Overall- very welcoming my and cozy. Service was excellent, but found the food to be lacking and unimpressed. Truth be told, because we do not eat pork, the smell of bacon up entering was overwhelming to the point of being nauseating. We ordered the only not pork item on the menu, the omelette, but was unable to finish it.
Ruth
We tried the chef tasting with paired wine experience and it was amazing! The food was delicious. The six courses were all things I wouldn't normally pick out from a menu so it was really fun trying something new.
Alex
Excellent food as always. Its not the hot newness and I think gets forgotten sometimes in discussions of Raleigh's best restaurants.
Brent
We had the best waitress who helped us box things up quickly when our kids got a bit unruly. Food is fantastic as well
Drew
Great all around! Wonderful drinks, entrees were excellent. Cornbread is nice, if a little dry. But sourghum butter was a nice addition.
Rebecca
Food was as always delicious. Service was perfect. Going back Tuesday night for Tomato themed dinner
Meghan
Amazing food and service. We had a party of 9 and everyone left full and happy. Highly recommend the watermelon feta salad, scallops, steak frites and pork collar. The Apothecary cocktail was unbelievable. Will definitely be back.
Kathleen
We have enjoyed dining at Mandolin on many previous occasions. This time there must have been a change in the kitchen or something because we waited about an hour for our food with no apology or acknowledgment that anything was wrong. Very disappointing.
Cindi
Late Saturday dinner that turned into a special dining experience. The cocktails were fabulous - try the Apothecary- refreshing! Watermelon salad spectacular presentation - we split it - the taste was superb and so fresh. Dinner did not disappoint - potato gnocchi with super tender eggplant and two fresh sauces tomato and eggplant. I did not leave a crumb on my plate. My partner was equally impressed with his pork potato, kale and chicheron dish. We finished with homemade sorbet trio. Yum! Drinks are pricey and pours looked small - so we ordered a bottle of Vino Verde which was perfect.
Alexander
It's always a pleasure to have a meal at The Mandolin. Went with the 6 course Chefs Tasting menu with the accompanying wine pairing. I'm always blown away by the quality of the food and the creativeness of how the flavors build on each other. I'll be back!
We had not been to Madison since it changed, which was about 13 years ago. Great service from the moment we sat down. The food and drinks were beautifully present and the flavors balance. The fact that most everything is locally sourced is appreciated. Coming back soon, not in 13 years.
Fred
We chose Mandolin because we are moving to the area next year and hoped to find a great neighborhood gem. The review is mixed. The ambience and service were very good. We liked our waitress, and service was prompt. She recommended the pork collar, which two of us ordered. Good, not great. The other two people ordered scallops. Same rating. The melon and stracciatella were excellent except for the odd inclusion of jalapeno peppers. What was the chef thinking?! The wine list was decent, but overpriced. Many (most?) of the wines were over $100. The markup appeared to be 160-200% over retail. The real kicker came with the bill. The recommended tips started at 20% and were based on after-tax meal price. One doesn't normally tip on tax! Then, the final insult: 2.5% added for credit cards "to help cover costs." Maybe a percentage will be added next for electricity. You really expect me to carry $200 in cash? Some food places don't even accept cash anymore. We choose not to patronize a restaurant that does this. You make your choice. We'll check again when we move nearby.
Ed
Mandolin is "go to" restaurant for us, and we have eaten there many times, most often for the Sunday brunch. The food is excellent, the service is friendly, nice casual ambience, all consistently reliable. And, it's located on a fairly quiet corner, away from the hustle bustle of downtown or big shopping areas...a nice place to unwind with family/friends while enjoying a good, reasonably-priced meal. Highly recommend.
Anthony
We had a fantastic dinner at Mandolin. It was our anniversary and while we did not tell them, our server(Izzy) took very good care of us. Her recommendations and attentiveness were superb. The food was delicious. We will be back.
R
Great place to gather with friends and enjoy a wonderful dinner. The gnocchi was incredible!
Overall- very welcoming my and cozy. Service was excellent, but found the food to be lacking and unimpressed. Truth be told, because we do not eat pork, the smell of bacon up entering was overwhelming to the point of being nauseating. We ordered the only not pork item on the menu, the omelette, but was unable to finish it.
We tried the chef tasting with paired wine experience and it was amazing! The food was delicious. The six courses were all things I wouldn't normally pick out from a menu so it was really fun trying something new.
Excellent food as always. Its not the hot newness and I think gets forgotten sometimes in discussions of Raleigh's best restaurants.
We had the best waitress who helped us box things up quickly when our kids got a bit unruly. Food is fantastic as well
Great all around! Wonderful drinks, entrees were excellent. Cornbread is nice, if a little dry. But sourghum butter was a nice addition.
Food was as always delicious. Service was perfect. Going back Tuesday night for Tomato themed dinner
Amazing food and service. We had a party of 9 and everyone left full and happy. Highly recommend the watermelon feta salad, scallops, steak frites and pork collar. The Apothecary cocktail was unbelievable. Will definitely be back.
We have enjoyed dining at Mandolin on many previous occasions. This time there must have been a change in the kitchen or something because we waited about an hour for our food with no apology or acknowledgment that anything was wrong. Very disappointing.
Late Saturday dinner that turned into a special dining experience. The cocktails were fabulous - try the Apothecary- refreshing! Watermelon salad spectacular presentation - we split it - the taste was superb and so fresh. Dinner did not disappoint - potato gnocchi with super tender eggplant and two fresh sauces tomato and eggplant. I did not leave a crumb on my plate. My partner was equally impressed with his pork potato, kale and chicheron dish. We finished with homemade sorbet trio. Yum! Drinks are pricey and pours looked small - so we ordered a bottle of Vino Verde which was perfect.
It's always a pleasure to have a meal at The Mandolin. Went with the 6 course Chefs Tasting menu with the accompanying wine pairing. I'm always blown away by the quality of the food and the creativeness of how the flavors build on each other. I'll be back!
Restaurantji Recommends
We had not been to Madison since it changed, which was about 13 years ago. Great service from the moment we sat down. The food and drinks were beautifully present and the flavors balance. The fact that most everything is locally sourced is appreciated. Coming back soon, not in 13 years.
We chose Mandolin because we are moving to the area next year and hoped to find a great neighborhood gem. The review is mixed. The ambience and service were very good. We liked our waitress, and service was prompt. She recommended the pork collar, which two of us ordered. Good, not great. The other two people ordered scallops. Same rating. The melon and stracciatella were excellent except for the odd inclusion of jalapeno peppers. What was the chef thinking?! The wine list was decent, but overpriced. Many (most?) of the wines were over $100. The markup appeared to be 160-200% over retail. The real kicker came with the bill. The recommended tips started at 20% and were based on after-tax meal price. One doesn't normally tip on tax! Then, the final insult: 2.5% added for credit cards "to help cover costs." Maybe a percentage will be added next for electricity. You really expect me to carry $200 in cash? Some food places don't even accept cash anymore. We choose not to patronize a restaurant that does this. You make your choice. We'll check again when we move nearby.
Mandolin is "go to" restaurant for us, and we have eaten there many times, most often for the Sunday brunch. The food is excellent, the service is friendly, nice casual ambience, all consistently reliable. And, it's located on a fairly quiet corner, away from the hustle bustle of downtown or big shopping areas...a nice place to unwind with family/friends while enjoying a good, reasonably-priced meal. Highly recommend.
We had a fantastic dinner at Mandolin. It was our anniversary and while we did not tell them, our server(Izzy) took very good care of us. Her recommendations and attentiveness were superb. The food was delicious. We will be back.
Great place to gather with friends and enjoy a wonderful dinner. The gnocchi was incredible!
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