Mambo Italiano

Given the reviews I was a little concerned but apparently there is a new group of wait staff; the food was good and service was friendly. I'd recommend updating the menu (not sure what some of the dishes were) but overall a good place to eat. more

Had the best service, and great food more

Took a large party of people there for a special party. Was greeted with the best service and the food was hot and too our liking. They have beer specials on tues/ thurs so business lunches were awesome. more

this is the best italian place in triangle since comming here 3 years ago so happy i found it cooked fresh and clean simple flavors and if you ask to spice it you wn way they do so if they have the ingedients always freindly servers most of all honest after all no one is perfect and it is only a meal but as a chef myself i know how many hours it takes to prepare to serve a dinning room full of guests and @ the price you pay for a meal here with the quality and preparation involved they are giving this food away so do yourself a favor support independant restaurants like this one they keep the economy going by creating jobs and a nice relaxing time with your family and friends more

great food, great service, great experience. more

great food, great staff, great experience. more

this person who wrote the 1 star must need medication this was the best service and food in north carolina we were here on the same night and we over heard a guy saying he was gonna hurt this place because his friend sent him here to cause trouble for this waitress because she was the X girlfriend of his friend and try to get her fired in the process he lies the place is great food and staff more

My wife and I came in around 7:00PM for a good Italian meal. We were delighted to see that seating was availible immediately and we were escorted to our table by a very nice hostess. Everything was fine for a while, but then we noticed that we weren’t getting served. Finally a waitress with short hair (Donna, I think?) came to take our drink order. She brings our drinks and then disappears for what seems to be 10-15 minutes. I have my iPad out doing some work and my wife makes the suggestion that I put it aside for a minute because maybe the waitress thinks we just came to order drinks (we hadn’t ordered any food yet). I do and still no sign of the waitress. Then we notice another table leaving and loudly complaining that they didn’t get any service. So, I tell my wife that we’ll give the waitress another five minutes before we walk out. Finally Donna comes by our table in route to another table when I make strong eye contact with her to get her attention. We had been there nearly 30 minutes at this point, with a half empty restaurant and just two drinks to show for it. Now- I am a nice “yes ma’am” type southern boy and I have looked back on the situation to try to figure out if I made any crass or snide comments to the waitress in relation to our lack of service. I did not. I treated her with respect but, for whatever reason, Donna decided to pick on me for the duration of the meal. I actually felt like I was being bullied. I would ask for something and she would promptly say “no.” I made my food order and I received a smartass comment back about my choice. I asked for a cup of tea to go and she said “not for you, but for your wife.” It just went on and on. I thought she might be joking at first, but she didn’t let up. We eat out a lot. We deal with a lot of different kinds of service, but this was the worst I can remember in years. Absolutely horrible. The food was actually pretty good and we would come back for it, but I will never step foot in Mambo Italiano again because of Donna. I didn’t say anything to her because I didn’t want to ruin a nice evening with my wife, but she didn’t get a tip. more

Owners, Ron and Bella are the rudest people I have come across in Apex. Obviously these New Yorkers never heard of southern hospitality. I went to Mambo for my daughters birthday party. We invited all of her friends to come along and our bill was over 200$. I do not mind spending extra money for quality food, but I honestly prefer the pasta from Harris Teeters frozen section. When we finished our meal we brought out a cake that we had purchased at a different location and brought with us. The owners were not having it. They so rudely told us that either we ordered from their dessert menu or pay them a dollar for each plate we used to serve the cake we brought. We ended up singing happy birthday in the comfort of our own home. more

When first opened this place was the BEST! Now the food cost alot more, food is not that good, service sucks. I WILL NOT RETURN EVER! Owner is rude and should go back to NY where his kind thrive! Kate more

By looking at some of the reviews here you can tell how polarized the posts are about this restaurant. Obviously there are friends, family and employees trying to protect it.\r \r I don't see how anyone would like this place. We have tried to use multiple different promotional coupons and half off $25 gift certificates from different organizations and every time the owner has an excuse why they either aren't going to take it or why it's not valid (even though the stipulation is no where on the gc or coupon). It seems like classic bait and switch to me, but hey whatever. We just will not go there any more. Their food is average at best. Some things are decent and some things are poor/awful. \r \r They used to offer a salad with family-style. Now they don't. They used to offer meat dishes in family style such as chicken parm and saltimbocca. Now they don't. They are constantly reducing what you get for your money. \r \r The owner and the servers are rude and act like they are doing you a favor by taking your money. \r \r I can't recommend this place to anyone especially since Daniel's, Carrabba's, and Mamma Mia's are much better places to go for good Italian food and service. \r \r Whoever named this place the best Italian in Apex was probably just a friend of the owner. That distinction shouldn't even be discussed in the same sentence with this place.\r \r Even if the food was good (and it isn't) I wouldn't go there again to be treated like dirt under someone's feet when I am the guest! more

Having moved from Long Island a little over a year ago, we feel fortunate to have found ""Mambo Italiano."" We we're looking for a very good family run Italian restaurant that has great food, instead of the chains like Olive Garden. We found our place with Mambo. We have found that all our meals have been great and the portions are more than generous. Some of my favorite meals are the Frutti de Mar as well as all the parmesan dishes like veal, chicken and my favorite shrimp. Ron, the owner was very personable and the the wait staff was friendly and efficient. We'll be back. more

How do horrible little places like this stay in business? I mean, really. Kitchen will NOT alter food for a specific customer's taste (God forbid you have a food allergy), EVEN if you request it and the waiter acknowledges it. You have to wait until the food comes out to be disappointed, and then find out that you can't return to to be altered, and THEN find out that even if you don't eat it, you STILL have to pay for it! What horrid, penny-pinching owners this establishment has! more

I decided to celebrate my wife's 50th birthday at Mambo Italiano, with my daughter and her boyfriend. As we waited to be seated, we noticed the Latin music and wondered if we were at the wrong place. After all, we wanted Italian food. I guess that's why they call it ""Mambo"" Italiano. Anyway, for starters, the server was very pushy, and curt. In fact, usually it is me to complain about service, but this time it was all three of my family members who were complaining. In fact, my 24 year old daughter wanted to speak to the manager, which I've never seem her do. The 1/2 carafe of house red wine was worse than box wine. It was so bad that I couldn't even drink it and had to send it back. IT WAS TERRIBLE! The server seemed annoyed by the fact that we wanted to know a few descriptions of the ""Mambo"" dishes and said there are no substitutions on weekend nights. Anyway, the food arrived and it was fair, at best. I ordered the Lasagna which was bland. The meat sauce tasted like generic Ragu with hamburger...NO FLAVOR! When I asked for fresh grated parmesan, I was given a pizza shaker with regular run of the mill, Kraft style parmesan. Also, they went way overboard with the ricotta cheese, that I wound up scooping it out in order to eat the noodles and meat sauce. My daughter's side of steamed veggies contained a mystery veggie. No one could figure out what it was! Beyond that, it was about 60% cauliflower. Get this; they make absolutely NO accommodations for birthdays. In fact, I'm sure the server could tell we were disappointed, so she actually suggested that we try the yogurt place next door! The night really wound up a disaster when I forgot to redeem my $25 gift certificate. We had just gotten to the end of the parking lot when my wife mentioned it. I rushed back to get the bill corrected (within 5 min of leaving), and the owner Ron said ""I'm not going to do it"". I was shocked! We just dropped $130 for poor service and bland Italian food, and he wouldn't accept the very thing that enticed me to go there. What a disappointment! I too am a transplant from NY/NJ area. I have run a number of successful restaurants in NYC, too. You can get away with that kind of crap in the city, but you won't last too long pissing off people down here in the South. We want good honest service, and good food. Period. Ronnie Mancuso, do yourself a favor and go back up north IF you intend to keep running your restaurant like this. more

I took the extended family to Mambo Italiano several months ago. The food was mediocre at best...not much flavor in any of the dishes. However, that's not my primary complaint. We tried the food and won't return, so that should have been the end of it. My real complaint is that, apparently because I used a coupon, I was added to their marketing distribution list. I tried to 'unsubscribe' months ago, but apparently that did not work. I recently received a forwarded e-mail, and there is no unsubscribe function from that sender. This in NOT the way to run their e-mail marketing. more

Last night my family of three used a coupon from a restaurant coupon website. The coupon was folded on the table and the waitress immediately spotted it and said that she needed that. We ordered drinks and three entrees. She informed us that we needed to spend $40.00 as per the coupon and she was not sure we had spent enough. She returned to the table to tell us that we were a few dollars short. When the bill came we saw we were .75 short. This prompted us to order the brushetta. The topping was very tasty but the bread gave our jaws a work out as it was very chewy. Our waitress would zoom by the table and shoot off before we could tell her all that we wanted to tell her. My husband never did get a soda refill but I did get a tea refill. It took three interactions to get the sweetener however. My food was bland. I had white clam sauce over linguine. The sauce itself was good but the pasta was bland and diluted with the large amount of juice at the bottom of the very large bowl. My daughter did like her Grandma's pizza and my husband's rigatoni was good. That was one thing ...the portions were plentiful. The waitress was literally taking items off the table. I had merely put my fork down as she swooped by to ask if she could box it up. My daughter was still eating as she offered again to wrap hers up. After the third time she put her fork down and let her take the pizza! The food arrived at the table in record time and we literally were in and out of the restaurant in 50 minutes! we felt as if we were given the rush job to get out. The waitress's attention was not really good service. we saw it as a mechanism to clear the table around us and cut down on the down time between customers at the table. This was less than a great Saturday night. Our daughter was visiting from out of down and we just didn't feel like we could or should linger and talk. more

My husband bought a gift certificate through a restaurant website for $2 that was good for $25 at Mambo Italiano. Two of us had dinner. We had a salad, an appetizer and each had an entree. The salad was iceburg lettuce and a couple of tomatoes, the appetizer was bland, the entrees took forever to arrive and those were overcooked an bland. Even after the $25 gift card was applied, we still ended up paying over $40 with gratuity. Not worth the money. The servers were very kind and prompt and dressed well. The manager however was dressed in a sports tshirt untucked and baggy and jeans. If you're going for a nicer atmosphere where the servers are dressed well, the manager should also be dressed professionally. I would say if you're going to spend $50 on dinner for 2, go up the road a mile to Daniels and get prompt service, and far better quality food. more

I'm sorry when you walk away feeling threatened by the Owner/Manager it's not a place I want to come back to. I was actually excited to try the place, but the service was assuming and arrogant, the food very bland. They don't care what you think....It's an awesome location and a beautiful place, but that is all. more

My family and I went by Mambo Italiano one Friday evening hoping for good Italian food, and nice conversation. Unfortunately, we received neither. When we arrived, we were seating within five minutes; that was promising. After our drink orders were taken, it took almost 10 minutes for them to arrive. The bar was just one table away. We were seated right next to ""Carmine the Entertainer"". He had his amps so loud, we could not even talk to the person sitting next to us. We asked the waitress to have him turn the volume down, and he did so... for about 2 minutes, then it was back to business as usual. The food was bland, we had to keep getting the waitress's attention for refills on our drinks (water, tea, and sodas). This was the most disappointing dinig experience we have had since moving to Apex. We will not be returning to ""the Best in Apex"". more

Madonna Mia,\r We always have some left for lunch for Sunday as we can't finish the meal! My wife and I order different dinners and get full on half of the portion because its so large.\r Then on Sunday we switch, so we have four meals for the price of two. The only thing missing is the enterainment .\r He calls him self carmine the crooner com . We are in our mid 50's and remember all the songs he sings. He walks around singing ,and takes requests ! All the kids feel special and are invited to dance with him. \r The owners Bella and Ron are great Americans Trying to succeed the American way and are doing so.\r P.S. As you can see ,This is Camine but I am Righting this review in responce to the people who have the need to want to hurt Hard working People. Some one said I watch porn at my computer , this person must be very insecure ! LOLOL #1) I never watch Porn, I dont want or need to! #2) who has time ?\r Im working,takeing request Singing Happy Birthday ect....\r I like to make people feel special. If you don't like me at your table just wave me off and I will not return to your table. I totally understand.\r Every one at Mambo works Very Hard. Please do not write Negative Hurting Reviews full of Lies. !Everyone here is trying to make a liveing . Their are plenty of Folks who love Mambo and me, but they don't write reviews so this site make's it look bad.\r Do you know how many people love it here? \r I don't either but can tell you I always see folks waiting to be seated and it is always busy with new &old Loyle customers!\r I may not write correct and idon't use spell check,But I know food and people! Trust me ,You can't go wrong at Mambo ! I Love this place!!!!\r Comments to this review are wellcome@\r Carminethecrooner com or here!\r p.p.s The story at top is true and was told to me by Customers!\r Thank You more