Mambo Grill

03/06/2009 Posted by gidget37

Worst! I have never had worse food. Waitress told me that the vegetarian paella was her favorite dish. The menu said it was authentic and flavored with saffron. More like rice-a-roni with red and green peppers (and maybe grilled pear???) for $16. Not worth it. I didn't even send it back because I couldn't think of any alternative to order.

Pros: None.

Cons: Over priced and not good food.

02/18/2009 Posted by klandes

We held an event in Mambo's downstairs private room, and it was wonderful. They were so helpful with everything from menu selection to parking tips, and the food was fantastic. They really worked with us and were flexible and helpful. It was a great experience from start to finish.

10/03/2008 Posted by jack121

Great food and the right prices, people are polite and ready to take care of the little details, prices are not bad based on the quality of food served, I have taken friends and so far they're happy.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

07/14/2008 Posted by sideshow48226

My wife and I visited Chicago this past weekend. I lived there years ago and she used to visit me. Anyhow in my travels around chicago when I lived there I stumbled upon this little restaurant that specialized in central american cuisine. Mambo Grill was a fantastic establishment 12 years ago and All I have to say Now is WOW!!! My wife and I were blown away. we showed up around 7pm or so with no reservation and were seated immediately. The service was great the drinks were fantastic and the food was out of this world. I am a Chef in Michigan so I'd like to think I know my food. Try the Mojitos( they're perfect) , The Portaballo mushroom appetizer was phenomanal. As was the entrees. I'm not a huge dessert fan but they nailed the flan perfectly. Not to sweet and not to eggy. I suggest trying this place out.... and tip the cooks... They do an awesome job.

Pros: awesome food great drinks, positive attitude from the staff great prices, relaxed ambiance

Cons: none

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

06/23/2008 Posted by sorywrong

tom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tomtom tom

06/22/2008 Posted by Opal49

I am confused! We go to Mambo Grill every visit to Chicago. Love the mojitos (and we've had them in many places) and the food is great. We have been to Mambo on Friday's when they have been so packed, the wait was over an hour. It can get somewhat noisy on a busy night, but we liked the buzz so we could have private conversation. I believe the previous reviewer may have visited on an off night. Give this place a try--we have never been disappointed.

Pros: Great drinks, good food

Cons: Big groups may not work well

06/20/2008 Posted by deedee1212

If I could give it less than 1 star I would. My girlfriends and I all went here for my best friend's birthday party. All I can say is wow! Can a restaurant really be this bad on so many levels? I guess we should have know something was wrong when we went in on a Friday night and it was a ghost town. We should have just turned around and walked out the door at that warning sign. Food was miserable to the point of being disgusting, drinks sucked and the service was even worse. Wait! Now that I think of it can I even say that it was service??? The food was just a sloppy mess with this crappy thick cream sauce smothering almost everything we ordered. The taste followed suit and was horrible!!! Not one of us liked our food and there were 8 of us in our group that all ordered something different! Our waiter came around once every twenty minutes (we timed her) - when she wasn't standing there watching the damn tv. She only had one table (we were it) so how hard could it possibly be??? We hoped that drinks would make up for the food and service but the drinks were equally bad. Their special drink of margaritas were a joke. You would think they could at least make their specialty drinks taste good. Overall I would say run from this place since there are so many other fantastic places in the city. For example, try Carnivale instead! mmmm

Pros: None and we are being fair!

Cons: Food Drink and Service are all a disaster

01/06/2008 Posted by mrspolich

My husband and I made reservations for a Saturday night. We were seated promptly when we arrived. The food looked, smelled and tasted great! The service was quick and polite. We didn't feel rushed and enjoyed the atmosphere which was energetic, but still comfortable. I have never written a review for any of the restaurants that we find online, but the Mambo Grill was an exceptional meal at a reasonable price.

Pros: Menu,

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

11/13/2007 Posted by misviejo

The food is here great. The atmosphere is very relaxing and cordial here. Everything is clean. I highly recommend going on an "off night" because you tend to get much better service. That's the only drawback here is that the service sometimes falls below standard levels when they get busy. For example, we came in with a party of 10 on a Friday night with reservations and the first round of drinks came just fine but for the second round, we were waiting until the ice cubes melted down to water. I've been before on a Tuesday and Wednesday and not only is the service much better but the food somehow comes and everything is timed perfectly. This can make all the difference because the food is great in general and we haven't found anything bad on the menu at all, although one piece of fish was not enjoyed by someone in our party of 10 but he is super-picky and was from the west coast and used to getting it fresh within hours of being caught off the docks. I will say that their prices recently went up a little bit and it didn't go unnoticed, but since the quality is there in the food, it is still a good value. Parking of course stinks in this neighborhood in general so you've got to factor that into the price of dining to some extent.

Pros: Great food, good value, good service on "off nights"

Cons: parking stinks, service on a busy night is not the best

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful

02/03/2007 Posted by megancoughlin

My experience at Mambo Grill was great from the beginning. I called on Thursday night to make a last minute reservation for Friday night. The woman said she would squeeze us in at 7:00. When we arrived at 7:00 our name wasn't in the book, but the woman remembered me and sat us right away. Our server was very friendly and attentive. Our drinks (Mojito and sangria) were great. The food was DELICIOUS. I had the chile rellenos (which don't come with a side, so I ordered the beans and rice.) I also tried a shrimp dish and the bbq salmon - both of which were also very tasty. The next time we have out of town guests, I won't hesitate to take them to the Mambo Grill. For all the bad restaurant experiences I have had in Chicago, this really made up for it.

Pros: Great service & food. Yummy drinks

Cons: Extremely loud on a Friday night