Writing this review as I experience a bout of food poisoning from our dinner about 7 hours ago...We've been to Bethany before (my fiancé grew up spending summers here), but never tried Mango's. With the view, we figured it had to be good.
The view is about the only thing going for it, and you'll pay for it in more ways than one. I won't talk pricing, because it's peak season so everywhere is taking advantage. But price:quality ratio is a joke.
Sat right away on the patio, which was nice. But we had a reservation and got there early. Wasn't greeted by a server until 10 min. later when I flagged one down to ask if someone could come by. They were in rotation rather than sectional seating, so could've been overlooked. It happens. Guy was young, and a little flighty, but again excusable if the other factors weren't at play.
We both went to wash our hands when we got there (ya know, Covid-19 and good practice before you eat anyway). That should've been the major red-flag. It was a Tuesday night. Didn't seem too busy, especially since the restaurant is basically at half-capacity. So why do the highway rest stop bathrooms look better than this place? The men's was dirty and had that hadn't been cleaned today smell (I get it, sometimes men are gross), but the woman's was apparently equally if not more dirty. But, we were hungry and had a reservation so we stayed and ordered.
The food is why ultimately I'd give Mango's zero stars if I could. Stay away from crab and spinach dip. "Homemade" consists of watery dip with frozen lump crab meat. I ordered the jerk wings to start, actually not bad. Could've been the silver-lining, but then the dinners came.
Granted I ordered the taco salad, so not expecting to be wow'd but damn how do you mess up a taco salad. Regular romaine, with some shredded blend, beans and a little bit of salsa. So bland. I got the sour cream on the side so maybe that's what they expect you to use as dressing? Have to add the chicken, but I wouldn't. Definitely not worth it for a cold dry breast that is obviously grilled the morning of and refrigerated. Could've at least microwaved it (lol).
My fiancée ordered the icing on the cake. BBQ sliders. Off hand, she said that maybe this dish would leave Mango's on a higher note. She noted the good flavors of the slaw on the sliders, until she was about to bit into the 3rd one and notice a fly mashed into the sauce. A common housefly, and we were eating outside, but there's no way this fly just landed on the food and died. It had been dead, and was halfway mixed into the pickled cabbage. of course I let the manager on the floor know, and he took the sliders off the bill, a simple fix for some non-regulars. I can't see the back of house, so I can't comment on if this was addressed in the kitchen. With how the night went, I'm sure flies aren't the only issue they experience in the kitchen.
I can't tell you the last time I wrote a yelp review, but as I sit here at 4am, which an unfortunate amount of time on my hands, I felt I had to let the community know; avoid this place until they address the issues at hand. With everything, take this information with a grain of salt, but here's my honest experience, having done my time in the industry. Do I know what gave me this early morning wake up call? I suspect the dip but at this point, who knows.
Eric H. I noticed your family owns a number of restaurants in the area (due to the nicely written letter at the men's urinal, prime advertising) and a few on the list command a bit more respect in regards to quality of food, service, and overall experience. The same level of attention needs to be given to Mango's because "the views" alone shouldn't excuse the s*** experience overall. read more