Mangu Dominican Kitchen

So saddened of its vanishment. They ran out of their signature mangu when I went so I purposely dashed here out of my way to order 2 heaping boxes of their mangu before I had to go to the airport to leave NYC. So happy I got it through customs and brought it all the way across the country for my family to discover…

3.5 stars. It’s a shame that this place closed. The food here was always a respite from cold cut sandwiches (yes, I said it. I get tired of sandwiches sometimes), pizzas, and Chinese food. Dominican food at Mangu was delicious. The portions were large and the food was authentic.
If Mangu is ever resurrected, make sure to get sweet plantains and oxtail. The fish is also very delicious. But knowing NYC, and Midtown rents/​leases, I think this will be the last of Mangu we will ever see. SIGH

I don’t know if I can agree with the place refered to as the best place to get oxtail in Manhattan. I go to the Bronx all the time and get it way cheaper. It was very pricey here and portions were not that huge for full meals of $ 10 and $ 11.50 for lunch. I only like getting the rotisserie chicken by itself really. I was here about 5 times and sad they closed because I never redeemed an offer for a free soda or free whatever it was. Tres Leches cake I would not recommend. It was not good, at least last time I got it, could not even eat half of it. I would say check it out at least once but it appears they have just been put out of business. I did like the rice and beans here.

RIP Mangu. You briefly held the title of Midtown East’s best oxtail and now you’re gone.

I wish they had a Mangu location in Las Vegas. I would go at least once a week. I’m a bit bias because I’m #Dominican and I miss Dominican food so finding this place while traveling to NY was a happy surprise. In terms of the food, I had the rabo (oxtail) with white rice, white beans and fried sweat plantains. As expected, everything was delicious and authentic. I felt like I was sitting in my mother’s kitchen. The staff was friendly, speedy and accommodating. After I was done eating, I got back in line and order more food to-​go just in case I couldn’t make it back during my trip. Magu Dominican Kitchen is the real deal and if you ever want to open a franchise in Las Vegas let me know :-)
I’m only giving it ⁴⁄₅ stars because the restaurant is very tiny and there’s very little room to sit. You might find yourself eating outside. Also my empanadas tasted like they had been sitting there for a while. They were still good though :-)

Got to work a little late so I ended up grabbing a late lunch. I walked around and found this place. It was $ 10.50 for lunch which is downtown price in midtown. They didn’t give a large amount of food which made me not like the price more. I finally got back to the office and took a bite of the food — COLD. the rice was COLD, not room temperature but cold. The chicken was room temperature. The only consoling part of the meal was that the sweet plantains were good (which is why I gave it 2 stars).

Walked by Mangu and couldn’t believe there was a Dominican food place by work. Ordered the traditional breakfast (mangu, salami, queso frito, huevo frito) and was disappointed that the mangu was super dry, and the cebollas barely tasted like anything. I told the girl I wanted everything and I got back to the office… no eggs. The queso and salami were great, but the midtown prices were not. I am from DR born and raised (not Dominican York) so I know very well what it should taste like, hopefully they improve.

Very Good food! I had breakfast for Lunch, (mangu with eggs and salami.) The mangu was soft, eggs were yummy, and salami was just right. it was not bad at all.
The place is a little small but if your on the go, this is the place for you. The menu is all set so there is not much to think of. Makes it feel like a Dominican Chipotle lol. Will come again.

Beef stew tasted almost like my mom’s! Yum

Came here for lunch a few times.
HUGE portions. I’ve only ever gotten the lunch special twice because it’d too much for me to eat and I ended up throwing out half of it both times. Not because of the flavor though. Always delicious. Started to order instead plantains (best I’ve ever had save for home-​cooked ones) and a couple of empanadas. Only place in the area to get either of those options.
Service is always a disaster. Especially during the lunchtime rush, lines out the door. The people behind the counter are testy and MUCH friendlier to people who speak Spanish. But hey, whatever gets me my food.
Do appreciate for introducing me to the concept of mangu and Dominican breakfast, which I am extremely grateful for, though I have never tried theirs.

Nice addition to the midtown east options. I was having one of those days here a sandwich or salad just wouldn’t cut it. In seek of a flavorful alternative, I stumbled upon Mangu online. It was perfectly heavy for that day, but definitely couldn’t be an everyday go to spot for me. I ordered the ribs. They were pretty tender and easily came off the bones. These were not saucy ribs, in case you were wondering. The meals come with 2 sides so I got the yellow rice and sweet plantains. There is no seating area at Mangu, so it’s purely for pick-​up only. I’m not sure what the peak time is, but the place is small, so the does go out the door from time to time. Don’t be alarmed. It does move (though I am convinced that the line, and ordering process could be far more efficient).
I unwilling absolutely go back with full knowledge that I’ll want to take a nap after my heavy lunch.

It was a Thursday, so I ordered from the Thursday specials menu for lunch.
Rice & Beans, plus sweet plantains, plus pork stew, all for $ 9.50 after tax. A little pricey for lunch, and the food was awful.
The rice and beans was bland, and was a big portion. The sweet plantains were black, and consisted of two pieces. The pork stew was basically salty, and that’s it.
I was so disappointed with this place. The people working there were very nice, though.

This is a good Midtown East lunch spot for those craving Caribbean style food. This is my first time eating «Dominican» food, and I liked it. Although, I have to say that the flavors tasted exactly the same as my few Cuban cuisine experiences. Maybe the 2 cuisines really are that similar?
At Mangu, I ordered roasted pork over yellow rice with red beans & a side of fried plantains. I poured their green sauce all over it and that helped. The dish overall could’ve used a little more saucieness, I’m thinking the rice may have been a bit dry. The pork quality was pretty good although possibly a little too much fatty spots that i had to cut around and a few hard texture spots too. The fried plantains were delicious… and healthy right? :)
In general I was satisfied with the meal — it was good, not great.

Oh Mangu… you have made of this wide-​eyed, starving mess a very happy Dominican lil’ girl!
So I’m sitting at my desk with my co-​worker… mouth watering over a distant dream of an authentic Dominican breakfast. When all of a sudden A LIGHT GOES OFF in my head: GOOGLE DOMINICAN RESTAURANTS NEAR GRAND CENTRAL STATION!
This is New York for God sakes!!! there has to be at least ONE in the area, I told her.
…and then BAM!!! There it was… like the doors of heaven opened up.

This is a midtown lunch spot for people craving Spanish food. I think NYC is in a state of disarray because there is not one authentic Puerto Rican or Dominican take out restaurant around here. There used to be El Caribe around 5^th avenue in the 30s but then they shut down.
Mangu panders. Its pretty good for midtown but an imposture if you are used to the real deal. Its way better than Sophie’s though. So if you are craving Latin-​Carribean food just come here and forget Sophie’s which is an embarassment.
What true Cuban, Puerto Rican or Dominican would take the crispy skin off their pernil. I would embarass Sophie’s with my Pernil and I’m not even Latino. If you don’t believe me this is my Chinese roast pig that I made in the oven.
If you stuff it with garlic and rub it with a mojo and salt, then flip it skin side down two hours into cooking the Chinese style roast pig becomes Puerto Rican pernil. The skin cooks in its own fat as soon as you flip it over and it ends up chicharrone style instead of puffy crispy skin style the Chinese way.
That said its midtown its going to be pricier if you have to have your Latin Carribean food and can’t go to an outer borough to get it you could do worse than visiting this location.

The food at Mangu is decent, don’t get me wrong. But being Dominican American and knowing the cuisine well I can tell you that they don’t really cater to «Dominicans» or any other Nationality that knows the cuisine and flavor. It’s good for a home cooked meal fix but not a place I’d go to often.
I had the Mangu bf with eggs, cheese, onions, and salami. All ingredients I have at home. lol
Another time I visted I had a rotisserie chicken with rice, beans and a green salad. Although the food was good, the green sauce they gave e to put on the chicken was the best part. I love e some condiments.
The price at Mangu is pretty steep for the food and the portions could be better. For the price of a lunch meal at Mangu, I can get the same in way larger portions Uptown.
It’s the perfect spot for those of you looking for some Dominican food and can’t get it close to where you live. For me it’s just… blah.

I’ll start off this review by saying I came for a late lunch (2:45pm), so food I was served probably wasn’t as fresh as it could have been if I had come earlier.
I had a google offer for Mangu that was about to expire, so I headed over there for lunch today to use it. The place is very small, but brightly colored and they had a counter for eating in. I selected the rice with vegetables, the Dominican style meatballs and the sweet fried plantains.
They filled up the main compartment of my tray with rice. A TON of rice. And the «vegetables» were a few flecks on peas, corn and carrot here and there. The rice was decent, but I was hoping for more veggies. They gave me a total of 4 2-​inch-​diameter meatballs, which were disappointingly dry. They came with a bit of sauce though, which helped if I cut them up and dipped them in the juice before eating them. I was definitely underwhelmed by them. The plantains were the redeeming part of the dish, but I feel it’s a little hard to mess those up. The meal came with 3 thick slices, which was disappointing at first, but I was satisfied after eating what they gave me.
The service was great. The lady who filled up my tray and the cashier were both very pleasant. There’s no reason why I wouldn’t come back, but at the same time there wasn’t really anything that made me want to return either.

hmmm… what to do for lunch today? I want to try something new, but what? I begin to head toward my usual Chinese take out place, but then I spot Mangu. «Hold up, hold up — haven’t you always wanted to give this place a shot?», I ask myself. Indeed. So I cross the street with excitement, and start scanning the menu placed out front. They have daily and everyday specials for you to choose from. For the daily specials, you get to choose a meat, a side, and an extra side — all for $ 8.75. Sounds good. I make my decision and get in line. When you get inside, you can see all of your choices through a clear glass window with labels telling you what each item is.
When it’s my turn, I order the meatballs (my choice of meat), the white rice & black beans (my side choice), and the fried plantains (my extra side choice). I ask them to add gravy to my meatballs, a tip I picked up from the customers in front of me. (One of them ordered mangu (mashed plaintain) as their side choice, and also requested some gravy sauce on top.) So, note to self — if you want some gravy sauce with it, go ahead and ask.
I’ve just finished my meal. Verdict? GUILTY — as in I am guilty for finishing all of my food. It was absolutely fantastic! The meatballs were seasoned and very tasty, and went well with the rice and beans. The fried plantains — oh the fried plantains… such sweet, sweet goodness…
TIP: If you ever go into some place new, take some time to notice the other people in line. Are they repeat customers? Do they seem to know what they’re doing? Listen to what they order, and how they order — you’ll be glad you did.

3 ½ stars.
I’m ALWAYS on the search for new restaurants, places that my tummy hasn’t been harassed by and isn’t sick of at this point. And working in the Grand Central/​beginning of Midtown East area doesn’t really help much either. Luckily on today’s lunch break I found this new joint!
Initially I was hesitant to go in, because 1) though you can’t go wrong with rice and beans, I was really on a search for something miraculously new and 2) I had already come across this profile while searching Unilocal one day and read about pretty high prices. So I said «Fcuk it» and just went inside.
They have a rotating menu with staples that change every day. I went in on a Friday and decided to play it safe with a ¼ chicken, which comes with either white or yellow rice with veggies and an additional side. I chose maduras (sweet plantains) for my additional side. They give you the black beans on the side and the infamous green sauce and another white/​cream colored sauce. Once I got back to the office, I dug right in.
Chicken was flavorful, a lil bit salty, but still good. The rice was rice and they were stingy on the sweet plantains. they gave me 3 small pieces! I noticed Sophie’s is the same way with their plantains as well but I just don’t get it. It’s like plantains are not in abundance, but whatever. As a person who likes condiments, the sauces, though quite salty, were a great addition. No need to talk about the green sauce. What I really want to know is what the white/​cream colored sauce is/​made of? It was definitely salty but I couldn’t stop using it. :P (Note: My parents have high blood pressure so I grew up on a low sodium diet).
Service, in terms of how long I waited was about average, but the people behind the counter were definitely nice. If I ever go back and ask about the sauce or have any other questions I’m sure they’ll happily respond. The place is pretty small and if an average Midtown lunch crowd forms there might be a small problem with fitting everyone. They do have a table lined up against the display window and 3 or 4 chairs if you want to eat in house.
Overall, I’m at a ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ chance of going back. Pricing is definitely holding me back. My meal total came out to just over $ 9. Seems about equal to Sophie’s but Sophie’s is also right around the corner from me and I don’t even go there very often. After asking my Dominican friend what mangu actually is, I just might be back to give that a try. If you’re looking for something new in the neighborhood, I’d say give it a try at least once.

im a fan of the flavors but not of prices.
The first time, they had a mess and it cost me 9 bucks for rice, beans and meat. the second time they were more organized but had to pay 10 bucks for mangu with meat and a bit of salad.
The food has great flavors, the mangu with red onion oil is delish, so is the pollo azado (rotisserie chicken) and the gallina stew.
Size of food is decent, but more meat needs to be on the plate for 8 – 10 dollars.
will try it one more time and see whats new.