Mariposa — Restaurant in Charlotte

AWFUL experience for our group of FIVE, celebrating our friend’s engagement. Food was fine, the service was slow. Biggest issue- when we paid the bill our server brought us, total for 5 people which was about $470 (including our $150 bottle of wine). We asked him to put $300 on one card and then bring the remaining to us to divide up. When the server returned, he added 20% gratuity to the total check (minus the $300 like we asked), but didn’t tell us.

We questioned why, and he told us that they auto grat for parties of 5 or more. If you look at the menu though, it says they only do that for parties of 6 or more. We questioned why he added it, and he asked us if we wanted to talk to a manager. I replied that I didn’t feel like it was necessary but I would. The manager never came over to us.

Our server continued to blame other people for the entire experience. Especially the bartenders and other staff for issues we were having- our expensive bottle of veuve cliquot that unfortunately started to spill over after our server struggled to open the bottle, and then they just let the bottle continue to spill with no napkin or towel to clean it up. The server said “oh the bartender must have shaken up the bottle on me” … huh?

I will continue to bullet list the rest but save yourself some time and $$$$ and find another dinner spot!

dinner lasted 3+ hours took forever to get our wine because they didn’t have clean glasses, then brought us dirty wine glasses spilled wine when trying to open it forgot additional food items ordered (twice) asked for extra utensils for serving shared items and never received them received the wrong drink orders asked our friend (who is a mom and was driving to/from dinner) if she had been “out daydrinking” when she spilled a drink told us we could only get a free thing if we were celebrating something (and he asked us when we arrived if we were celebrating) server applied auto grat for our party of 5 AFTER bringing us the bill and then told us we can talk to a manager if we...

First visit to the restaurant.. came in and was impressed with the atmosphere. The service was ok - our server was courteous, and did his job. However, It also felt like he didn't want to be there. When we opened the menu, we saw "Small Shareable", and "Large Shareable", and were expecting something the small one being an individual entree size or at least a half plate, and large one being a portion for two. So, we ordered 2 small shareables (pork bulgogi and tuna slices) and 2 large shareables (short rib and paella) for a party of 4. We also checked with our server to confirm if this order was sufficient for us, to which he confirmed yes.

This was how tiny each small shareables were: five slices of sashimi tuna in a pool of red sauce - A hungry toddler would finish this plate and still cried to ask for more food. pork bulgogi was - small two pork slices, three lettuce wraps, one spoonful of crushed nuts and dipping sauce. Even smaller than appetizer.

We were already less than impressed, and then our "large shareables" came: Short ribs in orange sauce - food was flavorful, but each of us got a fork out of it. Didn't expect to finish a "large" shareable with one fork stab per person. Paella - This is the only decent size food. Delicious, but we already had our palate ruined because of the disappointment. (Quoting Uncle Roger) "HAIYAA!!"

Well, anyway we left the restaurant with the memory of how small the plates were, and a little regret of having chosen this place as our dinner spot. Would not be coming back, and would not recommend to anyone.

TL;DR: Tiny plate, decent paella, fantastic atmosphere, would not be coming back. Not...

The atmosphere is somewhat reminiscent of the Art Deco era; but also of the 70s Mod era with their white fur chairs (which I'd love to own). I and a friend went for their Saturday morning jazz brunch. I had a non alcoholic "rum" drink that I would definitely order again as it was citrusy with a faint taste of "rum". Of course we saw another table order the Dulce de Leche Martini which looked so good that we each ordered one of those also. It had a strong expresso flavor which I loved but was covered in the Dulce de Leche that looked like mocha whipped cream. You could mix in as much or as little as you like to sweeten it to your liking. Our server was very knowledgeable and pleasantly attentive. The food was beautifully plated and skillfully prepared. We started with their crab and shrimp cakes which were filled with large chunks of shrimp and crab in a very thin later of breading over a wonderful aioli. The flavors while subtle were very complex and definitely scrumptious. Next I had the prawns and polenta. Not only was the polenta creamy and well seasoned, the prawns were juicy and cooked perfectly. There were pickled jalapeños and thin slivers of red onion along with some micro greens sprinkled throughout such that every spoonful had different notes of umami, sour, and sweet as well as different textures. Only thing I would say is that the polenta was a little looser than I'd prefer but the flavors more than made up for that. Overall it was a wonderful experience and I plan to go back next week to try their lunch and ultimately dinner. With such a gifted chef, I'm excited to try other items...