Mangosteen, Southsea | Restaurant review

My companion and I are both dedicated veggies, and accustomed as we are to skimming menus to find the one (or perhaps two) veggie options on offer, we were delighted at the thought of a complete list of plant-based options to choose from.

The sit-down restaurant only opened its doors at the end of January - but keen to try out Southsea’s newest venue, we decided to pay Mangosteen a visit at the earliest possible date.

In the interests of giving our readers nothing but the truth, I must report that Mangosteen’s online booking system leaves much to be desired - prospective customers ‘book’ a table online which is confirmed or declined by text the following day. Not terribly convenient for coordinating plans.

I ended up calling the restaurant to check we had a table, and although it was confirmed over the phone, when we arrived at the restaurant, staff couldn’t find our booking.

Never mind. At the end of the day, it’s all about the food. The team at the restaurant happily found us an empty table near the window and we were greeted with a shot of zingy ginger and turmeric juice - full of vitamins, the staff member assured us.

Inside, Mangosteen is cosy and inviting.

Green leaves and warm lanterns hang down from the ceiling, while the navy blue walls with touches of gold decor give the place a very chic feel.

Easy listening music plays at just the right level to create ambience - while still being able to chat.

I kick off the evening with a vanilla delight cocktail (£8.50), a delicious concoction of vanilla vodka, Cointreau, fresh lime, and pineapple juice.

What might sound like a horrendous clash between the acidic and the milky, is actually a dream - a smooth, creamy cocktail that goes down all too fast.

The menu is helpfully labelled with a key for gluten free, vegan, and vegetarian options.

We ask for a serving of bang bang broccoli (£4.50) as an appetiser. Beautifully presented, the vegetable is served deep fried in panko breadcrumbs and layered with hot sriracha mayo, the perfect spicy sparkle to the dish.

Then for our main course, we split a couple of dishes as well as a plate of the crispy parmesan kale (£4), which is as buttery and flaky as pastry.

We sample Mangosteen’s vegan burger (£10) - a mushroom and quinoa patty with cauliflower steak and crunchy cauliflower leaves, all fused with smoked garlic aioli and served alongside house fries and Asian slaw, and the beetroot gnocchi (£12.50), which is served with butternut squash in butter white wine and sage sauce.

The portions were of the size one might expect from a fairly fancy restaurant - not huge, but enough, and dished out neatly on stylish black dinnerware.

The deep burgundy gnocchi is flavoursome, while the burger patty is tasty and nicely paired with the appetising Asian slaw.

Staff are very friendly, although clearly far too busy - our poor waiter seemed rushed off his feet. There were significant waits in between orders and our drinks were long gone by the time our food came out.

Eyeing up the next table’s aperol spritzes, we originally planned to order another round of drinks, but the long wait means we forgo further cocktails.

That being said, the food was very good, and I’ll certainly be returning to sample some of the menu options that didn’t make the final cut on our first trip - will it be the ‘This Is Not Carbonara’ or the shahi vegan thali curry trio next time?

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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