Manteca

We visited Manteca recently and came away with fairly mixed feelings. The restaurant itself is undeniably attractive – the open kitchen and counter seating create a lively atmosphere, and there was a real buzz about the place throughout the evening. It’s the sort of restaurant that immediately feels like somewhere you want to spend a couple of hours. The food, however, didn’t quite live up to the expectation or the price point. We tried several pasta dishes, including the beef ragù, and while everything was perfectly enjoyable and clearly well made, nothing really stood out as particularly memorable. The beef ragù, for example, was tasty and comforting, but not something I’d rush back for or consider especially good value given the cost. Unfortunately, the service was where the evening started to unravel. Our waiter himself was friendly and attentive, but there were some significant issues with the overall service. Despite having a reservation, we were left waiting around 15 minutes before being seated. We also ordered wine which didn’t arrive for over half an hour, despite us asking about it several times. The biggest frustration came when one person’s main course simply didn’t arrive with the rest of the table’s food. We were assured it would be “very soon”, but it eventually appeared around 15 minutes later, by which point most of us had already finished eating. It was disappointing and put a bit of a dampener on the meal. Overall, Manteca has a great atmosphere and serves good food, but based on our experience, the prices set expectations that the food and service didn’t quite manage to meet. I’m glad we tried it, but I’m not sure we’d be rushing back.

This restaurant has been on my list for a long time, so I was excited to finally come here for dinner. The space itself is beautiful, but it’s also huge, and I always worry when restaurants have that many covers that service can end up feeling rushed or impersonal. We sat down, ordered a bottle of wine, and after asking for recommendations, settled on the focaccia, cold meat selection, mussels, and mullet crudo. The mussels were probably the highlight of the evening. The sauce was delicious, the presentation was beautiful, and the flavours were excellent. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with almost everything else. The focaccia was drenched in oil to the point of being soggy and unpleasant rather than indulgent. It lacked flavour overall, with only parts having any noticeable salt or rosemary, and mostly just tasted of oil. The fish was chewy rather than delicate and didn’t have much flavour or finesse. The cured meats were enjoyable, but again, nothing particularly memorable or outstanding, I did not like the beef ham but that's a taste thing. What frustrated me most, though, was the service. At no point were we offered a top-up of wine, we were left to pour throughout the meal, which I suspect is a consequence of the restaurant’s size and stretched service. More irritating was how much pressure there was to order quickly. While we were still eating our starters, we were asked whether we wanted anything else. We explained that we’d decide after finishing the starters once we knew how hungry we still were. Five minutes later, another waiter, who already seemed fairly disengaged and slightly dismissive, asked us again. A few minutes after that, he returned to strongly recommend that we order immediately because food might take a long time. This felt completely unnecessary, especially as the starters had already arrived very quickly and the pacing of the meal already felt rushed rather than relaxed or cosy. Once we finished the starters, we were again encouraged to order immediately, despite still having another hour and a half left on our reservation. We eventually ordered the vodka sauce pasta and the beef shin ragout, both of which arrived within about five minutes, making the earlier urgency even more confusing. The pasta itself was tasty, the ragu more than the vodka sauce. I did not like the chilli flakes which had just been sprinkled on and didn’t add any flavour to the sauce itself. Overall, I left quite disappointed. After hearing so much about this place, the experience simply didn’t live up to expectations.

First time to the restaurant, has been on the list for a couple of years. Ambience was great- I like the way the tables are positioned to enable a more personalised feel to the experience and the staff were very welcoming on entry. Menu was fantastic- was particularly excited to try the mussels and the pasta. Pasta was delicious with the Ragu and the mussels had a nduja kick to the cream sauce but were superb. Didn't take a picture but the Kombucha cocktail was so fresh, would recommend! I think the waiting staff once we needed some additional assistance with dessert forgot to get my gf a glass of wine and left us waiting for a while but other than that - a great experience and would visit again.

The menu changes every day. We didn’t go super hungry, so it was enough for two of us, but portions are more on the sharing side—especially the pasta, which felt a bit small. The focaccia and asparagus were sooo good. I think the asparagus had an anchovy sauce inside—we loved it. I’d 100% order it again, but if you’re not into salty food, it might be a bit much for you. Same goes for the pasta. We had the crab cacio e pepe (I think that was the name?) and yeah, it was quite salty too. But honestly, we love salty food, so we were obsessed—the sauce was amazing. I feel like this is one of those places you either love or don’t at all, there’s no in-between. We loved it though, would def go again 👍 Ahh and one downside—when you leave, your clothes smell like food. The ventilation could definitely be better. Also, it’s the only place I’ve seen in London that charges for tap water—not very cool tbh.