Restaurant review: there’s something fishy about the new Manzi’s

Manzi’s is back and I have mixed feelings about it. The original venue opened in 1928 off Leicester Square and ran for more than half a century. In its heyday, it attracted figures such as Joan Collins, Kingsley Amis and the Kray twins, along with ordinary punters who came for fish supper after the panto and, of course, denizens of Soho, in all their glorious guises.

Manzi’s closed in 2006, after years of decline. Former restaurant critic John Lanchester noted in 2011 – when the premises was taken over by St John Hotel – how the once historic restaurant had “like many a historic restaurant before it, become historically terrible”. 

I never dined at Manzi’s. All I have to fuel my enthusiasm is other people’s nostalgia. But is nostalgia enough to relaunch a restaurant, especially when the man who conceived the project is no longer at the helm? London restaurateur Jeremy King first initiated the concept and secured the location at Bateman Buildings off Soho Square. King and Corbin were responsible for launching and operating such cherished institutions as The Wolseley, The Delaunay, Brasserie Zedel, Fischer’s, Colbert, Bellanger and Soutine. But, in April 2022, he and business partner Chris Corbin left the company under fraught circumstances. The restaurants now operate under the Wolseley Hospitality Group, owned by Minor International Public Company Limited, the investment partner with whom King and Corbin fell out.

In hospitality circles, the question of WWJHD (ie, what would Jeremy have done?) hangs portentously over Manzi’s 2.0, a project he was unable to bring to fruition and the first new venture from Wolseley Hospitality Group since his departure. King wanted the new Manzi’s to retain the fun and frivolity of its forefather. I wonder, then, if he would have endorsed the full-size taxidermy marlin wall-mounted in the foyer, the large-scale alabaster Poseidon presiding over one table on the ground floor and the four verdigris mermaids propping up the bar on the first floor?

The kitschier elements are evened out by understated nautical touches

We may never know. What we do know is the revived Manzi’s sometimes feels more like a theme park than a restaurant (the theme being The Little Mermaid). To the credit of Fabled Studio, the design practice that conceived the interiors, the kitschier elements are evened out by more understated nautical touches like rope detailing around the pilasters and blue wave tiling on the floor.

The menu is extensive. It includes a large selection of crustacea, sandwiches (such as shrimp burger and fish finger sandwich) and raw, cured and smoked fish among the starters. The mains are predominantly seafood (with specialties including monkfish Wellington and cioppino fish stew), though vegetarian and vegan options feature alongside roast lamb, rib-eye steak and roast chicken.

We started with Jersey rock oysters, Newcastle brown clams and roast scallops. These were adequate. Which is to say disappointing because shellfish should always be sensational. The scallops, in particular, were tepid and felt like they’d been sitting around on a counter before being ferried to the table. Served alongside was our starter of leeks mimosa. This was bewildering. Weedy strips of leek in a yellow-green vinaigrette with devilled eggs on top. If this is a timeless classic, I’m calling time on it.

Things picked up with the mains. The whole sea bream was a hefty specimen that had been filleted and topped with a couple of florets of broccoli. It was delicious. And while the Arbroath smoked haddock soufflé was no picture, it was rich and creamy and came with the perfect little gem heart salad. Out of curiosity, I also ordered Manzi’s fish and chips, which comprises haddock goujons fried in breadcrumbs with wedge chips in a large paper cone. Out of greed, I requested a side of French fries too. This led to a horrible realisation. Neither the chips nor the fries at Manzi’s are any good. 

The dessert menu consists exclusively of retro puddings: fruit cocktail jelly, tiramisu, black forest gâteau, summer pudding, brandy snaps, strawberry and cream tart, Arctic roll, peach melba and knickerbocker glory. We ordered the black forest gâteaux and strawberry tart. The tart came with a coulis, which was uniformly one-note and too sweet. The black forest gâteau triggered a wave of nostalgia as I recalled versions I’d consumed in the 1980s. Then I remembered just how cloying this creamy, cherry-laced cake can be after the second or third bite and I gave up. So much for nostalgia.

The staff were jolly. The wine and cocktail lists wide ranging. The place doesn’t aspire to the grandness of a Wolseley or Delaunay. And I can imagine it becoming a destination (for tourists, for the curious) because “fun” sells. Especially the retro kind. Still, the jury’s out on mermen.

@ajesh34