Essentially the biggest let down since Transformers 2. We’d been eyeing this place up for ages. It looked pretty nice from the outside and you can’t really go too far wrong with tapas. However, Mango, on Cathays Terrace, Cardiff, managed to nearly wreck the night with crappy food, uninspiring drinks and poor service. It went on to close in 2013, being replaced by Face 11, which serves stone baked pizzas, burgers, salads and paleo.
Back to the bad memory of Mango, the first sign that things would not go well at the tapas restaurant came as we spotted what looked like a little black poo shaped thing on the table we were given. It looked like a nugget of rabbit dropping, but luckily turned out to be a small chunk of minced beef. Either way, not a good start and a clear indication of the quality of food, service and cleanliness we were in for.
The nightmare turned Freddy like when the drinks came. Mojitos that are distinctly lacking in rum are not great, especially when they’ve been crafted with the same kind of love and affection you’d expect from your sworn enemy. Even when we sent them back, they didn’t come back any better. They were like watery slush puppies with the occasional piece of mint floating in it, so to say that they were disappointing would be an understatement.
The biggest let down, though, was the food, which almost made the drinks look good. We were served the tiniest mussels imaginable with pitta bread that tasted like it had seen too many days in the bread bin, alongside what can only be described as tinned lamb and mint meatballs and seemingly day-old, twice-cooked, marinated salmon skewers that could have been bought at Tesco the week before by the taste of them. With no redeeming features to talk of, the food was a shocker and we literally couldn’t wait to put the whole meal behind us.
However, if that wasn’t bad enough, the staff were completely disinterested too, which sent a clear sign that there wasn’t an ounce of care and attention. When you pay a good amount for a meal, you expect them to at least make an effort, but in Mango all we found was half arsed food, can’t be bothered service and the atmosphere of a church soup kitchen. Maybe Face 11 will do a better job with the location.
Mango tapas restaurant review: 1/5
