives and basil (Rs 345). "Too many sour toppings on an already quasi-sour Mediterranean sauce," quipped an astute food analyst on the table. The pizza was dry. The Mangii Chicken (Rs 345) pleased the non-veggie in the group, and the Chef's very own Risotto Champagne (Rs 285) was nothing short of a divine intervention for the so-far dejected veggies. Finally a good word! Only two from the multitude of dessert options were available. To top it, the Mango Cheesecake (Rs 200) was not as fabulous as we were told it would be.
At: C/O Hotel Nilkanth, 354, Linking Road, Khar (W), next to Domino's Pizza.
Open for lunch and dinner.
Cafe Mangii didn't know we were there. WHAT's ON reviews anonymously and pays for meals
