Mambo's Cafe - Buford — Restaurant in Sugar Hill

Was the worst experience ever eating out. First issue was when we got there and got seated we sat over 10 minutes waiting for someone to even ask us what we wanted to drink when drinks arrived they only gave us one straw. We waited 5 minutes trying to get the waiters attention but he never came over to us I finally got up and walked over to the bar to get my own straw. After about 10 minutes the waiter finally arrived to take our order. We ordered an appetizer and our meals. While waiting for our food I ran out of drink and the waiter never came back over. I had to walk over to the bar to get a refill for myself. someone else brought us our food and we asked them about the appetizer and a refill for my wife.The waiter came with the refill then with the appetizer saying here you go we got busy. My wife ordered green spaghetti with chorusso steak medium and it was brought extra well done no pink at all. She was going to complain about it but the waiter did not return so we just ate. We waited for the waiter and had to wave him down to come back to the table to ask him for it to go boxes even though it had been about 25 minutes since he had been at the table. Another waitress comes to the table after asking me what I needed with attitude I told her that I was waiting on to go boxes but was just trying to watch TV while waiting she was like you need to go boxes ugh. She walked off and returned asking me if I needed anything else I asked for the check. I feel like the reason the waitress had attitude was due to that she was getting yelled at by the waiter. She was yelling back at him Don't yell at me which we could hear from our table. I had got off the table went to the bathroom to my old lady to wait for the check which did not get brought to us she went to the bathroom and returned and finally we got a check I paid with cash and had to wait for my change which took another 10 minutes after he picked it up. The whole experience was the worst ever I have ever had at a restaurant from service. I was very disappointed that I had to eat my meal before my appetizer if not my food would have got cold and ended up taking the appetizer home instead of eating it prior to my meal like planned. I can't see myself going back to the restaurant even though it's a lot closer than driving to Norcross for Peruvian food but the extra drive will be appreciated now knowing that the service is good. I could understand if the environment was super busy for treatment like this but it was slow and uncalled for I definitely were not recommend anybody to go here after the way the service and...

5.12.23 - tldr: Excellent food, great value, and friendly, attentive service. Really looking forward to coming back to try more menu items and cocktails. 9.5/10

SERVICE: We came in today, a Friday, shortly after 11. We were seated promptly and our server, Pablo, greeted us and took our drink order immediately. Pablo was incredibly friendly, attentive without being overly present, and knowledgeable about the menu. Other staff came by to bring bread and clear dishes, and everyone we encountered had smiles on their faces and were very kind. In addition to great service, the restaurant was clean, and the music contributed to the vibe and was set at a good volume.

FOOD: We ordered chicken & beef empanadas, churrasco, pollo al ajilla, and extra maduros. Everything was delicious! The empanadas were fried perfectly - not dry, not greasy. Both were tasty, but surprisingly, we both agreed that the chicken was more flavorful and juicy. We actually ended up ordering more of the chicken empanadas to go. Was kind of surprised that the empanadas weren't served with a sauce, but honestly they didn't need it. The churrasco (pictured) was cooked perfectly and presented beautifully with the bright chimichurri and plated with the edible flower. The pollo al ajilla could have used a bit of extra help with presentation - even just a sprinkle of paprika and a pinch of micro greens for some more color - but it lacked nothing in flavor. The chicken was super tender and the white wine and garlic sauce was so flavorful. The plantains were perfect, and the yellow rice (you can choose from yellow or white) was cooked well - not dry, not mushy. We agreed we would definitely order everything we got today again, but we're also eager to try more of the menu too! Also, the portions were very generous - not outrageous, but we had leftovers of EVERYTHING, which heated up wonderfully for dinner, so even though the tab was ~$65 (including two orders of empanadas, two entrees, an extra order of plantains, and a beer), we still got about 5 meals (2.5 each), which makes the prices stellar really.

Overall, highly recommend giving this new restaurant a try. We'll definitely...

Disclaimer: I’m married to a Peruvian so I’m probably going to be a little more critical with my review. I’ll start with the decor. When you first walk in there is no clear indication of what type of cuisine you’ll be experiencing. If you walk in without knowing, you’d think this is a Mexican restaurant. Recommendation for the manager, have something that indicates it is a Cuban and Peruvian restaurant. The Mexican decor and “celebrate Mexico” signs make you think you’re at a Mexican restaurant.

Now the service. The service was excellent. Our waiter was attentive and really nice. The food came out quickly and hot. The drinks came quickly as well.

Now the food. We ordered from the Peruvian side of the menu. The fish ceviche was the best thing we ate. It’s as close to authentic you’ll get at a restaurant. Great flavor. The fish tasted fresh. I highly recommend it. We also ordered a Papa a la Huacaina. This was the worst thing we at here. It tasted nothing like what it should taste like. It was runny and flavorless. Plus, they hardly put any of the sauce on the plate. I don’t recommend it. Honestly, I think it should be removed from the menu if they are going to serve it this way. Next, we had the Lomo Saltado. The flavor was pretty good. It was missing that flame kissed taste that it should have. The seasoning was there it just needed to be ‘flamed’ a little bit. We also had passion fruit juice which was pretty good. For dessert we had flan which was great.

Overall, it was a good experience. Highly recommend the ceviche. I’ll definitely come back. Giving it a three because they don’t carry one of the most traditional Peruvian drinks…chicha morada. Also, the papa a la huancaina was horrible. The rest of the food was good. I’ll come back and...