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    Mambo's Cafe

    4.1 (385 reviews)
    ModerateCuban, Peruvian, Salad
    Closed 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

    Mambo's Cafe Photos

    Business Info

    MAMBO'S CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Reviews With Photos - Mambo's Cafe

    Empty bread, beans missing
    Craig B.

    Been coming here for years. In the past great food, excellent service and a tad higher priced, but worth it. The last two times noticed the service has really slipped with a new crew. Today thought we would try it again. First, lousy service by the waitress. Food prices have been increased to a ridiculous level. Sweet tea $4 each Two empanadas $12 Cuban sandwich $17 Side cup of black beans $8 Was told they no longer have back bean soup. What? It's a Cuban restaurant. The Cuban sandwich was 30% breath with mustard only. The cup of back beans 2/3 full. Never one time came back to refill sweet tea. Guess it's time to go elsewhere.

    Shrimp grilled to perfection, plantains, rice (white or yellow) black beans in a cup not pictured
    pam s.

    Great food, love their steak, plantains, rice. Server was very nice, informative and patient w our questions. The colorful decor makes for a fun atmosphere.

    The service was great and so was the seafood paella & the plantains. Definitely a sleeper and a keeper!!
    Todd W.

    The service and food was great, haven't had paella in awhile and this seafood paella was amazing and the plantains WOW

    Menu
    Annie A.

    What an awesome find in this area. The food was delicious. We got the fish, chicken and a few other options amongst the group. The server was great and helped us figure out what to get. The place is very casual and can accommodate large groups.

    Pisco Punch!
    Linda D.

    Dinner was delicious' been looking for a closer Cuban place and Peruvian is an added bonus. They catered a lunch at work and I couldn't wait to try it in person :-) Went with my husband who loves Ropa Vieja and he said it was great! I had the Lechon Asado. And a signature house cocktail with Tostones Rellenos was an appetizing start! It's a large space! Has an outdoor area. Is located down from the cigar bar, so if you're smoke sensitive sit inside. They offer a large array of beverage (adult) and the guava cheesecake had a lovely layer of guava on top! The prices are reasonable and make it a possible, go to place. We will be going again and have already suggested to it the ladies at work for our next night out! Thanks for a delicious dinner!

    Kate B.

    This place is always spot on! The fish is so fresh! Grouper, snapper, shrimp and calamari! Service is exceptional and the price is right! Oh, and I didn't mention their black beans! Amazing!

    Menu
    LeeAnn M.

    So happy Mambos survived COVID! I have been a fan since they were at their old location on Haynes Bridge. Visited tonight and was happy to see they were packed! This means they are popular so shouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. It was the first time I've been where there wasn't one parking spot available in the lot and had to park across the way at Lowe's. Even being that busy, they seated us right away with our reservation. They did have people waiting and asked them to wait in their cars and they would text them when their table was ready. The wait was about 20-25 minutes. The service was a bit slow because they were short staffed but they were still on top of everything once we finally got a server. Because we waited for a server for a good fifteen minutes we all realized when he came we needed to have food and drink orders ready to go. There were seven of us so I made sure to ask for a pitcher of water for the table. I've been there before where we are at the end of the meal and the server hasn't returned to check on us and everyone needs water. So it was a must to ask and they gladly brought one. It took a bit to bring everything to the table that was ordered. The beverages didn't actually come till after the food. My gripe here is the heavy pour. Having more alcohol isn't always a good thing because it can ruin what a drink is supposed to taste like. This was the case for all of the drinks. We were here celebrating a birthday and they allowed us to bring in our own cake and they provided plates and spoons. The servers were super friendly and helpful. I will always come back. Other things that are great on the menu are the Relleno de Papa, Tostones, Chicken Milanesa, Cuban Sandwich...just everything....you really can't go wrong if you are craving a Latin inspired meal.

    Luisa H.

    Birthday dinner with our family. This was the first time at Mambo's Cafe. The food & cocktails were delicious! The service was good.

    Parrillada De Mariscos - $38 (issue: rubbery octopus and swimming in oil)
    Rick C.

    I originally reviewed Mambo's Cafe (Alpharetta) in 2016, giving 5 stars for the overall combination of great Cuban and Peruvian dishes, good service, value, and upbeat ambiance. Sadly, much has changed in the last 7 years. The menu is essentially the same, but execution has declined. After two consecutive dissatisfying experiences here in the last few months, I've downgraded my rating, and I would be hard-pressed to return. The experience a few months ago involved slow service, lukewarm food, and failure to prepare food as requested. The main issue with the latter is that I requested my steak (part of mixed grill) prepared Medium Well. It was brought Rare...after a long wait, too. They took the steak back by itself and cooked it appropriately, but this sort of threw off the cadence of the meal. I wrote this all off as a bad night... stuff happens, right? However, today I had another experience that convinced me that Mambo's has really gone downhill. This time, I ordered the Parrillada de Mariscos (seafood grill) ($38) while my friend got the Churrasco (skirt steak) and pesto pasta combination ($28). Food was brought relatively quickly yet again, temperatures were inconsistent. Some items on the plates were hot while others were luke warm. Odd and not appealing. But the big issue: My seafood dish included octopus, and it was so rubbery that it was inedible. I would compare it to trying to chew a thick piece of rubber hose. (A rare instance of having to spit out food...ick). Now I realize that octopus, like squid, can be tricky. It can be tough if undercooked, but it will quickly become rubbery if overcooked. It's got to be cooked really fast (like hot grill 60 seconds) or marinated and very slow cooked (like an hour). I'm not sure what happened in this case, but I'm guessing that the food prep has become sloppy and inattentive, resulting in an overcooked disaster. I often choose to hold back on complaints, but for a $38 entree, I expect all the ingredients to be at least acceptable (and edible). So I told our waitress. To my surprise, she just looked dumbfounded and unsure what to do. She said, "Oh, sorry, so do you want me to leave that out of your to go box?" Seriously? That's it? After feeling a little more annoyed, I asked to talk to the manager. The manager came; she was polite and offered to have them prepare a couple of pieces of octopus for me to take home with leftovers. So, at this point, my thinking was, "let it go..." The waiter brought a similar portion of octopus. Out of curiosity, I cut a piece to taste. Better - it was at least edible. Yet still a little tough. (Have these cooks not been trained?) As prepared years ago at this restaurant, the dish was cooked with a little olive oil but not much. It was "clean" and full of distinct tastes of the various ingredients. Now? Excessive oil...swimming in oil! Looks like it's in a sauce, and everything tastes the same. Again... sloppy preparation! Did Covid and the labor shortage ruin Mambo's?

    Entrance
    Shailesh J.

    We came here on a weekday and I was happy with their warm welcome. Here is the summary of my experience Ambiance - 4/5: The ambiance is a stark difference between the bar and the seating area. While the bar looks chic and upscale, the restaurant area has been given a rustic vibe. I am not a fan of rustic places with open AC ducts but others might like it. Service 4/5: The service was really good with the staff helping me understand all the dishes and being ready to modify them with a smile. They brought bread for us without us asking for it. But in general, the service was slow, we had to wait for some time even for the water to arrive - This happened when the restaurant was not so crowded Food 4/5: The food was a mix of hits and misses: 1. Pollo Saltado: The pollo saltado was served with rice and had a tangy flavor which I really liked because it was close to an Indian flavor. The chicken was moist and the portion was large so I took it home and had another bite the next day 2. Chicken Empanadas: I had their famous empanadas but I didn't personally love them. Value for Money 4/5: The place is not cheap with a majority of the dishes above $15-20 but the quantity is huge so you can take it home and have another bite most of the time. In summary, I would definitely come to try a few more dishes and give it a try once more PS: The green chutney with the bread is really spicy ;)

    Empanadas

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    4 months ago

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    10 months ago

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    5 months ago

    The Peruvian dishes were excellent. We got takeout to bring home as we don't live close. Looks like a cozy place to dine.

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    2 years ago

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    5 months ago

    This review was left unpublished for some reason. Delicious food & great service. We will be coming back again and again.

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    2 years ago

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    3 months ago

    Love the food here - feels healthy and not too heavy or fried. Our go to when family is in town

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    6 months ago

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    1 year ago

    Fresh great variety and generous portions. Efficient service, great liquor selection. Could beef up the wine list.

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    Original ChopShop

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    Man it is a heck of a salad... huge even... loaded with all the things you want and none that you…read moredon't, but I got one the other night and it was $30+ once it was delivered. Now I certainly got everything I wanted.. and it was loaded to the brim (next time I'm asking for more corn) but the price just about threw me for a loop. By the time it delivered the cost was way high! I guess maybe it is better to eat in. I mean it's a salad... the main component is still lettuce... but honestly if I had one complaint it was that there was not enough lettuce. I guess I loaded it up with so much stuff there was less room for lettuce? In the end it was a great tasting salad... fresh, loaded, and fantastic.. just a bit on the pricy side especially once delivered. But next I'm time I'll just go and eat there!

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    4.0
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    Visited Barleygarden 3 times now and I can conclude some pretty stark conclusions:…read more Beer is great! They have abuse and an awesome selection of beer. If this is all you will enjoy here - this is a 5-star establishment. Location in Avalon is another strong point of this establishment. Super convenient, although small. Food - is just not good. If you are drunk - then it is all right, otherwise it just doesn't cut it. I had hot dog - and I must say $1.50 Costco hot dog is way better. Wings - below average. Chicken tenders - the same. Fries are probably the best thing here. Service - just terrible. Outside of bartenders who are pretty happy and funny, the rest of service is hit or miss. First time I visited was awful. Second time around I had to walk up to server to place an order and ended up getting wrong beer multiple times on refills (how is getting the same refill a problem?). So 3-stars for this review is me being generous on account of great beer. I will however never order food here again.

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    Barleygarden Kitchen - Alpharetta
    Chicken Sliders and Side Georgia Greens Salad
    Chicken Sliders and Side Georgia Greens Salad
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    Mambo's Cafe - cuban - Updated July 2026

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