Mancuso's Restaurant

We decided on Mancuso's for dinner because it is close to Phoenix Symphony Hall. It can be a little tricky to find. When you find the address, you have to go up the stairs and then around the building in front to find it. Of course, because it's downtown, parking can be a little hard to find. There is a parking garage, but we parked on the street around the corner. The restaurant itself is lovely. I was surprised that it was so empty at 6:00 on a Friday evening. There is a separate bar off to the side, a main dining room, and then another room off the side with tables and white tablecloths. I really liked the touch of a big table lamp and an arrangement of mirrors and old photos. We started with cocktails and escargot. The escargot was loaded with delicious, garlicky butter. We got a basket of bread, which was fantastic for dipping in the garlic butter. They do bring balsamic and olive oil if you prefer to dip your bread in that. I had the rigatoni Bolognese, which was good. Hubby had the linguine in white clam sauce. There were tons of clams and it was absolutely delicious.We had a wonderful, attentive server. He boxed our food up for us at the end of the evening, which is touch I always appreciate.

This was my first time coming to this restaurant and walking in, I had a great feeling about it and the service was good! My waiter brought out fresh bread that was really good and told me all the specials. I started with oysters and wasn't thrilled with them. They were so big that it was hard to eat plus nearly all of them had little bits of shell in them. For my main I had the 6oz filet with brussel sprouts and gorgonzola potatoes. They were quite underwhelming. The steak was cooked perfectly but this whole dish was lacking flavor. The service and the feel of the restaurant is great but the food just wasn't it for me.

I'm leaving this review in the spirit of being constructive and not to degrade. Just so disappointed that I felt compelled to do so. I went in with a friend last night , we were downtown for a concert and had reservations. We were promptly sat. I do not recall the servers name, but he was a young guy and did a good job, no complaints there. If we needed anything, he was quick. I just have to comment on the meal because I have always put this place on a pedestal, the food here has always been top notch. (And I'm Italian, grew up in Italian house with mom that can cook, I can cook and I know good Italian food). Last night was a stark contrast to what I remember, as I've been here numerous times. I ordered the wedge salad first. There was hardly any dressing on it, I asked for more and got watered down ranch. :( I ate it cause it's a $14 salad but it was meh. For dinner I ordered the gnocchi with meatballs. I got two sauces with it. The Alfredo and Marinara. They did a half/half on the plate. The gnocchi was overcooked, super soft and fluffy. Just not what I expected at all. The Marinara was extremely sweet. No idea what they put in it to make it that sweet but it ruined it for me. And then to top it off, the sauce was lukewarm. The meatballs weren't bad. Tight and a little tough but tasted good. My friend got the shrimp linguine and liked it. We also ordered drinks, I got two and they were so weak I barely tasted the alcohol. I'm positive they watered them down. My friend got two gin and tonics. $90 for 4 cocktails, overpriced!. Could barely detect the alcohol in them. Neither of us got dessert cause we were in a hurry to get to the concert. The bill was $200. I just wasn't blown away like I usually am. I'm not saying I will never go back, but I'm disenchanted with them now. The quality of that meal was just NOTHING as I remember. I am giving 3 stars because I know this place can do way better.

Met up with friends to go to a show downtown Phoenix and we wanted to get dinner before the show and picked Mancuso's. Its been in the valley for 40 years and this was my 1st time there. We had reservations so we were shown to our table right away.The meal starts out with bread, which was delish, For the meal I went with chicken marsala. The was perfectly cooked chicken breast in a wine sauce with button mushrooms paired angle hair pasta and seasoned green beans. The table also shared a bottle of wine.This was a great meal, service was a great. Can't believe it was my 1st time there, but it won't be my last!

Parking is a bit of a challenge if you're not used to the area, so research accordingly.We started off with some free garlic bread, very nice. Crispy outside, soft on the inside. For dipping, they had this cool jug with two pour spouts: one side was for the extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I wouldn't mind one of those in my kitchen! The lump crab salad was quite nice with mixed greens, hearts of palm, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, avocados, asparagus, and the basil dressing. The crab meat was nice size, good lumps.Unfortunately, the entrees did not impress us. The NY strip steak was ordinary at best. It needed more seasoning, needed to be cooked a little more. We did ask for medium rare, and this was closer to rare. The menu said it was Argentine beef. I've been to Argentina, and this tasted a like a steak I would get at at your average casual restaurant. It wasn't worth the $36, it was worth maybe half that price. The Milanese pork chop was better, with a nice bread crumb coating on the outside. The vegetables were undercooked and they had a load of garlic. I mean I love garlic, but it was really pronounced. The gorgonzola mashed potatoes were fine as well. We were able to get a nice bottle of Malbec for $42 though, so at least they do have a nice variety of wines for different prices as well.

Holy Moly... we're extremely happy with each and every visit. This has become our fave place for traditional Italian in the Valley. Sure, there's a lot of Italian eateries, but very few with the tasty Mamma Mia feeling when you bite into there food. From Veal Marsal (Wow!) to their Caesar Salad with Mushrooms to the Meatball Risotto you can't go wrong. Traditional, tasty, and traditional. Oh, did I mention their fantastic Garlic Bread. This is easily anybody's, any Foodie's Italian eating hole... come on down and Manga!

We were 6, and everyones dish was excellent. We started with Calamari and Brochette and i had the arugula beet salad, all terrific. For the main courses, we had the lamb chops, pork chops, fettuccini and Bolognese. Again all terrific. We then had desserts from a variety on a dessert cart. I have to say one of my most enjoyable dinners, everything superb from start to finish.One negative note they added a 20% gratuity to the bill, common for a party of 6, but they didn't mention it or tell us, lucky someone in our party looked at the bill.

Food was amazing, ambience a 10, service a 10 and dessert legit!! A lovely place to enjoy quality Italian food!!!

This place is great for a date night of family dinner. I love the second floor location. The interior is pretty. Service was great. Family and kid friendly. To start we had the lobster bisque which I thoroughly enjoyed. So creamy and tasty. My husband had the potato spinach soup. Which he enjoyed as well. They brought out a bread basket which was so warm, fresh and fluffy. My main course this time was the chicken marsala. I wasn't in love with it. But their food is great regardless. To end the night we had tiramisu of course and that was delicious. My husband enjoyed his entree as well.

We made reservations for 10. We ended up having 12 and they were able to add two chairs. We were seated in a lovely back room with windows and lots of light. The temperature was just right; not too cold or too hot. Everyone enjoyed their meals and the portions were decent.