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Drinks Directory|Melbourne|Melbourne – North|Top notch wine list

Manzé

2/1-5 Errol Street, North Melbourne, VIC, 3051
Phone
N/A
Website
manze.com.au
Instagram
@manze_melbourne

Read time 3 Mins

Posted 17 Jan 2024

By
Pat Nourse

Mauritius meets Melbourne in the tastiest of ways at Manzé, a restaurant-bar with addictive food and a by-the-glass list that’s a primer on who’s doing cool stuff in wine in Australia right now.

Outdoor seating at Manze in North Melbourne
Why you go“Mauritian food and vin naturel.” Nagesh Seethiah, Manzé’s owner and chef, is clear on what his restaurant and bar is all about: the food he grew up with in Mauritius, good, honest, organic farming, and wine made with the same principles. If you’re not familiar with Mauritian cuisine, prepare yourself for a delicious introduction. This African nation, an island in the Indian Ocean, is a unique meeting place of some of the world’s greatest food cultures, an intersection of foods and traditions from India, China, France, England, and the African mainland. And if you’re already conversant with the food of Mauritius, you’re about to experience a new take, its flavours refracted through the lens of the producers Nagesh and the kitchen like to work with, and complemented by a drinks list rich in owner-operated businesses. Arched windows and tiled walls frame a small dining room dominated by a couple of big shared tables, some bar seating, and a handful of smaller tables, with a few out on Errol Street as well. Jars of pickles and preserves line the high shelves – cucumbers, celery leaves, turmeric, sunny lemons and a whole spectrum of chillies – suggestive of the bright flavours to come.
Why you stay

While the relative novelty of Mauritian food and the quality of the wine list are most likely the things that bring people into Manzé in the first place, if we could sum up what brings them back, it might be something less immediately obvious: the thoughtfulness. There’s a saying that goes “a fish rots from the head” – you know, if something’s not right about the place, often the problem starts at the top. At Manzé it’s like the opposite of that. Nagesh is a thoughtful and considerate guy, and you see that consideration and thoughtfulness flow through to so many touchpoints throughout the venue. There are tampons in a basket in the restroom, and Illmatic instrumentals on the playlist. Right at the top of the menu it says “dietaries catered for”, and he takes care to make the food as affordable as he can manage, the set menu currently a steal at $75 a head. 

Manzé was also one of the first places we’ve seen to list Indigenous place names next to the English names on the wine list, so a savoury nebbiolo from Commune of Buttons is listed as “Basket Range, SA (Peramangk)”, while a textural chardonnay from Bobar is “Yarra Valley, Vic (Wurundjeri Woiwurrung)”. It says a lot about the kind of place Nagesh wants this to be, and the feeling that he and his team foster, and also the kind of crowd Manzé draws. Good things all.

Interiors at Manzé in North Melbourne
What drink to orderDo you want to go Mauritian? Then a Pearona, the island’s favourite pear soda, might be for you, or perhaps a Phoenix lager. If you like it seriously natural, how about the cool clarity of Fuente Guijarro, an ancestral-style cider from the Sierra Nevada in Spain? How about something local? La Sirène’s Urban Pale Ale, Saison’s Fallen Quinces vermouth, and the magical oolong tea and calamansi lime non-alc all hail from Melbourne. But if you want to cast the net a little wider, you’ll find a by-the-glass list that’s basically a primer on who’s doing cool stuff in wine in Australia right now, and a selection of bottles loaded with lesser-seen gems. A perfumed blend of white grapes from the Czech Republic? You got it. Chardonnay tinged with cab franc from the Adelaide Hills? That’d be Sister Act’s Still. A skinsy riesling from Tassie in a handy 350ml bottle? the Brian Rizza is here to serve you.
Dishes and drinks at Manze in North Melbourne
What to pair it withYou could, theoretically, go to Manzé just for a drink – the list is excellent, after all. But that’d be like going to Splendour in the Grass because you like the lighting. Not unheard of, but not making the most of it. Because the food here is really something. Mango-vinegar mignonette is the tropical, perfectly pitched dressing for punchy little rock oysters from Merimbula, and confit pineapple and cucumber punch up sweet Portarlington mussels. Nagesh is very good with a fried little snacky thing: gato arouille, taro fritters with house hot sauce, are a particularly addictive example. And he’s even better with anything like a broth or a stew, as demonstrated by the bouillon bredes, a clear soup laden with greens, served with rice and absolutely humming with ginger.
Why we love itThere’s just nothing like this anywhere else in town, or possibly nationwide. The flavours, the vibe, the value proposition – you name it. And produce is always, always top-drawer, too, whether it’s Corner Inlet flathead served with Dog Creek Growers’ sorrel and fennel in a turmeric-stained vindaye or barbecued Lakes Entrance octopus with salted fish, chilli, and some baguette from Bread Club, the rockstar bakers up the road.
Make it fancyApproachability is a key part of the Manzé philosophy, but that doesn’t mean you can’t push the boat out if you’re feeling flush. The menu has add-ons that are seriously tempting. And if the blue swimmer crabs with Manzé masala butter are one of the add-ons available when you’re there, you’d be wise to be tempted – we’re talking major deliciousness here, friends. The same goes for the drinks; the list offers great value, and there’s plenty of touchpoints under $80 a bottle. But if you want to add a little Mauritian rhum agricole to the end of your adventure, they’ve got your back – there are definitely worse ways to close your night than with a healthy splash of 10-year-old single-cask Distillerie de Labourdonnais.
The entrance to Manze in North Melbourne
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In partnership with Melbourne Food & Wine Festival
image credits: Daisie Bindoff
Authour image
Pat NoursePat Nourse is a writer, critic and editor with a passion for great bars.
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