Manzi's in City of London, Westminster

It was my first time, and I was really excited to try some good seafood as per reviews. Unfortunately, I did enjoy just the oyster's hour. I had the king prawns as main, and they smelled of ammonia. The small portions of the starters are embarrassing. I hope it helps to improve your quality.

Amazing experience, food and service of the highest level, in beautiful opulent surroundings. I started with the grilled octopus, followed by the Lobster Linguine, both were beautifully cooked. Wine list and cocktail list complimented the menu perfectly. Will definitely be going back!!

Had a very enjoyable meal with my sister with staff welcoming, always attentive but not intrusive. Beautiful decor, lovely food, relaxed atmosphere and great cocktails. Would definitely return and recommend.

Fabulous marine decor - all the mermaids sculptures , pearly oyster toilets . The mussels were so tasty - loved the food & the staff were so attentive . Try the Lighthouse cocktail .

Not as good as it probably thinks it is. Part of the Wolsely group, so pretentions of grandeur apparent. Huge awnings try to conceal the unprepossessing front elevation, reminiscent of a 1970s Midlands light industry admin block. Hardly any outside diners despite being a glorious Summer evening. Unsmiling Reception meet and greet. We were early for our booking and so had an aperitif in the almost empty downstairs bar, there were about 4 diners at 2 tables, and no other drinkers at bar. Drinks list sparse on cocktails - there is a separate list available on request, apparently. First boo boo - my Campari soda was crashed up with way too much ice and I had to ask for the customary orange slice. Partner had a fine Tarquin's Cornish gin - but £2.95 for tonic - really - when the gin weighed in at £15.25. I was fleeced for £2.95 for soda, which probably came from a bar gun, at minimal cost, and a single slug of Campari at £12 seems avaricious ( you can score a bottle for £17). And nary a bar nibble in sight - some Japanese rice crackers or similar would have been a nice touch. The tone was being set for the whole experience - some amateurish service in quite pleasant surroundings, just verging on the cheaply ostentatious, with the intention of fleecing the customer for as much as could be squeezed from them. Upstairs restaurant not v busy, and music too loud to be background, with persistent and annoying backbeat. One pleasant wait staff and one supercilious lackadaisical waitron who splashed the water and did not wipe it up. The maitre de dropped dirty cutlery when clearing, and effectively only wiped the clean parts of the table, avoiding any detritus. I observed another party having to get up and forage for a jug of water themselves as the waitstaff ignored the need. Lighting a bit murky, and whole decor a bit clunky. Starters- miniscule portions. Bland ceviche and reasonable grilled octopus in a sludgy warm sauce which tasted like slghtly minty guacamole. You will get an awful lot of servings from even a small octo, v profitable at £11.50 a pop. No bread provided, available at £5 plus per serving - please try that trick in France. At these prices, that is just greedy. We opted for the house sharing speciality - monkfish Wellington. Came with an underseasoned sauce and no garnish or nowt else so we ordered "spring greens" - a v small saucer of kale with about half a teaspoon of toasted almond flakes for an extra £6. Parsimonious. The waiting gingerly handled the plates as though they were radioactive - I picked mine up to show it was, in fact, stone cold. The pleasant waitress asked if I wanted really hot plates, I replied I'd settle for decently warm ones. These arrived with no further delay so must have been available in the first place, so why were they not provided ? Wine list stratosherically expensive, of course, so I simply opted for the cheapest dry white - I'm having Puligny Montrachet tomorrow, so will enjoy that in lieu of paying over the odds for average products. The "Wellington " showed well prepared fish, skillfully boned out, but still skin on, to preserve the shape, I guess. There was no layer acting as a buffer between the fish and the pastry ; with beef Wellington this is pate,and mushroom duxelle. With salmon coubillac it is rice. The monkfish would have benefited from an intervening plasma, maybe a fish pate ? Due to the lack of such, the puff pastry did not cleave to the fish and fell away easily, detracting from the presentation and effect. A shame, because this should be an impressive dish. And at £74.50 for 2, it really should come with veg du jour, I hazard. Dessert WAS good - we shared a very good, light Manjari chocolate mousse of decent size. Enjoyable. The occasion was my birthday. To mark this, the resto provided, on a HUGE dinner plate, with "Happy Birthday " inscribed in cursive in chocolate sauce....one single Lily O'Brien chocolate. Laughable. When I had stopped chortling, I checked out the loos before asking for the bill. Nice decor, I wish as much care was taken with the food. So, 2 aperitifs, a bottle of wine, no bread, 2 starters, a shared main house speciality,1 dessert no coffee, and 15% service charge. Total -£204.76 I have enjoyed better birthday meals at La Trompette, Villa Bianca, The French Table , nter alia. The choice is yours, but I think better value, and better food and ambiance can be found elsewhere