Lakaz Maman in Southampton

Not great. The lamb curry was not amazing. The mango colada was so sweet. Such a lot of sugar.

Lovely, small restaurant. Excellent range of delicious food. Staff were lovely and attentive. Highly recommend. Bring your own alcohol.

It's not often you come across Mauritian cuisine but this place certainly gives you a great impression of it. Reasonably priced as well.

Food always excellent, service excellent also, it was my birthday & without asking a cake appeared with a candle brilliant 👍

The food here is fresh and delicious. BUT we went on a busy Friday night and every thing we chose they had run out of. Fish, octopus and there was only one dessert available. There is something amiss with stock or supply because they really let themselves down. The food we did have was delicious but too much was out of stock.

The food was amazing, in a world of chained restaurants its nice that there are still hidden gems which this certainly is. Everything was a fantastic especially the food and the service. Thank you so much for a lovely evening.

The food here was phenomenal. Service was great, too. A really lovely place to eat!

Great street food. A variety including vegetarian was available. Curry chicken was very tasty as was the prawn dish. Lots of interesting drinks with herbs and spices. Services was excellent with friendly waitress.

What a lovely find on a short work trip to Southampton. Great food served by friendly helpful staff. This was a cuisine that I had never tried before, and it certainly won't be the last. Next time I'm in Southampton, this is on my list.

I'll start with the positives Large portions Friendly staff . . . That's about it really. Food tastes average, not authentic despite their claims. The wait is too long even if it served with a smile. Menu itself is not extensive. Not so comfortable seating, almost feels like they want you to eat and get out. Not spend quality time with your mates. Price doesn't justify the taste, even though the quantity does. Some names are a bit misleading. Not planning on going back.

We've had some dishes which were unimpressive and doable at home....and it was really expensive as well. The salad was literally tesco salad thrown on a plate, which costs like 1.49 and some tasteless chicken breast with the tablespoon of some sauce served separately.....My dish was spicy but not tasty. would not recommend!

First visit and the food was amazing and so tasty. Recommend you book in advance !

Very lovely staff and amazingly tasty food!

Visited 16/11/23. Poor service. Small portions for the price . Food blend nothing special , waiters looked not interested. Reservation at 6.45pm. Starters served at 8pm. Main meal served at 8.30pm. At 9pm asked for menue fiff red desert snd waiter never came back so left the restaurant

Just a great experience all round. We felt welcomed, the food is fantastic and so delicious. We were celebrating my wife's birthday and they surprised her with a cake and a very generous gift which was really special. Thank you to all the team for making it such a great occasion for us both. We will definitely be back. Highly recommended.

Food is good but it took the kitchen nearly an hour to prepare. Not great for a workday lunch.

Every time we eat at Lakaz we enjoy the food.A unique cuisine - delicious and beautifully presented. Friendly helpful service A nice relaxed atmosphere Only negative is the 12.5% discretionary service charge.I feel this pressurises the customer to tip. But this doesn't detract from the excellent food on offer

Great food and such lovely service! Excellent vegan starters although would love to see more options for the mains as it's a bit lacking. Incredible flavours though! So sad it's going to be changing ☹️

A very delicious food, professionel, helpful and friendly stuff. We did enjoy our time and food. We definitly recommand this place and we will come back to have again more Mauritius food.

Lakaz Maman serves Mauritian food, which is similar to Indian but with more use of Tamarind as a spice. Battered okra with hot mango relish was liked; the veggie samosas were more run of the mill. The pineapple starter with tamaind sauce was also well liked. The main courses were mainly "cari" (curry), although a mutton dish was liked well, too. Vegaie cari used butter beans and chickpea balls and was pleasant; it came with saffron rice and small spicy salad. Desserts were more tailored to English tastes, with choices including chocolate mousse and sticky ginger pudding, although the ball of coconut ice cream in a steamed bun was a little different. They are unlicensed, but you can BYOB but the corkage can cost as much as one of their soft drinks - the home made panakan was well liked. Prices are perhaps a touch on the high side for the food provided. The ambience is informal and friendly.

Lovely little Cafe/ restaurant. Smell as you walked in was amazing you pick up the spices straight away. Lovely relaxed atmosphere. The food when it came out was so fresh and full of flavour I would definitely recommend to eat.

Nice restaurant, food is good but not standard out, the portion sizes of the starters are huge, actually a bit too big, I'd rather they reduce the size and the price a little. The menu hasn't changed much in years either. The atmosphere okay, it was very quiet when I went this time, but I have been previously while it was busy and it just feels like it's lacking something. Its very bright, I think dimmer lighting would work better for the evening. Also the booth seating is too high for the tables. Service was good, there were a lot of staff for very few tables.

Delicious food and attentive staff. Lots of gluten free options to choose from. The staff made us feel comfortable despite another difficult customer causing a bit of a scene.

Morose music sets the tone and the staff are lethargic. Service was slow and the food fairly bland. We have dined here many times over the years and sadly it has lost its sparkle, it isn’t the place it once was.

Great restaurant, fantastic food, very friendly good service. We’re great for my birthday. Highly recommend

On a Tuesday evening we waited an hour for starter and another hour again for main (not exaggerating). We were advised after asking where our food was that they only had one chef in the kitchen and that the owner had now come in to help. The restaurant was full so not sure if this was bad planning or just unexpectedly busy. It looked like most tables waited a long time for their food. Nice touch at the end, as it was my birthday, that I was given a whole cake unexpectedly and sung Happy Birthday and also given a gift voucher to use in future. Unfortunately didn't quite make up for the two hour wait for food but it did stop us asking for a discount for the wait. One of the waiting staff we were mainly served by was apologetic when bringing starter late, however the one who actually bought our mains out didn't apologise at all for the wait. Not their fault the kitchen was slow, mind you. My friend also said her Vegan Cari was very bland. Was planning a last meal there with my partner before it changes to a new theme as it's where we had our first date but not sure I want to go back even with the voucher, as seems it's gone downhill since Shelina sold it. Interested to see what they're changing it into though.

This restaurant never disappoints! The starter is so generous, glad I shared with a friend. The potato bhaji was so delicious and cari chicken main!

We enjoyed our visit here. Great selection of starters... chicken wings were my favourite. Mains were good portions. Table size little small for my liking but restaurant is small so understand. Appreciate the restaurant taking the optional service charge off without a fuss.. definely recommend this place

I was disappointed. Not as good as previous visits. I had the lamb ribs, chicken wings and fries. The lamb had nice flavour, but was VERY tough, almost inedible. The wings felt a little under done, pale, cold and too man for a starter dish. The service was also disappointing, the staff seemed to lack knowledge or were not confident in talking about the food. Not sure if I'll visit again.

Good food, but it's a shame that the American concept of adding a service charge is used here. Nowhere was this charge advertised on the menu.

Delicious fresh food. Quirky little restaurant. Menu offers good variety, and their iced tea is the best I've tried so far

Most amazing flavours, super fresh and vibrant with a relaxed and chilled atmosphere. 10/10 (actually scrub that, this place goes up to 11) will visit again Edit: Visited again. The place is on the run down to a total change by the new owners. How much of what I'm about to put may or may not have been the case from before Shelina handed over the reins but it's already been confirmed that Lakaz Maman will be no more by the end of the year. While what we ate was still awesome and tasty, the scaled back nature of the menu was disappointing. Gone was the sea dog and many other things (maybe due to supplier costs making them un-feasable) but the place just ended up being too expensive for what it now is. (Which I guess sums up 99% of eating out in 2023) If you're looking for "one last fling" before LM is gone for good, don't bother, it already is, unless your fave thing from the menu is still on it (hint: check before you go)

I hope new owners keep the focus on Mauritius food.

Went there for a Birthday and were given a cake with candle and a voucher towards our next visit. Which was a surprise and very nice. Front of house was very attentive although slightly formal. Food was simple but very tasty with fantastic spice. The cocktail I had was pleasant but nothing special. Wish I’d seen the amazing looking milkshakes in the TA photographs! Corkage on wine seemed reasonable as still cheaper than buying an average bottle in a licensed restaurant but beer corkage seemed very expensive and stopped us taking beer which we would have preferred. A fun and enjoyable evening all round in a fun restaurant with buzzing atmosphere.

1st time visit and would happily return

Great food and not over the top with prices.

The food was pretty bland and basic. Overpriced and staff seemed like they didn't want to be there. 12.5% compulsory service charge as well for poor service. Corkage charges are extortionate. £5 per beer!!!! Had really high hopes but very let down.

Very good meal. We had the Samosas and potato baiji for starters which we shared. Mains we had the fried fish and the Haloumi kebab. Again these were excellent. The portion size was very big. We bought along a bottle of wine and we were very happy to pay the corkage charge. The staff were attentive, asking us if the food was alright etc. We will definitely go back because there are other items we want to try

Friendly staff excellent food, wonderful drinks

Enjoyed a fabulous lunch here - with great starters, tasty mains and good service. Will return and would recommend!

Best restaurant in Southampton. Been so many times- always recommend visitors to Soton to come here, and they always thank me! Cari, Gato Pima, Samosa.. all incredible. I like the BYOB option too so we can enjoy nice wines and not be ripped off for it. Just wonderful, wonderful food.

First time visiting today for a friend’s birthday. Staff were welcoming, friendly and attentive. The food was amazing and the atmosphere was great. Made my friend feel very special on their birthday with a few added extras. Highly recommend

Overpriced food. Food was not authentic curry like in Mauritius. For example cari butterbean had coconut milk which is a fusion. Turmeric was overpowering in the curry too. Roti was becoming a bit hard after it arrived. Gato piment was really good and ordered two portions. The lady who served us was attentive and placed our order which arrived quite quickly.

Myself & my family were celebrating my sisters birthday! The staff were all very attentive & extremely polite, couldn't fault them! There was a hiccup with one meal that didn't come out with the rest but the staff were brilliant, they rectified it ASAP & my brother was given some delicious samosas as a sorry, they also discounted our bill too! A brilliant time was had by everyone, the atmosphere, as always, was just fab! The food was delicious 😋 We will miss coming to Lakaz when it closes, so sad as there isn't anywhere else like it. A great evening, Thank you!

Was there for a business trip. I give the restaurant a big plus for marking with «gluten free» in the meny. They have really good food, vegetarian obtions and gluten free. They dont sell alkocol, which is fine. You can bring your own alcohol and drink it, but you have to pay a tax to the restaurant for it. It is really wierd. A bottle of wine is tax of £7,5 and beer up to £6..

We found this restaurant through a thetourguy blog. I am from French Guiana and the food tasted authentic and similar to my home creole food. Rice was done the same I do at home. The presentation was nice, the service attentive. Had the octopus and fritters. The dessert was heavenly, a homemade brownie with pistachio ice-cream, to die for. Congratulations to the chef and team.

You can’t beat a Mauritian Curry!

Amazing food. An absolute must.

Excellent food. Would recommend

Had high expectations, wanted to try something different. I think Mauritian food is definitely something I would like, but things just didn't work out today. Service was pleasant, but the whole place just lacked soul today compared to previous reviews.

Aimed to visit this restaurant, was supposed to be open per Google Maps AND Website, but was spontaneously closed with only a note at the entrance...

I am Mauritian and love Mauritian food. My favourite Mauritian dish wasn’t on the menu (fried noodles), so I ordered samosas to start and chicken curry with a roti. The samosas were tasteless, similar to the frozen ones you get from a Chinese takeaway. The curry wasn’t the best and was very watery. The roti was more like a pizza base. I was working in Chichester and actually travelled a two hour round trip to have a taste of back home and was very disappointed. Don’t rate this place at all.

Overrated. Not really authentic mauritian food.

Don't eat here if you have allergies or are vegan. Spoke to multiple members of staff, none of them could answer what was safe from shellfish. All the starters that are listed as vegan are fried in the same oil as the prawns. We told the waitress that one of our party had a severe shellfish allergy. We asked if the halloumi was grilled and safe and assured us it was. When she bought it out it looked fried so we asked her to check again if it was okay and she came back out and took it away, only then did they serve us some grilled halloumi that was okay to eat. This was incredibly dangerous and there needs to be at least 1 member of staff working who understands English well to communicate about allergies.

Fantastic food and friendly service. Real effort made for child friendly options, unlike many places.

Dined here many times over the years - always great friendly service and lovely food - that’s a bit different. The starters are amazing - order lots and share them between you . The cari is great - and the kebabs are too. Big portions. The coco bun dessert is amazing and fun - it looks like a burger served in brioche.

Questioned the service charge of 12.5% (£6 on an £48 bill) automatically applied to dinner (5pm table) for 2. Website stipulates this is an automatic charge for a table of 6+. Waitress asked why I didn’t want to pay the charge - was I not...

Definitely not worth the price, only good thing was the cauliflower poppers. Pretty standard mains.

Wow, fantastic food. Amazing flavours. Will definitely go back

The food was incredible. It’s BYOB with a reasonable corkage price. The staff are really friendly and proficient. The only downside is it’s a small venue so make sure you book to avoid disappointment. There was a large party that were very loud in such a small place but I can’t fault the restaurant with that. It seemed to be an outlier and we still very much enjoyed our dinner.

Very very good food, was slightly disappointed to see that despite a very diverse and varied menu, some more conventional options still remained that may not have done the chef's spectacular talents in Mauritian cooking proper justice - would recommend the mutton soup.

Second visit to this restaurant and sadly not as good as I remember. It was my daughter's graduation so being mauritian thought it would be very fitting. First time was when my daughter stated University 3 yrs ago. The starters was nice but the main...

Desperately disappointed. Having seen the original owners appearance on a cookery show, I was keen to try out the delicious sounding menu. My wife and I attended with a couple of friends and the four of us all chose something different. I knew it was...

Fabulous food, wonderful atmosphere and warm/friendly service. Best meal in a very long time

Four of us travelled 30 miles to try this restaurant. Sadly it didn’t live up to expectations. The waiting staff although not rude weren’t terribly interested either. The king prawn starter and the octopus starter were tasty as was the halloumi but the samosas were...

Over priced with small portions. Food not impressive. Ordered 10 different dishes, the only dish I recommend is cauliflower poppers. Others are just not worth the price and nothing special about. Staff very rude. Won’t come back.

Lovely chilled setting, holiday vibes. Starters were lovely, good kick to the chilli balls. The samosa were delicious. Main was nice but could have been a bit more punchy on flavour. BYO was great to make the evening a bit cheaper and sainsburys 2 shops down handy for finding a bottle. Corkage at 7.50 I was surprised at but still, the evening didn't break the bank and we had a lovely dinner.

Restaurant had been recommended to us. Quite disappointed. Staff were very nice. Food was okay but nothing special and overpriced. Had better meal at local fish and chip shop. Not quite sure how this place keeps going as lot of restaurant choices at far better...

A great restaurant. A friend with us who'd just come back from Mauritius was impressed with the authenticity. All the food was original and delicious. The service understated and perfect. Take your own alcohol if you want to drink, otherwise a great selection of non alcoholic drinks to choose from.

Really delicious food, had to have 2 starters cos I couldn't choose between them. Nice clear menu which shows which options are gluten free as well which helps :) will definitely be recommending.

A gem of a Mauritian restaurant opened by 2012 Master Chef winner Shelina Permaloo. Wonderful vibes, and food. Exciting menu, decent portion size at a decent price. A must try in Southampton.

Great place. Lovely inside. Friendly and helpful staff. Menu looked great. Food was good. But the prices were the only reason I knocked off a star. For the portion size and simple foods, the price is too high. Best item was probably the halim. Definitely recommended.

We arrived on a Monday evening without a reservation and were seated immediately. The food was served quickly and was super tasty. The baked cauliflower is particularly recommended. Service was friendly.

Superb food and a great atmosphere ,I would recommend this place 👌

They are missing many traditional Mauritian dishes, dhol puri, min frit, phoenix beer.. Not a traditional Mauritian restaurant as such but still a good eat. Portion sizes were small as well. Restaurant business is hard. But for a Mauritian this is not the one..

Great street food. Excellent flavour and attentive staff. We hadn't realised that it was unlicensed for alcohol. Fortunately, there was a sainsbury supermarket next door. £7.50 corkage seemed a bit steep, but maybe I am too used to similar London venues

Great Food, lovely atmosphere and friendly staff.

Disappointed! Lovely staff but not the same anymore. The curry was awful. No hint of coconut . It tasted like Tescos tikka masala ready meal with pilau rice. I compared the photos with our previous visits when the original female chef was still there. The curry back then came with white rice and was creamy and quality. In addition the pink colada used to come topped with cream but now it's just from a bottle of pre-made juice with ice. Sorry but this place is living on the reputation of the past. We won't be back until the chef returns or teaches someone how to replicate their recipes.

Lovely staff and delicious dessert but not the same anymore. The curry was awful. No hint of coconut . It tasted like Tescos tikka masala ready meal with pilau rice. I compared the photos with our previous visits when the original female chef was still...

Excellent food and great service

Unusual menu with some good dishes. Chicken salad with mango and chickpeas was good. Pineapple excellent. Bright and courful decor. Staff were polite, friendly and efficient even when it was very busy.

Service was awful, seated quickly but as I’ve never been here wasn’t given any menus, place decor wise was fab. The food wise we had lamb ribs which was fantastic. We tried two things that we can have anywhere else the prawn was out of...

Really enjoyed it here. We were only in town for three nights and we went here for two of them. Really tasty, lots of options, smashing drink selection... Quality.

Although I love Shelina, the restaurant was a little disappointing and not really authentic Mauritian food. Flavour of Mauritius in Reading is a much better choice.

Great place. Food is absolutely delicious 😋 lovely atmosphere

I'd really enjoyed a takeaway from here a few years ago so was looking forward to sitting down for a full meal. The whole experience was very underwhelming. Firstly, we weren't advised they didn't have alcohol, the corkage for bringing in a 500ml can was £5, sorry but that seems insane. The menu reads very well but all of the dishes were bland. The samosas had very little filling and no flavour, the 'prawn Fritters' were mainly vegetable Bhajis, no mention of this on the menu, we had 4 small prawns for £8.95 The curries were presented well but again very little flavour or spice, tiny portion of curry and a large amount of rice for £16.95 Staff were friendly but very busy dealing with a very large group that seemed to have priority. All in all a very dissapointing experience, hopefully it was a one off.

Lovely food just loaded with flavour and freshness. We had chicken wings, chilli balls, cauliflower, octopus starters - all delicious. Mains were prawn and chicken magic bowl, king prawns and lamb kebab. All served with delicious sauces. Love this restaurant.

Service was good but the food was sublime. Tried almost all the appetizers and there wasn’t one that was disappointing. Lamb kebab as were particularly fantastic! Would come back!

We have been highly recommended to eat here so we decided to get a takeout. But unfortunately we were very disappointed with the meat dishes because we feel they used very cheap cuts of meat we had the lamb ribs and there was a very...

We happened across Lakaz Maman by accident, but it was a very happy accident. Stunning food at a great price with great service thrown in.

I just love this small place with a character! Great service, welcoming atmosphere, always fresh food. I highly recommend this place for a lovely dinner time ♥️

Super meal with friends. Loved the menu and enjoyed our food immensely. I bought a bottle of the Tamarind Sauce and we all enjoyed seeing the MasterChef trophy. The Ragouille Saucisse was excellent!

Dined in a few weeks back. Service was hit and miss. The starters were poor and the mains were alright. Mutton Cari didn’t have much flavour. Mango wings were just chilli. The ribs were not cut well and were ALL fat. Overall - didn’t meet expectations.

Like a lot of masterchef fans, this restaurant has been on our to go to list for a while!!Absolutely delicious food in a cute, quirky restaurant. The BYOB was different but works well and all the food was tasty with good portion sizes. The only...

Visited for friends birthday. Great food, and although very small, the space is very cozy and summery feel, different from anything else in Southampton. Would definitely recommend x

Very friendly and competent front of house staff. Food was excellent.

Very good food. Can be a bit spicy for some. Service was a bit spotty at first but got better during meal

Surprise dinner with my daughter's (mother's Day treat) .. food yummy! Staff accommodating (helped with dairy free pudding).. highly recommend ...

It is a real MasterChef restaurant. The food was soo good I want go return soon!

This is my absolute favourite restaurant. It’s incredible. The food is delicious, perfect spicing and seasoning, well paired dips and sauces. The range for vegetarians & vegans is superb, we were a mixture of meat eaters & veggies and all loved every course. Portion sizes...