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Good Food hat15.5/20Critics' Pick

Manze

Updated ,first published

Negroni, Corner inlet salmon and bouillon poisson.
1 / 9Negroni, Corner inlet salmon and bouillon poisson.Jason South
Inside Manze in North Melbourne.
2 / 9Inside Manze in North Melbourne.Bonnie Savage
Melon with chilli vinegar.
3 / 9Melon with chilli vinegar.Bonnie Savage
Sseafood platter at Manze.
4 / 9Sseafood platter at Manze.Bonnie Savage
Octopus and green tomato salad.
5 / 9Octopus and green tomato salad.Bonnie Savage
“Unmissable” taro fritters with hot sauce.
6 / 9“Unmissable” taro fritters with hot sauce.Bonnie Savage
Rasmalais with strawberries.
7 / 9Rasmalais with strawberries.Bonnie Savage
Eggplant and ginger fritter.
8 / 9Eggplant and ginger fritter.Eddie Jim
Oysters and squid vindaye.
9 / 9Oysters and squid vindaye.Supplied
Good Food hat15.5/20Critics' Pick

Manze

Mauritian$$

Exuberant bolthole that stands out like the island paradise it represents.

How often is food this high-octane served in digs this low-key? Or staff this laidback strapped with knowledge this long-ranging? And just what business does chef Nagesh Seethiah have rousing Errol Street with pop-ups and parties of such rare pedigree? Manze is big and bold, but the execution is astute.

Plump Goolwa pipis bask in zestier-than-average masala butter that beckons to be sucked off the shell. Blackened but blushing pink within, a pork cutlet’s subtle sweetness is offset by a sauce of sour greens. And greo, a semolina pudding, spices up your life with cardamom, bolstered by salty coconut sorbet and strips of tart rhubarb.

One of few mainstays is the taro fritter, a fried orb of golden goodness, which you’re encouraged to squish flat and swipe through the house-made hot sauce. It’s your portal to Mauritian deliciousness.

Good to know: When booking, it’s for the set menu only, but head across the road to Boire, the crew’s new bar, for snacks and drinks.

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.

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