So, Sunday night, my girlfriend and I decided to check out the Mambo Lounge, a relatively new addition to the Danforth strip (close to Broadview).   Our first impression on entering the Lounge was a collective ‘ahhhhh’.   The atmosphere was incredibly relaxing and the staff was extremely courteous and attentive–they were able to memorize our 8 dish Tapas order without  need for paper and pen–and the intriguing menu welcomed us.   We both chose the 21 dollar Tapas option, which provides a generous 4 Tapas dishes.

We placed our order and waited in suspense for our dishes to arrive.   The waiter returned with our preliminary drinks,  an ice tea for me and some water for my girlfriend.  At this point,  something unexpected happened.  The waiter slipped forward and literally threw–not dropped, not placed on the table and tipped it over–but THREW this cool and refreshing ice tea meant for me into the waiting face of my girlfriend.   A collective gasp rippled through the patio crowd and an immediate ‘Oh myyy GOD’ escaped the lips of a concerned patron sitting directly behind me.  The the patio went silent.  The waiters’ face burned with embarrassment and he hung his head in dismay–for what seemed like 10 full minutes.   Breaking the silence, a neighbouring patron whispered to her dinner partner “she’s going to need a Valium after that one.”   Luckily, my better half took it in stride.  She gave a wide smile and consoled the waiter with a “don’t worry, I needed to cool off anyway.”

ensalada de langosta

Now, for me, this posed an interesting dilemma–as well as a great opportunity for the restaurant to prove itself as a truly triumphant establishment all around.  Everyone makes mistakes, that’s understandable.  It’s how you remedy those mistakes that is truly important.  To us, it really was no big deal, but one can understand that they felt an obligation to do right by us.

Our food began to arrive and our relaxation resumed.   First, the Calamari and Chorizo both which were on-point.   Each time a new dish came out, the waiter would apologize profusely all over again.   A couple of Mojitos arrived, delivered on-the-house, which were excellent.

ropa vieja

I must say, all the food was delicious and interesting.  I really enjoyed the combination of sweet, savory and spicy.  If you enjoy flavorful food, you will find the Mambo Lounge hits the mark.  With regard to the whole ice tea debacle, they made good by bringing out 2 extra Tapas plates, as well as the 2 Mojitos.  I thought that cleared it all up, coupled with the fact that everything else throughout the night was perfect.

I would highly recommend this place.  Reasonable prices,  great food and staff that understands how to band-aid the worst of situations.

aji rellenos