Mangiamo’s

This was the first time I had dinner at Mangiamo’s and they were fantastic at accommodating our group of 15 people. I called all around town and no one could or would take a reservation for a group our size. They were more than willing to take us in. I made reservations two days before and the table was ready to go the second we arrived. We had one server which made me nervous but he did a great job getting our drinks and making sure everyone was taken care of. The atmosphere is really great because it’s an old historic mansion and has a lot of history. A great place for a romantic date or family gathering.
The food was much better than expected and the presentation was on point. I had the tuna and it was the perfect amount leaving me room for desert. They offer valet parking and live music in the bar area while you wait for your table. I will certainly revisit again and was very pleased how they were able to work with my family get together. Thumbs up.

This restaurant is in a beautiful old house and is one of the restaurants in the Gilmore Collection. Above average fare and service, unless you decide to spend time in the bar before dinner where on a busy weekend the waitstaff will shove you. Good luck hearing anything if they are busy because the noise is deafening (so sign language is encouraged). If you want real Italian go to Noto’s but if you like a lot of noise and don’t mind getting shoved by the bearded bar waitstaff try this place.

UPDATE: I sent an email to the manager per the comment above. It’s been over a week and I haven’t heard ANYTHING back. If this is how the restaurant treats its customers, you’re better off finding other places to eat.

My then-​boyfriend brought me to Mangiamo on the night he proposed, as I used to live down the street and would say and from time-​to-​time how much I wanted to visit. The building is a gorgeous historical mansion and sits in a large yard that guests can mill around in during warmer months.
My years-​in-​the-​making expectations were not disappointed; Mangiamo was the best fine dining experience we’ve ever had in G-​rap. My boyfriend had made reservations in advance, and we were seated right away. We ordered a yummy garlic bread appetizer and took our time picking our entrees. I decided on one of the evening’s specials, which was a vegetarian pasta dish featuring a local goat farm’s cheese. The goat cheese was amazing. Both our dishes were absolutely mouth-​watering and came in huge portions, making it very worth the higher prices. We had to get to-​go boxes for our leftovers, and we were impressed that our waitress brought them back into the kitchen to box them (and bag them) for us.
Our other favorite part of the evening was that an accordion player started playing around five o’clock. The restaurant’s ambiance completely changed with his music. He came around to each table and played a song for each party. We were so delighted that he returned to our table twice more. We have vowed to only revisit Mangiamo when he is playing, and next time, we’ll bring more cash for a tip!
We also toured the building after our meal, with permission from the manager. It’s really a beautiful building. If we were business people, we’d have fancy meetings in their upper level dining rooms. I definitely recommend going to Mangiamo on a special occasion. We can’t wait to return!

Wow, the crispy brussel sprouts appetizer was out of this world! Like nothing we’ve had before. Light, crispy, sweet (from honey). I, my wife and both teenagers (yes even my skeptical teenagers loved them). They were gone way too fast!

I love this place. The quinoa tower is a must have along with the fried Brussel sprouts! This is a great spot for family get togethers, date nights or work events. The rooms upstairs are great for meetings. Classic Grand Rapids location and great food!

I have to knock a star off for my visit tonight. First, the good: I’d never dined at Mangiamo during the holiday season — the décor is wonderful! The inside of the house is decorated with lights and garlands and it’s really beautiful. The atmosphere of the house is cozy and romantic, great for a date night. My friends and I were commenting on the beauty of the house all night.
When I got there, I was asked where I wanted to sit. I didn’t know what the options were, so I just said wherever is fine. So we ended up in the dining room. My friends and I checked out the menu and the happy hour specials and chose from there. I got a glass of wine that was $ 4 at happy hour, according to the menu. As our last member of our party showed up, she asked about the happy hour specials. Apparently there are no happy hour specials available in the dining room. Oh… okay. That would have been nice to know when I was seated or when the drinks were ordered. After mentioning this to our server, she curtly replied, «Well, do you want to move?» …not really. It was almost the end of happy hour, and we had all already ordered drinks. Okay. Moving on.
We ordered an appetizer to share at the table, the crispy Brussels sprouts. They were pretty good, not as flavorful as some that I have had. The menu indicates they are gluten-​free or can be made gluten-​free. We continued on to order our entrees and my friend (who has Celiac disease) ordered a gluten-​free pasta dish. Our server said, «are you like, really gluten sensitive?» to which my friend responded, yes, I am. Our server said, «Well, the Brussels sprouts are fried in the same oil that the calamari is fried in.» Umm… okay. Why does the menu say they’re gluten free? If there isn’t a designated fryer, they cannot be made gluten free. I told the server that they need to change the menu to indicate that. I was kind of appalled at how our server seemed to brush it off like it was no big deal. Unfortunately my friend had already eaten a portion of the Brussels sprouts and by the end of the night was already getting a headache. I know that some people eat gluten-​free as a fad diet, but that’s not the case with her.
We tried to laugh it off and enjoy the rest of our meals, but I was put off by the service and lack of accommodation, especially for a place with a menu that includes so many «GF» items. How can you know if anything is actually gluten free? Also, our server waited until the middle of our meals to tell us that Michigan drafts were $ 2. (When they were actually $ 2.50) Throughout the evening, our server was just not very friendly or accommodating.
Overall, I might give Mangiamo another chance, but I would definitely try to get a different server. I was surprised because I have never had anything but exceptional service at other Gilmore collection restaurants.

I love the architecture of Magiamo’s, it feels like your in a old school mansion. The deck is my area of choice on a warm summer night, it’s truly a great dinning experience with the trees all lit up with the wine flowing…

Mangiamo makes a special night! I attended a wedding rehearsal dinner in the library of this restaurant and I would completely recommend it for any special occasion.
It’s an Italian restaurant– so stick with the Italian food! Some of us had the steak, which was really good, but those who had the lasagna with bolognese sauce were the smart ones. It was fantastic.
The atmosphere and décor are refined and classy; the drink selection is good; and the staff is friendly. Two thumbs up, Mangiamo!

Fabulous place for a wedding rehearsal dinner. We enjoyed enjoyed our private party in the library. We were served a variety of beers and wines with fruit and bruschetta appetizers, options for salad and main course, as well as a table of desert choices. I would recommend them for your rehearsal dinner venue if you want a classy spot with delicious food.

Nope, nope, nope. Watery mixed drinks. Way to small of portions. Good thing portions are small because its really not that good. Nice but very slow service. If you must, stick to pizza and beer.

We had a very long wait from when we placed our order until we received our mea despite 2 requests to staff to check on our order. We saw others come and go in that time. When a mistake was recognized the covered all 5 of our meals which was an appropriate response. The food was good. There was a nice décor and ambiance. We had over 2 hours to look it over.

I’ve never written even a semi-​negative Unilocal post before, but I felt the need to write this one after our recent experience at Mangiamo. We were very disappointed.
We’re new to the area and had heard good things so we made a reservation for a Saturday night at 8PM. We arrived early and sat at the bar for a few drinks while waiting for our table. The bartender was fabulous but there was a guy hanging out that appeared to be (based on his interactions with staff) an off the clock employee who reeked of smoke and appeared to be quite inebriated. It was distracting. But the piano player was great and the bar had a nice ambiance.
We were politely seated and ordered Caesar salads for an additional $ 4 each. They were pretty well the worst Caesar salads we’ve ever had. You’d have thought it was iceberg lettuce given that there was nothing green in the bowl and there was virtually no dressing. We used some of the olive oil from our bread basket offerings to dress it up but it was still pretty bad. Our waitress did not offer parmesan or pepper. There was no salt or pepper at the table.
The entrees arrived and they were good although again, no offer of any spices or cheese which would’ve been appropriate given our dishes. I had the scallops (four dollar-​coin sized for $ 26), my husband had the baked ziti. We were pleased with our meal for the most part though I felt that the scallop dinner was overpriced given the size of the scallops and that fact that there was no vegetable or starch included other than some crispy baked kale pieces and a thin smear of mashed potato served underneath. The presentation was nice though.
My biggest complaint is with regards to the service. I noticed on our waitresses’ name tag that she’d been with the business for ten years or more. Maybe it was an off night. Who knows. But she was not helpful or attentive and when she literally threw down dessert menus and walked away, I was astonished. The place was extremely slow at that point (9PM) so it wasn’t as if she were slammed with customers. It just didn’t feel like we were wanted there. I watched the same server treat others similarly so it wasn’t just us.
For the price of the entrees, we expected an experience. A positive one to be precise. And we did not have that. We eat out frequently and have visited several other establishments near to Mangiamo in the last week since moving here. This was a real disappointment as it was supposed to be our special night out and it fell far short of our expectations. We won’t be back for dinner. We tried to order pizza for take out as that sounded like a good deal but the pizza oven is still broken (was when we were there too).
I’m disappointed to write a bad review… but for all the hype about the place, it just didn’t do anything for us. Overpriced food with bad service. Seems that they’re resting on prior laurels.

This is one of my all time favorite restaurants. My friend and I came in, wanting to eat pasta. From the salad to the dessert it was truly authentic food. For a first timer in Grand Rapids, and randomly picking an Italian restaurant it was great. The only complaint I have was the Waiter was very inattentive.

This one is difficult. I feel the restaurant should be called «Mangiamo… solo un po» (Italian for ‘let’s eat… just a little bit) rather than «Mangiamo!»
I was tempted to 1-​star this place, but our server was good and the entertainer was great — very friendly folks — and they brought it up a notch.
First off, The Gilmore Collection does have a rather formulaic approach to their restaurants: great ambiance + skimpy food portions + watered down drinks + brutalized waitstaff + prices just high enough to irritate but not enrage. The penetration of each point varies slightly from location to location, but many will agree they are all there to some extent at most of their collection.
My wife and I brought the kids. We arrived a touch before 5:00 pm on a Sunday, so it was not at all busy. We were sat immediately and our waitress was very nice. We ordered the kids’ meals immediately (pizza) and our drinks. My wife got a glass of wine and I got a «Godfather», which is supposed to include scotch and amaretto. Mine was more like a «Step-​son» — I’ll be darned if there was more than a light splash of scotch to go with the splash of amaretto and all the ice. Ok. Whatever. On to the food:
My wife got the «Fall Squash Ravioli». Now, my wife typically takes half of any entrée home (her caloric intake is just under that of our 3 year old’s), and even she said «Uh, is this all I get?» It was 4 ravioli. For $ 16. That’s $ 4 per ravioli, folks — not a stellar deal. I got the «Filet Mignon», which was supposed to be 8 oz. That’s kind of like saying I have 6-​pack abs. I had them showing in my youth and they’re technically still there, but the light has to be just right and you have to squint just so. I also asked for it cooked medium-​well and, as you can see by the photo I’m including, it was slightly past well-​done. Lastly, I got a Johnny Walker Black, neat. They gave me half a shot. I’m also including the photo on that.
Don’t get me wrong. They have some good deals, but it’s mostly pizza and wine stuff. As with most places, try to avoid the weaknesses and go with the strengths. I recommend pizza, beer or wine. Skip the mixed drinks and liquor, skip the pricier entrees. Anyway, my kids loved their pizza and we enjoyed the accordion player.

Great ambiance, service, wine and incredible food.
Great place for a group or the love of your life. Don’t miss this one if you are a foody.

The Gilmore Collection has made the Wurzburg mansion a treasure to dine in. The rooms are charming and the restaurant is beautiful. The restaurant has a cool bar area and dining area in different rooms of the mansion. I haven’t ever ate outside, but would look forward to that when the weather gets better.
We’ve been here several times, but most recent in September to celebrate a special occasion for my husband and I.
We started off with the Tuscan flash fried calamari, it prepared with roasted garlic, salami, peppers, olives, charred tomato vinaigrette. This was different than any other calamari we have ever tried and the other vegetables in the dish made it unique. We really enjoyed it.
Next, we had the crispy brussels sprouts. They are made with sea salt, toasted peppercorn-​raw honey, toasted almonds. These two are completely different than any other way we have tried them. It was sweet, crunchy and salty all at the same time.
For my entrée, I had pork with sweet potato gnocchi. The cream sauce and vegetables were delicious. I’m glad I tried something completely different.
My husband had cheese stuffed ravioli. It was sauteed with carrots, sweet peas, potatoes, cranberries, italian sausage, calabrian pepper flakes, sambuca ream, roma tomatoes. It was certainly delcious.
My only reservation about this place is the pricing. Our entrees were relatively small portions and were $ 18 and $ 16. Other than this, it is a great place to get a freshly cooked meal.

Magiamo’s is located in one of Grand Rapids beautifully restored old mansions.
Red and white checkered table linens, cozy fireplaces and a Tiffany glass window add to the charm and ambiance.
Our group ordered pastas, salads, seafood and chicken dishes to share.
All were very good… including the tiramisu and gelato for dessert!
Delicioso, Magiamo!

I have driven or rode my bike past Mangiamo! countless times since I have lived in Grand Rapids. I have always been interested in the charm of the big old house and the food. Mangiamo is one of the few Gilmore Collection restaurants that my fiancé’ and I haven’t tried, and it came highly recommended by my parents and co-​workers. We don’t go out for Italian very often, because it is a staple of our work week menu at home. That might change!
I called the hostess to inquire about reservations or seating in the lounge. She was very friendly and helpful, and since I didn’t know what time we would be arriving on that Saturday afternoon, she suggested that I call her at 3 PM the day of. She informed me that there we’re still plenty of tables available, and also gave me some details about the lounge. I prefer to sit in the lounge, or at the bar. I do like cocktails with my meal.
We arrived about 4:30, grabbed a seat at the bar, and ordered drinks. The hostesses and bartender were very friendly, and we recognized the bartender from our summer outings at The Blue water Grill. Nice! The trip to the bathroom was an awesome adventure, and the basement interior halls of this old house felt like a movie set. The high tops in the lounge filled up quickly as we ordered, and I was glad that we had arrived when we had!
First, we ordered the Two Napkin Garlic Bread. Awesome. Garlic 3 ways and such perfect seasoning. You must try this.
I had the Red Lasagna and my finance’ had the Grilled Chicken Cavatappi. My lasagna was maybe the best I have ever had, with big chunks of sausage in the red sauce, and a portion big enough for leftovers. Perfect, delicious cheese. My girl’s pasta was cooked perfectly, but she thought that it may have been a little under-​seasoned. She loved that it tasted very fresh. I rationalized that we tend to prefer a heavily seasoned plate at home, and when she re-​heated the leftovers (the portions we’re nice), she spiced it up a bit and really enjoyed it!
This was a great dining experience, and I recommended Mangiamo! to a couple I work with who we’re looking for a nice place to celebrate their anniversary. For the atmosphere, the food, and the beautiful old house, it is a great place to celebrate a special occasion. I hope I made the right call and that they love Mangiamo as much as we did.

We were promptly greeted and seated in the outdoor patio per our request. We’d been at the beach all day and weren’t feeling fresh or formal, so outdoor seating was perfect, although being in a beautifully maintained mansion setting, we would have felt welcome wherever due to the pleasant staff.
Our server was attentive and genuinely nice; not the sort whose smile is gone immediately on turning away from the table. I ordered a fish entrée that was prepared in parchment paper with fresh vegetables — mainly very thinly sliced zucchini, summer squash, and cherry tomatoes. It was every bit as good as my server claimed, with all the juices and flavor sealed in.
My daughter ordered the sherry honey glazed half duck and I could tell just from looking at it that it tasted divine. Thankfully she let me sample to confirm. Her entrée was served with potatoes, beets, peas, and fennel. The root vegetables were a nice, hearty touch.
At $ 29, hers was one of the most expensive items on the menu, but dang was it delicious with enough left for a second meal.
My fish was about $ 24 and very good, but being less heavy, I are it all. I wish there had been a more substantial side item as the veggies were not all that pronounced and were served beneath the fish in the parchment bag, so the plate itself didn’t look that appealing.
Although we were offered dessert/​coffee, neither of us had room for any more deliciousness on our tongues. We left full and very satisfied.
By the way, the lawn area is sprawling and geniuosly laid out with ladder ball, a football beckoning from the grass, other lawn games and a tented area so you really feel like you’ve been invited to the rich uncle’s estate for family reunion.
For those wishing to dine inside, the atmosphere is lovely and interesting. A good place to meander around, and the bar featured nice, unassuming live music.
The only things I would suggest for improvement is regular drink and appetizer specials for those wanting to hang out on a budget. I drank one mojito for $ 6.50 — reasonable but a fairly small serving.