Manta Peruvian Restaurant — Restaurant in Lighthouse Point

Okay STEPHANO !!!!!!this has been like the third time okay I came, it's amazing I know it might be the price a little bit off but I promise you it's worth every penny, and by off I mean it's not a cheap place, it's just way too good, the food is amazing believe me it's a for American taste but it does have some Latino flavor on it I'm not going to lie, it's just fantastic, first time I went I went for my father's birthday was nice the only thing I didn't like the sing happy birthday to him in front of everybody so, but overall if you're into getting loud happy birthdays, depends on you but for me it was amazing right in front of the Publix right front of s Sicilian oven, but the food is lighter is nicer it's perfect it's elegant beautiful presentation it's just for the upper echelon of people, I would recommend this to everybody that wants to have a nice time, I sat down to the bar I have two pisco sours and they were amazing drink the passion fruit one it's so good even the original one is amazing, after that I went out with a date, it didn't work out but I tell you it was amazing. Will have we cried and yelled everything it was amazing it just fantastic plus the food I recommend you taste all the appetizers, but not all of them unless you have a good appetite but I tell you you should taste as much as appetizers as you can, they are just fantastic, I like to share everything because it's almost like a shareable thing, so you can try a little bit of everything, they have like this ceviche that's so good I wish they made it more spicy, today I was in the bar with this guy I forgot his name but he's like half Italian half Peruvian, very nice guy, he's a barback but now he's trying to be a bartender, you going to notice a very nice Guido, he's going to take care of you I promise you that, just make sure you take care of him if you know what I'm saying. What is fantastic the food that you're going to have, there's this waitress to Silvana, an Alessandra, and this little girl that cleans the tables I forgot her name but she's fantastic, it's like the boss girl, and she does a very good job. Just go here enjoy yourself spend a little bit of money and enjoy The fabulous Life that we have. By the way you going to be spending like a...

This may turn into one of our favorites when visiting the area. We started with the Pulpo Al Olivo; it's a ceviche-type dish of thinly sliced octopus bathing in a delicious, spicy sauce. It was so good that we soaked the toasties in it before adding the octopus on top. We've never had octopus this way before, but we will be having it again!

For my meal, I ordered an appetizer (I don't eat a lot), the Pulpo, Camarones, and Calamares...octopus, shrimp, and calamari rings. My husband ordered the Chaufa Ponca, a bowl full of rice beef tenderloin, shrimp, calamari rings, pork belly, chicken breast, sweet plantains, and a fried egg (a Peruvian fried rice).

We sat at the bar so Christian was our bartender and server and what a guy he turned out to be. I had told him we found the octopus appetizer to be so delicious and that we enjoyed the flavoring and spiciness. He brought us our meals and after we had some, he asked how we liked them. My husband immediately answered that they were good, but Christian looked at me and said, "Are you sure? I feel like you don't like yours." I said that there was absolutely nothing wrong with the meal and that I just didn't care for the flavoring of it. I asked him to not take it off our bill because we were taking it home and my husband would eat it because he liked it. Christian insisted I order something else. I tried to tell him I was okay because I don't eat a lot. He talked me into ordering some nigiri because it comes as 2 pieces only. So I ordered the salmon nigiri and I'm SO glad I did! The flavor on top of the salmon was a lemon explosion that was so good and he saw my loving expression. Of course, my husband had the 2nd piece and he agreed with my description. It was a salmon belly with lemon zest and white truffle oil. Christian truly went above and beyond and although our dining experience was good before he did that, he made it that much better! So thank you, Christian. We are...

Our first experience was so awesome I was left confused after the second time. It was a surprise for my Peruvian husband to go on Christmas for another Manta dining experience. Unfortunately we were left feeling less enthusiastic. Right off the bat none of my first 3 beers I ordered were available. I took a BlueMoon which is an excellent beer and pairs well with many of the dishes especially the ceviches with the citrus compliment I really was looking for Peruvian beer with Pe.ruvian food, one of most basic pairing options . We tried 3 different dishes from our first time and while the presentation is well done the flavor and freshness were questionable. The scallop dish would have been better had they used dry pack sea scallops as opposed the the smaller bay scallop that may have been wet pack or frozen. The sushi roll dish had none of the juice from ceviche that would have kicked it up a few notches. Lastly the Causua ( spelling may be off) with the fresh tuna tasted as though it were prepared many hours or days before. My husband has not only dined in some of the top Peruvian restaurants he is no slouch in the kitchen and it was truly a blow to our enthusiasm. It would also have helped if the server smiled and not had an edge that was very off putting. If someone is not happy working Christmas night find someone who is as it has an impact all the way around. We will go back and not because we each got a $5 off ( it was almost insulting) on a next visit but because we know the experience can be outstanding or at least that was our belief after the first time. None of this is meant to be anything other than honest and encouraging as Lighthouse Point needs places of this caliber as driving to Las Olas or Miami...