Mangetout

KFC could clearly learn a thing or two about customer service from Mangetout.
An independent sandwich shop and take-​away, they manage to serve hundreds of people each day with speed, efficiency and friendly smiles. There’s different soups, salads and specials each day but the majority of customers seem to go in for their impressive range of sandwiches. There’s classics like Ham & Mustard and Cheese & Pickle alongside more modern choices like Goats Cheese and Roast Veg. You can also choose between rolls, wraps, hot panninis and for the incredibly hungry, club sandwiches.

You’re hardly likely to find little green pea pod stir-​fry ingredients in here, and you’d be hard pushed to see anyone doing Del Boy impressions, although I wouldn’t rule it out. Nope, this is one of the places you’d encourage Joey Tribbiani to visit were he gallivanting around Liverpool. As well as all the Beatles honouring places, the Americans love those. Nope, Mangetout does sandwiches, and it does them good.
As with all supreme sandwich vendors, the choices are tantamount to endless. If you’re running by in the morning you can get breakfast baps with all the trimmings, totting up at no more than £2.20 for a double meat extravaganza. Mmm, portable coronary. For lunch bread choices equal the likes of ordinary sliced, Vienna rolls and salad baps, and you can enjoy traditional treats such as corned beef and piccalilli, honey roast ham and English mustard, brie and cranberry sauce, beef and horseradish, coronation chicken and mango chutney, sage and onion stuffed chicken… I could go on. Should I? Nah, it’d spoil the inevitable procrastination you’d experience upon actually entering the place.
I will talk a little more about it though. The menu is divided into categories of sandwich fillings — deli, club, gourmet and hot. Gourmet’s the list that gets your mouth watering, with the likes of brie and avocado, hot bacon and blue stilton, goat’s cheese and roast veg, lamb and minted yoghurt, chorizo and cream cheese, pastrami and caramelised onion chutney… tasty, unusual fillings that feel like a little piece of luxury at lunchtime. One you can hold with both hands, a proper sandwich. Meanwhile winter warmers include paninis or ciabattas of mozzarella-​laden tuna melts, tomato with red onion, chicken breast, chorizo, the list continues. They even have some simple jacket spuds and salad boxes as well as a soup of the day, so there’s something for everyone, and light snacks are freshly baked and also punctuating the daily specials.
The service is excellent, it’s speedy and efficient as well as friendly but you will find it swamped during office lunch hours so try and beat the rush if you’re lucky enough to choose when to grab lunch. And the prices aren’t bad too — potatoes will set you back no more that £3.65 and gourmet sandwiches only stretch to £3.50, with the hot ones pushing the best part of £4. Get involved and mange tout, mon amie! That means eat lots. Yeah, I know French. I’m cultured.

Mangetout is a cracking alternative to the big name branded coffee shops that litter Liverpool and indeed most big cities these days!
It’s handy as it’s based in the business quarter of town, but it’s not pricey like all the Starbucks and Nero’s that are dotted about nearby. Another good thing about Mangetout is that they serve good, honest and fresh food. Basically, they offer a great varied menu for a nice balanced lunch.
When I ate here one lunchtime, it was nice and quiet and I had some fantastic homemade pea and ham soup and a Chinese chicken sandwich. Both were great and I’m sure it cost me less than a fiver.
A friend of mine used to work here, and she said it was a great place to work, and the owners really took pride in what they did. A good all rounder!

I discovered ‘Mangetout’ for the first time today, I fancied lunch somewhere quiet, somewhere away from the crowds of shoppers, somwhere new that wasn’t Starbucks or Costa. I found it (very near to Pret, admittedly) but this place was very different. When I first looked in I thought it was a mere take-​out hatch with limited bar stool seating, but there is a small seating area inside also.
I really liked the atmosphere in here; just inches from the busy Castle Street, the place feels lively enough, you still feel connected to the bustle outside, and yet it’s quiet and relaxing. Near the edge of both the shopping district and the business district, there is a mix of customers, however there were more of the suited and booted sort during my visit, grabbing a quick French Brie and Cranberry sauce bap and a minted lamb and natural yoghurt vienna roll for lunch, you know how it is. I was surprised to note that these rather fancy offerings did not demand expense claims however, as nearly all of the sandwiches from the Deli Selection (most basic: three cheese and spring onion/​honey roast ham and mustard) Club Selection (beef, turkey, chicken.) and Gourmet Selection (posh nosh: French goat’s cheese, stilton and hot rashers, chorizo and aforementioned minted lamb) are under £3.
The staff were nice enough; I was peeved that I was given neither a tray nor a saucer on which I could dispose of my teabag; it’s a pet hate of mine, abandoning the soggy thing on a clean table. watching tea seep out. threatening jacket sleeves and newspapers and then realizing too late that my drink is not quite strong enough and I can’t redunk, and for £1.30 I really expected a saucer.
I was, however, impressed with the selection of greetings cards on sale; it seemed an incongruous double business venture, and yet, I saw at least five that I wanted and actually bought some of the wrapping paper!
I’m going to look out for the Old Hall Street shop and try one of the salad boxes, they looked very nice indeed: crisp, fresh salad mix and a choice of plain and sauced meats, all freshly prepared (anddd the preparer wears gloves; I like it when they wear gloves!)

Mangetout has two café’s, one on Old Hall Street and the other on Castle Street.
The Castle Street Mangetout is situated just off Derby Square and Lord Street and just a stones throw from Liverpool’s new shopping centre.
Mangetout is all about choice — there is so much to choose from. It’s likely that you will find at least one food item to purchase. Starting in the morning, they do yummy breakfast baps. At the moment that have a bin lid breakfast on offer at £3.50 available till 11am and includes two bacon rashes, two sausages, a fried egg, beans, two hash browns and mushrooms. Getting to lunchtime and loads of different sandwiches to choose from — club and gourmet. Then there are panini’s, jacket potatoes, soup and salad boxes (carrot and sultana, pesto and pasta etc).
There is an online ordering service for those of us you just can’t make it out of the office. They also have a section on their website that tells you want ‘today’s specials’ are.
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