Mangia Stattizitto

I went for a birthday dinner and was disappointed. The menu offered to us was different from what other patrons received, and the options were limited. The meatballs tasted like they came from a factory, similar to those you might find at a chain restaurant. The pasta was served lukewarm, and the bread only arrived after we had finished our meals. I couldn't even bear to take the leftovers home. Overall, it was a terrible experience, and I won’t be returning.

When we were finally served, we received cold bread with unseasoned olive oil, and everything tasted very low quality. My lasagna was cold, overly salty, and the sauce was so dark it almost looked brown. The shrimp and scallop scampi was inedible; the seafood was undercooked, which is really unpleasant. My scallops were slimy and sour, served with grainy pasta lacking any flavor. The server told me they would remove my entree from the bill but only deducted half of the amount. While the servers were trying their best, they were clearly understaffed, which isn’t fair to them. If you’re too busy to provide proper service, you should stop taking new tables—it’s just common sense. The chef seemed to be in a bad mood, and other diners were frequently complaining. When you charge $30 a plate, you need to offer the service and quality to match. This experience was absolutely atrocious. I usually aim for honesty in my reviews without being dramatic, but this was an exceptionally dramatic experience.

I had to track down the waiter to get some service since they never came to our table. The appetizer was tasty, but I nearly choked on the plastic wrap that was still on my lasagna—it's hard to believe they left that on! They did take it off the bill, but I only got an apology after my friend mentioned it. The waitress kept apologizing to her, even though we clearly explained that the problem was with my meal.

However, during our visit in November 2022, everything changed. My husband, daughter, and I returned to what used to be our favorite restaurant, only to be met with disappointment. The wings were served cold, and while the pizza still had good flavor, it was decidedly soupy. The table next to us also encountered issues with undercooked food. Although management did address our concerns, the quality of the food has certainly declined from what it once was. I'm hoping this is just a one-time mishap, but we've noticed other troubling signs recently, like expired beer. I genuinely hope they can get back on track.

We have visited Mangia several times, and it's always been just mediocre. However, tonight was a completely different story—it was awful. The service was lacking; we sat for twenty minutes before anyone acknowledged us. We never received any bread, and no one informed us about the specials. It took ages just to place our drink order. When we finally ordered another round of drinks, they arrived after we had finished our meals. I ordered the 30-day aged steak, but it was terrible—tough, chewy, and completely lacking in flavor. I'm pretty sure it wasn't actually aged. My wife ordered a tortellini dish that was spicy but utterly devoid of flavor. We will definitely not be giving this restaurant another chance.