Johnny Manana's

Elite '08

95

257

ericalynn g.

Brookline, MA

This place has the makings to really be great.  It's the first "wow" restaurant put up in what used to be a very drab neighborhood.   it's lively, colorful, and has a "Day of the Dead" theme.   I used to adore the chips until i started caring about my health.  They're oily but quite tasty.  The rest is hit or miss. A lot of the time, the food is bland.  I think the entire place needs more salt.   The service is quick, and - a la the diner in Seinfeld - all the waitresses are quite attractive.  I think that this place has a lot of potential but needs to step it up in terms of taste.

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Elite '08

22

43

Shazz M.

Philadelphia, PA

Went to this place when i was house hunting a few years back. Wow What A Rip-off! and bad service!
Ok so maybe i'm spoiled by living in south philthy for 5 years and got used to authentic Mexican.. Garibaldi's rocks and priced right.. (byob too) anyway back to horrible manana's this place looks good but isn't ... kinda like the neighborhood. IQ anyone..
only kidding there must be a total of 265 iq on my block at least!

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8

6

Callan W.

Philadelphia, PA

So I have heard horrible things about this place, but that damn chili pepper hanging above the entrance outside the restaurant kept calling my name.  I am a lover all things mexican.  And I know that tasty mexican in this town is hard to come by.  But my coworker raved about her dinner here, and so when the boyfriend said he was in the mood for mexican, I suggested we give it a try.  

I am reading over the last couple reviews.  Sure the drinks are big, but there isn't any alcohol in them.  Or in my boyfriends case, the wrong alcohol....what the hell is coconut doing in a hurricane.  Or at least, it wasn't mentioned in the description of the drink and then, surprise!  

The typical chips laid out for snacking before your meal comes, or in our case, before our ditzy waitress finally made it to take our drink order, were awful.  I mean, they get points for having something other than Tostitos, but I would have preferred nothing at all.  They were greasy and when I bit into them, actual oil dripped out.  Maybe it was a sign of the food to come.....maybe they keep them greasy to help the rest of your meal get down your throat....either way, they were awful.  And the salsa to accompany them was weak.  I have made better.  

There was a lot of staff, all checking up on us, but our main waitress had a vacant look in her eye and couldn't quite muster up a smile.  I know its easy to hate your job, especially if you are a server, but it was affecting our experience.  

On to the main course....there were few choices and for mexican food, they were quite pricey.   A plate of 4 tacos for $9.  I thought I was staying with a safe bet by getting the tacos(seriously, suburban moms around the country have been doing taco night for years) but apparently not.  It was a build your own kind of deal.  I was excited to see guacamole as a component, but it was flavorless.  I was happy they had authentic oaxaca cheese, but the consistency was more like parmesan.  I chose fajita chicken as my main ingredient, but I was given a bowl full of green peppers, and little chicken.  And I got the better of the two entrees!  

My boyfriend ordered the "chicken" chimichanga but there was little chicken to be found.  Instead, gobs and gobs of refried beans (and I love refried beans, but there is a limit people).  Traditionally a good chimi is deep fried, but this was baked.  Also, they are smothered in a yummy tomatoey sauce.  No sauce, just some weird fake cheese liquid that was for decoration, hence, no flavor.  

I am only giving Johnny one star because it started to rain and the staff attempted to move our table under their awnings.  They weren't very good at it as my boyfriend still was getting rained on.  Ok then I guess I am giving them one star because their other patrons were kind enough to move in.

I am never going back to this place and sad we wasted $45 on a meal when I would have been more happier with Taco Bell, and thats not really appetizing, is it.

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3

22

Fitzgerald P.

Philadelphia, PA

I live about five minutes walking distance from this place and in three years have been inside only about a half dozen times, and I love Mexican food.

The menu is hit or miss, with about half the items (burrito, tacos, and quesadillas included) being full on awful and the other half being fair to good (soups, the chop salad, the entrees without taco bell analogs) but unless you are eating alone chances are someone at the table will be disappointed.

The service is always great, but that does not make up for the pricey menu and the often grimey interior. There are usually flies buzzing around the high ceilinged dining room, even in winter which can't be a good sign.

Slightly less unbearable during summer months when there is plenty of outdoor seating.

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7

14

Randi M.

Philadelphia, PA

I'm a tiny bit saddened with the intensely negative reviews about this place.  I love Mexican food.  I eat it often.  And while I won't say that this place has the best Mexican food in the city (no where is really all that good here), it's definitely a fun place to go.  The margaritas are awesome.  Not sure what that other guy was saying about the drinks being weak.  I'm kinda a lightweight, but I can typically handle one drink.  The drinks here are HUGE and I am tipsy after one of them.  Just saying.  
The salsa is great, the chips are fresh and homemade, and the food is yummy.  They also have a live guitar player mexican-singer-guy on Friday nights.  Weird, but adorable at the same time.  
Oh...  and it's in EAST FALLS (worthy of an extra star right there)!  Yay for somewhere to go within walking distance of my home!

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Elite '08

20

28

Jessica S.

Philadelphia, PA

My roommate mentioned on numerous occasions that if I was looking for good Mexican food, I should go to Johnny Manana's.  I had ignored her up until yesterday, because we typically disagree on everything from what makes a guy good looking to what the definition of "clean" is.

However, yesterday the boyfriend and I were starving, and decided to stop in for a bite.  Bad call.

We stepped in the door, and the place smelled kind of weird.  Not like delicious Mexican food, either.  Like, I don't even know what, but definitely something unappetizing.

Then came the best part of my meal: my glass of water.  Seriously.  It was the highlight.  This might have something to do with the fact that it was a brutal 95 degrees out, but whatever.  Something I ate should of been tastier than the glass of flavorless water I drank.

He ordered a burrito, I went for enchiladas.  Now here's where they rook you.  His burrito was about $7.00, my enchiladas were about $8.00.  I guess that's not too bad, right?  Wrong, because if you want to add some crappy, dry shredded chicken it's another $3.00 on top of that.  What tricksters these people are.

Our food came out pretty quickly, thank goodness, but when I put it in my mouth it seemed like there was nothing there.  I tried another bite, but the same result.  The enchiladas were so bland, I might as well have been eating just a plain flour tortilla.

I tried the rice, but it was so dry all it did was suck the moisture from my mouth and also tasted like nothing.  The only thing I did enjoy were my refried beans, but I have a feeling they were probably out of a can.

I'm not a spicy food fanatic by any means, so I wasn't expecting my mouth to feel like a volcano or anything.  I was just asking for a bit of flavor that didn't come from dousing my food in hot sauce.  No such luck.

I probably could have gotten better, cheaper food at Qdoba.  And I don't even like Qdoba.

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3

25

Nicole M.

Hillsborough, NC

Unlike the other reviewers, I had a great experience here (probably enhanced by the fact that I was with some of my bestest friends).  This past winter, we ate an early lunch at Johnny Manana's and I enjoyed fish tacos with a striking resemblance to the authentic ones I had in San Diego.  Our server was attentive, the prices are reasonable, and the margaritas were good.

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1

8

Frank B.

West Chester, PA

I don't expect authentic Mexican cuisine in Philly, but I expect something a little bit better than this.  I was reminded of a fast food joint, where they scoop up the ingredients that have been sitting around and plop them into the burrito/taco shell.  Eat one end and it's all rice, end the other and it's all tough chicken.  The servings are large, but when you think about the effort, ingredients and price, well, you're not getting anything special.  

I been here a few times for drinks.  I'd normally drink beer, but their selection is pretty poor so I go straight to the liquor  (I'm kinda picky about beer).  Unfortunately, the mixed drinks are frustratingly weak.   I haven't tried the margaritas, but I'm not really interested in going back, again.

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0

1

Buckle D.

Philadelphia, PA

It appears to have all of the makings of a decent neighborhood bar (location, outdoor seating, atmosphere)...BUT...the food is too expensive (it's definitely not authentic Mexican -- if you want that, skip East Falls and head to South Philly instead), the drinks are a bit pricey for being so weak, and there does not appear to be air conditioning. The waitstaff is not terrifically great either. If you want meat on your food, it's 3-4 bucks more. Oh. There are also no happy hour specials.

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0

5

Nathan S.

Glenolden, PA

Food is pretty good - but overpriced as are the drinks
Service is general slow and unattentive

Beware  - I have gotten sick the last two times I ate here

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