Dan and I visited the Conrad Rangali Island Maldives for the third time in November 2024. We had visited each of the Conrad’s 11 restaurants on prior visits except Mandhoo. As such, Mandhoo was a must visit for me on this visit. Honestly, we had been avoiding Mandhoo because it had always been billed, at least in our opinion, as the resort’s health food restaurant, and we just felt like that was not the vibe we were going for on vacation. While Mandhoo may have one or two healthier dishes than some other places, Mandhoo is just a normal restaurant with something for everyone. We will definitely return.

Mandhoo from afar.

Mandhoo’s dining room during lunch, a close up.

Mandhoo, the restaurant.

Mandhoo is the resort’s spa restaurant. Described as “naturally inspired dining”, Mandhoo is located entirely over water next to the Spa Retreat. The building and setting are stunning. Mandhoo is often open air, with staff opening its floor to ceiling windows. The restaurant is not huge – almost every table has a front row water view. Definitely eat here if you are not staying overwater and want an overwater experience.

A close up of the tables in the dining room.

The interior of Mandhoo at night.

Mandhoo is open for lunch and dinner most days. Lunch offers beautiful sunny views, but it could be quite hot if the windows are open (and you want the windows open). Dinner is cooler, and you can possibly catch the sunset right when the restaurant opens, but it gets dark quickly and you can only see the water immediately surrounding the restaurant (which is lit with artificial lights). Weigh these options when making a reservation. We arrived just after 7 PM for our dinner, saw the sun set pretty quickly and enjoyed our meal overlooking the artificially lit water surrounding our table. I would probably prioritize lunch if you want the full overwater experience (or go for both meals!).

Sunset views from our table.

The visible water after sunset.

Mandhoo is also home to the Instagrammable plant wall. It does make for great photos.

The plant wall at Mandhoo.

The Menu at Mandhoo

Mandhoo’s menu is billed as “fresh and sustainable,” but its honestly pretty standard fare, similar to the menu at the Sunset Grille honestly. The menu offers appetizers, mains and dessert, and each menu is separated into “the Five Elements – Air, Water, Earth, Fire and Plant”. While these titles are kind of related to the menu, its more fluff in my opinion. The full menu is located here. Prices are not listed, but dinner main courses were generally between $35 USD and $55 USD (lobster being more).

Reservations at Mandhoo

I highly recommend a dinner reservation, which can be made by emailing the resort before your visit (they send out an email requesting any dinner reservations in advance of your stay) or asking your island host if any are available during your visit. There is really only one seating at dinner, and Mandhoo is not big. We luckily made a reservation after we arrived on the island, but availability is not guaranteed. While lunch reservations are probably unnecessary, there is no harm in making one to ensure you have one of the best seats.

Mandhoo.

Drinks at Mandhoo

While it is billed as the “healthy” option at Conrad Rangali and the online beverage menu only lists wine, Mandhoo has a full alcohol menu, including cocktails (and mocktails!), wine and beer. In fact, they served a Peroni beer for only $9; a great deal at the Conrad, especially since Peroni is not readily available there (Heineken and Tiger beer are the standard beers at the resort). We also ordered a pricey bottle of water, which always kills us (the restaurants at Conrad Rangali push bottled water and tap or “house water” is seemingly nonexistent at the restaurants….).

My Peroni. The water cost more than the beer.

The Food at Mandhoo

The food at Mandhoo was really, really great. Dan and I were both impressed. Our meal began with an amuse bouche from the chef, which is always a nice treat. The amuse bouche consisted of two small bites, and I cannot remember exactly what they were…whoops.  In any case, we appreciated it, and they were tasty.  We were also served three types of bread with regular butter and a cinnamon-flavored butter.  The cinnamon-butter was incredible.

Mandhoo’s amuse bouche.

Complimentary bread and butter.

Maldivian Lobster Tail.

The coconut foam on my lobster dish at Mandoo.

Dan ordered the Korean-Style Seared Yellowfin Tuna, which was a huge portion of tuna. The tuna was prepared rare with stir-fry bok choy, chili, lime and coriander. He really loved this dish. I dind’t try it, but it looked beautiful.

Korean Style Seared Yellowfin Tuna.

Next visit (November 2025!), however, we are again dining at Mandhoo and ordering the Sage Marinated Chicken Breast Risotto.  Multiple people raved about this dish.  I can’t wait to try it.

Cost of Mandhoo.

I personally categorize Mandhoo as a “mid-tier” restaurant at Conrad Rangali Island. Now, this does NOT mean that Mandhoo is inexpensive or honestly even reasonable, but everything is relative in the Maldives.  For example, Mandhoo is pricier than Rangali Bar, but its much less expensive than the experience dinners, like Koko Grill ($330 USD/person) or the Wine Cellar dinner ($385 USD/person).  My lobster was $72 USD and Dan’s tuna was around $40 USD. Given its stunning location, Mandhoo is a decent alternative to an “experience dinner” without the associated cost.

Eating in this location is certainly an experience.

STEAL OUR DINNER

Conrad Maldives Rangali Island: English website.

Mandhoo: Open Tuesday – Sunday 12:00 – 15:00 and 19:00 – 22:00. Closed Monday.