Mangroves

05/04/2008 Posted by jengetty4

i read the article on mangroves yesterday, i had never even heard of mangroves before, but the photos were so beautiful that it made me want to see the rest of the place. my friend and i went for dinner, the article did not do this place justice. i was stunned when i walked in with how beautiful it was. we sat in a big private booth that would be perfect for a romatic date and ate a great meal of seabass & ahi. we saved room for the twix dessert, the chef suggested it when he came by the table...i know i must have gained 5 pounds with that alone.....it was soooo good!!! i loved it so much that I made reservations for mothers day before i left.

Pros: decor, food, peach bellini

Cons: the dipping oil had too much garlic for my taste

05/02/2008 Posted by TracyAmos

I just love going to Mangroves, it is a place very colse to my heart. Not only is the restaurant absolutly beautiful but the food is delicious and the staff is always friendly. I had my sit down rehearsal dinner for 80 several years ago and my baby showers here. My friends and family raved about the food and the service. I have owned a hair salon in South Tampa for 16 years and have referred many clients and friends to Mangroves for events and dinner and I will continue to do so....Tracy Amos

Pros: food, service, ambience

Cons: not open for lunch

04/25/2008 Posted by reviewlou

Yes, Mangroves has been open for 12yrs, BUT it's not the first time they have received complaints on service, management and even the owners wife or the owner herself! I've been a patron of Mangroves since the depressing blue decor and the horrible food days! I've seen many reviews in the paper over the years, some good and some bad! One thing is for sure, if they didn't have the "hook up" for the late night, the beautiful restaurant would probably never survive! So a little advice for the friendly staff of Mangroves, if your gonna be a night club then due so, but if you wanna be restaurant take notes from Bern's and learn how to run your business in a professional manner! There is never a need for insulting a guest ,weather they are right or wrong! You should be a better person and never had let the situatiuon boil to the point that it did! Maybe a management training program would be sufficiant and just maybe you can get the "owners wife" to attend! Remeber, a team is only as good as it's leader! So as a professional bartender, try saying something not so insulting in the future, because all your doing is lowering yourself down to their level! Thanks for all the great drinks and I hope you can get pass this!

Pros: GREAT looking ladies!

Cons: valet, owners wife

04/24/2008 Posted by bartender1

as an employee of mangroves I feel the need to add my 2 cents.. I was working the night of this wedding reception and feel the young ladies comments aren't accurate. I understand that wedding receptions can get rowdy but consideration has to be given to the other guests. the women this lady referred to is the owner, not the owners wife , and has an obligation to make the dining experience of her guests a pleasant one. this party was loud and obnoxious and was yelling obscenities to where every person in the building heard it. of coarse the owner is going to ask you to quiet down. this young lady and her party were asked politely several times before they were asked to leave. I think had the owner known what this party had in mind, she would've never booked it. I think also the party should've considered a more appropriate location. like maybe what the other gentleman said. skippers. she did buy the entire restaurant a bottle of wine for their inconvienence. the owner also never was rude or impolite. the "white trash" comment came from me and I said the party was acting trashy and needed to leave. again this was after her party was yelling out obscenities and making rude gestures. grown people shouldn't be reminded how to act. the owner was 100% in the right by asking a disruptive and rude party to leave. mangroves has been in business for 12 years and is not going to let one party ruin their reputation. ive been working at mangroves for 5 years this month and never seen a display of rude and tacky behavior

Pros: great bartenders

04/23/2008 Posted by greygoose1

i went to mangroves for the first time this past saturday. ive heard so much about the food and wanted to try it out. i must say that it was one of the best meals ive ever had. i had the filet and my wife had the seabass and both were perfect. we had a glass of wine with dinner and an after dinner martini which was also perfect. towards the end of our evening there were some loud kids upstairs that were be extemely loud and vulger, which as a parent i didnt appreciate. by the looks of these people they shouldve went to skippers. the owner was quick to ask them to leave and after some drunken banter from the unruley guests, they left. after the squabble, the owner personally went to every table and aplogized for the disturbance and bought every table a bottle of wine. she was absolutely a class act and me and my family appreciate the service and i recommend mangroves to everyone!!

04/22/2008 Posted by JustMarried08

Well, I booked my wedding reception @ Mangrove's South Tampa location. I had dinner and open bar upstairs 5-9. Everyone was there by the time my hubby and I arrived. Then the food was served about 6:20. About 7:15 I was ready to throw my bouquet; the owners wife, the manager on duty told me I wasn't allowed to throw the bouquet, and she didn't want my garter thrown either. The crowd was getting too noisy, and we needed to tone things down. Well, after reminding her that this was a WEDDING RECEPTION, with more than 60 invitations, which not all showed up, you should expect some noise. Anyhow, about 30 minutes later, the manager comes over to us again and tells us we are being out of control, and on the virge of kicking us out on my wedding day. My husband comes to the rescue and has the idea of moving the now smaller party outside- we need to say bye to our guests and end the evening calmly and not be thrown out- she agreed but then........here is the worst ever...........the manager...aka...the owner's wife....calls me and everyone else there "white trash". Now, as the owner's wife, she should know that isn't how you handle any situation. Actually, you are throwing all business ethics out the window, which is not very smart. I have never been so disrespected by anyone before. We used discression to try and divert from any problem occuring, and her poor experience in a rowdy crowd was unacceptable! Don't ever dine there. The food is just okay, and you can be treated better in over 100 restaraunts in Tampa. Use this guide to help you find what you are looking for, because I promise this is not the place.

Pros: The bartenders were all polite

Cons: the management and other service was unacceptable behavior

04/09/2008 Posted by fastidous

Our eating experience at Mangroves Northdale was delightful and the service exceptional. The atmosphere is very calming and the decor is pleasing to the eye. Our favorite appetizers were the beef short ribs as well as the brie. Our dinner selections were also delicious. I chose the seabass which is one of the most delightful, mouth pleasing dishes I have ever eaten. My husband had the blackened ribeye and the flavor was good. He felt that it was slightly overcooked. The server offered to have it replaced but it wasn't that much overcooked. Overall we would highly recommend Mangroves Northdale. If our service was this good when they are so new, we can expect nothing but perfection in the future.

04/06/2008 Posted by Dinake

I love coming hear for the appetizer and bottle of wine. the music is great on Friday nights if you want to stay for the bar scene.

04/06/2008 Posted by foodlover1023

SERVICE HORRIBLE!!!! FOOD NO FLAVOR!!!!! DRINKS AVERAGE!!!!MANAGEMENT GET A CLUE!!!!! WE WILL NEVER RETURN WILL ALSO SPREAD THE WORD T EVERYONE IN NORTHDALE HOW RUDE YOU PEOPLE ARE

04/01/2008 Posted by mj2278

I just had an amazing dinner at Mangroves Northdale!! I had been waiting anxiously for the restaurant to open since I live in Carrollwood and I am surrounded by all the corporate restaurant chains. I was very impressed how beautifully decorated and sophisticated it looked! Very classy-especially with all the candles everywhere you look. It was so hard to choose from the menu b/c everything sounded amazing. My girlfriends and I shared some appetizers...loved the tuna tartare, brie and crab cakes!!! For my entree I had the seabass which melted in my mouth and my friends had the chicken roulade , scallops and steak which all were yummy as well! We were in a booth which was so cool, we couldn't believe that we hung out for 4 hrs!! Definately plan on coming back as my new hangout-no longer need to drive to south tampa to feel like I am in the suburbs.