Mambu

One of the best dining experiences we have had in Nashville - the paella was wodnerful - my wifes tuna was amazing - service was great - atmoshphere original - will return many, many times more

The place is nice and the service was excellent. I would definitely go back & try more of their appetizers. more

I will have to put this evening under the catagory ""you are not going to believe this"". I walked in to join a birthday gathering of my friends only to be greeted by an extremely rude and border-line abusive waitress (i believe her name is April). As we started to go to our table, the sub-par valet service they have crashed one friends car into another and proceded to lie about it saying it was a ""hit and run"". Sad for him we actually had intelligent individuals in our party. As traumatic and unsettling as a wreak is of any kind the waitress continued her rude behavior rather than offering up any type of sympathy. When asked a question at the table about a food item being altered due to an allergy she bit the head off of the person and rolled her eyes. Not only was the service continually rude she constantly spoke loudly so all around would hear of her displeasure with our group or anyone for that matter. Its a sad day when you leave a restaurant upset, disappointed and disgusted. I am completely disgusted with the treatment and will never again darken the doors of this ...to use the term loosely...""restuarant"" more

Went upon a friend's recomendation of the food with my husband for our anniversary and was told in advance that a reservation of 40 was coming in, so to hurry. When we went in, we saw the large patio of empty tables, came in and was greeted by the host, and noticed the reserved section nicely set up. I'm 7 months pregnant and the host asked if we were eating or drinking (?). I told him we were eating and would like a table. He didn't offer a patio table. He said ""let's see what we've got"" and whilst waliing with him noticed empty tables also not reserved in the bar area, and other people eating. He did not ask if we would like to wait until a table was available, he did not offer to seat us at a table in the bar ir patio area, instead he slapped the menus on the bar and said ""here ya go!"" like we should be excited. So my pregnant self tried to climb up onto the barstool. the menu was not impressive. Cheap cuts of flank steak for a not what it's worth and food that's on the Popeye's menu... the bartender asked what we were drinking, I looked at my husband and said lets go somewhere else, that I wanted a table. He thought it was the price, which was not the issue since we've spent 3 times more on sushi, it was the slapping of the menu's at the bar, when we wanted a table and there were clearly unreserved tables available, not to mention the host smelling like alcohol. Then the snooty bartender asked ""what? Is it too expensive"" when she should possible work on getting those teeth fixed instead...gross. I called the next day to speak with management or an owner, explaining what happened, also learning that the host is in fact not really an employee. The lady apologized and took my number. It's been two days. No one has called back. SHOCKER! more

don't you just hate it when you balance your checkbook, and find that you paid for dinner with your check-card, and it's not till you balance that you find out that the waiter changed your tip amount - added more for themselves!! Really hacks me off! Won't be eating here again. I consider this theft. more

Went there for my birthday with a group of friends and was initially impressed with the decor and the menu options. The food was good and we were enjoying each other?s company until we were told to leave because they needed our table. To be asked to leave because of an improperly organized reservation schedule is one thing, but the tone in which we were asked lacked such tact that I was left EXTREMELY disgusted with my experience there. These sentiments were shared by all my friends so I am completely surprised by the reviews here that speak to their great service. As such, I would only recommend this place if you dont care about service! more

I'm writing to inform of my displeasure with my experience last night (Friday, April 30th) at this restaurant. Yesterday was my birthday and my family and I had plans to go to another restaurant, but upon seeing numerous bad reviews, decided to go elsewhere. I did some research and read a number of positive reviews about mAmbu, including how excellent the service was, which made me decide we would eat there. I was dressed up while my parents were dressed more casually. We arrived, and were quite impressed with the atmosphere. The guy working the valet station was incredibly friendly, and the hostess was very pleasant and sweet. After a couple moments, we were sat. I looked up to see a server who was an older gentleman talking to the hostess while looking in our direction. It was the same server who had budged my dad out of the way as he was going out the door while we were waiting to be sat. It was our first time being at mAmbu, but I've served at multiple establishments and found that the restaurant was hardly busy. Upwards of ten minutes later, we finally had a server come to the table. My parents mentioned that it was my birthday, and he said, ""Oh, alright. Well happy birthday."" He said he had to go get water, and then about another five to ten minutes later returned and poured our water. He said he would be back with us in a moment, and proceeded to go spend the next ten minutes on the patio talking to tables. Finally, he returned and asked if any of us wanted a cocktail. We said no and he said he would give us some time to look over the menu and promptly began to walk away. My dad said that he thought we were all ready to order and the server again mentioned giving us some time. My dad began to ask if I was ready as I was the only one still undecided, at which point the server interrupts him and demands we give him ""a minute"". The entire time we were in there, we were either ignored by our server or talked to incredibly rudely and he talked to us as if we were stupid. Finally, I decided that I was incredibly displeased that the server was providing me such a terrible experience AFTER acknowledging that we were there for my birthday dinner. Five minutes after the server had demanded a minute, we stand up and begin to walk towards the door as the server is coming back in. My mom mentioned to the hostess that we were leaving and the hostess wished us a good night and mentioned that we were leaving to the server. He looked rather unconcerned that we were leaving and said nothing as we were walking out. The guy manning the valet station was once again incredibly friendly and apologized for our terrible experience and said he regretted that we had not enjoyed it, and then wished us a great night. It's quite a shame that you have such a terrible server on your staff to ruin what could AND should have been an incredible experience. Perhaps you should put the valet on your serving staff and have the guy who's obviously incapable of treating people respectfully in what is fully a service position doing something that requires minimal contact with guests. Pros: Food seems to be good, some staff is friendly Cons: No direct parking, terrible server, pricey more

We simply loved the atmosphere, service , food, drink and the warm feel of the old house.We will go back and back to enjoy the flavors and service of sweet and intelligent people who waited on us. Enjoyed it very much. Pros: Best salmon ever, great service, wonderful dessert! more

Loved the food! I'm not a big salad person, but the waiter recommended the salads to a friend and I, and both of us loved em! (Friend not a salad person either). She doesn't like hummus either, but she liked Mambu's. Great outdoor seating, great location, great food, great service! Pros: best salad I've ever had Cons: ? more

My boyfriend and I went to eat at Mambu recently, and sadly it was a terrible experience. We went on a Tuesday night, so its was not busy at all. Our waiter would leave for large chunks of time and not even bother to check on us. It took us almost 30 minutes to track him down and give him our food order. By the time he brought our food, which was over an hour into our time there, we were totally out of water - which he never refilled the entire time we were eating (even after multiple requests). My boyfriends paella was ridiculously soupy, and the rice even tasted like spoiled seafood. My chicken dish was supposed to be that sweet/hearty type dish with chicken, figs and dates. Somehow the cook thought it would be a good idea to toss in some random big green olives - which did not fit in the dish in any way. We had never eaten at Mambu before, and were really excited about trying a new place. Unfortunately we were grossly disappointed and felt like it was a total waste of $60. We won't be back. PS - I hate writing terrible reviews, and actually this is my first. I just value honest opinions and look to reviews often for advice. I am just hoping no one else has as bad of an experience as we did. Happy eating! Pros: Cute decor Cons: Slow service, strange food more

What an enjoyable evening we had at Mambu. Anita, the hostess, was a joy to meet. The service was spot on, and the food and drinks were perfect. We'll be back with a trinket to hang on the wall. Pros: Delicious food, cool people and atmosphere, valet parking more

being an east sider, it is near blasphemy for me to declare that i looooove this restaurant! mambu is a clear favorite whenever my boyfriend and i want a fun night out or plan a special evening! we are never disappointed and consider all who make mambu such a welcoming and comfortable space true friends. our adoration of anita and jabari is known to all! i greatly appreciate the special preparation of the dishes, as well as, the funky decor! for us, mambu is truly a home away from home! DELISH! Pros: great food, great company Cons: nada! more

So I went to mambu saturday night for dinner and I must say that although a little pricey, the food was absolutely amazing. The chef did an amazing job with plate presentation. The drinks were delightfully strong and always on time. The only thing I didn't like was the unlikeable, bitter and mean hostess. She was very rude and although they were busy she was still unable to multitask in what appeared to be a snooty attitude. Might I suggest to the owner that it might be time to trade her in for a fun-loving, fast paced, wide eyed and big smiled hostess who actually enjoys people and the restaurant business. Pros: Food and Drinks Cons: Hostess more

Mambu is a very cool place?but one of those places you wouldn?t go in unless a friend told you it was okay. The food is ?fusion? style and I?ve never been too sure what it?s supposed to fuse, but it was very good. The portions were a little small, but Mambu?s not one of those ?strap on the food bag? sort of places. Anyplace where the servers takes 10 minutes to tell you what kind of waters they have should tip you off that you?re going to be hungry in a couple of hours, but you?re supposed to go there for the quality, not the quantity. If a smorgasbord is your idea of a good time, stay out of Mambu, but if really excellent food means anything to you, I?d try it. One thing, though. They shouldn?t call a place that charges this much a cafe. Pros: The chef's an artist Cons: A bit on the pretentious side. more

Beautiful.That is the one word I can use to describe Mambu. Dinner and drinks for two was around eighty dollars which was a good deal for what you get. Go there and you will be delighted. more

Went to Mambu tonight and had the Mahi Mahi special. I'm from the East coast and am very picky about my seafood. I have to say that this might have been the best meal that I have ever eaten. The chef, Corey, paires the freshest ingredients in the nicest way possible. Mambu is the answer to Nashville's traveling clientle. Take my advice, go to Mambu for a nice meal. Pros: Great food and atmosphere Cons: None that I can think of more

Two friends and I went to eat at Mambu two nights ago. The place was dead when we walked in. It took a minute for anyone to notice we were there, and then we were told by a waiter that ""she"" would be right with us. We waited. And waited. Meanwhile, noticing again that most of the tables were empty, I began to wonder what the hold-up could be. I got the attention of another waiter, asked, ""Could you..."" He said, ""Just a minute,"" went to speak with ""her,"" came back and said, ""She'll be with you in just a few minutes. She's in a meeting."" We were incredulous. We looked at each other, and quickly decided to take our business elsewhere. By the time we got to the car, the waiter came out of the restaurant and called for us that we could be seated. Of course, we just got in the car and went to Amerigo, where we were attended to properly. Pros: great atmosphere, unique food, valet parking, Cons: service is unreliable more

You need to give this place a try. While only open for dinner (major construction noise from across the streetduring the day) I can honestly say that this is not your typical dining experience in Nashville. The choices for appetizers and entres are extensive enough to provide choice but not so ambitious to over challenge the kitchen. They have without a doubt the best seafood in this area. Their seafood is Hawaiian, hand caught not netted and prepared to an epicurian's delite. Be sure and try the salmon appetizer. For desert try the coconut cream pie...it's to die for. A refurbished bar, with a new bar tender, John, and an expanded wine list completes the evening. I try other restaurants in this area but always leave disappointed; not so with Mambu. Pros: FOOD!!! Ambience, service and bar Cons: parking and not open for lunch or Sunday brunch more

I cannot say enough about Mambu! My fiance is a chef and is very picky about where we spend our dining dollars. Mambu is the first place he picks. Every time! The atmosphere is clever, fun, retro, clean, and unique adding to the dining experience. Every time I have been in Mambu I have felt at home. GET THE LOBSTER ROLLS!!!!! Don't stop there....we always get the calamari. I don't know the genius mind behind the menu, but it is consistent and delicious every time. That is why we keep coming back. Side note: my fiance has been out of town for a month and his first request upon coming home: dinner at Mambu. more

Mambu is located outside of town in an old house turned into a great ecletic restaurant. Every plate they served was pretty, nothing here is done plain. This is anything but a pizza place. The Margherita Pizza is phenomenal, with it's fluffy crust,almost like the bread they serve in India (Naan Bread). Going to cost you some money to eat here but worth it. The service was wonderful. more