Consider Manzé a Mauritian envoy in an unassuming North Melbourne shopfront. The exercise in soft diplomacy is manifest from the irresistible opening volley of snacks – crunchy potato cakes lifted by a chilli-and-plantain sauce, or pickled sardines with curry-leaf chutney and a fried crêpe – which take their cues from street food and style it up into Creole and South Indian party canapés. A bowerbird vision of cork floors, jarred preserves and palm plants, the welcoming room aims for relaxed over refined, while the insightful list of minimally minded wines offers maximum rewards alongside the spice-happy food of Mauritian chef Nagesh Seethiah. Whether your headline act is the haute island flourish of a charry, sweet-fleshed kingfish head that stands up to a fermented green-chilli paste, or pink-centred lamb rump glazed in warm spices under a lusty blanket of house-made yoghurt sauce, it’s a brilliant fire-driven introduction to a compelling melting pot of a cuisine.
