Mancini’s Char House — Restaurant in Saint Paul

I’m sad to be writing such a poor review. I had such high hopes after seeing all of the ratings.

First of all, it’s a cute old fashioned kind of place and I liked the live band they had, Midas Touch. It was fun to have a dance floor and be able to dance. I liked the cute booth we were sat in and I liked the vibe of the restaurant.

The rest of the experience was not so great. I didn’t expect for the marinated pickles to be my favorite food of the dinner. My husband enjoyed the tomatoes and peppers that came with the pickles as well. So meal started very promising.

The bread came and it was ok. I usually like char flavor, but it was too much. The brown bread was almost inedible due to the burnt flavor. The bread was enhanced for me by dipping it in the marinade for the pickle plate and the Italian dressing (which I think was the same dressing) which I liked.

The salad was so…sad. I actually laughed for a long time when it came out. It was just a plate of cut up iceberg lettuce. I tried to fix it by tearing up a piece of the bread and adding it to the salad, which did make it a little more enjoyable and less sad.

I was so exited for the walleye. I got the broiled and a baked potato. The walleye had absolutely no flavor. It didn’t taste like anything. The potato was also bland, and I’m usually one for just being good with adding butter to a baked potato. I had to add so much salt to the fish and baked potato to make them semi-edible.

I was hoping dessert could save the experience, but no. The spumoni ice cream was ok in flavor, but tasted freezer burnt and had a lot of ice crystals. The cannoli was fine.

My husband had the steak which he said was pretty good.

So all in all, if you want a charred steak I would maybe go here, but I think there are better places.

I would say the demographic it serves (mostly WASPS) from what I could see is probably happy with the food. It’s a no for me though, especially...

Where do I start...

First, I made reservations over a week ago but the hostess found no record of it. We had been told by friends if it was a special event (which it was, our anniversary) I should call ahead to get special seating as well as a dessert. Started out with a miss.

Second, we stopped in the bar beforehand... Not impressed. I ordered an old fashioned and the bartender quietly made the drink... With house whiskey (bad choice for a specialty drink; he didn't even ask if I wanted a particular whiskey).

Third, the waitress didn't drink wine so couldn't make recommendations from the wine list. To her credit she said she would give us samples from the bartender which she did (she tried), but the first glass was from a stale bottle; our waitress did replace it, but still, the wine selection was average, not great.

Fourth, the steaks which are their go-to menu item were okay. Not bad, not great... Just okay. Done to order but not tons of flavor as you'd expect for a $40 steak. And not much in the way of sides or options, no espresso for dessert or other extras.

Fifth- the ambience... Quaint, but noisy. Two of the tables next to us were loud and boisterous (hey, I grew up in a small town where the most popular gathering spots were corner bars that serve pizzas and I enjoyed that)...But not great for a date night in a rather pricey steakhouse.

In short the waitress was decent, and the staff was friendly but I could get an equivalent or better dinner in my suburban small town for half the price and without the drive. It's really more of a local hangout, not really a place to go for a nice dinner or...

This was my first time trying this restaurant out celebrating my nephews birthday. The thick cut New York strip was cooked as requested and the Shrimp cocktail was excellent. Next time I'll order the filet Mignon. The service was very good, timely, attentive, and accommodating but not hovering nor impatient. Outside there was plenty of parking and the restaurant on the edge of downtown Saint Paul provided easy access. I went on a Saturday around 6 PM but had a reservation so it was easy to get in, the wait time was near an hour otherwise. Regarding cost the meal plus drinks was in the 50-100ish range.

Well I tried it and am changing my rating from 4 start to 2. I ordered a local beer and the glass was broken when they served it, no worries there because they replaced it without question. However when I got the steak I waited 2 years to try it was cold inside, physically cold to the touch as was my nephews. Both steaks were filet mignon and medium rare should be 130-135. At this temperature it should not feel cold in your mouth nor to touch. I informed them and that was very uncomfortable and the attached pictures are after the brought the steaks back after they attempted to further cook them, I couldn't eat it at that point so what should have been great literally became dog food, a friend took it to go for his little dog.They did bring my nephew a birthday gift which was nice. The potato was cooked fine. The garlic bread, pickle/pepper/tomatoes, were tasty, and the birthday ice cream was very good. Ultimately this time I left still hungry and feeling a bit like I had been shamed for...