Mangia Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Town of Cortlandville

I never leave reviews, but unfortunately feel that it is warranted so others are warned before choosing to dine at Mangia. I had been there a handful of times and had decent experiences. Myself and three friends went to dinner at Mangia last night. We had a reservation for 6:30. Upon arrival, we were greeted and seated immediately. That’s about the only positive I can share from the experience, unfortunately. Having worked in the restaurant industry, I always try my best to be patient and understanding. Upon our server coming over, she informs us that she’s new and to please not mind if she stumbles a bit. Perfectly fine. She takes our drink orders (2 espresso martinis and 2 fountain drinks) and lets us know that “the bartender is backed up”. Again, we have grace for this - even though there were maybe only about 10 other tables at that time. However, she comes back to take our food order about 10 minutes later and still no drinks. No refill on the water pitcher either, despite us having asked for that in the meantime. She tells us she’s still waiting on our drinks. About 25 minutes later, our food arrives - STILL no drinks. All in all, it took 45 minutes for our 4 drinks to arrive (again, only 2 alcoholic beverages and 2 fountain drinks). The espresso martinis were awful. They just tasted like watered down espresso because there was so much ice in them (there should not be any ice unless ice is asked for!) and definitely did not taste like there was alcohol in them. My friend and I could not even drink them. My one friend did not get the salad she ordered. She decided to just forego it at that point. My other friend took a few bites of their wrap and noticed the chicken was raw. I had the chicken marsala and although it tasted okay, my stomach did not feel good afterward. When the server came back over and we were at our breaking point, we shared our concerns (told her this was not all her fault) and we asked to please speak with a manager. She responded, “I can send the chef out- the manager? Not so much.” What does that even mean?? We immediately were talking amongst ourselves after she walked away, wondering if there was even a manager on site (if there wasn’t, very concerning on a Saturday evening - but what would be the reason for not sending one over?) it almost seemed like everyone working there was green/new, and we couldn’t help but wonder if there was recently a big turnover given the fact that they weren’t even seemingly very busy for a Saturday night at dinner time yet seemed to be struggling so much. So the chef comes over to our table a moment later. My friend shows him the undercooked chicken in their wrap. He confirms that it did not appear to be cooked. My friend said they hope they don’t get sick from what they ate of it. The chef went on to say that he promises they get the best chicken and to not worry about it. He did express that they would take it off the bill, which was the right thing to do. However, we were not offered any alternatives or adjustments for the poorly made espresso martinis. They did ask if we wanted “desserts on the house” but at that point we were ready to get out of there. Before leaving, the server said something along the lines of, “I would say I hope to see you back again, but I doubt that’s going to happen” which just further solidified the poor experience. As I mentioned, I don’t typically write reviews and I have grace for those in the restaurant industry, but this was inexcusable and unfortunately my friends and I decided we will never be dining at Mangia again. This was probably the worst experience I’ve ever had at a restaurant. Very...

A 45 minute drive away and outside of my usual "go to" restaurants, a tip from a foodie prompted a Saturday night drive to Mangia in Cortland, NY. When my tipster referred to Mangia as "some of the best Italian food I've eaten", I was a little skeptical. Central New York, and Auburn in particular, boasts a number of fine Italian restaurants. Long before the last morsels passed our lips, our party of three were among the believers.

The menu is busy, but with the help of our delightful and knowledgeable server, KT, we discussed options and arrived at our choices. Fresh bread and a dip of olive oil, olives, seasonings and KT's "magical parmesan" started our meal and set the stage for what followed. Three of us shared an appetizer of Wood Oven Artichokes with Crispy Asiago Cheese, tender and flavorful artichoke hearts served as described.

I came close to ordering my usual choice when dining somewhere new, veal parmigiana, when KT offered that if I was in the mood for veal, "you can get veal parm everywhere. I recommend the Veal Livornese". And so I did... lightly breaded veal medallions, mushroom brandy cream sauce, and a side of angel hair pasta with their marinara sauce. Delicious!!!

Other entrees at our table included penne with the house vodka sauce (offered with or without bacon; we chose without), and Tortellini Boscaiola (proscuiotto cotto, wild mushrooms, asparagus in creamy wine sauce). Each selection got raves, and cross table sharers all agreed.

We topped off dinner with a twenty layer crepe cake, a reason enough to make the drive!

The restaurant has ample seating, and a very modest noise level that allows for easy table conversation. Diners were casually dressed, and the ambiance is comparable to a neighborhood diner. Service was efficient and friendly, and our server, KT, was knowledgeable about the offerings and genuinely excited to help match our selections to our interests.

We will return! Mangia distinguishes itself...

Been coming for a few years now. Valentines day dinner for my wife and 2 daughters was the worst restaurant experience i ever had in my life. Got there are 440pm, not to busy in our section at all. The new unexperienced waitress came and asked what drinks we'd like. Gave her our drinks and appetizers. She never gave us our bread so we just looked at our dipping oil for over 45min. Our appetizers show up at 530pm and we still never got our drinks. 3 sodas and a Margarita. Almost a hour later we got our bread and drinks after complaining. My wife's Margarita had 2 bugs floating in it. I had to take it to the bar myself because the waitress was no place to be found and stand there waiting for 20 more minutes for the manager. The chef came out and tells me yeah no problem give him another drink and walks away. 2 servers later saying please make him a Margarita. Get the new drink and I spill it all over my hand and dress shirt so I can serve my own table. My poor 10 year old daughter who loves the bread and oil which we almost never got received got her dinner which was spaghetti with butter and parm. Her plate had 3inchs of liquid in it. When she lifted the spaghetti it was dripping all over. My wife's eggplant was absolutely mushy and tasted so nasty. Her spaghetti was hard and crusty. She didn't even eat a 1/4 of her meal. My chicken parm, all i can say is wow. I had a soggy single chicken breat the size of the palm of your hand with literally 2 fork fills of spaghetti which was hard and crusty. My wife and daughters literally left to the car while I had to wait another 30 minutes to be check out and be charge almost 200 dollars for this service. While being charged i watched the waitress literally cry while checking me out, felt so bad gave her the highest cash tip I ever gave. We left to the nearest fast food place which was moes down the street. Absolutely horrible experience and will not be...