Cafe Mangu
Pflugerville, TX 78660
Phone: (512) 990-3121
- Price:
- $$
- Cross Street:
- Barbergate Street
- Hours:
- Tue-Sun 11am-10pm
Editorial Description for Cafe Mangu
Located near Tinseltown and serving large portions of Caribbean fare like paella, chicken with garlic sauce and tres leches.
Insider Tips
The ExtrasLunch specials are served on weekdays and include an entree with two sides. Wines, mojitos, margaritas and other exotic drinks like Caribbean tea are available.
User Reviews for Cafe Mangu
07/07/2008 Posted by jeffro1969
Yikes! Cafe Mangu has two flavors ... unbelievably bland and horribly overseasoned. Typical of the bland fare are the plantain chips the server brings to your table immediately upon seating. Remarkably flavorless, absolutely no taste at all. Later in the meal I was dismayed to find that the side dishes ... the red beans, black beans, arroz amarillo, and arroz congri were also very bland. The other horribly overseasoned end of the spectrum begins with the garlic dipping sauce served with the aforementioned plantain chips. I don't know if there is a fatal dose for garlic, but Cafe Mangu is trying hard to reach it. Twelve hours later the taste and smell still linger on the breath. For the main course, the Lechon Asado with onions was pretty good, but the sauce on the new shrimp dish (I can't recall the name, but it is fried shrimp with some kind of orange sauce) was WAY too sweet. Service was courteous, attentive and quick. However, this food is not to my liking and a definitely on the pricey side. I will not be back, and I do NOT recommend this restaurant.
06/28/2008 Posted by cityreviewer08
If you do not know what Dominican food is supposed to taste like, then you may be compelled to write a 5 stars review about this place. However, being born and raised in the Dominican Republic, I know what our food is supposed to taste like, and what I ate at this place tonight did not look (nor it tasted) Dominican at all. I ordered the "Azopao de Camarones", and I can tell you that this looked more like a soup with rice in it, in addition to shrimp. I complained to several people in the restaurant, but they did not have a clue about what authentic Dominican food was supposed to be. I could not finish the soup, but still wanting to try something “Dominican” (since in the area where I live there are no Dominican restaurants), I ventured to order the "Arroz con Pollo". Much to my surprise this looked more like "Azopao de Pollo", than what I actually ordered. I finally complained to the owner of the restaurant. He indicated that he is aware of the difference between authentic Dominican food, and what he serves at his place. He said that his target market is not Dominican. He went further to indicate that what he eats at home is entirely different. At the very minimum I would have appreciated an apology, and maybe offering me a discount (which I would have probably politely rejected, as a heartfelt apology would have been more than enough) as a token of his appreciation for my feedback. But not even that. Oh well, I guess not all Dominicans are created equal. What upsets me the most is that I called the restaurant prior to driving over there. I identified myself as a Dominican looking for Dominican food, and a lady who answered the phone reassured me that they were the real deal. Well, they are not. Oh, I almost forgot: I also ordered a coffee for my wife. Fortunately that never arrived.
Cons: The restaurant's name is misleading as "Mangu" is a Dominican dish. The "Dominican" dishes I tried did not taste "Dominican".
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