MANGA SALVADOR, WHERE OCEAN VIEWS MEET FLAVOUR
With ocean-front views paired with a scrumptious tasting menu, a dinner at Manga is hard to beat. Located on Rio Vermelho’s boardwalk in Salvador, you’ll find some of the most unique flavor combinations here, creating a quiet harmony among striking contrasts. Established within a renovated mansion, the restaurant’s ambiance is unmatched, stuck somewhere between mid-century modern and contemporary glam. Couple Dante and Katrin’s familiar values add to the authentic cosiness that follows every meal, despite sophisticated flavour pairings.
all images courtesy of MANGA
The pièce de résistance of this stunning location obviously has to be the open terrace, where you are surrounded by the calm chaos of the boardwalk, filled with a warm summer breeze. Fresh herb plants hang throughout the space, ready to be used in the restaurant’s cuisine. On brisker nights, you can always head down to the main dining room, where you can be served the tasting menu. The space is colonial with renovations by architect Simone Ferraro, creating a uniquely elegant cosiness.
On the street floor, you’ll find the bar, which was designed in partnership with Barman Jean Ponce to craft signature cocktails served exclusively at Manga. The atmosphere is buzzy, drawing you in immediately as you make your way inside the restaurant’s entrance.
The food itself is taken with the utmost seriousness—as claimed by chefs Dante and Katrin— with a hands-on dedication to making things taste good. Meeting while working at the famed D.O.M. restaurant (which also crossed into our top Brazil restaurants list), they fuse their Brazilian and South German origins in a way that just bursts with passion.
Given the chance to customize your dining journey, you are given the option to indulge in a tasting menu or just order à la carte the old-fashioned way. Each option is tasty in its own way with some standouts from the tasting menu being the fish poached in pil-pil sauce, charcoal grilled squid filled with chorizo and oysters slightly poached in cupuaçu beurre blanc. An ever-changing à la carte menu make sit difficult to state favourites, but this is just a testament to the restaurant’s creativity.
