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Mangia Mi
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 5 pm - 9 pm
Fri-Sun 11:30 am - 3 pm
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Trendy, Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
172 reviews for Mangia Mi
Review Highlights
"The owner, Peter, is a perfectionist in his trade."
(in 47 reviews)
"The bruscetta was one of my favorites as the GNOCCHI."
(in 34 reviews)
"One of the best bruschetta I have ever had."
(in 29 reviews)
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172 reviews in English
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Review from P M.
Danville, CA
Updated - 1/7/2012 1 Check-in Here
I still love this place!!
Brussel sprout special was fantastic! Tomato soup was excellent. We also split a pizza for an appetizer. Mac & Cheese, Chicken parmigiana & chicken Caesar salad were crowd pleasers as entrees. I had my fave, meat lasagna, which never disappoints.
There is a new cocktail menu (which I'll have to venture into next time) and more wines by the glass. I get good wine advice from the servers.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/16/2011
We had a party of six out on the patio on a perfect summer night. The bonus was the people watching… Read more »
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Review from Erik F.
San Ramon, CA
Updated - 1/11/2012
I've only been here once, and the service was solid. The host and server were both very friendly. I also noticed a manager-type milling about and people seemed to enjoy his attention.
The atmosphere is pleasant, but way too loud. All of the surfaces are solid, so sound reflects everywhere. This place is in sore need of sound absorbing panels on the ceiling -- an easy fix.
The food is mediocre. This is fine if you're looking for a casual experience, but I'm from New York and I long for the kind of Italian food I could get on virtually any corner.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/29/2010
For those of you who've rated this place poorly: what did you expect? There's no veal on the menu.… Read more »
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Review from Jason B.
San Ramon, CA
12/4/2011 1 Check-in Here
Pretty good food for the price. Enjoyed sitting at bar next to kitchen, but it had a double-edge effect. Was amazed at how such a majority of the food was pre-made just waiting for final re-heat and garnish. For the price and wait time I would have thought more food was fresh to order.
The 3 hosts have a hard time keeping track of who and when which makes the smaller than normal waiting area less enjoyable and cramped. Wine glasses coming out of a box only to a towel wipe down seemed less than sanitary... For the price and wait, many eateries within walking seem more likely. -
Review from Tracey L.
Danville, CA
1/25/2012
I have been a regular here for over 2 years until recently. The service has been good, Peter is wonderful but the food has gone down hill. I have tried everything on the menu which should tell you how many times I've been here. The fish has way too much oil put in the pan, the linguine & clams is boring and dry 99% of the time, the lasagna tastes like the spagetti now, on an on. Too much butter, things not cooked appropriately. I had the shrimp a few days ago and it was RAW!!! Come on, how hard is it to cook shrimp?? It's just not the same anymore. I am glad to hear they are changing up the menu but they need to do more than that. They need to change the chef's or work with them more Peter so they truly how to cook.
Someone from Danville who might give you a 3rd chance. -
Review from Bonnie R.
El Cerrito, CA
1/27/2012
WOW!!!!! Our dinner last night was just wonderful. I had perfectly cooked seabass over a generous portion of wilted spinach. The bass was crispy on the outside, moist on the inside, seasoned with a touch of lemon and olive oil. Perfect. My friend had gnocchi so good that she ate every one and used all of the remaining complimentary bread to remove each trace of the exquisite tomato based cream sauce from her plate. Neither of us could quit remarking on the quality of our respective dinners. Service was exemplary, warm and attentive. Will gladly drive the forty five minutes to this venue. Highly highly recommended.
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Review from daniel o.
Danville, CA
1/5/2012
Been here a few times, the food is alright. Nothing spectacular but nothing terrible. The mac n' cheese is pretty good but, if you put your mind to it you could probably do better at home. Meatloaf was good but has a very strong green pepper flavor I found a bit overpowering. The homemade green olives are probably my favorite thing there. Service is usually pretty disappointing here, but I go more for ambiance and locale more than anything. On one visit there was a drink mix-up and the waiter said the drink was on him when he brought it to us, which was nice. I didn't ask for this. Well when the check came, the drink was still listed and so I mentioned it and he acted like I was forcing him into some kind of discount. Just weird and annoying behavior from what seems like a younger less experienced group of waiters/waitresses.
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Review from Brandon R.
Danville, CA
12/31/2011
I love this restaurant! It has some of the best italian food I have ever had! Could not be happier with my experience here.
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Review from James Q.
San Ramon, CA
10/28/2011
I hosted a luncheon, today, for nine of us, including my wife and me. We had reserved a table outdoors and the weather was really good for this event.
I started with a cup of Tomato Basil Soup that was incredibly tasty and good. I have never tasted such prominent tomato flavor ever before in a tomato soup! I had their Gnocchi with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce. It comes with a choice of Gorgonzola, Marinara, Bolognese, Pesto or Alfredo sauces. Gnocchi is a risky thing to order at most places. This was perfect texture - not too gummy, chewy or stiff - just right. And the sauce was really rich with tons of flavor. If you don't care for cheese, don't order the Gorgonzola Cream Sauce.
My wife had the Pasta con Vongole - Linguine with fresh clams, white wine, garlic and pepper flakes. I had a taste of it and it, too, was outstanding! The pasta was fresh, house made. The sauce was superb - so good that other people were using the excellent house made bread top soak up the superb sauce!
The group was extremely happy with their lunches, too. They all looked good and were generous portions.
We finished with a Fresh Cannoli and a Lemon Tart. Both were really fresh and superbly tasty. All desserts are made in house by their ownb pastry chef. They were a bit pricey ($9) but worth it for the extra high quality, we thought.
We had Kellyn for our server and she was also a joy to have! She was extremely knowledgeable about the menu and was very helpful and friendly!
I host at least a dozen group dining events each year for the last 8 years and I can tell when a group is enjoying a place and/or the food. There was no doubt in my mind that they were loving this one!
Jim -
Review from Anoush S.
San Francisco, CA
10/19/2011
I am pretty picky when it comes to Italian food (I've been surrounded by Italian chefs in my life and frequently take trips to Italy), but this place is pretty good! For the price, you really can't beat it. Small space, but that doesn't matter to me. The food, service, and price are all on point.
TIP: Meatloaf is not something I usually order at restaurants, but I did here and it's so yummy! Try it. -
Review from Rachel M.
Danville, CA
12/17/2011
I was not a fan of this place. My husband and I both got pasta and neither had much taste.
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Review from Paul D.
Walnut Creek, CA
12/14/2011
I have to agree with Polly Prissypants No, thank you, I'd rather not.
The service was great, we were seated quickly at the bar. The bruschetta and wine were alright, but the lasagna was nothing more than a handful for melted cheese, sauce, and some noodles as filler.". The lasagna was a joke, there was no meat and it was about 1" think. the waiter said it was huge and its "delicious". WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT! The salad and service was perfect but the place was not crowed. I think for some spending $14 bucks is nothing, but the lasagna at Whole foods is 100x better. How can you mess up such a simple meal that every cook in america has a recipe for. Sorry to be hate'n but that meal is garbage!
Nice little place with a lovely feel to grab a salad but thats it. My partners clam and pasta was boring. -
Review from Nancy S.
San Ramon, CA
1/6/2012 1 Check-in Here
Husband and I came here for lunch. The food is outstanding. The price is over the top. It was $80.00 for 2 cocktails, Beef Raviloi and Gnocchi and a dessert. So if you have extra money you want to spend I would go here.
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Review from Michael K.
Danville, CA
10/26/2011
Great all around!
First time there eating I sat at the counter and won't eat anywhere else in the restaurant. Sitting there you get to watch the chefs in action and see all of the great dishes made. -
Review from Steve D.
Lafayette, CA
9/9/2011
We love this place. Hip and fun. The food and Bar both are very good. It is a bit small and quite load inside. If you can get outdoor seating grab it!.
All in GO!.. A great place to eat with a fun atmosphere! -
Review from Jennifer L.
Danville, CA
11/27/2011
We went here with my husband's family. It included 6 adults and 4 children. It was a little cramped and loud, but we still enjoyed it.
A friend of ours frequents this establishments and said the eggplant parmesean is as good as it gets, so my husband ordered it. He LOVED it! He said he would definitely order it again.
My sister-in-law and mother-in-law ordered the chicken parmesean and both enjoyed it.
My mother-in-law didn't eat all of hers so guess who gets her leftovers for lunch tomorrow...ME!
My brother-in-law ordered the pasta de vongole (linguini and clams) and said it was "da bomb," meaning, he highly recommends it and would order it again.
My father-in-law and I ordered the gnocchi. It was the BEST gnocchi have ever had. It literallly melted in my mouth. I got mine with pancetta and pesto. The only downside was that it was extremely salty. I'm thinking it was the pesto. Next time I may try it with bolognese, which is what my father-in-law ate.
The kids got pizza, fettucine alfredo, and raviolis with bolognese, and they all really like theirs.
Unfortunately, they were out of peteroles (sp?) so they gave us some cannolis instead, which were gobbled up in a heartbeat!
All in all, we enjoyed our dinner and would definitely go back but I'm not sure we would go with such a large group.
Bon appetit! -
Review from Susan M.
Campbell, CA
10/17/2011
The owner Peter is a wonderful, friendly, kind and so cute person.
I love his creative food concepts and moms recipes w/ his twist.
"The gnocchi ROCK, cooked perfectly and not mushy or too gummy."
Everything is always wonderful. -
Review from Allen S.
San Ramon, CA
8/6/2011
Excellent. We walked in and wondered if we could get a table. The hostess got creative and asked if we would be willing to share a nice six top with another couple. Since both parties were amenable we got a very nice outside table near plants and a tree. The outside table had linens and no paper place mats making a nice elegant setting. We didn't have reservations but arrived at a time where we had minimal wait.
We split a beet salad and a couple of entries. In particular we had the New Zealand sea bass served over mashed potatoes and garnished with an avocado mouse. The beet salad with various types of lettuce, walnuts and oranges set the evening.
The sea bass was excellently prepared. The avocado mouse was on the side so you could garnish the fish with as little or as much as you wanted. The fish was delicate on the inside and nicely browned on the outside. It would be hard to cook the fish any better. A few more herbs could have been added to intensify the flavor.
Peter, the owner, stopped by to say high and engage both of the parties at our six top individually. Peter is outgoing and enhanced the already great evening.
Based on the preparation, the food was nicely priced and presented extremely well.
Be advised that this is a small restaurant. It appears they have more outside seating than inside seating. Inside you can see the chefs prepare the food in a nicely laid out kitchen. Small restaurants have a lot of character and are truly nice finds. Mangia Mi is a great find. As with many small restaurants, you may find that customers take too long to leave which can cause reservation delays as noted in other reviews. We recommend Mangia Mi but if you are on a tight time budget consider going early or visiting a larger restaurant that should be able to recover from delays faster. But then ... we were recently at a chain steak house on Sunday that took 2 1/2 hours for brunch when 1 hour is normal.
As a side note, the inside tables don't have linens which leads to a casual atmosphere.
Have a great evening and say hello to Peter. -
Review from Jaime R.
Danville, CA
9/26/2011
I've had to wait a few weeks to write this to actually cool off! I give this place 1 star for the tomato soup! So incredibly delicious, we should have stopped there! May have to return for to-go soup.
My BF and I decided to order a margarita pizza with tomatoes and a vegetable lasagna and share both. Our server suggested we have the lasagna first and pizza to finish.
25 minutes after the tomato soup was cleared we were asked again what lasagna we ordered "veggie or meat"?
10 minutes later our pizza arrived without tomatoes. We asked for them on the side and Pete gladly went over, (didn't wash hands) sliced 4 huge chunks of tomato and served them to us.
So we ate it, but it's not what we ordered....
We ate 2 small slices each, decided to save room for the lasagna and set the pizza aside. Our waiter bussed a few tables, took our pizza to box it up (didn't wash hands) dropped one slice and 1 tomato on the counter with dirty dishes and put it in the box.
To top it off, Pete goes outside chats it up with some customers while petting their long haired dog for 3-5 minutes, shakes some hands then walks straight in and plates our lasagna with his bare hands he had still yet to wash.
I was so bummed by our experience and of course we left the boxed pizza behind. I really wanted to like this place, but I don't foresee us returning unless we are preparing our own meals or the staff is wearing gloves.
I would suggest if you want to try this place, go, but sit inside where you can witness the preparation of your food!
Truly disappointed :(Comment from Peter C. of Mangia Mi 11/1/2011
I am so sorry you had such a bad experience Jaime. I hope… More » -
Review from Adele N.
Danville, CA
8/24/2011
Food delicious. Service pretty bad.
We came in tonight, it was pretty slow. We were ignored, it was frustrating because we ordered a good amount of food and drinks. It took 40 minutes to get our salads and bell peppers, I wouldn't have been as annoyed had the waitress said "I'm sorry we are having a slow night" or anything... But to ignore us?
I'll come back just for the food, but pretty disappointing the service was so bad, considering the other amazing places we could have gone to. -
Review from Lisey W.
Danville, CA
11/20/2011
Love their homemade spaghetti and meatballs. Such a simple dish but hard to find a place that serves a good one anymore.
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Review from Tracy C.
Danville, CA
10/2/2011
This is a fun place! The food is delicious and the staff are really friendly and helpful. Peter, the owner is awesome. Everything I've ordered has been delicious, especially the fish specials. We love to sit at the bar and watch the chefs cook; it's one of our fave places to go for dinner.
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Review from Ben F.
Danville, CA
7/15/2011
I'm done with this place.
I'm a local and come here often but I just cant do it anymore. I keep coming back because i like the food and its reasonably priced (for danville) and close to the house but the service is just plain out horrible every single time I've been here. I'm not even joking, they are absolutely oblivious. All the tables around us are always bitching about it as well, i dont know how they keep customers at this point.
Each time we come the service is horrible but the last time was the final straw. It started out well actually... the lady at the front said it would be a 30 minute wait but was kind enough to take our number down and call us as soon as our table was ready while we went and got a drink at the vine. 45 minutes later we started to worry so we went back over there to see 6 names crossed off underneath my name and no call ever happened. The (now different hostess) said she would yell at someone and wasnt sure what happened! Ok, fair enough lets move on. 15 minutes after seating we get a waiter. 15 minutes later we get our drinks and bread. AN HOUR LATER we get our next drinks and our food. The table next to us was freaking out and talking to, i assume the owner about it.. he was aggressive and defensive about the entire thing. We just let it go and decided it was the last time we'd come back. After waiting 15 more minutes we decided just to walk inside to pay and not wait for our waiter to come give us the check and we go inside and everyone is bullshitting at the bar. Laughing and fucking off. So angry. So in total, got there at 730, left at 10. The pizza was good, but the fish wasnt. Regular customer lost. -
Review from Polly Prissypants ..
San Francisco, CA
2/7/2011
Mangia Mi. Italian for "eat me."
No, thank you, I'd rather not.
The service was great, we were seated quickly at the bar. The bruschetta and wine were alright, but the lasagna was nothing more than a handful for melted cheese, sauce, and some noodles as filler. My trainer would have been horrified. Needless to say, I only ate about a quarter of it before I felt my arteries clogging up.
Overall there wasn't anything terribly interesting on the menu, and for $35 (incl a glass of wine, tip and tax) I could have done much better in my own kitchen. -
Review from Fern D.
San Ramon, CA
Updated - 4/20/2011
Since writing my initial review we have been back to MM several times. We have gotten to know the owner and the staff and love them all. We are treated wonderfully and enjoy every bite. The consistency and warm, family environment keep us coming back time and time again. Every time we go we end up talking to other diners and recommending our favorite dishes. I have even let a stranger try a bite of my dinner! That's the way it is here.
We absolutely love it here and are grateful to have such a terrific place to go on our few and far between date nights. Thanks Peter and staff. Love you guys.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/7/2010
YUM O!! (But not without flaws)
Tried Mangia Mi with my husband for our once a week date night this… Read more »
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Review from John Z.
Dublin, CA
1/30/2011
I can see why Mangia Mi is rated as a solid 4-star restaurant on Yelp. They have fantastic food, friendly service, very reasonable prices given the location in downtown Danville, and chic and still somewhat traditional Italianesque decor. The lasagna is Mangia Mi's signature dish. However, the eggplant parm and margherita pizza are also fabulous.
I would have given Mangia Mi a 4-star rating if only we didn't have a snafu when waiting for a table. First of all, we dropped into Mangia Mi on a Saturday night for dinner because our first choice was packed and had about a 2 hour wait. I was especially hungry so we went to Mangia Mi based on a friend's recommendation. They told me that we'd have a 35 minute wait. I hadn't planned for our group to eat there but put my name anyways. The rest of our group arrived and we asked if there was still the remaining half hour wait. If they had said yes, then we would have left. But the hostess said that it should only be 15 minutes.
How she would know this I have no idea...but she said the magic words and we ended up staying. Guess what? HALF AN HOUR later - not 15 minutes - a table large enough for our group opens up. We asked the hostess if that was our table and she said no, that she was saving it for a slightly larger group. At that point, we asked what she was talking about? We had waited for over half an hour. The hostess said that we should have booked a reservation.
Um...yeah, that might be true. But I don't think that you need to say something like that to us while we've been waiting for over half an hour and for twice as long as we were told we could expect.
Thankfully, they eventually did seat us at the table that they were going to hold for some other group to use when they eventually showed up.
If I go back again, I'll probably be able to give them 4 stars...but I can't do it based on last night's dinner experience. -
Review from Jessica A.
Alamo, CA
12/3/2010 3 Check-ins Here
Great service, good people and fantastic food. They treat you like family, and have such a comfortable atmosphere.
We came in tonight for dinner.
At the recommendation of our server we started with the bruschetta. Nicely toasted bread rubbed with garlic, topped with roasted tomatoes and Parmesan, all sitting on a tasty drizzle of balsamic dressing. I will get this again as a starter, it was fabulous!
For the main course, I had the pesto gnocchi (you can choose either pesto, bolognese, marinara, alfredo or gorgonzola cream sauce) and the BF ordered the lasagne di carne, so we could share.
The gnocchi were cooked perfectly and not mushy or too gummy. The pesto was fresh and herbaceous - simple, with a spot on flavor.
The lasagna was also delicious, with a piquant tomato sauce.
I only wish we had room for dessert, but just another reason to come back to Mangia Mi another time. -
Review from David S.
Danville, CA
5/21/2011
This is a great place for an informal dinner. It's cool to come here before going out somewhere else.
Been here a couple of times and the food has been good every time. The prices are also reasonable...not danville reasonable...really reasonable.
I will definately be going back again! -
Review from Gil G.
Danville, CA
12/4/2011
Took our family here for the first time last night. The staff here were very friendly. The food was just OK. We started with their version of a wedge salad that was very tasty. The kids had spagetti with Alfredo sauce and meatball which was nothing special (my wife makes better). My wife and I shared the lasagna which was pretty good but was just luke warm. Won't be in a rush to come back with so many other good choices out there.
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Review from Catarina K.
Danville, CA
9/21/2011
Was not a fan. Portions too small and service not good. Waiter dropped off food and disappeared. Disappointing. I won't go to a restaurant just because it is close to home.
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Review from huey o.
Pleasanton, CA
3/4/2011
Went with friend for lunch. Half of salad was wilted and soggy old leaves.
Waiter had a bad attitude..... Never going back. -
Review from Rachelle M.
Dublin, CA
Updated - 2/13/2011
If you have not been here yet you are really missing out!
My husband is addicted to the Meatballs, but lately his new trend is the meat ravioli. I am always a fan of every pasta but the gnocchi is something very special. The vegetable sides are delicious, spinach is always ordered if I am there. My mom raves about the lasagna. Starters, we always get the bruschetta, it's oven roasted tomatoes, not cold, yummy!
Enough about the food....the owner and his staff are wonderful people that make your experience truly relaxing and comforting. That's the way you should eat Italian food!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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2/18/2009
Mangia Mi!!!!!! Perfect name for a yummy new place. Besides the owner being absolutely charming, the… Read more »
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Review from Brittany R.
San Ramon, CA
3/11/2011
Mangia Mi is amazing! Peter, the owner is the best! All of the friendly and warm staff really make you feel at home in their restaurant.
My favorite dish is the ricotta and spinach ravioli with the creamy pesto sauce paired with one of their glasses of Italian Reds.
I am looking forward to enjoying on their patio this summer! :) -
Review from Dyan Y.
San Ramon, CA
2/6/2011
Came here for date night. Had a wait but got seated in about 15 min. Sat outside at night it was perfect. Wine selection good but their cocktail selection was very limited. For example I wanted a vodka cran w/ lime but they had no limes. My husband had a dirty martini and that was good. Service was spotty and unorganized although the server was nice he was running around in circles.
Atmosphere = A
Service = C+ (he was nice but it was overall a mess)
Food = A and D (my husband ordered the gnocci and he loved it! I ordered the pear and gorgonzola pizza and it was not good. Cheese was hard, pears were small and flavorless, the crust and the grilled onions were good but with the cheese not hot and ooey-gooey I was disappointed) we also had the olive app and that was an A++
Dessert was the turtle cheesecake and that was amazing!!
Not sure I would come back. -
Review from Jay K.
Danville, CA
8/11/2011
Went on Thursday night which was a "Downtown Danville" evening.....place was packed but got a seat at the bar after a bit of a wait.......service was terrible......waited for water/drinks.....ordered dinner...food arrived 45 minutes later......only entertainment was a waitress spilled a glass of water on me and said. "Did that get you wet?"
Lasagna came and was burned black to a crisp on the top corner.....I asked the waiter what was up with that and he says "That's how we cook it here"
I am voting with my feet.....never again....too bad....as I like to support the local places -
Review from Alen K.
Oakland, CA
11/23/2010 1 Check-in Here
I had a couple of hours to kill in downtown Danville and chose this place to have my lunch one day. I got a bit lost finding the entrance since it's sort of tuck back compared to the other business fronts on the street.
This was a Sunday after a big storm the day before, there was only two people when I walked in. Of course I was seated right away and was given a menu. There were 2 waiters and 2 chefs all standing behind the counter.
I ordered the Vegetarian Lasagna by mistake because I didn't understand the menu. I read through the ingredients too fast (I do not know why I picked this, I'm usually a meat person, but I went ahead with the order). The drinking glass was interesting, it had an angle to it, not something I seen before.
When i got my food, the lasagna was baked a bit too much. The top was burnt and crunchy. The food was hot, but I could had done without the top layer. I like having layers in my lasagna, and this didn't give me what I wanted.
There seems to be alot of open space between the tables I was sitting at, and the counter, they could had put more tables in this place, but I think this place needs more patrons first before trying to pack this place up. I agree with some of the other reviews here, for an Italian restaurant, this place doesn't have the warmth like other places that are more Italian family oriented, this place is trying a modern look with authentic Italian cuisine.
No thanks, give me an Italian family heritage that I can enjoy their food, or give me the menu in English.
2 Stars just for the effort and because it was my choice to stick with what I ordered. I would want to try the meat lasagna since I saw that they made it to order, but that would be IF you get me to give them another chance. -
Review from greg s.
Pleasanton, CA
5/23/2010
Solid four stars...five stars for the good entrees and three stars for the average ones. Here is the breakdown:
* Service - outstanding
* Cleanliness - high
* Very good food - beet, Caesar, and house salads were all great and very generous sizes. Meat spaghetti sauce with mushrooms was excellent. Great use of spices. Mushroom pizza was solid. Lasagna was solid but rich. Standard ravioli was good too.
* Average food - Risotto..not so much flavor. Desserts...Tiramasu was great but the lemon cake and lava cake were so-so at best.
Prices, setting, service are all very good...please improve the two desserts mentioned above. I would eat the spaghetti with mushrooms three days a week if I could burn it off! If there are spelling errors sorry..I am good at eating and not spelling. -
Review from pantera w.
Danville, CA
4/26/2010
I've been looking for a family run-style restaurant since moving to the East Bay 2 years ago and up to now, hadn't found one.
You know the kind; on-site owner/padrone, good not to stylised food, regulars outnumbering one night visitors, dogs sharing spaghetti to an accordion's music ( well maybe not that one....)
The place apparently started as a takeaway place that evolved into a restaurant by growth. It's in a smallish house just of the main Hartz drag.
We walked in to be offered a single table in the corner by the washrooms. You know how in some places you can't guess which is the worst table? Easy in this place; it's that one. My daughter looked at it and correctly denied it with no further thought, which gave us an extra 15 minute wait. ( A cougar pride took it rather than wait for a table, but that was their prerogative)
The restaurant itself is modern; not really in keeping with the food which is comfort Italian.
The food itself, the raison d'etre? The gnocchi comes in mouth melting quality if not quantity, with a choice of one of many sauces. Delicious.
The lasagna is one of the best I've tried. Ever. A perfect combination of meat, beschamel and pasta.
Which I can't say for the melanzane. The best are usually so well made that all the tastes come together, whereas here it's some really average attempt at one. It didn't come together at all and even had a little side of ??pasta?? on the plate with it. Not good at all. If an Iron Chef made this he'd have been beaten with his pan. Theyneed to re-imagine this one.
Where the restaurant really makes a claim is with the friendly food pricing; most expensive dish is @$20. And the wine list is a small, well chosen, cheap one with quality little pickings. They also use Riedel glasses without the stems which I'm sure makes for less breakage. And I must say, I'm tempted to go out and get some of them.
So is it the home away form home I've been looking for? Not obvious yet.I'll reserve judgement for another visit. -
Review from Pamela T.
Danville, CA
7/30/2011
Unfortunately this restaurant is hurting itself with it's reservation policy...twice now my husband and I have walked in, seen numerous 2 and 4 top tables sitting vacant only to be told the only space is at the bar. When we ask for one of the empty tables we are told they are "reserved". When we ask how this can be when their policy's NO reservations allowed for parties of FEWER than 6 - we are met with blank stares. Perhaps the tables are being held for "regulars" or "friends of the owner" either way we won't try again.
Also the prices have been inching upward and the portion size seems to be inching downward...not a good trend! -
Review from Alexis M.
4/18/2010
I'm in LOVE with Mangia Mi!! Love, love, love!!
I've driven and walked by Mangia Mi many times in the past couple of months and always thought it looked really cute and filed it in my memory bank as a place I'd like to try.
I always assumed it was like a Pasta Pomedoro type place-you know, kind of a fast food cheesy pasta place, but boy was I wrong!
We went last night with another couple and arrived around 7:30 pm. We noticed there was a table outside but there wasn't a heating lamp and while it was a beautiful day, it was getting a little cooler out.
We mentioned it to the hostess and next thing we know she is physically pushing out a heating lamp from the back and bringing it to the table on the patio. Now that is amazing customer service! This was the middle of the dinner rush and she was obviously working hard and running around trying to do a million things and she still brought out a heating lamp so we could sit outside. This was my first sign of excellence.
We were then seated, with our heating lamp, and my only complaint is that the patio is kind of on the ramp so there was a decline. I was sitting with my back to the street and I fully had a gangsta lean going on and had to fight gravity to sit up straight while eating. So, it's a good thing I worked my core muscles that day.
Our waiter Chris, was awesome. Funny and quirky and very attentive.
The wine list was shockingly awesome. The mark up on the wines were SO minimal. I have never seen such low prices on wine at a restaurant! There is usually a 200% markup and here it was maybe 5-10%...seriously. We got a bottle of Stag's Leap Merlot for $39! Normally you pay at least $65 at a restaurant. They also had Cupcake Chardonnay for $20. You can get it in the stores for about $12-$15, so once again an amazingly low markup.
The wine prices alone are enough to make me come back again but then we got the food....
Oh the food. Magnifico!!
We started with the bruschetta since so many people raved about it on here and we were not disappointed. One of the best bruschetta I have ever had. I loved that the tomatoes are cut bigger so they don't all go falling of your bread with the first bite and the balsamic vinegar adds such a pleasant taste to it. Wonderful!
I had the halibut with asparagus (a special) and my husband had the filet with the broccoli side. Our friends had the gnocchi and shrimp and we all were busy moaning while eating.
They served my meal with two large fillets of halibut so perfectly cooked, I couldn't have asked for better. It was lightly seasoned and so healthy and fresh.
Our friend is very picky about his gnocchi and was very impressed with his (which he added sausage to to add a little more substance).
We asked for bread for the table and first it was in the oven and then when Chris went back the only loaf was taken to another table so he comped us the garlic bread. As healthy as the halibut was, that's how unhealthy the garlic bread is (in a good way). I'm pretty sure there was an entire stick of butter on each piece. It just melted in your mouth. I'm salivating thinking about it!
We finished the night off with some dessert and coffee. Friends got the chocolate lava cake which they loved. I got the lemon bar, which was really more like lemon cake but absolutely AMAZING. Hubby got the red velvet cupcake, and that was his only complaint. He didn't think it was very good, and the boy likes his red velvet. It was also very small.
Oh, and Peter did briefly stop by our table to say hello and see how we were enjoying our meal, so maybe your reviews about him not doing that on Yelp have been read.
A wonderful experience that we look forward to having again!Listed in: Must Eat Here when in…
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Review from russ v.
Danville, CA
11/11/2011
The food is very good, but the portions are terrible. I ordered Gnocchi for $14.00 and got 14 Gnocchi! They were small and light. I should have read the menu closer, it does say 14! WOW I'm very little and eat very little, but I ate them in about 5 minutes and was still hungry. This did not come with a salad, so I had to spend another $8.00 for a salad, which was also small. We also had to ask for bread! Our group liked it, but were hungry when we left. Won't be returning.
