I had the pleasure of visiting Mango House a few years ago, on a cross-country road trip of the UK with a friend from the Netherlands. We were headed to Cardiff and running a bit behind, and were pretty famished when we decided to pull off of the M4 and venture into the village of Magor. My friend, Esther, was in the mood for Indian food (not generally among my favorite cuisines..at the time, anyway), and Magor's Mango House featured prominently in local reviews. After dining here, I can see why.
First off, the owner and hosts were among the friendliest, most personable restaurateurs I have ever met. There was a short wait for a table (~15-20 mins), and the owner offered us a free beer from the bar during our wait, for our trouble. Although we declined, I was impressed by his generous offer, and his personal interest in getting to know us (both foreigners in the UK) and the purpose of our visit. We spent the entirety of our wait for the table speaking with him and our waiter, when he was not busy serving other tables.
The interior was clean to the point of sparking, the decor giving off vibes of a modernist manor house set for a formal dinner party (which was slightly intimidating at first, for us to two rough-and-tumble road trippers). The meal, like the decor and the hosts, was fantastic: warm naan bread (which was huge!), and I recall both the Naga and Peri Peri chicken being flavorful, tangy and well within my heat-tolerance limits (my friend...not so much, haha!), despite the owner's warnings.
If I ever return to Wales, a stop at Mango House in Magor will be high on the list of required to-do's. It's absolutely worth the detour! read more