New Swindon restaurant Mandovi welcomes first customers

Glorio Fernandes and Caetano D’Costa have just finished renovating the former home of a café at the top of Regent Street after taking over the building in March.

The Mandovi Restaurant is serving up a mixture of Indian and Indo-Chinese cuisine, including a range of curries, bhajis, rice dishes, chicken wings, vegetarian options, soups, and desserts.

Glorio has worked at management level in London restaurants for the past seven years and jumped at the chance to set up his own eatery in the heart of Swindon.

The 43-year-old added: “Instead of giving my time to someone else, I wanted to be my own entrepreneur.

“We found this place, which is in a great location, and grabbed it as soon as we could.

“We want people to leave with a smile after having good food and good service.

" I've been thinking about creating this menu for years. Everything has a different taste and texture.

“We have the knowledge and skills and experience to make this work. If, by God’s grace, it does well enough, we might expand the business too.

“We are in the heart of Swindon and we want people to come here and experience our food, bring this great taste to their doorstep, and hope they come back soon.”

His brother and business partner Caetano is a pastry chef who previously worked in a five-star hotel and a restaurant with one Michelin star.

He added: “This was our long-term dream, so we are trying our best and will not compromise on quality."

Regent Cafe at 2 Regent Circus permanently closed in late 2019.

A Polish restaurant then operated out of the same premises for a short time.

The new restaurant is named after a famous bridge in Goa which crosses the Mandovi river.

Its full menu can be viewed on the website mandovi.uk and includes dishes such as crispy bhindi baskets, haryali fish tikka, BBQ lamb ribs, honey chilli potatoes, Chinese Szechwan, butterfly prawns, as well as peas and paneer kadai.

Glorio and Caetano are hopeful of receiving a good food hygiene rating and plan to offer taste tests so that shoppers passing the restaurant’s entrance can try various dishes.

Earlier this month, the managers submitted a licensing application to Swindon Borough Council requesting permission to serve alcoholic drinks and cocktails on the premises.