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Mango Cafe (Closed) (Caribbean cuisine) $$

435 Hamilton Avenue, Palo Alto, 94034 (Directions)

650-324-9443

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Clean caribbean restaurant with exciting menu and charming interior.
Reviewer: Jason Total Reviews: 1040 Reviewed: 8/18/2004 Rating: 9 My photo gallery	Mango Cafe is one of the most laid back atmospheres we have had for lunch. With Bob Marley playing over the speakers, how can you hate this place? Beach pictures all over the wall, colorful mural on your left side, and a weird room that has red, yellow, green lights coverd by a aluminum room...party room :) I ordered the jerk chicken with rasta over rice. Im still not sure what rasta is but I think I like it... whatever it is. Im not sure if its a style, beans, or potato look-a-like-vegetable (if you know, shoot me an email). My order came with 2 hind legs and salad. Chicken is very tender, meat falls off the bone, tasty tangy marinade, and spicey...woohoo. If the spice isnt enough for you, choose from the 4 bottles of hot sauce on the table. Some good sht...on the hotness scale, Id give it a 7.5. Im coming back to Mango Cafe, its as easy as that. They have their own parking, service is lightening fast, prices are good, food is awesome, and dining is easy going. Dont miss out on Mango Cafe. Update 06.27.06 * Under new ownership, see updated review http://www.jatbar.com/detail.asp?num=735

Reviewer: Terry Total Reviews: 739 Reviewed: 8/17/2004 Rating: 9 My photo gallery	Sometimes you encounter a recommendation and its out of the ballpark. Mango Cafe was such a place. I was a little unsure what to expect. I figured Jamaican food would be a bunch of barbecue meat (a'la hawaiian food for example). Boy was I mistaken. I looked exclusively at the lunch menu and there were 3 vegetarian items on there alone! VERY nice. I stuck with the Rasta and Roti Bread. For $6.25 it was a pretty good deal, consisting mostly of beans and rice with vegetables mixed in. A side of thin griddled bread rounded it out nicely. The first thing that struck me was the quick service. My order arrived in under 3 minutes. What a welcome surprise! The dish itself was not very spicy, but the tables have 4 bottles of various sauces you can pour on your plates. I sampled them all and thus my dish became VERY spicy. It was perhaps a bit too spicy when all was said and done. Thus, I was happy to have ordered the Treasure Beach Smoothie. I was expecting a small glass like most places serve their smoothies in. Manga Cafe served theirs in a monstrous cup that would be better suited to 2-hand holding. (see image above). It was VERY tasty (non alcoholic) and was an excellent way to cool down during my spicy meal. I would recommend it and will order it next time I go there. Since it is off the main strip in Palo Alto, it didn't see as much lunch traffic so parking was easy and seating was plenty. Go with a group of friends and enjoy the warm food, the jammin Reggae tunes, and good company.

Reviewer: Vikram Total Reviews: 19 Reviewed: 8/17/2004 Rating: 9 My photo gallery	This is one of only two places for Jamaican food that I have been to in the bay area. The neighborhood is good because it's in Palo Alto. (The other one was in a rather shady neighborhood in oakland). There is a parking lot right behind. The interiors are nice with rattan seating. I have been here several times. My favorites dishes are: 1) Goat Curry over rice: This is frikkin spicy. I enjoy spicy food, but this one can be a little too much even for the seasoned. Ask for medium spicyness if you order this. 2) Jerk chicken: This is spicy too, but so tasty! It comes with a really tasty dip and some salad too. The food has always been great tasting, service has been good too. There is ample seating, though it may be a problem for really big groups. 9 it is!

Reviewer: Eddie Total Reviews: 47 Reviewed: 9/10/2004 Rating: 8 My photo gallery	We can't decide where to go for lunch and Mango Cafe happens to be on the cover of Jatbar.com, so off Palo Alto we go. It's a really relaxing place to eat lunch. Jamaica beach on the wall and Bob Marley playing over the speakers. Very good first impression. I ordered Jerked Joints for appetizers, a Curry chicken over white rice and a Boston bay smoothies. The smoothies arrived quickly, it's served in a huge fishbowl. First taste, I was kinda disappointed. It's not bad or anything but it felt weak. It supposed to be a mix of mango, orange, banana, but I can't hardly taste mango. What's up with that? The dishes came and it was good. The curry chicken was tasty and it's so tender that it fell apart when I try to pick it up with fork. Nicely done. The jerked joints appetizers also had an interesting taste, the menu said it's VERY SPICY, but it isn't so. It was not spicy at first bite but the spiciness came on after a while. The services was good and price was reasonable- a solid 8.

Reviewer: Julie Total Reviews: 46 Reviewed: 8/25/2004 Rating: 7 My photo gallery	I've been struggling with this review for some time. The food from Mango Cafe left little impression on me. I wouldn't neccessarily go back but I didn't want to give it a bad review because the food was probably good - just not my style. Everything about this place seemed to be about how spicy can you get - I can barely handle mild, so I didn't participate in the sampling of all the Hotter than Hell sauces on our table. I ordered the Chicken Roti. It was a chicken curry stew-like mixture wrapped up in a tortilla-like exterior. It tasted okay. I also ordered a baked plantain. I liked this mostly because you can't get that very often and I like plantains. The atmosphere of this place was great. Raggae coming through the speakers, plants hanging down everywhere, great art, and colored lightbulbs. There was also a mysterious door opening to a staircase. I wonder what happens through that door... I want to recommend this restarant to anyone who likes spicy food and a fun atmosphere. Also, I want to recommend everyone give it a try and form their own opinion because my opinion should hold little weight in the matter of Mango Cafe's tasty-ness.


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