Manze — Restaurant in Melbourne

Hi there, Thank you for having us at Manzé on Friday night. I don’t usually (never actually) write reviews when I go out to eat, especially if it’s a bad experience.

The atmosphere and staff were friendly, it was great to see the Phoenix beer and Perona on the menu- something very typical from Mauritius.

Unfortunately the food was a very big disappointment.

This was my second visit to Manzé and my last, I’m never going back or taking my friends there.

The first time I went with few friends, I honestly was surprised by the lack of flavours in the food, I only went back because it’s the only Mauritian restaurant in Melbourne and I thought it’s been a while they have been open and saw good reviews.

However, from the start we were not happy with the food. The little canapés, archard wrapped in cabbage leaf, was bitter, whilst this should be a little delicacy, fresh, tangy, spicy, all I could taste was turmeric.

The artichokes with the lemon preserve purée- was really not a good combination. The artichokes were beautiful cooked but the lemon purée so overpowering, bitter and nothing close to anything Mauritian I ever tried.

The biggest disappointment for me was the pumpkin and mustard. I grew up with this dish, we have it on multiple occasion, it is in almost every household back home. It is supposed to be a beautiful cooked/caramelised pumpkin in mustard seeds, curry leaf, onions, ginger ,garlic. But yes, that’s my family recipe and it can varies from one household to another.

But what we got at Manzè was a bland tasteless pumpkin purée with curry leaf as garnish.

For main we had the pork neck, the spices that the pork was cooked in was ok (again nothing Mauritian here), the pork was undercooked, tough and very chewy to eat.

The dessert was gato patate, one of favourite during Diwali. The dough was tough and not enough coconut filling inside, however this was the closest dish we could say was something Mauritian. I like the cardamom flavour and how it was paired with the cream and rhubarb.

I do understand that the restaurant is not an authentic Mauritian restaurant and is not claiming the authenticity. But at the same time, it’s called MANZÉ (which means eating in creole) and it is advertised as a Mauritian restaurant.

So as a Mauritian, taking my friends to Manzé, I was expecting a little taste of our island, something that I could explain and share with them and be proud of and say these are the flavours of my island. Unfortunately, nothing close to that, and even as just a restaurant (not claiming to be Mauritian food) the food weren’t good, none of the flavours came together, lots of the dishes lacked salt.

Thank you for having us and accomodating us on the night. My request is, if you want to do Mauritian food, please do it properly.

Merci bokou.

Mo souhaite zot...

I recently made a booking weeks in advance for a group of friends and myself to dine at manzé. I contracted covid on the day of the reservation and could not attend. I sent my apologies through the party who were able to attend, and offered to pay the cancellation fee. The restaurant staff ended up bullying my friends into footing a $55 cancellation fee and proved to be very inflexible, unsympathetic. This was despite advising the restaurant staff of my predicament, they aggressively relayed a response that (1) In my ill state, that I should have notified them (2) the restaurant was a sustainable one and the party "rocked up" one diner short, and are charging the fee for the "waste" incurred. This was problematic for several reasons: (A) the "sustainable" ethos claimed by the staff appeared to be an excuse as they flat out refused to either provide the additional portion of food for takeaway despite my friends requesting this (citing "sustainability" reasons once again) (B) had the staff been genuinely concerned about food waste, the offer to serve the food destined for waste to my friends should have been forthcoming, but alas was not. This meant the staff were he'll bent on ensuring the "wasted" food laid waste (C) ultimately this ruined the dining experience for my friends, who were made to feel unwelcome, and vulnerable to the visible displeasure and disdain of the staff Upon recounting the events of the evening there were clear issues with the food served as well: (I) the flatbread served was dry, hard, greasy, and poorly seasoned (II) the garfish served was riddled with bones and made for an unpleasant experience (III) portions of food served were exceedingly small. For example, dessert for 3 diners was barely enough for 2, in a single bowl with one scoop of ice cream. Had the staff kept to their assertion that the importance of "sustainability" was paramount, they would have at least served the additional portion of food, my friends would not have left the restaurant hungry and unsatisfied

To be clear, I would not have objected if they charged me on the card I secured the booking with (inflexible and unsympathetic enforcement of restaurant booking terms aside). This is also not an attack on restaurant or hospitality businesses that have struggled to navigate the covid era and ensuing lockdowns. My friends, who were not at fault, ended up with a disappointing dining experience.

AS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: To all who are considering dining here, please be mindful of the booking terms and conditions, and the over-willingness of holier-than-thou staff to enforce them...

This place: super hard to book, but do not deserve to wait 40 days to get these kind of food and service. 65 per person sounds cheap? But u will be shocked by the size which make u feel it’s a 130 dollars set menu for one person and still: the food does not deserve the price ☹️ Especially u have to wait 30 mins for one dish and u will finish it within 5 mins🤦‍♀️

If u still want to try? I recommend u eat something first before u come here, sincerely.😊

The first time (10/03 ) I came here (photo 5-9), I was impressed by the food (except the main), I loved the dessert! But It was super suffering to wait 30 mins for each course. What’s more the food portion was super small, me and my friend was hungry from the beginning until we finished our dinner.

But bc I did appreciate their food, so during my first course I booked my next table and I only got the one after 40 days which is 20/04, crazy right?

After we done and went to pay, the manager asked our experience, I said all good, but the food portion was really not enough to feed a normal person, they said they will tell the chef. So I thought I will have a bigger portion when I came yesterday, but they were even smaller!!!

But this place serves people who booked the same time together, and it’s a 2 hours dining plan, so u have no chance to get ur food quicker even u finish it within 2 mins, u still need to wait 30 mins for the next one🤦‍♀️

So my boyfriend and me ended in: when we finished the main, we asked our dessert ASAP! So that we can quickly finish it then go to our second dinner to make us full…

I think it’s kind of shame for a restaurant: when u customers r still eating here, they already super excited to run to the second dinner place🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️👋

As a restaurant, if u can’t make people full, what’s the point?

When we order tasting menu in a fine dining place, it’s normally many courses, u r not only taste it but also can be super full. But here: u can really only have the chance to taste the food not feed urself.

What’s worse? U have to spend 2 hours to starve urself…. If it’s a 1 hour dinning time, I really don’t mind to pay 130 dollars for those dishes, but the hard booking, long waiting, so so taste… everything together make it...