In the restaurant business, nostalgia can play a big role. When the neighbourhood (and celeb) favourite Italian joint Mangii Ferra shut down in 2011, it left its patrons yearning for its comfort food, wooden tables, and casual dining atmosphere marked most by mango tree that sat right in the middle of it all (which inspired the name). Now, eight years later when Mangii Ferra has reopened its doors in Juhu, its legacy has helped. The day we visited, there wasn’t an empty table in sight.
Mangii Ferra 2.0 is a spruced up version of the erstwhile casual space. Everything points to an Italian sensibility in art and design, with wrought-iron chandeliers, plants hanging from the ceiling, lighting, vintage bric-a-brac – details that make the restaurant more millennial-friendly. Alas though, there is no tree.
The menu too has graduated from the earlier Italian repertoire to now include Italian, Mediterranean, and European offerings, along with their famous, authentic Neapolitan Wood-fired oven pizzas. We started off with the Passion Mai Tai (rum cocktail) and a Mangii Penicillin (whiskey cocktail), both of which were expertly blended, and recommended to complement the French Lobster Bisque. Rich in flavour and character, the bisque is a perfect appetizer.
We then moved to the entrees: A Four Pepper Tiger Prawn plate, and Grilled Jerk Chicken. If there’s one dish we’re going back for, it is those prawns. Succulent and enveloped with a blend of four different types of peppers, the dish starts and ends with a tasteful zing.
The Jerk Chicken was a bit over garnished, but that’s something the unique Smoked Cheese Martini easily smoothened over (also, this might be an acquired taste). We also tried The Monk is Back, a rum cocktail dressed with lemongrass, which added a refreshing touch.
How can one go to Mangii Ferra and not order pizza? We bit into the Herb Chicken Pizza – soft, easy on the palette, and definitely a winner. For desserts, we ordered the Tiramisu (perfectly blended with just the right amount of rum) and a Raspberry Cheesecake Delice (delicate and scrumptious), where no compromises were made in terms of plating elegance.
Would we go back? For sure, not just for the enticing flavours but for the overall ambiance and the comfort food we are used to.
Where: Ground Floor, Om Satyadeep Apartment, Gulmohar Cross Road No. 7, JVPD Scheme, Juhu
Contact: +91 98921 42977, +91 98921 42877
Opening Hours: 12:00 noon to 1:30 am
Recommended dishes: The pizzas, along with the Truffle Mascarpone Fettuccine, Carbonara, and Elephant Asparagus
Price: Rs 2,000 for two
Noise Level: Easy and conversation-friendly
Service: Attentive and pleasing
All images: Courtesy Mangii Ferra
