And to the Mountains of Italy!

Cafe Mangii 

Junction of Khar Pali Road & 14th Road,

Between Nike & Citiwalk Showroom,

Off Linking Road,

Khar, Mumbai-400052.
Work hours: All week round: 1230-1530
                                             1900-0030

Cafe mangii is a small, cozy and easy to find resto situated in the heart of Khar... The place is subtle and doesn’t catch the eye, but once you have eaten there it becomes an eater’s landmark! Believe me the first time I saw it, thats when it had opened a few years back, was like this joint looks really shady...say about a year or so later after eating there I have a different opinion.

Mangii is a small place relatively, the tables are a bit cluttered, I once heard a guy complaining to his girlfriend,” Honey, the acoustics of this place are not proper...” (Ya snob, I get you) .The colorful decor which is predominantly yellow and white makes you feel like you were sitting in a rustic Italian mango. They have while walls which give you the feel of a rustic home in a village nestled up somewhere in the mountains in Italy and the yellow color of the other walls brings back to mind a big juicy mango..Umm. It is a good feeling to have. Though the place might have poor acoustics its a really nice joint to take your honeys for nice little sit down romantic date. The music which is Spanish and not Italian does indeed set up the mood. But who cares Spanish or Italian, the food is authentic Italian and the firewood pizzas are a must have. (Never before has pesto sauce/aubergine on a pizza, tasted heavenly!)

It even passed our acid test...we love to try out the aubergine with Parmesan cheese at every Italian restaurant we go to, because it is a really tough dish to make and it takes a lot of effort and skill. The aubergine with parmesan at Mangii passed the test, a little crunchy with a lot of creamy cheese! But out here beware of the Gnocchi, its a little disappointment (according to me Gnocchi and white sauce don’t go well...)

another notable feature of the restaurant is the open bar, which has a whole load of good liquor on display. The wines here too are worth a taste.

The best way to go about your meal here is, first start with a yum firewood pizza, then go on to a really smooth pasta or a nice main course dish; may be a risotto or a cannelloni and then seal the meal with a verre of desert wine or Irish coffee, and ask the maitre’d not to hold on the whiskey. Sometimes they think we can’t tell our liquor apart and put a lot of orange essence which over powers the whiskey. But must say the orange rind does give a small kick! Recently they had hosted a fondue festival, with sun dried tomato, jalapeno fondue, an oregano and bell pepper fondue on offer. Needless to say such dishes are a rarity in Mumbai.

Out and out its a good place to go and have a nice sit down meal, with the occasional live music performance. The staff too doesn’t hover over your head like vultures or try to be over friendly, giving you your time and space. They offer home delivery as well, but the magic lies in eating the food there and soaking the mouthwatering aromas of the firewood and the piping hot food coming out of the kitchen...