Mange Tout — Restaurant in Great Britain

Date: 14th February 2025 Cost: £150 inc. wine

This was, we confirmed on the walk, the first time in eleven years of being together Mich and I had been out for dinner on Valentine’s Day. What was it going to be like? Low lighting, lovey-dovey couples leaning across tables to smooch over shared linguines, and limited menus pushing ‘romantic’ (sickening) twists on dishes and drinks, like espresso martinis with strawberry ice-cream? Or just another date night?

It turned out to be somewhere in the middle. God forbid my imagination ever conjure up an idea as abominable as the ice-cream martini - that was lifted straight from Mange Tout’s great big chalkboard menu, which was also decorated cutely in pink chalk hearts, and there were probably a higher proportion of couples than you might find on a typical Friday night, but none of them were smooching. In fact, come to think of it, an astonishing number of them were actually thruples: two humans supplemented by a pet dog.

One aspect of the evening that was slightly out of the ordinary was the presence of a man wearing an outrageous shirt of shimmering colours, fluttering about between the tables like a butterfly, ostensibly there to assist customers with any queries about the menu but actually there just to have a chat, making comments like “snails: really just extravagant vessels for garlic butter”. A Valentine’s Day special perhaps, intended to provide awkward first-daters with something to talk about? He wouldn’t take our drinks order, and couldn’t offer any help with the wine list (I can personally vouch for their Pinot Noir), but I sort of hope he’s there every night, as he did contribute a certain unique charm to the place.

And actually, we could have done with a bit more help with the menu. Made up of 15 or so dishes with the majority available as either a small or large plate, we struggled interpreting the chalked punctuation (are they commas or slashes and so is that three differently filled croquettes or is that trout with kimchi and a single crab croquette?) and a little bit for overall cohesion. Separately selecting two small dishes each to go with Mich’s non-negotiable tartiflette meant that, because of the size of the table, the snails came out as a starter along with the artichoke, which we could have done with to help break the monotony of two very potato-heavy mains (we got the gnocchi too) plus the trout, which we’d overlooked as a fillet and was therefore very much a me option.

No matter though, as the cooking was great. After some precarious fiddling around with the specialist cutlery we learned we could just upend the snail shells, plopping fat juicy morsels directly onto perfectly toasted sourdough. The butterfly was partially right - the garlic butter was amazing, but the snails themselves more than pulled their own weight too. The artichokes were cooked à la barigoule - braised in white wine with carrots and other veg - but because of the manner in which these other veg had been cubed and their not-quite-soggy tenderness, one of us had the thought they’d been dumped in from a can, which we couldn’t shake, but the artichokes themselves were delicious. They came with a nice herby fougasse to mop up with, I guess a sort of French focaccia, but the snail sourdough was plentiful and plainer so worked better for the task.

The tartiflette was the star of the mains, the first bite being the main wow moment of the night: we went quickly from “oh my word, we’re never going to eat all of that” to “oh my word, we might have to eat all of that”. The trout and the gnocchi were growers, it taking time for their flavours to come through, though there were in fact zero croquettes with the former. There was room for a bread & butter pudding at the end - shared like true lovers - which, with its ice-cream and strawberry sauce reminded me a bit of a Mr Whippy, but Mich loved it. A lovely, relaxed evening overall - it absolutely flew by - and we’ll definitely be back to see what the ever-changing menu has to offer to next time. Maybe even on...

Disappointingly, not as good an experience as on previous occasions..(we have been several times before but midweek). Service a bit amateurish..lots of young staff & comprehension a bit lacking. We both had the onglet as mains, with frites and "salad". My onglet was tasty but lukewarm, probably because it was served on a rather unappetising -looking wooden board (which had seen better days).. I would have preferred a hot plate, as this would have kept the meat hot.. Also my onglet had lines of gristle running across the portion. My husband declined garlic butter; mine also came without ,although I had not been asked.There was no finger bowl of water for the starter of moules.The frites were good, tho' none too plentiful, and the salad was merely a handful of watercress with a couple of pieces of sundried tomato..more of a garnish than a salad..My pudding was the chocolate and plum tart with creme fraiche, which would have been improved by being warmed up as it was not fresh- the pastry was hard and the whole affair was cold. The wine (Cote du Rhone) was okay, fortunately.. We were surprised that on a Saturday lunchtime between 1 and 2pm they were letting out tables to people who only wanted a coffee or tea, and yet turning people away who may have wanted lunch..?! Not very good for business.. also it took them quite a long time to take our order, probably because they were so busy just serving drinks to many people. They need to sharpen up their act here judging by our experience today..we would only try it again midweek, as previously, when maybe they have fewer but more professional staff on duty..? (NB - We did not take them to task on the above points at the time, as it was very busy and we did not want to spoil the atmoshere/our lunch). I hope that this review may help the management to improve people's experience in...

Absolutely superb! I went for lunch and will definitely have to try the brunch after this. Maybe even tomorrow it was that good haha!

The place is buzzing and the service was so nice and friendly, being just the right amount of attentive. From the moment you walk in you are looked after by all the team with a smile and I cannot stress enough how helpful and welcomed I felt - fair play guys, service is spot on 👏🏻

And then there’s the food, oh boi! Not being the biggest fan of French cuisine this was a little experiment for me and I thoroughly, THOROUGHLY, enjoy it. The food is so good, it really is, and the portions aren’t too shabby either, though it’s not cheap by any means. I started with the snails which were garlicky and buttery, served with bread to mop up all that goodness afterwards! A little small but made up for it in taste and class. Next I had beef bourguignon that came with an insane Gruyère mash and of course a delightful, rich and flavourful sauce. The fried legumes on the side were banging as well, and the whole meal was just fabulous.

The tea came with a cute little meringue which was a great touch. They have a large drinks selection but the juniper and rose tea was really really good. Try it!

All in all this place has gone straight up there on my list of not only spots in Brighton, but also everywhere else in the world. Great little spot, quality French food and even...