Mango Bar & Grill

Best kept secret in Minnesota. The food is delicious. The customer service is the best. The art work is bright and beautiful. The pricing matches the food. The food is very authentic. I have recommended this place to a few people and they have all become addicted.

Having heard of this place through Groupon for a couple years now, finally decided to make an evening of dinner and concert over at Jazz Central. Came in around 6, and the place was pretty dead. I think there were more staff standing around than I saw at tables or the bar.
Ordered Mojitos — and two for ones appeared. A nice surprise, but hadn’t heard that was the case. Would have been nice to have been told. Also ordered the ceviche, which was quite tasty, but the tortilla chips it was served with were a little bland.
I ordered the Pork Tenderloin with Mofongo. The tenderloin was anything but — having been much overcooked for my taste. The Mofongo was interesting — but the gravy just left a salty taste in my mouth all evening.
My friend ordered the Ropa Vieja, and had a more pleasant meal — although she was thirsty all evening as well.
Overall — pretty disappointed in this restaurant that I have been looking forward to eating at for a long time.

We had our doubts coming in because of the exterior, but I have to say the food was amazing! A nice mix between the different Latin cultures. My fiancée had the bistec encebollado and I had the arroz con Mariscos and they were delicious!!! Definitely will come back if I lived here!!!

Ughhhh. I have been here twice and had terrible service — once when it was Conga and then when it was Mango. Menu, décor, service… everything was the same. The second time we ended up leaving without ordering food because no one would take our order. The place was NOT busy (practically deserted, to be honest) and our sever did not come back to our table after bringing us drinks. We waited over 15 minutes and couldn’t even request our check — we had to pay at the bar on our way out. Huge bummer.

I lived by Mango (or wait, is it Conga?) for years, and have been a Nordeaster for almost 5 now, and it took me a long time to try this place out. Open at 5pm daily, they serve a large mexican menu, limited tap beers, and live music (nightly, I think).
We stopped in for happy hour (5 – 7, 2 for 1s) and had some nachos, tacos, and 4 drinks each and came out for about $ 45. It was a steal, and I was a little tipsy from Mojitos. They have a separate bar/​dance area, dining area, and a downstairs bar, but it was closed on that particular night. We went right at 5pm, so we were one of 3 – 4 patrons at the bar. Diners, Drive-​ins and Dives was on the tv. It was quiet.
That being said, the bartender was really friendly, the food was really good, and the drinks were strong enough. I would recommend trying one of their cocktails unless you like mexican beer.
I definitely want to go back for food and for music/​dancing. But the name is confusing. Is it Mango? Is it Conga? Figure it out and take the sign down. That being said, don’t be afraid to go in. I swear they’re open at 5pm.

Great seafood stew. And Mojitos. I assume if you do Latin dancing this might be a bar destination but the food is worth the trip.

Have been to Mango 5+
Service has always been good and the food good to fabulous!
Regarding the review by Annie below, she maybe lives in the burbs?

I really enjoy Mango’s. I agree with Patricia when it comes to dark or low brow. I always get the Camarones Enchilados. Definitely the way to go…

Stay away from the Paella Valenciana.
We were served a hairy dish with unopened mussels, spoiled fish and crab claws that should have been discarded. For people who are not aware, an unopened mussel (s) after cooking indicates that the mussel (s) was dead prior to cooking and could harbor harmful bacteria.
That was not the worse part… the two hair follicles in my food, one slightly curly and the other short and thick were absolutely disgusting. This was after having only three bites… who knows how many strands were in there. Eww. It’s probably pretty obvious at this point that we were done eating. We tried to explain the situation to our waitress but she meekly said sorry and she knew it would be fishy tasting.
I will not be going back.

This was our second visit to Mango and man, the food here is just outstanding! We shared an appetizer of Yuka con mojo which was delicious. I am a big fan of seafood stew and Mango’s Zarzuel Mariscos knocked it out of the ballpark! My wife’s Shrimp Victoria was equally as delectable. The mojitos are great and our server (Micaela) was wonderful. This place is a gem!

We tried Mango Café because of their. groupon coupon and the food is incredible, The curry sauce is like none is the cities… Incredible. The avocado and mango salad looked as great as it tasted, again unique. The service was equally great. We will back especially with salsa music starting at 10

Went to this restaurant because of a groupon, and have been a fan ever since.
Food: the green plantains tapas is one of the best items on the appetizer menu… we particularly like the shredded beef, but the pork, chicken and grilled shrimp are good as well depending on your taste. we go here just for the appetizers. the regular dinner menu is good just depending on what you like, but nothing that stands out for latin cuisine.
Staff: the service is slower than most restaurants we’ve been too, esp considering the place is hardly ever busy during the weekdays that we go.
Cost: average cost is $ 10 – 15 per entrée plate. appetizers range from $ 7 – 10. they do have a happy hour from 5−7pm… this includes a discount on select appetizers and a 2 for 1 special on select drinks.
There is a dance club and bar on the opposite side of the dining area. there is a cover charge and dress code for it, but we normally do not go here for that so i cannot rate that portion. You have to look for side street parking. We do notice some people park in the lot across the street if it is after hours.

I’m not exactly sure why the new listing was created for Mango. The name could’ve just been changed from Conga, instead of marking it as closed. It’s seriously the same. I think the management has changed, but all the staff, food, etc stayed. The happy hour is not as good as it used to be — instead of ½ off, it’s now $ 1-​$ 2 off apps. Drinks are still 2 for 1. I wish they would just remove the Conga sign, it sounds like it’s very confusing to people.

I really enjoyed this place, and am kind of offended on behalf of Mango for the snobby review located below mine. There is nothing ghetto, dark or ‘low-​brow’ about this place at all, and if you enjoy bright flavors and reasonable prices, I recommend giving it a shot. The food had a ton of flavor and the presentations were really lovely.
My boyfriend bought a groupon for Mango that included an appetizer, two drinks, and two entrees. I got a Peruvian cocktail made with lots of Brandy that was awesome, and he got a Brazilian drink that was basically a vodka mojito, that he really liked. I don’t remember what they were called unfortunately, but they were both refreshing. They had a lot of interesting Latin drinks I’d like to try, all for 7 bucks which I thought was a great deal.
For an appetizer we shared the grilled shrimp and avocado plantain tapas. These were phenomenal! Sometimes when I go to a restaurant and try something new, I end up craving it for weeks after. That’s how I felt about this dish. The shrimp and avocados were fresh, the salsa had a nice spice, and the fried plantains were a great complement. There was no easy way to eat them, but they were good enough that I didn’t care if I looked ridiculous eating them with my hands!
My boyfriend and I both ordered seafood. He had the Seafood Stew, which included shrimp, mussels, crab, halibut, calamari etc. I’m always leery about seafood stew because I think it can often times be too fishy. His was wonderful however; the broth was mild but flavorful and the seafood was well prepared and super tasty. I had the halibut de la mar, which came with crab, shrimp and peppers and onions. I though the flavor was great, although I would have preferred it a bit spicier. We both got a side of rice and beans, and this was my boyfriends favorite thing. He’s a rice snob (lol) and though I may tease him, I definitely agreed that this was the best restaurant rice we’ve ever had. It was actually… seasoned! It tasted good plain! The beans were a great addition, but the rice didn’t really even need them.
The service was super slow, but the servers were otherwise friendly and helpful. The place was pretty empty on a Thursday night, and I hope they do more business. I’d really like to go back for some drinks and apps one night.

The place is very divey and dark, exactly like its staff. Bartender was ghetto. If you like that «scene», then this is perfect for you.
I didn’t get the opportunity to try the food. It converts into a bar and club after hours. The tables are moved aside for a large dance space. The crowd that shows up here will depend on who the main attraction is. I imagine on a regular night, it’s just low-​brow folk who show up to enjoy the divey-​ness.
Overall, nothing stood out and I have no urge to ever return here. There are other spaces in Minneapolis that are worth spending your time and money at, and it’s not this place.

I went to Mango Bar and Grill with my girlfriend to celebrate her birthday. The host was very friendly and sat us on a very nice booth. Our server was very nice and offer us to try the mojitos, they were the best mojitos we had in Minneapolis. He recommended the Paella Valenciana for two people, but we decided on the Shrimp Victoria and the New York steak with shrimp in garlic sauce. She loved the shrimp in a spicy mushroom and butter sauce, and my steak was very nicely done, but the shrimp in garlic sauce on top was delicious. We will be back to try the Paella.

So I keep getting confuse if this place is called Conga Latin Bistro, or Mango; the outside has both names on it, staff wears Conga shirts, and the décor inside hasn’t changed. Either way, we haven’t been here since it was official called Conga Latin Bistro. I figured after picking up a groupon, it was worth another chance.
We started off with the Tostones with Chicken. The chicken was freshly cooked, and the jalapenos on top weren’t bad, but the tostones were definitely reheated. They were rock hard, and didn’t taste that great. That was a disappointment.
Next up, I had the mofongo. Mofongo is probably one of my favorite dishes ever, so after the sad tostones, I had little faith. Overall, it wasn’t bad. It was covered in too much broth, and it really soaked into the mofongo, which in my opinion, ruined it. I would try to use much less broth next time, and throw the meat in the middle, but I tend to go for more traditional methods of Mofongo. It could have been better, but it wasn’t too terrible.
Also, to nitpick a little bit, the décor in the restaurant really needs updating. I have no idea what the paintings inside have to do with anything latin america (oil paintings of women playing violins and other stringed instruments), but it’s really unfitting to the restaurant.
If you’re dying for Puerto Rican food in Minneapolis, I recommend hitting up Sosa off Hiawatha, otherwise you’re be SOL until another Puerto Rican shop opens up in town
Oh well, one can only hope…