Mandina's Restaurant

Located on Canal Street in the heart of Mid-City, Mandina's is another neighborhood restaurant in New Orleans that is well worth a visit. The restaurant has been around for over 100 years, originally as an Italian grocery store, and is still owned by the descendants of the immigrant who opened it. The Italian family feel is definitely prevalent in the atmosphere and food of this great establishment. The menu offers a wonderful variety of Italian classics and traditional New Orleans cuisine; Mandina's blends these two styles beautifully. They offer all of the standard appetizers, soups and salads including crabcakes, gumbo, turtle soup, etc. The entree selection is really what sets Mandina's apart. The options are endless! There are several steak, seafood and chicken options. Then there is also a list of "Italian Specials" and "House Specials". Also worth checking out are the sandwich options, everything from Italian meatballs to fried oysters, and I have not even gotten to the daily specials. The menu is finished off with decent children's options and a modest dessert list. Believe me when I say there is something for everyone at this restaurant. My husband ordered the fried chicken platter and while it was not the best he has had in town (see Willie Mae's Scotch House), he felt that is was prepared excellently, crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. I enjoyed the oyster loaf sandwich. The oysters were perfectly fried and the amount of food was very generous for the price. We were dinning out with friends, one of whom also ordered the fried chicken and enjoyed it. The other ordered the gumbo and a salad, and was pleased with both of her choices as well. While the menu options are top notch and the food itself is very good, Mandina's does have a few drawbacks. First and foremost, the service is hit or miss. During our dinner, the server brought my food and our daughter's grilled cheese sandwich out first, then it took at least another 15 minutes for the rest of the table to get their food. Also, one of our party asked for some extra crackers for her gumbo (there is a basket on each table but ours was almost empty), and he never brought them. We ended up asking another waiter, who brought them very quickly. The staff were all extremely nice and the restaurant was incredibly busy, which may explain why the service was very inconsistent. The restaurant is clearly a favorite of locals as seen by the line out the door but the food is worth the wait. Keep in mind, also, that this neighborhood classic only takes cash, so come prepared. We enjoyed our night out at Mandina's and will definitely go back sometime soon, there is just too much on the menu that looks tempting. I give Mandina's Restaurant 3 and a half stars.

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