Café Mangii invited us over for a preview of their new menu, I opted for the UB City venue, because of the proximity. That Tuesday the restaurant was buzzing with people and vibe. There was some good wine and yummy sangrias going around as the food was being prepped. The Café Mangii in UB is a smaller venue when compared to the Orion Mall outlet, but a really quaint little place with a see through kitchen out back, wines lined up around a corner table. For the unveiling of this new menu, and that’s happening a decade later, we had Chef Ajay Thakur visiting in from Mumbai. That evening had a tasting menu for that evening especially curated with the highlights and features from their new menu – with soups, an assortment of appetizers, fresh salads a few mains and their signature desserts.

We began the evening with a round of hearty introductions, some noteworthy wine, and nibbling on some delicious watermelon and feta cheese with pine nuts and balsamic reduction – delicious punch bite size. The plateau de fromage was placed on every table, an assortment of cheese – brie, emmental, cheddar and chevre, beautifully adorned with olives, grapes, walnuts and crostini. Our wine and cheese was nicely paired, and lasted us a while.

The roasted red pepper soup that began our meal was delicious. Spiced and perky, it was the perfect start to the meal. For the appetizers, we each got a mixed plate. The gorged mushroom stuffed with cheese was sinful, while the chicken blanket was interesting with its apricot orange glaze. The jerk chicken wasn’t really a right mix here for me – whereas the jalapeno again stuffed with cream cheese was perhaps on the same lines again.

I don’t usually opt for vegetarian mains, but in a mixed company I made an exception. Our table got the Saffron al Fungi and Fusilli Mamarosa in vegetarian; Lemon Pepper Basa and Pollo Lombardy in non-vegetarian. The mushroom dish with creamy spinach and shitake mushroom was delicious, and perhaps the best selection. The fusilli wasn’t quite there in the taste yet, though the pasta was quite nicely done. The mushroom immersed chicken (Pollo Lombardy) was quite delicious, the creamy potato mash – well nothing revolutionary, but this would be my go to food here. The Lemon Pepper Basa was very well made, butter poached fish in lemon butter sauce – really nothing that could go wrong! I do wish that for such a delicate preparation, a selection other than basa were available, but that’s just the Bengali in me talking! The dessert selection on our menu had the Baked Cheese Cake and Velvet Brick Brownie, the latter quite stunning really served hot.

This new inventive menu is available at both their locations in Orion Mall and UB City, and offers a delicious selection for Café Mangii regulars and first-timers alike.

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