Mangoes Restaurant — Restaurant in Key West

Our family visited Mangoes twice, no excuse me, we attempted to go the second time. First visit was on a regular evening for dinner. This was suppoeedly a must go place to eat, but the food was far from delightful. For the amount of money we spent we expected 5* food in looks and taste. Unfortunately we were disappointed when our food arrived. We ordered the Paella, Lobster Mac, Yellowtail Snapper, and Churrisco Steak. The seafood with the paella was great, but the rice was the worst; overcooked, like a risotto. The rice with the yellowtail snapper tasted like box rice and was very unappealing. The lobster mac was like cafeteria mac'n'cheese with a few shreds of lobster. The portion sizes were also lacking. To pay $30+ per plate and get a salad plate portion is a joke.

Our server was great and very kind, but the kitchen was super slow.

On our second trip, we were basically shunned at the door with crazy expensive entry fees. We came for the drag brunch. 2 in our group had never been to a drag show and were quite excited to attend at Mangoes during pride, however we were bombarded at the door about not having a reservation (which was not listed as being needed online). When we arrived we were asked by the hostess if we had a reservation. We said no so she said we could stand at the bar and order drinks. Us: "ok, great, no problem" .. We head to the bar .. Stopped by a second hostess, asked if we had a reservation we said no , she walked away and before we could take another step a man (maybe a manager) asked if we had a reservation. Again we say no and then he says we need to pay the bartender $40/person for entry and then an additional $20/person for unlimited mimosas. We were stunned. After being attacked by every hostess and then slammed with a $60/person. All of which was not mentioned online. Only thing listed online was $40 for the after party (that started at 3, we arrived at 12:15),  extremely decieving and a total let down during what is supposed be a time of peace, love and happiness. We would have happily paid full price for our drinks at the bar and support the queens performing. Its a shame to turn away paying customers and supporters of the...

I would rate this place -1 star if Google allowed it. Me and my dad were super excited to try the tacos ( we are visiting from Boston). Hostess told us to order to go food from the bar. We waited at the bar and were greeted by a blonde bartender. May I say the RUDEST bartender I have ever encountered in my 6 years of working in restaurants. We asked to order to go food and started telling her what we wanted. We didn’t realize you couldn’t order certain food after a specific hour of the night (and we 100% realized that was our fault), but instead of kindly reminding us of said rule, she had the rudest attitude about it and was super arrogant. We looked at the menu a little longer, found other items we wanted and waited until she was ready for us. We started to try to tell her our order (mind you she is a foot from us), and then another guy, separate from our party, walked up and wanted to order drinks. She completely ignored and pushed us to the side and started asking him what he wanted. I completely get from a customer service perspective she wanted to cater to everybody and get everybody served, but her attitude towards us visibly shifted and she turned extremely rude. She scoffed in our faces and was rolling her eyes. She then said in the worst tone I’ve ever heard “I’ll be with you shortly sir, you have to wait.” I get it. I’ve been working in restaurants for a long time. Customers and the general public can be extremely hard to work with sometimes, but never in my life would I be that rude to a customer. After a couple minutes I told my dad we should just leave because she was being nothing but rude and I didn’t wanna give her any of our money. There were even people at other tables asking what happened and why she was so rude. Went to the restaurant down the street and didn’t have a single problem. Will never in life be going back if she is working there. She made us feel completely un-welcomed and out of place. The worst attitude and arrogance I’ve ever seen in a bartender. Stay clear of this place unless you’re a local...

In my view, this restaurant was an utter disappointment. It can hardly be classified as a restaurant; it's more akin to a street food stall. Enjoying the food was an impossible feat due to the overwhelming noise and a distinct absence of comfort. The musician-singer on stage performed as though coerced on an empty stomach, delivering unskilled renditions of songs and music that were so unbearable that one's hearing simply couldn't endure them.

Regarding the menu, I can scarcely recall encountering such a dreadful amalgamation of ingredients. The rice in the pineapple salad was so undercooked that it felt as if I were chewing on a handful of raw rice grains. Conversely, the fish appeared overcooked to the point of desiccation. The large chunks of fresh, fiery jalapeño pepper rendered some dishes almost inedible.

The most exasperating instance was the Caesar salad. Understanding how and why someone would ruin a Caesar salad is baffling. Only two ingredients - lettuce and mayonnaise - bore no resemblance to a proper dressing. The waitress, to whom I voiced my complaint about the raw rice, offered an apology and promptly removed the salad from the bill. Is it genuinely standard practice for them to present inedible dishes instead of proper food?

If you wish to preserve your memories of Key West untainted by negative experiences, I vehemently suggest avoiding this...