Mingle On the Avenue

Modern Korean fusion joint about a block off the beginning of broadway. Convenient to the Hilton and a bunch of hotels.
Ambiance: neat and bright though there was an obnoxious older group in there joking and yelling while I was dining
Happy hour: happy hour until 6pm includes buy one get one beers or wine
Food: bibimbap for $ 15? Japchae for $ 19? I don’t think we’re in Cali anymore toto…
Due to the high price of things are that usually the cheapest items on a Korean menu… I opted for the Brussels sprout hash ($ 10) and the Korean tacos — one chicken, one beef ($ 10).
Brussels sprout hash is a brilliant idea but a little bit oversalted. The egg sunny side up was perfectly cooked and a good complement to the shredded Brussels sprouts.
Korean tacos were a bit spicy. They had a bit too much pink mayo/​thousand island-​like dressing which reminded me of la food truck tacos. Meat was cooked well and the presentation was beautiful.
Overall, two appetizers and a beer for $ 32 including tax and tip.

Amazing food. Really enjoyed the food and the service. Interesting combination of ingredients.

I got to sample Mingle’s new Korean menu a few months back except for the Korean Fried Chicken which was not available that day. Waited too long to get back and try the KFC and discovered it has been discontinued as have most of the other Korean dishes. Since I was there, I went ahead and ordered the two Korean items remaining on the lunch menu, Korean tacos and Kimchee pancakes, and also a chicken burger (which promised gochujang mayo and kimchee garnish).
The Kimchee pancakes are the only thing I’d order again. They were savory and came with a nice ponzu dipping sauce, though they could have used more veggies and more kimchee. The bulgogi meat on the taco and the slab of crispy chicken on the burger were dry and heavy and not appetizing. They needed less mass, more lubrication and more flavor accents to make them interesting. Mingle could immediately upgrade its food by putting tubs of kimchee (in nice chunks instead of shredded) and Korean chili sauce on every table.
Our hostess told us they add bibimpap, chap jae and a bulgogi main dish on the dinner menu and each of them comes with the traditional Korean array of panchan (small side dishes) and the prices are under $ 20, which makes Mingle a better value than it used to be. But having eaten here multiple times under multiple chefs I have to conclude this fusion concept is not working for me. Maybe it’s because Korean food is homey, comfort food and this is anything but.
If you’re staying in the hotel or in town for a convention, Mingle might be a good choice. It works much better for me as a bar than a restaurant, and a couple of drinks with a snack might be a lot of fun. But if you want Korean there’s a great new menu down the street at the inappropriately named Phila Fusion Noodle Bar. Still no KFC though. I have to believe, in a town full of fried chicken lovers, it would be a winner.

Food, and service were excellent! Great selection of fun drinks. Lots of delicious vegetarian options. Very fun place to enjoy good food good service and a good time.

There have been two (maybe three by the time you read this) chef changes since we last visited Mingle on the Avenue, so we thought it might be time to return.
The menu still offers Korean fare, but it no longer features the many more creative contemporary dishes combining unique flavors and textures artistically presented to please both the palate and the eye, and touting locally raised and grown products.
Don’t misunderstand me, we thoroughly enjoy good Korean flavors and preparations, and the dishes we experienced on this visit still mostly measure up to our expected desires, but the previous marriage of the two cuisines apparently has experienced a divorce with the change of chefs.
We arrived somewhat later on a Sunday evening and were pleased to see maybe twenty other customers in various stages of dining. The bar was totally empty. We were offered a table close to the front doors since it was the only empty one that was clean. We were concerned that we might continually experience cold drafts as customers passed through, but were assured by the hostess, who we quickly learned was also doubling as the only waitress, that the doors would not be opening much at this hour. It was apparent that she was looking to keep up with balancing both of her responsibilities as efficiently as possible.
There continues to be a very respectable offering of craft beers on draft. My wife went with one of our favorites, Keegan Mother’s Milk ($ 6) while I made the very rare choice of ordering a bottled beer in order to try something that I’d been hearing very good reports about — Not Your Father’s Root Beer ($ 6; 5.9% a.b.v.). Yes, it’s real beer and tastes EXACTLY like the great root beers you enjoyed growing up. After that initial taste of the familiar and sweet root beer spicing there’s one more enjoyable flavor that then hits your palate, maybe it’s hops. You really should try a bottle.
My wife decided to order the Bibimbap ($ 18) and add the optional beef ($ 6). The most important thing you need to be aware of when ordering this dish is that it is NOT the hot stone bowl version (dol sot bibimbap). The rice does not sizzle at the bottom of the bowl to become crispy. You don’t need to be warned to avoid touching the bowl because it is room temperature, as are many of the vegetables that are on top of the warm rice. Some of the vegetables are also not what we were accustomed to having in this dish. We’ve never had cucumbers or zucchini for that matter, but they were good. The beef was flavorful and mostly tender, but we were surprised that she had chunks of beef instead of a small amount of ground beef. That might explain the up-​charge, but overall we both agreed that this was not a $ 24 dish.
I decided to have two appetizers for my entrée. Unfortunately, they were out of one of my favorites, Yaki-​Mandu. I’ve loved those pan-​fried dumplings since I first had them in Korea 45 years ago. So I substituted the Korean Tacos with chicken ($ 13) and also ordered the Kimchi Pancake ($ 14).
The Tacos came with a choice of fries or salad and I found that the fries are still very good at Mingle. The tacos themselves were a bit difficult to eat but the flavors were excellent. The soft corn tortillas could have been grilled a little longer, but the apple radish kimchi with the Napa cabbage and gochujang crèma delivered a wonderful combination of flavors.
The Kimchi pancake with carrots, zucchini, and red pepper was very good, but not outstanding. It just seemed like something was missing. It came with a dipping soy sauce but I would have liked something else to put it over the top.
We did end up getting a few blasts of cold air from those doors as people entered and exited, and you could sense that the staff were doing their best to keep up with what appeared to be more customers than they had expected. I will give them credit for that effort and the kitchen did a nice job of preparing the food in a timely manner. But it’s not what we enjoyed in the past. You can still get a burger or a steak from the menu, but it seems that they are no longer serving breakfast since the T C Paris bakery has moved into the lobby area of the adjoining Pavilion Grand Hotel to offer breakfast sandwiches and French pastries. Now if I can just wake up early enough to get there next.

Environment: ⁵⁄₅
Employees: ⁵⁄₅
Drinks: ⁵⁄₅
Food: ⁵⁄₅
Total: ²⁵⁄₂₅
Synopsis: The thought of going to Saratoga made me roll my eyes. I find it interesting when people who are not from New York City, but live in New York trying to upscale their own small hometowns. It’s hilarious! In any case, when I came to Saratoga for a conference I didn’t think much of it. However, it was an open bar and I treated like it was the end-​of-​the-​world-​party! Someone definitely note-​worthy and worth so much love is Stephanie. SHE HOOKED IT THE F UP! We thought drinking was going to end at 7:30 PM… only allowing us an hour to drink, but NOPE! It was extended and extended… we definitely CLOSED that place down! She made sure all our drinks, requests were being fulfilled with a smile!
And because… I grew up non-​conservative, with a «I-don’t-give-a-f» attitude we had a take out container filled with wine and wine in cups! I wasn’t sure if that was even allowed, but no one from the restaurant said anything to deter us from our mission. Unfortunately, that whole container of «soup» fell out of a paper bag — — bye bye wine! O M G! Well it’s okay because, we were sooo done! Like done! DONE DONE!
Environment: This place has both a casual and a more upscale type of feel to it. Casual outside and more «upscale» in the inside. But taking the entire town in context, you could get away with shorts and a t-​shirt. The place is very spacious with a nice long and lit bar.
Employees: Stephanie! Stephanie! Stephanie! That’s all I have to say! She was so patient with our loudness, rowdiness and drink requests.
Drinks: the red and white wine is great!
Food: I was surprised this was amazing. They had a really nice spread and even made wonderful shapes with the food.
Salmon on toasts with cream cheese: Amazing. Easy bites that are delicious! ⁵⁄₅
Cold Tomato Soup shooters: Definitely good way to start an appetizer. It wasn’t too acidic and it gave a delicious flavor that burst in your mouth. ⁵⁄₅
Goat Cheese, beets with radish in a spoon: Very fancy. Sweet and creamy, which you wouldn’t have expected. ⁵⁄₅
Coconut Shrimp: This was by my most favorite! LOL We stole like all of it from everyone. Whoops!

Service has gone downnnnnn hill.
We were in there last week. Only ONE other table. I watched this open, do very well so I don’t know why it was so bad.
The server (I feel horrible saying this) had a shirt on that was way too small for her, buttons popping out and should’ve been white but was kinda yellow; sort of faded.
When we asked for bread we were told «No bread tonight. The guy in the kitchen doesn’t feel like making it.» Ummm ok.
I loved their gf bread with dips!
Soooo then I ask about one of the specials, I state that I don’t like a certain food and she asked me WHY NOT? UMMMMM… really?
Then the food comes out and I basically got half a plate of lettuce, rubber chicken with some tiny portion of kimchee.
She disappeared when we asked for the check.
We were soooooo disappointed. I loved the food here. I don’t know what happened but rude, sloppy server plus being told NEW COOK THAT DOESN’T FEEL LIKE MAKING BREAD equals DNR, DO NOT RETURN.

Stopped here the drive back from Montréal to Nyc. Love Korean so why not? We were one of 2 tables. Waited forever for inedible food. Chicken burger was oddly fried and was basically 90% chicken tendons because it was such poor quality food. Felt bad for waitress. She seemed to be trying to prod chef for our order and was apologetic when I showed her the burger. Excuses us from the bill and grabbed a bagel up the street.

I miss the Mingle on Delaware Ave. Service was good there, it was comfortable and well decorated, and the food was delicious. Mingle (On the Avenue) was not nearly as good as I’d hoped it would be.
For starters, I was surprised that at 1pm on a Monday (a day when people were clearly out and about) there was only one other table of diners in the restaurant. They left shortly after we were seated, however. Yet somehow, in light of this, we received slow service. The waitress, who appeared to be more of a manager, was in no hurry to return to our table to take our order. It also took a while for the food to be served. We were only a party of 3. So what were the reasons for the slow service?
The décor and layout of the restaurant are aesthetically pleasing enough, but it doesn’t necessarily play to the Korean fusion theme.
The food was good, although I missed a couple of the items that I’d ordered from the Mingle in Albany. We started with the pork tostadas, which were excellent. I wish the order came with more than 3 pieces, though. For my meal I ordered the veggie burger with a side salad, and my coworkers ordered the salmon burger and the beef Korean tacos with fries. We all enjoyed our meals.
In sum, the dining experience was just OK. I will not likely be returning. There are just too many other places in Saratoga to try, and coming here would just remind me that the Mingle I loved going to is no longer an option.

Several of us about 40 probably went here after our friend’s wedding finished at the Polo Grounds.
Service was friendly, drinks were fine, and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. Maybe they rented it out?
I didn’t realize this place has Korean fare. I would try the food next time I am in town. It was walkable from our hotel which was great.

We were in town for the DMB show at SPAC this weekend and were walking around in downtown Saratoga and were told this place has the «best breakfast in town. Hands down!»
The place had a great atmosphere, great staff, and wonderful food. I ordered the breakfast bagel with sausage, egg, and cheese and it was on point!
A buddy ordered the eggs Benedict (salmon style) and it was the best he’s ever had.
The manager was awesome and she gave us insight into the town of Saratoga and told us what to do/​where to go.

OYSTERS!
We went during a mid-​day happy hour on Saturday. Lunch at the bar was a good mix of offerings — korean, a burger, a savory pancake. it was all amazing. Plus the oysters. The oysters were amazing– fresh, perfectly matched with a sauce that brought joy to us all. I usually find restaurants & bars are reaching when they offer such an eclectic menu, but Mingle has chosen its gems wisely. Everything was worth ordering again. This place has got many talents, from food to drink, and the staff. Our bartender/​waiter was phenomenal in his recommendations and personality. This is a new favorite spot for all four of us!

There aren’t a lot of good Asian options in Saratoga. While Mingle isn’t STRICTLY Asian, it certainly scratches an itch! The Korean tacos with beef are fantastic with just enough spice to wake you up — not blow you away. The service is great and relaxed (I probably wouldn’t go here if I wanted to grab a quick bite, but for a leisurely lunch it’s perfect). I’m looking forward to eating my way through the menu because so much of it looked really interesting. Will give more stars as I eat more!

I found out about Mingle through a «Local Flavor» deal this past week. I actually purchased 3 different Saratoga restaurant deals to encourage me to try some new places in the area. I was most intrigued by Mingle due to the Asian/​Korean fusion element.
I wasn’t disappointed.
First — ambiance is nice, the place is clean and the staff is consistently friendly. Smiling faces and a non-​pretentious vibe always wins points.
One of my first questions was around the $ 1 oysters — they’re only available at the bar. A half dozen is $ 18…which seemed a little steep… so I’ll need to go back during their «happy hour» (1pm-​6pm) for 2 for 1 drinks and $ 1 oysters.
We started with wine; each of us had a glass of Malbec — both were excellent (we tried 2 different wines). The server brought us the gluten free rolls with a chive butter. There is cheese in the rolls/biscuits…they are actually very flavorful but have an odd consistency. Kinda chewy. Once you get past that, they’re enjoyable. I have several friends that eat gluten free, so we talked about bringing them here at some point.
We decided to start with 3 appetizers:
–Fried oysters — delicious! Very generous portion; the caviar on top added a really nice flavor along with the sauce on the dish
–Korean tacos — we had one chicken and one beef; I preferred the chicken — the kimchi had a really nice kick and I still liked the corn tortillas (even though I prefer flour). These were actually quite large; again — generous portion for an appetizer. No complaints about that!
–Special — spinach salad with fried brussels sprouts with a lovely dressing, walnut pieces and some kind of dried fruit (currants, maybe?). Fabulous.
For the entrees, I ordered the Hen of the Woods mushroom and my friend had the burger.
The mushroom was one of the best meals that I’ve ever had. The portion is probably more of an appetizer size, but it’s perfect in so many ways. It’s served on a cauliflower purée with pea shoots, hazelnuts and a soft boiled egg that has a light coating on it (panko?). I would go back just for this dish. But wait… there’s more…
My friend had the burger… I tried it and wound up eating half of it (even though I was already full). I’m not a burger fan in general… but the flavor of this one is worth the calories. Oh… and the fries? I had several of them. Delightful.
There wasn’t any room for dessert… I was the most full that I’ve been in a really long time… but I REALLY enjoyed everything tremendously.
Another nice touch was when the owner came over and chatted with us. His mom is a chef and that’s where the Korean influence comes from. Nice guy — great staff — I wish them much success at this location.
There were only 2 snafus (no big deal):
–I made a reservation via Unilocal,but for whatever reason, it didn’t get through to the restaurant. There were plenty of seats (it was still early), but that’s something that should be looked at (as it did get busier at around 7pm).
–When I went to redeem my «Local Flavor» purchase, they had to take my phone away to redeem it. This happened at another restaurant that I went to last month… and I don’t like handing my phone over to anyone… ever…
There are 2 dishes on the menu that have rabbit in them… I know people eat rabbit, but I happen to have an adorable bunny as a pet… so I make believe that I don’t see that on the menu.
Lots of gluten free, vegetarian and vegan options.
I’ll be back.

This could be a good bistro or a decent Korean restaurant, but it has made the very Albany decision to combine both and be much worse off for it.
This restaurant is everything that is wrong with dining in the Capital Region.
The dishes are a mix of ‘bistro’ fare and strange Korean dishes.
I could almost forgive it’s sins if the Korean dishes were executed in any way authentically, but at some point they made the strange decision to try and adjust the dishes to be more acceptable to their diners as entrees. The American idea of an entrée does not exist in Korea and it really does not translate well.
On what planet is tteokbokki a main dish? This is like opening a Dutch restaurant where the main course is french fries and mayonaise. It makes no sense.
This is an open call to Capital Region restauranteurs, please stick to your strengths, and don’t pander to your imaginary diner’s tastes.

Nice hipster little place. Great service by Jennifer (ask for her!). Awesome drinks.
Started with the Korean Tacos — Corn tortillas, gochujang crema, apple-​radish kimchi, Napa cabbage with choice of beef or chicken ($ 11) DAMN good. Damn good. Also had the watermelon gazpacho ($ 7.00) good and fresh and tasty.
For dinner I had the Pork Belly Kimchi Mac — Blend of 5 cheeses, pork belly, house kimchi, rigatoni pasta, toasted breadcrumbs $ 22. Good but not great. The kimchi rocked, the mac and cheese rocked but combined was just ahhh… ok. Pork belly? I must have missed that.
The ginger martinis ($ 11) rocked and he had a Davidson IPA that we wish we could find in Florida. Again, The service was great.
Called for a cab back twice and they never showed so get this… the owner gave me a ride back to my hotel room! How nice is that??!
I recommend this place whole heartedly!

Mingle is a welcome new addition to the growing restaurant scene in downtown Saratoga Springs. Its mix of high-​end fair with some unique takes on traditional Korean dishes brings original flavors that have been lacking in the region. I went with a large group of 11 on a busy Friday night, and they were more than able to not only accompany us, but did a good job keeping us happy. I had a chance to try a few of the dishes and must say the standouts were their deconstructed Bibimbap, and Korean tacos, which were rather spicy, but very flavorful. The mussels were also very good.
If I had one caveat, it’s that their wine selection is overpriced. I am well aware that restaurants extensively mark up alcohol, and happily drink anyway, but to charge $ 60+ for what I know to be a $ 15 bottle seems rather excessive.
Alcohol prices aside, this is a great restaurant, and I wish it the best of luck.

Trying the breakfast. «Eggs Benedicto,» with avocado, crispy prosciutto, served on grilled cassava bread, and an oddly bland but way too citrusy smoked paprika hollandaise — it doesn’t work. Very nice presentation and beautifully poached egg, but it’s all bland, and it’s hard to eat the very salty prosciutto with it, which would help the balance. The bread is tough to cut and chewy. Very pretty and smooth cappuccino. No sparkling wines by the glass available on the list! Vinho Verde comes the closest. Generous pour, thank you. Two other people in the place, three waiters, and it’s a struggle to get attention. Odd.
P. S. I peeked into the open kitchen and the breakfast cook was opening Kraft plastic wrap singles to melt over patties! He made the Hollandaise, but the head chef was in the kitchen.

Bar raised again in Saratoga-​fine dining capital of Upstate NY. Excellent hostess and service. Try the fried oysters with caviar and look for lobster app. Salmon and bass excellent as were all Korean entrees. Only negative is parking because this area of Saratoga is packed with bars & fine dining.

We were here on the first night that Mingle was open. The crowd hadn’t yet arrived at 7, and the service was attentive and cordial. The liquor license hadn’t yet been secured so the bar was not open for alcohol. That said, Mingle and team are ready to go!
Manager José sat us in a window seat in the main dining room. Our server was Randy, she was both knowledgable and extremely pleasant, as were the rest of the staff.
Because this was the first night, I think they offered a limited menu. Limited, but certainly complete. We started with the Caesar salad and the Watermelon salads. Both were fresh, cold and delicious. The Caesar dressing was clearly homemade and there was plenty of fresh hard cheese (and a white anchovy!). The watermelon was cold and delicious and a perfect accompaniment to the rest of this summer salad.
For dinner we had the Halibut and the Farfalle Pasta. The presentation and flavor of the halibut could best be described as perfect, unusual and delicious. Served with a soup spoon, the broth could certainly be eaten just like a soup.
The Farfalle with broccoli rabe was also done excellently. This is one of my favorite dishes and the only thing needed was a pinch or two of salt to bring out the flavor a of the fresh ingredients.
Lastly, for dessert I ordered the Berry Clafoutis. Like a dense, spongy crêpe served with ice cream. Delicious .
All in all an excellent experience and dinner!