Mangia E Bevi

Just found out this place closed and I’m so sad. It’s literally my favorite place to eat in the city.

Prerequisites for walking through the door: 1. You are wearing a veil covered in rhinestone p*nises (am I allowed to say that on Unilocal?) 2. You are blacked out/​would like to be blacked out on cheap wine 3. You have a hankering for dancing on the bar/​your chair/​the tables/​any semi-​flat surface
That said, I’m surprised this place closed. It was always filled to the brim with happy, singing (mostly) women.

Some of the recent reviews seem to suggest that this place has closed down … i am glad.
I had visited this restaurant on 9^th avenue once … for dinner. Now you should know that i am fond of Italian food. If i have to go out to have a meal alone, i am more likely to opt for pasta than curry … and i am rarely disappointed. Pasta is easy to make and hard to screw up. But they did.
I was in a pretty bad mood when i had walked in with a friend. I had impatiently left my friend alone in a wine tasting session earlier and the response was that i was made to wait alone at the intersection of 50^th and 9^th for an hour. The restaurant didn’t do anything to make me feel any better.
I had ordered the simplest of all dishes. A starter (garlic bread if i remember correctly) followed by a main course of penne pasta accompanied by a glass of white wine. Every dish was bad. The pasta, even after the customary sprinkling of parmesan cheese, was bland and tasteless. This was the result after they had made us wait an inordinately long amount of time for the food. The only item that we finished was the wine. The food was bad and the service was shabby … it was $ 50 down the drain. Thankfully, nobody will have to go back again :)

I think this place is closed?
(Good riddance, bachelorettes.)

WOW. This place was NOT what I expected. The reviews you read here are quite accurate — crazy, noisy, rockin good time! I’ve walked past this place a million times, but apparently never on a Saturday night… I definitely would have remembered that. I mistakenly brought my boyfriend for dinner here to Bachelorette Central, but we were a bit tipsy already and heck, we’re fun people, so we enjoyed ourselves anyways. For every third song or so, the DJ cranks up the volume, and half the restaurant ends up dancing on their chairs. Talk about entertainment. Like others have said, this is NOT the place for a first date. This is NOT the place for a quiet, romantic dinner. This is NOT the place to take Grandma. Instead, this is the place to celebrate a night out with girlfriends, or a birthday, or a bachelorette party. You’ve been warned.
Our food was good and decently priced. It was the wine list that killed us (I think the cheapest bottles were $ 36?).
I’m looking forward to bringing my girlfriends (and not the poor boyfriend!) for any return visits.

Very OK food in a fun, rowdy, celebratory little room. Everyone was having a great time with people up on the chairs singing happy birthday, banging tamborines, just enjoying eachother’s unassuming company. Modestly priced, well portioned Italian comfort food. Generous pours on the vino.
If you’re looking for a great meal or a romantic dinner, this isn’t the place, but if you’re looking for a good time with friends, you won’t be disappointed.
Be wary of the pre-​theatre rush to move you on after you finish eating. After 7 you can take your time…

How is this place still breathing? The items on the menu seem innocuous enough. You place your order, confident that what you will find on your plate will be no culinary disaster, and yet…
My mother ordered the Cesare salad. Let’s agree right now that that is pretty hard to screw up. But somehow they did — it was lifeless and bland. I went with the Canellone Casarecci. Different dish. Same tasteless result.

I was well warned by those in the know, that this might not be the place for me on a Friday night. But well-​warned, I headed to this corner trattoria. It is loud and noisy and makes no apologies for it. It is exactly what it is! Oh those bachelorettes. Oh that bridge and tunnel crowd. Oh the omg screaming girls.
With that understood, the food is good and plentiful. The portions are way too big for any one person to eat… or at least anyone who has any knowledge of calorie or portion control. The timbalo of zucchini, cheese and sauce is huge and luscious tasting of a wood oven.
While the risotto was for one person it was large enough to serve four. Flavorful with 4 cheeses and topped with really fresh scallops… although just a little too overcooked for my taste.
Service is attentive and friendly. So is the crowd. I mean when tables are close together and the screaming young uns are carrying on, of course you get to know the people sitting next to you: a really sweet couple from Chicago. Ah yes… this is a big tourist place… and I, alone, was the only neighborhood person there.

Ugh! This is so diappointing to report but the quality of food here has gone down. Way down. I have been a regular customer here over the last few years as i have lived in the neighborhood. We got delivery tonight and ordered our usual pizza capriciosso (prociutto, artichoke, mushroom) and pappardelle with chicken and broccoli rabe. The pizza was tasteless, no rich flavorful that was once there. The cheese and tomato sauce were almost non-​existent.
The pappardelle was also missing flavor and though contained cream lacked any rich depth.
I have no idea what happened. Was a different chef hired because i want the other one back. It’s not cheap either. Two dishes cost us 35 bucks on a random thurs night in.
With all the other italian choices in the area, i doubt i’ll be returning here.

Any place that can allow 7 cackling loud women eat and drink at their establishment, is alright in my book. If you know you are going to be LOUD, this is the place for you.
I must say, besides letting their restaurant be like the set of the View, the waitstaff was very attentive. My glass of wine was always filled… to the top. I happen to think the food was quite good also. Fried calamari: excellent. Pasta with spicy sausage: fabulous!
The staff took pictures with 5 different cameras and even gave us free coffee (I think we did tip good though).
When it’s your Birthday, there is tambourine playing and singing…
I loved it.
I would have my wild bachelorette party here! IF I knew I was having one.

I like this place for one reason only: their vegetable pasta. It’s made with whole wheat pasta and has fresh broccoli, tomatoes, mushroom, baby corn and more. And it comes with a salad. So for $ 13, you get two meals.
My friends have called the food bland, but I’ve only ever tried the vegetable pasta. Avoid at all cost if there are lots of overdressed teenagers loitering outside. There’s probably a sweet sixteen party inside with distasteful blaring music and light show.
Very very noisy, so I only ever take out.

Good bargain for lunch. Nothing spectacular, but I’ve eaten here for lunch a lot and I’ve never had a bad experience. It’s nice to get a satisfying lunch for $ 10, tip included. I don’t demand a lot more from a place like this.
If you want better red-​sauce-​style Italian food (i.e., Southern), you can get it, but you’ll be paying a lot more.

I went here with a friend and my cousin for dinner mid-​week. The place was fairly empty and we chose to sit inside because it was getting a bit chilly outside. There is outside seating though which is nice. On Tuesdays it is half priced bottles of wine and if I wasn’t already half a bottle in, I would have gone for it. I ordered a pizza that had eggplant and mushrooms on it with a vodka sauce and it was VERY good. My cousin had a pepperoni pizza which is simple but was also delicious. My friend ordered the fettucini that is named after the restaurant and it was yummy enough to be considered the house specialty. We also ordered calamari as an appetizer and they brought bread to the table as well. The entire bill came to I think $ 55 which is really reasonable for NYC. At least it’s not expensive for NYC.
There was a huge party of loud kids who I guess were surprising a friend for her birthday. So this girl shows up and the entire restaurant starts screaming. It was pretty amusing and I don’t mind loud crowds but it gives you a feel for the laid-​back atmosphere of the restaurant.
After eating my friend asked the waiter for a separate check so he could expense his dinner and the waiter couldn’t do it. I am not sure why but he made excuses. It’s fine, I’m sure my friend can expense just part of the check but it makes it just a little more difficult. We should have asked before the meal, so beware of that if you need separate checks.
The waiter was attentive enough and the «support staff» or whatever the non-​English-​speaking waiters are called were really good at filling up the water glasses. I drink a lot of water and if it’s in front of me I can’t NOT drink it so I went a little overboard I think.

Loosen up everyone…
You want a romantic dinner? Don’t go here
Want silence? Don’t go here
Girls dancing on tables make you uncomfortable? Don’t go here
Shy and awkward? Don’t go here
Big groups should come eat here, FUN people celebrating any occasion, Bachelorette parties, Birthday gatherings, People who just want to get drunk and have a lot of fun during dinner, and not shy people!
I came here a few times, first time for a Bachelorette party, 2^nd for a Birthday party, and the rest of the times during the day to grab a bite by my job last week… During the weekend there are basically two main sitting for huge parties — I think 8 and 10, but I could be completely off and this could vary day by day… Our party waited 15 minutes, we were a group of 25 or so, our table was smack in the middle for everyone to focus on us… The party was already started when we walked in, the GREAT music was pumping, people singing along, and in general a great time… little did we know it gets WILD…
They gave our table tambourines to make some noise along with the entire restaurant, but surprisingly it wasn’t too loud… we got an assortment of appetizers that were all without complaints fro mthe entire party… and than the drinks started. lemincello shots I believe… suddenly everything stops… music gets VERY loud the italian/​spanish men come around the place dancing, making people stand on chairs, using a microphone to get people to talk and laugh… And yes, at one point I find myself doing the conga around the entire place… However, some women feel weird when one of the girls on the other table was forced to eat a banana sexually off the waiter — Me? I thought HILARIOUS. This stopping of the food and dancing and singing happens a lot so get ready for fun…
And if you are in the neighborhood for lunch, enjoy the great food… and service… prices are much cheaper for lunch as always…
Overall, the food was great… the pastas I had zero complaints about and I tasted most of them at the table… However, it may seem as if it is a bit pricey but it is like you are seeing a show and having dinner so take that into consideration… and come on live a little… this is what it is like to be at a tarantella festival… drink up… =)

I went to Mangia e Bevi on a Thursday night for a birthday dinner. The restaurant did a nice job of setting up a large table for our group (12 people). The food and service were great. The waiters suggested we order a few platters of appettizers including mozzarella sticks and calamari, both were delicious. Everyone in the group was satisfied with their entrees — anything ranging from pastas to pizzas to veal or chicken dishes. The penne a la vodka was awesome.
When it was time to sing Happy Birthday to my friend, the restaurant dimmed the lights, blasted (no exaggeration here) 50 Cent’s «In Da Club» and got the whole place singing along. My friend was mortified, but it made the end of the meal hilarious.
Beware that the restaurant will only accept 3 credit cards from a large group, so bring CASH!
Definitely give Mangia e Bevi a shot if you’re looking for hearty Italian food in Hell’s Kitchen at reasonable prices. The restaurant is also only a few blocks from a lot of the Bway theatres and would be a good place to grab dinner before a show.

If I had not tried to go back for dinner, this would be a 5 star review …
Here’s my story.
The first time I went to Mangia E Bevi, I was wandering the area near Columbus Circle on my lunch break. It was the last day of my internship and I wanted calamari and bruschetta — two of my favorite things to eat in Austin. I had done some light searching during my four months in NY and had come up pretty empty handed on good calamari AND bruschetta. I walked by and read their menu that is posted near the door. Jackpot!!! I went in and proceeded to have one of the best meals I’ve had in NY. The calamari was crisp and the waiter had no problem loading me up with enough lemon. (The best calamari in my opinion is crispy and served with only a squirt of lemon and dash of salt.) The bruschetta was made with huge, thick pieces of crispy bread with a wonderful topping. I was in heaven. I had a water for a drink (I’m just not that into sodas and was also trying to cut back) — after a generous tip, it was under $ 20 for the meal. I walked out saddened only by the fact that I had not discovered this place sooner.
Here’s where the stars start dropping.
I was staying with family in NY and they offered to take me out to dinner on my last day (several days later — the above mentioned lunch was on a Thursday, this is now Saturday). I had raved about my lunch at Mangia E Bevi and wanted to go back. They had never heard of the place. We went around 8 pm, parked in a parking garage an avenue down and headed to the restaurant. From outside, you could hear the loud music. We went closer to the door to make sure I had the correct place and a few steps away from the door, we were «greeted» by a very drunk (I hope) member of a bachelorette party. While she proceeded to ask my Uncles a variety of inappropriate questions, we gathered that this was indeed where I had lunch but that they pull a Jekyll and Hyde and turn into a totally different creature at night. From outside, we saw people dancing on tables. So we left.
As this was to be my send off dinner, I have not been able to go back. I was highly disappointed. On future trips to NY, I will be going to Mangia E Bevi but only for lunch.

The place was interesting.
The food was standard Italian — good, but nothing special to write home about. The antipasto platter of cold cut meats and veggies was ok. The minestrone soup was a little watery. The spaghetti alla puttanesca was also pretty average at best.
Mangia E Bevi however, is a really great place for big groups of people who like to be loud, drunk and dance on the chair tops with tambourines! I was there for a birthday and people were definitely there more for the party ambiance. The food definitely takes a back seat to the fun to be had at this restaurant.
I even witnessed one guy who got so crazy, he started to strip down to his boxers! The wait staff helped him keep it PG by keeping stripper guy in check and telling him to put his pants back on. Darn, no free show. Potential crisis averted.

Ugh. I wanted to kill myself at Mangia e Bevi.
I had no idea what this place was like– my aunts were visiting NYC and told me we were going to an Italian place.
This place is cramped, very loud, and packed to the brim with Jersey girls all decked up in their clubbing clothes, getting obnoxius and dancing on tables. It was horrible. There were about 4 bachelorette parties going on (at 7pm) and the music was so loud, and the lights were so dim. I felt like I was eating dinner in the middle of a rave. It was totally cheezy and the Jersey girls were really getting on my nerves when they kept bumping into me and knocking into our table.
The food is just OK… and pricey. If I’m going to do touristy Italian, I’d prefer Carmine’s.

***Note — Seamless Web based Review***
I was working late and I had a craving for pasta and decided to give this place a try. I’m SUPER strict about my pasta being al dente and since the delivery in NYC can be spotty, I usually refrain from ordering pasta to be delivered. But if you have a craving, you have to feed it right? Right…
I had the rigatoni in a light tomato sauce with pancetta, onions and peas and for an app I had prosciutto wrapped fresh mozzarella.
The pasta — the sauce was yummy. very light, not too overpowering. the pasta was PERFECT! I couldn’t believe it. It was not too al dente but not mushy either. it was just perfect.
The app — i don’t know what the hell was in that container. It’s like they threw in the juice that comes from the fresh mozz. It was nasty. The prosciutto was sliced too thick and was way too salty. I ended up taking off the prosciutto, cutting the mozz into little pieces and throwing it on top of my pasta. I dumped the prosciutto and the weird juice.
Delivery was pretty quick as well. But this place doesn’t stand out enough to make me want to order from them again.

DO NOT SUPPORT THIS RESTAURANT! I hosted a bachelorette party for a close friend and we had reservations for 9:30. We got there early and were still not seated by 10:15, even though tons of tables had been seated. The staff there was extremely rude and disrespectful to us when we asked why we had to wait so long; didn’t offer us a drink or a seat by the bar, and even blatantly rolled their eyes at us. The owners or managers were sitting right next to us, saw and heard that we were upset and did not do anything to look out. I know in my heart that this is because we didn’t fit the profile of the people they wanted in their establishment, i.e. skinny, blonde, scantily-​clad, and ditzy… and we are fly girls! Needless to say, I left and was not spending my hard earned money at a place that doesn’t want me there.
I gave it one star only because I had to give it a star for this review to posted. I would spit on their sidewalk if I walked by it again. Really bad energy in that place… try the Mexican spot down the street instead. Killer Margaritas!