Stepping inside Manzi's off London’s Soho Square, the sculpture of a large marlin greets the guests. It's a double hint – of the type of food this Soho eatery serves, and of the fun and expressive attitude of its flamboyant decor. Designed by interiors specialist Fabled Studio, the newly opened London restaurant is the reincarnation of the family-owned, Leicester Square classic that shut down in 2017, after being in operation for some 70 years. Now helmed by The Wolseley Hospitality Group, Manzi's has been reborn, and with it, its delicious culinary offerings and warm, inviting and playful spirit.
Manzi’s: bringing playfulness to seafood dining
'When we started working on the project, we started researching what the old restaurant looked like, but couldn't find any photos,' remembers Fabled Studio co-founder Steven Saunders, who heads the practice with business partner Tom Strother. 'We stumbled across this book called Memories of Manzi’s, by somebody who never went there and experienced it vicariously through stories by past patrons, and it was about piecing together images from those stories. It was playful, whimsical, chintzy, with red gingham tablecloths and mermaids and golden Neptune statues. So we decided, we cannot be too serious with it, we wanted to bring back that playfulness.'
The result is a generous space that spans three sections. The outdoor terrace, discreetly tucked away in a little alley between Soho Square and Bateman Street; the ground floor, blue-hued main restaurant space, filled to the brim with nautical influences, from rope art, to an artful fish decorated mosaic floor; and the more extravagant top level.
Here, themes of maritime myth and literature are taken up a gear, as the space features mermaid sculptures holding up the bar, clam reliefs on the ceiling, and an octopus stained glass piece – even the salt and pepper shaker set are crafted to the shape of twin crabs.
References from the Hollywood classic movie Casablanca and the featured Rick's Cafe are also brought in – 'For its romanticism, through one of the stories we discovered in the book,' explains Saunders. As is the literary masterpiece The Old Man And The Sea by Ernest Hemingway, whose hunt inspired the marlin located through the front door, and the dynamic mural of a fisherman catching one, positioned on the staircase wall on the way up to the top level.
As a result, the interior is filled with tailormade items and fixtures, which the designers created together in collaboration with a film set company, which helped them bring their expressive vision to life. The holistic design extends to everything from art, to furniture, fixtures and tabletop products.
This eye catching, and thoroughly fun context, serves as a fitting intro to the food on offer. Seafood of all kinds – clams, mussels, lobster and crab – meets fish dishes, alongside a select few plant- and meat-based options. A modern, refined take on the traditional fish and chips is a highlight, as is the smoked haddock soufflé. You cannot go wrong with any of the seemingly simple yet finely tuned seafood dishes either, such as the pot of mussels that looks too generous to tackle in one go.
'I also love how hidden the space is,' Saunders concludes. 'It’s a very big site but it’s in this hidden little part of Soho. And I love the theatre and the walk into the unexpected, as you step inside and get that theatrical hit, the playfulness, the marlin at the entrance, and you are transported into the world of Manzi's.'
