This was my third time at Mandana. Based purely on how long everything took, this was a 3.5-star trip. But I'm leaving 5 stars to offset some of the unfair bad press. I really want to see this place stay open Definitely stay away if you're looking for a trendy spot or a quick bite. Our dinner clocked in at right around two hours. The biggest issue was how backed up everything was. The hostess was running around handling multiple things at once, so it took way longer than it should have just to get greeted and seated--which is always a huge pet peeve of mine. Once we were at the table, the bar got slammed, so our wine and drinks didn't even come until after the appetizer was already on the table. With how slow things were moving, I figured they'd at least comp a drink or dessert or something to smooth it over, but not this time. That said, the kitchen still knows what it's doing: Baked Scrod: Honestly one of my absolute favorite meals in the area. Spot on as always good price and huge portion. Calamari: Fantastic. Crisp and cooked right, nice flavor Server: Even though the staff was clearly stretched thin, our server was super nice and stayed friendly the whole time. read more

The Mandana is fairly close to where we live so we dine there quite frequently. Nice atmosphere and great tentative wait staff. My husband and I have our favorites and have always been happy with our choices. read more

We had a delightful time at the Mandana Inn. For dinner we chose the famous Boston Scrod and they had a lamb special that night as well. Both were incredible. We've talked about the buttery crust in the fish many times since and loved the pesto paired with the rack of lamb! This place has an old lodge feel to it, but nicer.It's comfortable and familiar. Our service was attentive too! All in all, it was a memorable dining experience and dare I say one of the better in Skaneateles. read more

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Unwelcoming hostess, should have been our first clue that this was going to be a disappointing dinner. 6 pm reservations for 4. Our main entree came out almost 2 hours later, with no explanation from the wait staff. On the upside the Thai Calamari was delicious. With the numerous choices of dining places in the area, I'd think twice about the Mandana Inn. read more

Mandana mgt has to get its act together, Saturday's meal atrocious, kitchen backed up with extensive delays and manager not in sight. Unacceptable read more

Four of us went here on a Friday evening - 9/6/24. Very busy, but we had a reservation and were seated immediately! Tom was our server, and was attentive, helpful, and pleasant. The building is a bit random, but the back dining area we were in was open and well lit. We all ordered the baked scrod, which was tender and tasty! Sides of fresh green beans and rice with squash were also well prepared and delicious. Portions were ample. Will definitely go again. Cost, with drinks was about $45/person total. read more

2024.2025 Update: We've had dinner at Mandana the last two years and it has been a highlight of our trip. As always, the Boston Scrod is flaky and melt in your mouth tender - an oldie but a goodie. What we discovered in our more recent visits is the perfection of their filet mignon. Really, it outshines more well known steak houses in the area. Service this year by Carissa was excellent! read more

Amazing food and atmosphere. The staff are very accommodating. They have the absolutely best raw oysters and wedge salad. Great prices too.

Great experience, food and service! Would recommend if you are in the Skaneateles area.

I ordered the steak medium rare and it came seared, cold and red almost throughout with the exception of the surface. The waitress agreed it was not medium rare. The meat was fibrous, very stringy and hard to cut (even with the steak knife) and very hard to chew! The baked potato was so hard on the bottom that I could not cut into the skin. Hitting it on the bottom with a spoon sounded like a wooden plank. The waitress took the meal to the owner, who apparently agreed it was not cooked to the requested medium rare and that the potato was way overcooked, but she said she had no difficulty cutting the steak and left it at that! We took the entire steak home and fed it to our dog! The waitress Carissa was Excellent. Very apologetic, but was not able to do anything other than to give us our bill for the worst meal we have Ever had at the Mandana Inn. We have always said that the food was excellent and truly enjoyed eating there. However, given that the Owner chose to not even apologize to us in person, or say she agreed with all of the above, we Will Not be returning, nor will we recommend it to our friends and out of town guests. read more

Known for Boston Baked Scrod which I have had many times at this wonderful establishment - 9/10/22 dinner didn't disappoint after 20+ years of being away and living out of state! Thank you! read more

Wonderful authentic Italian along with seafood and steak choices. Beautiful short drive from village of Skaneateles. Oh, and key lime pie to die for! read more

Amazing food, comfortable atmosphere and excellent service. Overall a great dining experience!

We dined at the Mandana Inn last nite. We were greeted by our Waiter who took our drink orders, one person in our group requested Ginger Ale only be told they were out. As we placed our appetizer and dinner orders, one of us ordered Veal Parmesan only to be told they they were out of Veal. The guest made a second choice. Our salads arrived as ordered and we fresh and well made. However, we wondered where or appetizers were!? We were looking forward to our Escargot! Not long after we finished our salads, our dinners were delivered. We asked about our Escargot appetizers to be told by the Waiter that "the kitchen must have forgotten to make them". Hummm, no ginger ale, no veal, no appetizer. The seared scallops were delicious however it came with a tiny serving of rice. Very tiny ! The scrod was very different from our previous experiences there. It had a lot of dark, somewhat strong tasting fish that was not appetizing. The shrimp fettuccine arrived and the shrimp were excellent, the sauce had no flavor. The final straw was when one in our group ordered the famous Mandana's Pavlova and was told they no longer offer it. We all left very disappointed with the experience. Based on past meals at this location, we expected more but got less.... read more

Lovely food and great and friendly staff. Always a great time and great food. Great location.

The Mandana Inn continues to be the standout in the Skaneateles restaurant scene. It's the sort of place that feels like it's run by a family and that's because it is. While the restaurant has been around for generations, Emily, the owner, and her entire team, continue to build on a long-standing legacy with their thoughtful approach to hospitality and traditional dishes. Standout dishes include: the eggplant parm (Emily's speciality), the chicken French, the fried green tomatoes, the clams, and anything from the bar. The meatball appetizer is also awesome. Can't say enough good things about this place. Recommend reservations though! read more

We made a last minute reservation and they snuck us in with no wait. Then the place filled up. The service was excellent and the food was delicious. I had the egg battered chicken with a nice light lemon sauce and my wife had chicken parmigiana. Her sauce was also right on! I look forward to eating there again soon. read more

We were not sure what the evening would be, but this was an amazing meal. From pasta to baked scrod, we really enjoyed our dinner.

Went to dinner at 7:30... 9:45 still had not gotten our dinner so we left. They have awesome food but its a crap shoot if your going to get it. read more

Never again. Like so many of us we have been coming here for years and loved the place, good food and you just have to put up with up and down service. No more, never again. They have lost it. Waited 2 hours for entrees. And the poor service staff had nothing to say. The owner, not present not accountable. Never again. Never. read more

It's too bad that one star is the lowest rating I can give this restaurant. Think of all the things that would make your experience bad and we had it. From the moment we walked in and was told they were way behind.. a snotty woman didn't even ask us to sit somewhere, so we stood outside. A half hour later we were led to our table. Took 20 minutes for someone to show up. One hour and ten minutes later we got our salads. And only one drink offered all this time also. Total time was over three hours for so so food and some of the worst staff I've ever seen anywhere, and I travel all over the country. Believe me.. don't go there. read more

We had a 6:30 reservation for a party of 12. There was already a large party finishing dinner when we sat down. We got served dinner 3 hours later. There were other issues to cause the low rating, such as not getting our second round of drinks for over 30 minutes, not having the water glasses refilled (even though the guy assisting the waitress did the table next to ours). The waitress, as wonderful as she was, could not keep up with the room we were in. It was obvious the kitchen was not prepared to handle larger parties. The saving grace might be the food. Anyone who ate the scrod loved it. The ribeye was cool and not seasoned well. Overall a bad night for the place. I would have expected at the very least to have the owner come out and apologize for the poor food service but she did not appear. read more

We had a delicious dinner here last night. Our waitress, Heather was personable, attentive and fun! The environment is warm and welcoming to locals and tourists alike. The manager diligently strives to meet the needs of the clientele. Kudos to the chefs, hostess, wait staff and owner/manager. We will be back read more

Great place. The food is always amazing. Love the baked scrod. It's my favorite. The staff is very friendly and efficient. Nice atmosphere with old school charm. read more

As a family caregiver that travels with special needs it is especially important to find locations that provide both aesthetic and confort with a range of food options. This inn provides this and much more. We had a chance to have a lovely conversation with the owner and her daughter which only enhanced the experience. Will recommend and will definitely return. Family owned, and the family is doing it right. read more

Took my family there. It was very good! Food was excellent! Service was just a bit on the slow side, but that's the way things are lately with trying to get help. I had the baked scrod. Wife had linguini and clams. Started with their fried green tomatoes. Also very good. The drinks we well made. Glad to see they are back open! Made reservations. Probably a good idea to do so. When we got there, we only waited 5 min or so and got seated. Definitely will go back and try some other items. If your in the area, give them a try, I don't think you would be disappointed. read more

This was our first visit. The place was recommended. We called many days ahead and made a reservation for 7 p.m. on July 27, 2022. When we arrived the parking lot was full; however, with our reservation and our arrival at 7 p.m. we were seated within minutes. It took 20 minutes for any service when we received water and bread. After another 25 minutes a waitress finally came over telling us she was not aware that this table was hers. We ordered drinks and she brought us more bread. At this time we ordered salads and dinners along with second round of drinks. From 7:45 to 9:20 p.m. we were told many times that the food would be out soon. Meanwhile, all the patrons in the dining room, save 2 tables were served and the people left. We asked to speak to the manager, Emily Waziak and we were told she refused to come out. When she came out she was abusive and nasty and told us to get out and never come back. We asked her to forget the bill and she threatened to call the police. We paid the bill and left in disgust. We have since learned that this is usual behavior of owner/manager Emily Waziak WE WILL NEVER BE BACK AND RECOMMEND YOU AVOID THIS PLACE. No food is worth such a wait and abuse. The only saving grace was the server trying to calm everyone during the ordeal. It seemed that the wait staff were mostly new so apparently Emily treats the staff like she does the clientelle. read more

Horrible service, it took over 2 hours to get a meal. We arrived at 7:30pm and the staff didn't even approach the table until 8:00pm. We then waited over an hour for the food to arrive. Terrible service. read more

Reservation encouraged and I believe it can be done over the phone. This is a local favorite as in the parking lot is always overflowing with cars. Everything was reasonably priced and tasted great. No plans to return, but it's always nice to go here when you want to get out of the Skaneateles hustle and bustle. read more

We were on the lake and popped in for dinner. The owner and her daughter were very accommodating and the Eggplant Parmesan was divine! I will look forward to coming back, every time we are in the area read more

Mandana Inn - New American Near Me - Skaneateles, New York

The food was fine, but the service was inexcusably bad. And not just for our table, the entire restaurant. I ordered one of the specials, soft shell crab, and it was good, but nothing stood out. read more

We waited 2.5 hours and still did'nt get served. Wanted to leave and pay for what we owed to that point. We had a couple who had a toddler and had to leave after 930. Owner came out and threatened to call police if we didnt pay up. It was a total nightmare. You shouldnt take more reservations then you are able to handle. Dont go there if you're hungry. read more

It's difficult to describe how poor both the service and the food our party of seven experienced tonight at the Mandana Inn. The waiter was not willing to even try to accommodate special requests for adjustments to meals offered on the menu. It was 90 minutes before the food was served. One person's order was never delivered, and when asked about it, the server replied it was not possible to prepare the dish, and did not offer any other comparable dish. The food was mediocre, and the selection of vegetables and salads limited. It is not possible to give this place even one star as the experience was so unacceptable. read more

I'm reluctant to give such a good review as I consider this a hidden gem and don't want it to become to popular ! The food here is awesome the owner is really hands on and the staff is pleasant and efficient. The menu is very diverse from casual to fine dinning ,my favorites are the oysters,clams and shrimp and Italian dishes . But you can't go wrong with anyone of their offerings . read more

Mandana Inn - Fresh shucked oysters and clams ! - New American Near Me - Skaneateles, New York

Tonight my husband took me out to dinner and he chose Mandana Inn. It was our Anniversary so it was a special night. We started with the French Onion soup and it was very good! We loved the bread and butter which was a little sweet but just right. We ordered the Ribeye and Scallops and they were cooked to perfection. Carrot cake was the dessert and it did not disappoint .... I wanted the Chef to know and our waiter and say thank you for an incredible meal. read more

We arrived on time for dinner. Overheard scuttlebutt at check regarding an employee issue that we did not wish to hear. After being seated we sat and waited for a wait person to attend to us for 30 minutes. Not impressed. Got the prime rib which was fatty. I ordered a sam adams seasonal and got an ipa which I do not like. Asked for extra salad dressing which was forgotten. Overall a bad experience and do not recommend. Very over priced for the experience. read more

Awesome food and never a let down. Plus the service is awesome even during these tough times with staffing. Well worth the extra drive from downtown Skan read more

Awesome Place! Emily does a great job. Great dishes, and I especially love the chicken Anthony!!! A real now eating experience!!

I give this place one star and that star should go to the patisserie for the bread. The water tastes like it is straight out of the lake. We ordered a wedge salad, which was decent, a scallop dinner for me, shrimp and scallops for him. 45 minute wait for a salad. Then we sat there. And sat there some more. No more bread. Plenty of lake water refills. These scallops were the WORST I've ever had. Overcooked, tasted like RUBBER, gritty- sand in every bite, not properly washed, if at all. Vegetables tasted like cardboard no seasoning, undercooked. Add to that the fact that it took over two hours for our meal, we will not be back. Don't waste your time or money. Not worth it at all. wait staff was apologetic but not worth it in any way shape or form. read more

We were headed off to the Blue Fish Grill for dinner and thought, heck, let's try the Mandana Inn, it had been years since we were there. The parking lot was not full so we thought, great - not too busy. We walked in and stood at the hostess station for 10 minutes being totally ignored by all. Finally my husband caught the eye of one of the wait staff and she came over with a "don't bother me" attitude. He asked about dinner and she promptly said "we have no openings". He asked about all the empty tables in the dining room (which there were quite a few) and she said "they are all reserved". No "I'm sorry but please come back". Needless to say, we continued on to the Blue Fish Grill where we were seated immediately and had three wait staff helping us select a delicious, timely dinner with cocktails! Good luck with your attitude! read more