Ian Waller and his family visit one of Bath’s most charismatic and welcoming restaurants
What a wonderful night out! It’s always a huge pleasure to enjoy a restaurant visit with my family – the children are all now teenagers and it’s great to progress beyond burger joints and pizza parlours – and we’d already heard great things about Manja Manja. So with a midweek table booked, we were keen to find out more.
Right from the start, the welcome from super waiter Jess was warm and engaging. “She’s gold-dust,” mentioned my wife as we were shown to the table, and the great thing is that the rest of the team are just as friendly.
Manja Manja, with its name coming from the Italian to ‘Eat, eat’, is a part wine bar, part restaurant that celebrates Italian cuisine alongside the joy that comes with eating with friends and family. The menu is instantly alluring, with a combination of antipasti, small dishes for sharing (or enjoying as a starter), Nonna’s Specials offering more of a main course option, pizzettas and sides.
First off, it was time to sit down, relax and enjoy a drink together, which in our case meant a couple of incredible Jess and the Giant Peach cocktails for my wife and daughter, a grapefruit juice for my younger son and a locally produced Good Lager for me that was indeed true to its name.
During our visit, he ambience at Manja Manja was relaxed and stylish, with a friendly murmur of chatter from the guests and the backdrop of a live jazz duo gently performing laid back covers of Hendrix, Motown and more. The result is perfect for a casual meal out with friends and family, and somewhere to unwind in the evenings.
It was great to see a menu that wasn’t packed with options – I always think it’s so much better for a restaurant to focus on fewer dishes well and using those to really highlights its style. Even so, there was still so much to tempt us, including the beef shin, pork, porcini mushroom lasagne with truffle béchamel, and the celeriac and leek risotto with roasted chestnuts and burnt apple proving particularly tempting.
The thing here is that you can choose a couple of dishes from the small plates, go for a small plate starter followed by one of Nonna’s Specials, or any other combination that suits your fancy.
Even the sides on offer were enticing – seriously, salted roast potatoes, roast garlic, anchovy sauce and parmesan – just give me a plate of those and leave me alone to endulge…
Eventually, however, and following much deliberation, we chose as our starters salt cod croquettes, roasted garlic and red jam pepper (£8); mushroom and ricotta Agnolotti, parmesan broth, chive oil, sage and pine nuts (£12); pork cheeks, spiced tomato ragu, crispy garlic and herb polenta (£12); and salt cod croquettes, roasted garlic and red pepper jam (£10).
And we did well. Across the board the flavours were delightful, combined with gorgeous presentation and perfectly sized portions. Yes, of course we did a bit of the “Can I try yours?” sharing game, with us all agreeing that the pork cheeks with stunning and the mushroom Agnolotti beautifully presented and delicately seasoned.
As for the mains, while I went for the slow cooked duck leg and roasted mushroom rigatoni (£20), my family chose the orzo pasta with spiced Nduja, fresh mussels and hand picked crab (£26); the fennel braised with white wine, saffron and lemon, and sweet and sour peppers (£8); and the margherita pizzetta with basil, smoked salt, crispy chilli and garlic oil (£8). Taking the advice of Ryan the waiter, I ordered a glass of Pinot Noir, which I wasn’t sure would work, Ryan was confident it would and he was right.
Well it goes without saying that my choice was the best – unctuous, flavoursome, filling and just the thing for an Autumn evening. Gorgeous. Mind you, everyone else though that their choice too was the top dog and to be fair, they weren’t wrong. Each dish was superb, clearly created with care and skill, and presented in a manner that made it a privilege to enjoy. This was certainly food that we generally wouldn’t prepare at home and it was a treat to partake.
Throughout the meal, the excellent staff were on hand for refills, extras and just friendly banter, while the band started up its second set and we enjoyed a family evening out.
There was never any doubt that we were going to go for the desserts (they’re still called puddings in our house…), with a tiramisu, coffee caramel and chocolate salami (£6); 70% dark chocolate semifreddo, brandy cherries and walnut praline (£6); apple sorbet and vanilla ice cream. Of course they were superb – it was already one of those meals out – with the apple sorbet stealing the show due to its super fresh taste, while the semifreddo was pretty incredible too.
Clearly the team at Manja Manja knows what its doing across each and every aspect of the dining experience. Friendly, professional, engaging and serving excellent food in a warm and welcoming restaurant. What a wonderful family night out.