Tony Mandina’s

I’ve been here probably a dozen times over the past 20 years. I grew up on the Westbank so to me it’s kind of like going home to some extent. I’ve been to rehearsal dinners here, special occasions, and just plain «hey it’s Tuesday let’s go to Tony Mandina’s».
The last time I was here was this past New Year’s Eve. Some friends of mine do this every year and I seem to partake in 1 out of every 3 years. This year I went with a basic lasagna as it has been a long time since I had one. It was everything I wanted it to be. cheesy, slighlt salty and a wonderful mildly sweet marinara… excuse me «RED GRAVY». My Midwestern heritage thinks gravy is only used for biscuits and mashed potatoes so excuse my verbiage. We also got some fried eggplant and calamari. Both are perfectly fried with no greasiness and come with mari… RED GRAVY for dipping.
They are always accommodating us even when our party gets upwards of 20 plus people include 7 – 10 kids. The waitress splits the checks and there is never anything wrong with who ordered what… which is damn near impossible with a table our size. (We had 16 adults, 8 kids and 8 different checks!!!) Service is phenomenal and so is the food.

Lovely, romantic atmosphere. Great for birthdays and special occasions with a special someone. Live piano music (on the weekends) delicious food and wines. The staff realy make you feel welcome and special.

I have been a fan of this restaurant for 20 plus years. Always a warm greeting by the Family, and always fast and friendly service.’
‘
All the Parmesans are great. As is the Spaghetti and Meatballs, Lasagna and the Paneed Veal. The Eggplant strings appoetizer is a great starter.
I’ve tried them all and this little gem is worth a visit

We enjoyed a very nice anniversary dinner here! Nice waitress, good drinks, and good food! We will be back! Redfish pasta was so good! Fried calamari was yummy, if only it was a bit more.

Great italian on the west bank.

All of the Parmesan dishes are delicious. They use angel hair pasta. The pasta is super thin like my mother used to make. Veal, chicken, or eggplant are all delicious. I have tried the Alfredo with the fries veal cutlet and it is wonderful as well. Daily specials. I only know meatloaf on Thursdays. The meat loaf is pan seared and covered in cheese and marinara and served with pasta, just like the Parmesan dishes. I know it’s very tempting but be sure to eat the dinner rolls and garlic bread with the meal so you can sop up your remaining marinara.
Look for Tony Mandina himself sitting near the bar sipping tea or wine, reading the paper and checking in on the kitchen occasionally. If you don’t see him, he’ll be by your table to talk to you and make sure everything is delicious.

I coordinated a banquet here recently for one of my clubs, and it was a first-​class affair. We received very positive feedback from our attendees about the event.
In searching for a venue for our event, I surveyed about 25 local restaurants. Tony Mandina’s was by far the most reasonably priced for what you receive. Months before the event, prior to making a recommendation to our committee, I dined there for lunch one day and had a great experience.
I then brought our committee there for dinner to get their buy-​in on the restaurant as a potential site for our banquet. We enjoyed excellent food and service and our committee unanimously voted «Yes» for Tony Mandina’s.
In planning the function, we dealt with Keri, who was very accommodating and took the time to understand our needs. I felt like she truly wanted our guests to have the best experience possible. Kim and Collette were also sincerely helpful. It was a pleasure to plan with their team. They were willing to work with us on any issue that arose.
The service was excellent as well. Caleb, Sheila and Courtney were very attentive and prompt. With a party of 67, they did an admirable job of keeping the food coming out at the right pace, so that we stayed on schedule.
If anyone is planning a function for a large group, I highly recommend Tony Mandina’s.

I had lunch with colleagues during a visit in New Orleans
Bad:
* Meatball pasta (Entrée): BAD! Low quality pasta, overcooked, low quality tomato sauce (clearly wasn’t made there, but bought ready as a mix); too watery; low quality beef; small portion. One would expect to get some more meat for the price of the plate.
* Acoustics: I could barely hear my colleagues talking. It was very very loud there.
* Espresso: One would expect to get a decent espresso in an Italian restaurant. The one I received was not even close to be real Italian coffee (OWNER’S ATTENTION: ILLY, SEGAFREDO, LAVAZZA…)
Fair:
* Artichoke Soup: although served half-​cold, the soup had a decent taste
* Bread: Garlic bread was old and the fact that it was not toasted enough made me feel it’s age. However, the rolls were fresh and warm.
Good:
* Service: fast and precise.

We just got back from our first meal at TONY Mandino’s. This is a 30+ year old West Bank institution, serving children & grandkids of it’s original clientele.
This is an honest Sicilian/​Italian/​Louisiana/​Gulf Coast eatery, with the old standards, all done expertly.
We had the Crab & Eggplant Stack, with the shrimp Alfredo. Both were just fine. ColdBeer, live piano, good desert selections, honest prices, attentive waitress; nothing to not like !
Met the genial owner & namesake; local folks serving great dishes.
We WILL be back, and soon !
Remember, in any «Italian» place in this area, the Italian basics are always great; like spaghetti, lasagna, & cannelloni !
Rick

Great dining experience.

A co-​worker and I came for lunch specifically to try the daily lunch special of fried catfish on a bed of angel hair pasta, topped with a shrimp and corn bisque. It was so good… light, yet filling… and somehow the fish stayed crispy under the bisque and did not get soggy.
Portion size and price was just right, but I feel like it should have come with a salad, even if they have to charge a couple of dollars more. We had bread plates on the table but no bread was delivered. Didn’t realize until after we had eaten.
For dessert, I had the best chocolate raspberry cake I have ever eaten! It was so tender and moist. The server admitted they outsource it from a local coffee house, but that’s fine, as long as they are ordering the good stuff.
Will definitely go back and try some of their other lunch specials, or stop in for dinner.

This is one of the better dining establishments on the Westbank and one of the best values in Italian food in the New Orleans area. The décor is a bit dated 80’s style but I LOVE the 80’s so that doesn’t bother me! They have a couple of different rotating daily lunch specials along with their regular menu. The food is good here, served in nice quantity and they have a unique seafood gumbo that is more like a gumbo z’herbes as its rather green but very tasty. They give you both yeast rolls and garlic bread with your meal. On my most recent visit I had the lasagna which was nicely done and very tasty.
The service here is very friendly and accommodating. The family that owns the establishment is usually present and very friendly and engaging. The location is a bit off away from most things and parking can get a bit cramped. Really the only two main things I would like to see improved are that they don’t offer real butter with your bread and they don’t have towels in the bathroom to dry your hands and only offer an air dryer.
The food quality, value and friendliness of this place definitely warrant a trip to the Westbank to visit this establishment.

Met golf committee here for a working lunch. Lucky for me, it was more lunch than work. I had one of the Wednesday specials, the artichoke chicken and requested wheat pasta. Great choice; the size was perfect and I left content, but not overly stuffed like a cheap carnival prize. Service is always friendly and quick!

It’s pretty surprising that I had never been here, since I have lived on the Westbank my entire life. I think I may have gone one other time when I was a kid, but I remembered nothing about the place.
A friend and I had lunch here, and after I figured out exactly how to get to the place (it’s located at the edge of Narnia), I went in and enjoyed a really good meal. I got the catfish and white beans, which was the lunch special and one of my favorites. It was amazing and so good! It was a generous serving and cooked perfectly.
The atmosphere of this place is really nice and I could see myself going here on a dinner date. It has an «upscale» feel. but I didn’t feel underdressed in my jeans and sweater. I definitely want to go back and try some other things on the menu.

I had no idea there was a third restaurant to carry the Mandina name.
During my first trip after a calamari appetizer I ordered the veal with a crab cream sauce served with a side of pasta. *gurgle* It was very rich but even after done I still wanted to try and get more of that sauce with the bread. And like any other good Italian restaurant I left stuffed. Like stick a fork in me stuffed.
Great food, portions, and service in an Italian family restaurant. By «family restaurant» the family is there at the table by the bar eating dinner. We were greeted coming and leaving.
Only tiny, tiny, complaint was the music was a little loud. But this is a great place with good food and service.

Family style Italian restaurant.
HUGE portions!
Great food and service!
I’ve been there many times for lunch as I work on the WB. It has never disappointed!
Owner greets everyone when you come in and leave.
Very family oriented.
Big party/​special occasion rooms in back.
If you are on the Westbank, give them a try.
Highly recommend.
Buon Appetito! ;)

Food was good and fairly priced. The side salads (extra $ 3.50) are darn near big enough to split. A variety of bread including some yummy cheese bread toasted. The fried seafood was good quality. The shrimp fettuccine was good and had a lot of shrimp!
Doorman opened the front door for us. Greeted by friendly folks who I thought were customers but could have been owners for all I know! Nice décor. Pretty open place which made it really loud even though the main dining room was ½ full.
Our waitress was prompt to seat us. The buss boys were very attentive. Our teas were never empty. I think as the meal went on the waitress we has was assigned more tables than she could handle as we were receiving less and less attention and we were ready to go. A bit annoying that every time the dishwasher went on the lights got dim for a moment. Not something you’d expect in a nicer restaurant.
Overall good experience. Not great or off the charts. Would recommend. Better than an Olive Garden and it won’t break the bank.

Tony Mandina’s still offers an excellent value during lunch.
Yesterday I had the special of the day. It was hamburger steak with mushrooms, onions and a side of french fries (Tuesday’s special). It was a great value at right under $ 10.00.
The hamburger steak was flavorful and juicy. Most hamburger steaks come with mashed potatoes, but the fries were a welcome change. They soaked up all of the gravy goodness and were great.
Our server was friendly and attentive. I highly recommend this place.

This is the classic Italian American family restaurant.
The Mandinas are always there, and greet you when you come in the door. The food is solid italian veal, Brociolone, sausage, eggplant or seafood with delicious sauces and pasta.
I especially love the turtle soup and cream of artichoke soup. On the weekends there’s live piano music,

One of the best Italian restaurants in New Orleans. Excellent and very friendly service. Great value, especially for lunch.