By happenstance, my wife and I decided to try Mangia Bistro (MB) this past week, after my wife said she wanted "Italian" and I just happened upon a line from a review for MB that read in part, " the best Italian food I've ever had." Well, since I've actually eaten Italian food in Italy, I cannot say i that the food at MB was the "best" Italian food I've eaten, but it was very VERY good!
I suppose we had never eaten at MB before because the restaurant's exterior is quite unassuming, and the restaurant's location is not something that evokes thoughts of great places to eat nearby. But, I am glad we gave it a try.
Since we had not eaten at MB before, I decided we would splurge a bit and order an appetizer AND a dessert AND, a pizza from which we could split a slice and reserve the remainder for take home. As an appetizer, we ordered the Stuffed Mushrooms and for dessert, we had the Tiramisu.
The Stuffed Mushrooms were tasty and were warm, not hot. The breading was interesting, sort of like a cornbread but, not really, with bits of cranberries. So savory with a hint of sweet. They were good and would have been great, had they been piping hot. But, I understand why they might allow them to cool a little before serving, since mushrooms tend to squirt scalding hot water immediately after being cooked, removed from a fryer.
The homemade Tiramisu was sliced in pie shape, rather than the typical square that appears cut from a frozen, boxed ready-made option. The Tiramisu was obviously homemade and was delicious!! It was garnished with whipped cream and strawberries, and was drizzled with caramel, which was unique, but also delicious!
We ordered the Margherita Pizza and though I am not a big fan of Sun-dried Tomatoes the pizza was also delicious!
As our entrees, my wife had the Spaghetti Carbonara, I had the Lasagna. Both were very VERY tasty! The portion sizes were more than ample, given the amount of food we ordered. I generally order Lasagna when eating Italian and I usually ask for the cheese on top to be browned well. For some strange reason, I rarely receive what I hope to; as if the person doing the "browning" of my cheese is afraid of overdoing it. Hmmm... not possible! In this case, my Lasagna was perfectly done!
The interior of MB was very clean and bright; decorated mostly in Honey Oak colored wood and Limestone. Our Server, Austin, was friendly and attentive. We only had water and iced tea for drinks and they were good, with nothing off putting to report.
We will definitely be eating at MB again, and if you're looking for great Italian food, then you won't be disappointed if you too give Mangia Bistro a try!!
Eat well. Be well. Cheers! read more