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Mon-Sat. 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 a.m.
Sun. 12:00 p.m. - 3:00 a.m.
Mangia is a solid restaurant. It's not the type of place that you splurge on, or a "destination" restaurant. It's simply a moderately priced Italian joint that is consistently good and doesn't take too many chances. Think of it as a newer old-style Italian place.
What makes Mangia stand out is that they do better on the little things than other places of their ilk. The bread they bring you is baked fresh from scratch. The pasta is made fresh every day. The service is attentive without being overbearing. The wait is never too long, and the food is rarely disappointing.
I've had lots of things from their menu, but you might be surprised that my favorite is one of their more simple things: their sandwiches. Mangia's sandwiches are by far the best deal on the menu, and maybe on all of South Grand. For $6.50 (plus tax + tip), you get a rather large sandwich stuffed with your choice of meat and cheese (they have 8 or 10 different types), with home-made chips and your choice of sauce. With most deli-style sandwiches costing $8-10 for just counter service at other establishments, this is a bargain indeed.
That being said, Mangia isn't exactly the type of place I'd give 5 stars too. It's too expensive to be a dive and not quite nice enough to be considered a go-to destination. Plus if you catch them on a bad night, the smoke from the non-smoking section can waft over. I'll use this opportunity to again complain that St. Louis still allows smoking indoors. In addition, service can be a bit spotty and smaller tables tend to be ignored for the larger ones. (My party of two was barely checked on in favor of the party of 8 sitting next to us).
Overall, Mangia is a good place to go if you're in the mood for Italian on South Grand. (But then again, if you're on South Grand, why aren't you in the mood for Asian?) It won't blow your socks off, but it will deliver good food and will rarely disappoint.
We came here on a Thursday night around 9pm (since our http://restaurant.com certificate is only valid Sun-Thurs) and the place was definitely dead. We were pretty much the only ones in the non-smoking area and the waiter seemed a bit annoyed to have to serve us.
Regardless, this place is one of the few with a menu where my boyfriend and I wanted to try EVERYTHING. They had sandwiches, lots of different kinds of ravioli and pastas, and beef/lamb shank options as specials. We ordered the polenta fries with chipotle-lime sauce and I thought the fries were far too bland but my boyfriend loved it. It reminded him of grits and comfort food, go figure.
I ordered the butternut squash ravioli which was beyond delicious. I loved it. The portion size was perfect too, not too large but enough for us to take home and finish as a snack. My boyfriend ordered the lobster/shrimp ravioli but we were both far too enamored with the butternut squash ravioli to notice anything else on the table.
Our meal turned out to be really cheap and quite tasty. I've heard this place is livelier on the weekends and I wouldn't mind checking it out again for the bar, although I'm not sure I'd eat there without a coupon.
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I'm only reviewing Mangia based on dinner service as I've never been on a weekend night to appreciate the bar scene.
The food at Mangia is good. It isn't breaking any new ground or anything, but it's good quality and tasty. That being said, it's pretty expensive for what you actually get, especially for the area. I could get my belly full of delicious Vietnamese food a few doors down at Pho Grand for half as much. I have to echo the other reviewers and say that the smoking is pretty gross. I'm not a fan of smelling cigarettes while I eat.
The bread they served in the beginning was pretty forgettable, but it's good for soaking up the yummy sauce on your pasta.
The service was a little bit slow, but certainly not excessively slow. There were a few times I wished my water was full, but no big deal.
Also, the bartender was telling some woman that couscous is a grain, which is an easy mistake to make. Couscous is a North African pasta made of semolina flour. So I just interjected that it was in fact a pasta. (Yeah, I'm THAT girl.) He actually argued with me. Eh what? I let it go, he can go on wrongly telling people couscous is a grain. They don't even have couscous at Mangia.
But they do have some tasty tasty pasta! I recommend it!
Kinda torn on this review. Upon entering this place I immediately get a waft of cigarette smoke. St. Louis... seriously, get with the program! The second thing I noticed was that the place was sorta dingy inside... rickety tables and very much needing a paint job. Sorry, it's all atmosphere to me, and I'm big on that.
I had a shell pasta with vodka cream sauce and shrimp. That part was great... I felt it was a bit overpriced at $16, but it was mighty tasty. Anyhow I think the interior needs to catch up with the food.
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This review is echoing many of the posts below. I actually did not eat at Mangia but I walked in for lunch one day and it smelled so repulsive that we left. It wasn't smoky. Rather, it was the smelled of a bar that a room full of people had been smoking in for days. In fact, there was only one party seated in the restaurant when I went in and I don't even think they were smoking. I had no interest in sitting there to eat. As everyone knows, taste and smell are intertwined and it really smelled so bad that I thought it would ruin my meal. I can't remember the last time I walked out of a place because it was too smoky but this was really bad.
I don't usually enjoy going to Mangia on a crowded weekend night. Like many places on South Grand, it gets excessively smoky and really crowded.
What I do enjoy is getting a beer there and reading alone or with a friend in the afternoon or evening. I happen to love reading at bars, but it is often a difficult feat. There, I can get one of the familiar and tasty beers on tap, try a bottled favorite, or ask for a new suggestion. Or I can forget about the beer and get a nice whiskey and Coke.
I generally feel rather neutrally towards their food items, although I must say that I am fond of their garlic bread and super garlicky/spicy marinara sauce that comes with it.
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If your average fog comes on little cat's feet (or death if you are John McGlaughlin: http://www.youtube.com... ), then the haze that rolls into Mangia around about 1am must be riding atop a pissed off 400 pound lioness hunting down an especially delicious looking wildebeest. I'm no square (hell, I smoke myself), but it gets really bad in there, to the point where I can't really convince my non-smoking friends to go. (note: i don't believe this to be the case during dinner or earlier bar hours.)
The beer selection ranges from Schlitz in a can for the cheapskates to Delerium Tremens for the snobs, so really any tastes can be accomodated. I have only dined here a couple of times but it has always been enjoyable and a welcome change from the feeding trough 'o pasta approach favored by most STL Italian joints. They also have live music on weekends and select weeknights and get points from me for paying the bands better than most clubs. (Full disclosure: I have played at Mangia)
I don't imagine the late night crowd at Mangia would take too kindly to a smoking ban, but if they invested in some of those filter/fan things and could get the smoke level down somewhere below "Backdraft extra" level, I would be there all the time.
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Major disappointment. Ok, let's divide this review into two parts. The bar is extremely smokey. Roommate said they have good live music to make up for it, but when I was there on a night with no music I was not inclined to stay for any time at all.
Dinner. They make their own pasta noodles, which is exciting, but their dishes were flavorless and boring. In fact one of the dishes just needed some salt. It is a basic principle in cooking to first add some salt when the flavor is lacking. Well, maybe that was an exaggeration it said on the menu mushrooms and sundried tomatoes. When I see that, I think oh chunks of sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms, but no it was just the sauce flavor. It was hard to put down 20+ dollars for an unsatisfying meal. My roommate's dish the spinach manicotti was exploding with oregano. She didn't even take home the rest of her meal, which is a sin when you make the kind of money we do. Our server was not attentive and acted as if we were an inconvenience.
St Louis wanna-be-in-Vice-do's-squad listening to live jazz when I slumped in. The three piece played their craft to the hipsters that were there to be seen, not to listen.
See that lady passed out in a chair hovering over three nearly full glasses of beer? See that guy trying to snap a photo of said woman's skivvies?
One of the many reasons why women should wear skivvies when going out.
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Mangia Italiano is one of the great 3 am bars in the St. Louis drinking scene and one of the staples of South Grand. They have cheap drinks and the bartenders can fix you up with whatever it is that you want to guzzle, sip, and just plain drink down. A fine selection of local brews is a nice touch for those who have a taste for beer. The cool somewhat recently remodeled atmosphere is a great addition. Thought, in their renovation they have not lost their Italian flavor. They still offer a great selection of fresh pasta, still inexpensive like before.
The hip little place also had the luxury of being on South Grand so if you feel like getting a bite to eat afterwards you can just walk over to City Diner for a fine meal that will fill you gullet after a night of enjoying the drinks at Magia's. Of course, with the fantastic food that Mangia has to offer, there really will be no need to eat any more.
Mangia Italiano is one of my favorite places to go to on South Grand. It is a wonderful place to spend a night with a group of friends to just relax and have a nice dinner and some drinks well into the night. Just be sure to get there early because it fills up.
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Mangia offers lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch options at its beautiful South City location. Every time I go to Mangia I try something new and I'm never disappointed. I like their Sunday brunch best, with great quiche and frittatas, perfect for sharing with friends. Their lunch and dinner pastas are exceptional; I really like the Pesto Conchiglie and the Whole Wheat Radiatori. The prices are middle-of-the-road but after one bite, you realize you would have paid more.
The nightlife at Mangia is definitely good times as well. They have a full-service bar featuring great wine and cocktails. Mangia also offers a pasta shop with a changing selection of pasta types, shapes, and colors.
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A St. Louis original I can praise! I'm so used to grabbing these places by the hair & bashing them against a wall that I'm not sure I can write a glowing review!
The atmosphere was really comfortable, but the food was definitely five star. The prices weren't that horrible either. I had two vodka tonics and they were not cheap on the booze. Extra points for the Ivy League looking waitress with the extra tattoos and cute lithp who told us what to steer clear from and what to dive into.
I'll definitely be back.
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This is my favorite restaurant (sorry Brennan's).
Mangia has two atmospheres: one side of the restaurant used to be a great Bohemian neighborhood bar, and the new side is a classy neighborhood sitdown restaurant. Either side has the same great Italian food, but not like the Italian you usually get in St. Louis (i.e., spagetti and ragu like the hill), the dishes are creative and flavorful with a wide variety available. The pesto pasta is delicious, but my personal favorite is the chicken papardalle. The menu changes quasi-seasonally, so if you go back they will have new things on the menu.
Loved the baked spaghetti. It's baked in cream sauce then covered in red sauce - drool worthy!
They make their own noddles and supply many of the restaurants in the city.
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Mangia has really cleaned up their act. The place used to be a bit of a dive, but in recent years, they really washed the grease right out of, well, everything. It's still got a bit of a retro feel, which is good. But retro clean is even better.
I never knew they made their own pasta. They've got a separate facility for their production, so it's the real deal. The pasta is really good. A simple bowl of linguine with sauted fresh veggies (carrots, red and yellow peppers, yellow squash, mushrooms, red onions and spinach) is stellar.
yeah. It can be loud, smokey, and some of the clientele hasn't seen sunlight in 5 years. What the hell did you expect? Its on South Grand.
The jazz is good. the food is okay. the wine/beer lists are also good. Its a good place to hang out-- listen to some music, smoke a cigarette (or 20) and laugh with friends.
Newly Expanded.
Again, I used to come here as a kid with my father to pick up fresh pasta. The Doc still owned it (and was alive for that matter) back then.
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They make their own pasta and sauces in back, and supply many of the restaurants on The Hill. Rarely boring, with a fun atmosphere, environment, and menu. Come hungry.
Newly expanded with non-smoking.and more sidewalk seating. Perfect!
The menu at Mangia Italiano is very interesting! Rice and beets are ingredients I've never seen at an Italian restaurant before, and so I have had both. I must say that they are fabulous! I am referring to the chicken arincina dish and to the beet risotto dish. I think that the chicken arincina is probably more mainstream and will be enjoyed by more people than will the beet risotto. The service was nice, the surroundings nice. I give five stars for being different and still tasty.
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I really like Mangia-it is very close, the food is always good, as someone said it is pretty veggie-friendly, the creme brulee is just so delicious, as are the pbr's. I recommend the smoking section because it is just so much more relaxed and better (even if you don't smoke I recommend it).
Their homemade pasta is available at the farmer's market in Tower Grove and is very delicious.
Pleasantly surprising, well-executed and affordable rustic Italian cuisine. A huge menu with numerous specials every night. The salad with fresh figs is one of my faves. Their weak spot is desserts - nothing to write home about. It's a bit dark on the dining side but brighter on the bar side. I love the vibe of the bar side, but when there's a band the smoke can get bothersome for nonsmokers. Their lunch buffet is small but cheap and features a delicious pizza that I am craving as we speak. Free wi-fi. Quality beers and wines. Excellent service.
Service is iffy, food is cheap and excellent. I love the late night scene. There's so much smoke, you don't even have to waste your own cigarettes while you're there! I joke, kind of. Really though, I adore Mangia, especially when I'm broke. You can eat well here on the cheap. Their house salad is one of my favorites, and you really can't go wrong with any of their pastas. When it's a cold, gray day in St. Louis, there's nothing like warming your face with a steaming bowl of pasta G.O.C.(garlic, olive oil and cheese--the holy trinity) at Mangia--during the day it's dark and quiet, and the lunch buffet is full of bizarre picks that are delicious none the less. I try to get there after the band has finished playing; I've never heard any good music come from that sorry excuse for a stage.
I'm surprised at all the good reviews I just read about this place. Granted, I only went there one time, but that was enough for me. The food was sub-par at best. I opted for the margharita pizza which was quite tasteless. Service started out good, but slowed to a halt as we had to wait 15 minutes to get our check. I don't think we'll be going back.
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Yummmmm! This is one of my favorite Italian places in the city, because you can actually get reasonably-sized portions that don't make you feel superstuffed afterwards. I know this sounds like I'm complimenting them for small dinner sizes, but that's not the case at all. Mangia is just one of those places that knows how to cook food that doesn't leave your stomach too heavy. Everything tastes superfresh, and there's also a great vegetarian selection if you're bringing along any meat-hatin' friends (I'm not judging, I used to be one!). Bar drinks are strong and tasty.
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Good area for this kind of place. Great selection of beer & spirits. Nice atmosphere, cool music. Not the best Italian I've had, but I am Italian so I would be more critical. Overall, very good place to hang out & chill.
Best lasagna in town! Either that or Riddles. Mood dependent. High prices. Great beer selection. Too smokey. Food rocks.
Only thing I would add is don't go for Sunday brunch--didn't taste good.
just ate here tonight. we went one other time and I had the spaghetti bolognese and my boyfriend had...uh...some pasta dish. we both liked it though.
tonight he got the spaghetti bolognese and I got the lasagna bolognese. what can I say, we love bolognese! the bread was fresh and soft. the dude got a ceasar with his meal, which he said was just average. the portions are pretty big for the price and my lasagna will last me for two meals.
thank you for reading this review, where I tried to cram in the word bolognese as many times as possible.
While a few of the dishes are not inspired or original, Mangia Italiano generally manages to serve up combinations of ingredients and sauces that are executed very well and leave your mouth at ease. Portion sizes tend to be rather large, and having delicious fresh bread all but guarantees that you'll have leftovers to enjoy the next day.
If you are searching for the freshest pasta, look no further than Mangia Italiano. This place has a wonderful combination of fresh ingredients with the freshest pastas which are served in an intimate atmosphere.
The food is very good. I also like that the tables are well spaced, so you don't feel like the person next to you is sharing your conversation. Overall, it seems like a laid back place to get good italian food.
haven't been here for 2+ years. discovered today that they've expanded and what i remember as a loud, smoky place with passable food has really changed. the lunch buffet was very tasty with some interesting twists on "standard" buffet fare. making plans to go back for dinner with enough friends to get a decent sample of the menu.
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Fresh and flavorful Italian food that doesn't just stick to the old standbyes. Delish homemade breads and pastas. Watch out in the evenings though, it can get smokey.
Good for staying out late (3am) and cheap beers ($1.50 Schlitz cans!) but otherwise loud, crowded, and smoky. The food is more expensive than other delicious South Grand options, so I've never bothered, except the plates of pasta they sell at the Tower Grove Farmer's market. I like the jazz music, and they spin reggae late on Sunday nights.
Neighborhood: Lindenwood Park
Category: Italian
Neighborhood: Tower Grove East
Category: Nightlife
Neighborhood: Tower Grove East
Category: Lounges
Neighborhood: Tower Grove South
Category: Bars
Neighborhood: Tower Grove East
Category: Lounges
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