Mangosteen vegan and vegetarian restaurant opening in Southsea next week

A VEGAN and vegetarian sit-down restaurant is opening its doors, after already cooking up a storm on social media and catering for Russell Brand.
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Mangosteen in Palmerston Road, Southsea, is opening its doors on Monday, January 31, and is already fully booked for the night. The restaurant will be offering a range of vegetarian and vegan dishes inspired from around the world.

Owner Nazmin Akthar said she is hoping to bring more plant based options to Portsmouth and that there is nothing else like it in the city.

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She said: ‘There is not yet any other exclusively vegetarian or vegan sit down restaurant in Portsmouth, it’s been something we’ve been planning to do for a long time.’

As a GP with a degree in nutrition and being plant based herself, Nazmin hopes to provide more opportunities for people to try vegan and vegetarian food, and give more options to those who are already plant based.

The menu is 95 per cent vegan including its drinks and has two vegetarian dishes. Nazmin said she wanted to also cater for vegetarians in order to stay inclusive to those who are maybe considering a plant based diet.

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‘We want to provide for vegetarians or those who are becoming vegan, I think it’s important to help people with that transition so that’s why we’re not 100 per cent vegan.

Staff Antonio Cardaci, Phoebe Evans, Marek Tocewicz and owners, Syed Karim and Nazmin Akthar at Mangosteen Picture: Habibur RahmanStaff Antonio Cardaci, Phoebe Evans, Marek Tocewicz and owners, Syed Karim and Nazmin Akthar at Mangosteen Picture: Habibur Rahman
Staff Antonio Cardaci, Phoebe Evans, Marek Tocewicz and owners, Syed Karim and Nazmin Akthar at Mangosteen Picture: Habibur Rahman
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‘A lot of love has gone into the menu, if you look at menus in other restaurants that have vegan options, quite often it’s a vegan burger which is just a processed alternative to meat. We don’t have any alternatives, we have vegetables and we celebrate vegetables.’

The restaurant has already proved popular on social media, gaining more than 500 followers before it has even opened.

It also had the opportunity to feed Russell Brand, after winning a poll asking for catering suggestions when the comedian was performing at the Portsmouth Guildhall.

Nazmin said she hopes to promote the sustainability aspects of a plant based diet.

Antonio Cardaci, Phoebe Evans, Michael McCarthy, Marek Tocewicz and owners, Syed Karim and Nazmin Akthar at Mangosteen  Picture: Habibur RahmanAntonio Cardaci, Phoebe Evans, Michael McCarthy, Marek Tocewicz and owners, Syed Karim and Nazmin Akthar at Mangosteen  Picture: Habibur Rahman
Antonio Cardaci, Phoebe Evans, Michael McCarthy, Marek Tocewicz and owners, Syed Karim and Nazmin Akthar at Mangosteen Picture: Habibur Rahman
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‘Sustainability is at the forefront of everyone’s minds more than ever before, so as more information emerges about using animal products and the impact of meat on the environment, I think it’s key to move towards more of a plant based approach.’

For more, visit mangosteensouthsea on Instagram and Facebook.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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