After my memorable meal at Awana, I discovered that the proprietor owned another restaurant in London, called Mango Tree, which I couldn’t wait to review.
Interestingly, in a conversation with my father he disclosed that they also ate at a restaurant with the same name in Thailand and it was one of the best meals of their Thai trip. A quick bit of research revealed that it is the same restaurant chain indeed and another is located in Dubai.
When I arrived at Mango Tree shortly after 6pm, which is the opening time, I was amazed that it was almost chock-a-block full. In my experience a restaurant usually fills up in a trickle and by about 8pm it reaches its full capacity. Of course, it was a Saturday night at the end of the month and people probably felt a bit like celebrating!
My dining companion for the evening was Sarah from Maison Cupcake. By coincidence we discovered that we are both sitting with three year old boys who don’t speak yet, so we had a good laugh and cry the evening about our daily frustrations!
Royal Orange Fizz
L’orange boudier liqueur, champagne, orange peel spiral.
Think along the lines of Buck’s Fizz but with more of a kick.
Raspberry Dream
Stolichnaya raspberry vodka, chambord, fresh strawberry, raspberry puree, fresh lime juice, pineapple juice, fresh mango juice and lemonade.
Sweet, fruity and fizzy. As far as cocktails go, this one was huge which almost lasted me throughout the whole meal. The Long Drinks on the cocktail menu are definitely something to aim for.
Pink Magician
Strawberry syrup, crème de peach, lychee juice, fresh kiwi juice, topped up with champagne, floating fresh redcurrent.
The photo was taken before you are meant to stir and drink it. Of the two champagne cocktails, this was Sarah’s favourite. Fruity goodness!
Poo Nim Yum Mamuang
Tempura of soft shell crab with mango and sweet chilli sauce.
Although the crab meat was meaty and juicy I found the batter a letdown. It lacked the crispy lightness of tempura and was more like the traditional British fish and chip batter. The feeling I got was that the dish stood a while under the “hot lights” (to keep warm) in the kitchen before it was served.
Koo Moo Yang
Grilled seasoned pork neck with crispy rice and egg salad.
Upon the suggestion of our waiter we ordered this and we weren’t disappointed. In fact, it was better and cheaper than the crab. Aromatic and tender, the pork combined well with the crispy salad and pungent sauce on the side.
Pla Pow
Sea bass fillet wrapped in banana leaves on a cress salad with spicy lime and tamarind.
The fish was delicately flavoured, moist and flaky. I loved the tantalising salad served with it which blows any boring old Western lettuce and tomato salad out of the water. For the health conscious or dieters out there this dish is definitely a guilt-free option to enjoy.
Gae Yang
Roasted marinated lamb saddle with assorted mushrooms, kow choi and nam jim sauce.
So far if you noticed, each dish ordered had salad with it. As much I enjoy salad, by the time my lamb arrived I felt it was overkill. The kow choi and mushrooms in a sweet-savoury sauce were delicious as is and the kitchen could have easily omitted the salad and ramp up on the vegetables instead. The meat arrived exactly as ordered: rare! A well-executed dish.
Guay Ob Ma Prow Sod
Layered caramelised banana and coconut pudding with caramel sauce and banana ice-cream.
This traditional dessert seems to be Thailand’s answer to the British bread pudding. Unfortunately, we aren’t fans of the latter and we couldn’t get excited about it. The home-made banana ice-cream was a hit though.
Cake Ma-Now
Lychee and lime flavoured cheese cake with lychee jelly.
There are many varieties of cheesecake out there and this one is of the lighter types, i.e. it doesn’t contain rich ingredients like double cream and Quark. The lychee flavour came through clearly and it is a good way to finish a meal. However, the jelly was rather strange. The whole appeal of jelly is its silky smoothness that slowly dissolves in your mouth. The lychee jelly was curdled!? It also contained bits of lychee and the whole concoction had to be chewed in the end.
Mamuang Nam Dok Mai
Fresh thai mango.
I don’t consider myself much of a dessert person but I just couldn’t decide between the lychee cheesecake and the mango and ended up ordering both! It definitely piqued my interest that they charge £10 for a mango, basically the most expensive item on the dessert menu. Let’s talk mangoes for a second. Since coming to the UK I have been yearning for a proper mango. The Keitt or other green-skinned varieties never ripen properly and always have a tang to them which to me isn’t desirable. Last year I nearly died of delight when I tried Pakistan’s Honey Mangoes. Since I don’t live in London, getting hold of the latter is a problem. So this Thai mango I simply had to try. Oh my goodness, it was divine. My fork simply slid into the flesh with ease. It had the most intense sweet fragrance I have smelled in a long time and when it entered my mouth my tongue cried out: this is what I have been waiting for all my life! This is the best item on the dessert menu. Period.
Quick Overview
Food
8/10: Overall the food was good. Looking at our neighbours’ plethora of dishes I salivated all over again, especially when seeing the Duck & Pineapple Curry.
Value
9/10: Except for the mango the portions were very generous.
Service
9/10: Our waiter knew the menu off by heart and could easily make suggestions even from the extensive cocktail list. The rest of the team worked like clockwork serving and clearing plates, although I found the staff with the earpieces and microphones a tad pretentious.
Toilets
7/10: To get to the facilities, you have to walk down a walkway which wouldn’t have been a problem if the kitchen’s exit wasn’t located halfway. Trolley after trolley of steamy dishes had to make its way down the corridor too which resulted in an awkward tap-dance of who is going to move out of whose way. A quick peek inside the kitchen showed clean-cut, but über-busy chefs putting finishing touches to plates. Although the toilets had a sleek design, the silly hand basins did anything but catch splashes of water. Puddles of water accumulated next to the sinks which gave the counter top an overall sloppy look. It might be a good idea to get a staff member to check (and mop up if necessary) on this room at regular intervals…
Ambience
6/10: The décor is minimalist and modern. I am by no means an artsy fartsy interior designer and they may claim the restaurant has been designed using feng shui principles, but the dining hall’s layout just didn’t work for me. No nooks and crannies or dividers were to be found and instead the rectangular room has a perfectly symmetrical layout with as many tables and chairs squeezed in as possible, sardine style; it almost felt like we had no privacy. The high ceiling and hard floor also made for quite a noisy atmosphere.
Recommend
8/10: If you only go to a restaurant for the food, Mango Tree will fit the bill perfectly. However, if you would like to make an evening of it, avoid going on a Saturday night, you might get a better atmosphere at calmer times.
Mango Tree
46 Grosvenor Place
London
SW1X 7EQ
020 7823 1888
http://www.mangotree.org.uk/
P.S. Many thanks to Mango Tree for the complimentary meal on Saturday evening, 27 February 2010.
Makes me wish I lived in London! Gorgeous photos! It’s always nice to bond with someone over our frustrations as parents, isn’t it? Have a great day!
Happy memories… thanks for inviting me to accompany you. Highlights of the meal for me were the lamb and the pink magician! Our waiter was a real sweetie.
hahaha i loved your comment on mangoes…since im from pakistan and have been eating mangoes all my life and often been put off because they were too sweet, the concept of the mango not being tasteful or sweet as described by almost all the people not living here is alien to me! im glad you found a good alternative though but paying so much for not even a whole mago is ridiculous! you could practically get a whole crate for that amount here!
I used to live near to Mango Tree and LOVED it!! It was always consistent so I will back up your review but go further and say its always good. I have tried most dishes on their menu and they are all good (i.e you didn’t visit on a “good night” nor your menu choices lucky). Plus – if its your birthday they give you a free cake and take your photo!
Also love Awana – I discovered it the other way around – loved Mango Tree and then discovered they had opened a sister restaurant.