Southend's Mangetout has the personal touch

11:47am Wednesday 14th November 2007

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'MANGETOUT Rodney, Mangetout' was all I could think before I stepped through the doors of this neat little restaurant, tucked away in Chichester Road.

However, the cosy family atmosphere inside was a long way from Only Fools and Horses - and the decor was certainly much better, with a tasteful colour scheme and Jack Vettriano prints on the walls.

We were greeted warmly by the owner's son as soon as we entered and were immediately seated at a table decorated with birthday balloons for my friend, as we had been asked when they took the booking if it was a special occasion.

A huge platter full of sticky chicken wings, plump potato wedges, onion rings and garlic bread arrived promptly, with generous bowls of garlic and bbq dips.

This was accompanied by a dish of prawns in white wine and garlic sauce - which melted in the mouth and had us crying out for the recipe.

For the main course I ordered steak rossini and was shocked to see a mammoth plate arrive, with three cuts of fillet steak nestled on bread and butter croutons, crowned with a portion of pate on each.

The textures complemented each other perfectly, with the crisp base offsetting the steak, which was extremely tender.

The birthday girl ordered a surf and turf - the steak was cooked exactly as requested and came with a pepper sauce, which was tasty without being overpowering. The juicy prawns king prawns were similary impressive - and filled two large skewers.

We also sampled the mangetout chicken' which was wrapped in bacon with a barbeque sauce, which they had mastered the skill of making sticky without being too sweet, and was completed with homemade coleslaw.

For dessert we had thick pancakes smothered in maple syrup with pecans and fresh raspberries - a combination of sharp and sweet which worked perfectly.

It was only later that we discovered the chef was the owner herself who burst out of the kitchen with her son and a portion of carrot cake singing happy birthday'.

In fact the best thing about this adorable little place is the personal touch - you can tell the family are passionate about food and about you having a good time - which we certainly did.

Mangetout is open from 8am each morning and offers breakfasts as well as a range of fresh sandwiches and cakes. They also offer a Christmas menu of two courses for £9.50 or three for £12.50.

Mangetout, 27 Chichester Road, Southend - 01702 465169

Our verdict

Food: 4/5

Value: 5/5

Decor: 4/5

Service: 5/5

Atmosphere: 5/5

What we ate

Starters: Prawns in garlic and white wine (£5.25), Platter - chicken wings, potato wedges, onion rings and garlic bread with garlic and bbq sauces (£9.95), Garlic bread (£1.95)

Main courses: Steak Rossini - with red wine sauce and pate (£14.95), Surf and turf (£15.95), Pepper sauce (£1.50), Mangetout chicken - with bacon, bbq sauce and jacket potato, Vegetables (£2.25)

Desserts: Pancakes with maple syrup and fresh raspberries (£3.95)