Mangia in Manchester

Often we find out about new dining establishments through word of mouth. This time a friend of my wife’s told us about an Italian place that had wonderful food. Apparently Mangia was previously located on the road behind the Kmart in Hooksett. Within the last year, they relocated to the south end of Elm Street (across from Chalifour’s Flowers). Naturally, we didn’t want to disappoint our friend so off we went.



The restaurant is tucked in a small cluster of businesses in a not so attractive area but it is cozy once you enter. The interior is small and quaint and just a few tables so if you decide to visit we recommend that you call 603-647-0788 for a reservation.

Mangia doesn't have a liquor license so bring a bottle of your favorite wine to enjoy with dinner. Although I am not a fan of this it does have its positives including a much lower liquor bill. They charge a $4 dollar corking fee per bottle of wine but when you consider the savings it is actually a very good deal.

We settled in and our waitress stopped by to tell us about the menu and the specials of the evening. The menu is small but you will find some of the usually Italian favorites including meat ravioli, cheese tortellini, chicken parm and fettuccine alfredo. Chef Angelo Bruno is also very accommodating as far as customizing all meals since he is the only cook in the kitchen and everything is made from scratch. Additionally, if you are in the mood for something that isn’t on the menu but if he has the ingredients he will make a special dish for you. We did ask our waitress for assistance in selecting our appetizer and entrees and she was extremely helpful and was well versed in the menu.

We chose the stuffed portobello to start:

This was delicious filled with a wonderful bruschetta mixture. Although the $11.00 price tag seemed a bit overpriced.

Onto dinner: My wife chose the chicken marsala and loved every bit of it. In fact, if the restaurant wasn’t as busy as it was she probably would’ve licked her plate clean!

I selected the pollo valdostana:

Thin tender chicken covered with ham, asparagus and mozzarella cheese in a light sauce. With a slight salty flavor from the ham this was exquisite.

A little while later during our meal the garlic bread arrived at it was certainly worth the wait:

Taking the time to cut this into small pieces for dipping, amazing!

Our dessert selection was a chocolate cake which came smothered in a fudge sauce and strawberries:

No complaints on this one.

Our waitress who was handling all the tables did a great job!

So there you have it, Chef Bruno has found his calling at Mangia and you will agree when you try their food.