Mahanaga

Mahanaga - nice looks, shame about the food/service

Mahanaga is a Thai-fusion restaurant on Sukhumvit that is a beauty to behold. Gorgeous Moroccon decor makes you feel like you're more in a north African souk rather than polluted Bangkok. There's a large outdoor dining area and a stately indoor area with heavy wooden tables and some rather bizarre red orange lighting - all very tasteful though.

Mahanaga gets some rave reviews - people at Fodors can't get enough. I really wish it served what its decor promises i.e. Moroccan food - I'm dying for it! Instead, all this Thai-fusion lark can be, well, like all fusion food, rather hit and miss. So I was disappointed.

We started with calamari rings in mango sauce. Nice - but so few rings at around 300 baht! I could get triple the amount for half the price at as good (if not better) a taste eating in Old Cedar. We also had lamb and aubergine salad - now this was worth it - practically a meal in itself, smothered in deep fried lemongrass, very strong dressing to go with the lamb - it was good.

For mains, we had scallops with vegetables - the scallops were big and juicy. And sea bass deep fried with ...hmm I've actually forgotten. The waiter warned us it wouldn't be a fillet but ...different. It was like that Thai crumbly fish bits that are vapourised in hot deep oil. OK but what a shame to waste sea bass like that. Oh well, our fault. We were warned.

We finished up with some dessert. I had a macadamia brownie with icecream. I kid you not, 2 x 2cm squares came out - miniscule!! Were they running low? Fatt had some creme caramel thing in a pumpkin shell.

We asked for the bill. It took ages. Everyone was now fully preoccupied with a table of ten next to us. We went to the paying area and were shooed away abruptly and rudely by some old hag behind the counter. Fatt later complained to one of the 'managers' but sod it, they know their priorities - the manager hustled us out. Table of ten it is then, eh?

I really wanted to enjoy the food and the restaurant - it was supposed to be a celebatory dinner - but I couldn't help feeling that while some bits were good, nothing was divine, and the service at the end was dismal. And at almost 3000 baht, there are a zillion other restaurants which would have done a far better job. Go somewhere else.