Mannino's Italian Bistro — Restaurant in Virginia Beach

Worst service ever!! Two and a half hour wait for take out, while others were served and left!!! But why? ... First, I will try to be as fair as possible with this review. We’ve come to Mannino’s for years, bringing friends to dine in and usually taking food to go. We arrived shortly after 5:30pm and ordered take out as usual. Our typical bar tender was working as a server but she happily greeted us, and went on her way. We sat at the bar, and proceeded to order.

Other patrons seated AFTER us began to get their orders. Bartender came back to say the food would be ready momentarily serval times. (He was lying). More dine in patrons arrived, were served AND LEFT, and our TAKE OUT still had not arrived. Now please know that whether dine in or take out, we always tip at minimum 20%, and have always done so here as well. This was supposed to be a celebration dinner but we were not able to eat out for several reasons, so we ordered to go as usual.

Bartender came back several times more, even admitting that the kitchen staff members don't see take out orders as being important. (But was it really THEY who were pushing off our order as unimportant?) Bartender then began avoiding the section of the bar where we were seated, even to the acknowledgment of those beside us. Another patron (Caucasian) who arrived after us ordered take out, and received his before us. I’ll say that the majority of those who arrived after us, were served and left before us were of a “fairer” skin tone.

A local news celebrity (black male) walked in, was warmly greeted by several staff, and sat down 2 seats away from us. Bartender walks back to speak to him and I took the opportunity to say to the bartender that it had been 2 and a half hours at this point that we had been waiting. Wouldn’t you know our food came out within 15 minutes. It was 8pm by then. Discrimination? Non caring kitchen staff? Lying bartender? Who knows. Bartender comped our meal, but as we were leaving he said things that made me believe he really didn’t care for us to return. ...

This was our first visit to Mannino's. It was a Wednesday evening at 6:15 and we were surprised that they were at about 80% capacity. The atmosphere is cozy although, as a result, a bit noisy but not objectionable.

The service was impeccable. All of the staff hustled the entire time. Even as things began to empty out a bit, they were all clearing tables and resetting them. I didn't see anyone in the restaurant who had any reason to feel neglected. All of the wait staff appeared very attentive to the customer.

The food was excellent. I had the veal saltimbocca and it was, without a doubt, one of the two best preparations of the dish that I've ever had. Not only were the tastes spot-on, but the failing of so many others I've had was over cooking the veal. This dish melts in your mouth. It's a little pricey at $27 but worth every cent in a world where everything is inflated.

My only other comment relates to just one menu item - linguine frutti di mare. My wife orders this dish everywhere we go, regardless of how tempting other items might be. She did not order it last night for two reasons: (1) she didn't like the seafood selections in their dish (everywhere else she's ever ordered it, the dish included shrimp, scallops, mussels and - sometimes - white fish). Mannino's dish included shrimp, clams and calamari. (2) Mannino's charges $35 for their version of the dish when we've typically seen prices $10 or more less. I'm sure the dish is delicious and their selection of the "fruit of the sea" is as traditional as any other, but it was far too pricey for the seafood in their dish.

Don't let this one personal preference keep you from visiting them. The food and service is really wonderful and a very nice, family...

Sorry in advance for the length. We had a brief wait before being seated. Our fault for having no reservation. The entrance is a cramped experience only big enough for three people , one if you are trying to maintain personal space. We were sat in the back corner at a six top, it was just the two of us. The corner was very dark and our table light was out (battery) was dead. Our server came out and was friendly. Server explained it was a Chef led kitchen. We were advised we would need to order everything at once because of this. We ordered two apps, two soups, and two entrees. We ordered the she crab soup that they are known for. It was tasty but a bit thick and heavy. Generous crab amount in the soup didn't see any roe that would have given it the distinct color and flavor. We ordered fried calamari and an antipasta plate. The calamari was under done, lacking the correct bite or color. I missed getting any tenticles with my order but this is hit or miss with how the establishment orders it. While we waited approx. 35 minutes for our entrees, our server brought us carry out containers for the food we had yet to receive. For our entrees, we ordered Shrimp Francese and Chicken Francese. The breading was coming off the protein and was too thick. I think the proteins may not have been dried before applying flour. Over all we were disappointed. The little things kept adding up . We will go back in case this was just an anomaly, but we expected more , especially with a Chef led kitchen that should have caught some of...