Mandina's Restaurant

Mandina's never disappoints. Lived in the area for many years and was revisiting just to have good food.Fried oysters and shrimp were perfection. The Leidenheimer's toasted bread is like Angel's wings. Onion rings could've used a little salt, but were still good.One of our party had the open face barbecue shrimp poboy and said it was amazing.Our waitress was delightful - could not have asked for better service.We recommend this restaurant to everyone we know visiting New Orleans.

I just love Madina's. It captures the true soul of New Orleans. Not fancy, not low end... it's the sweet spot that makes for a great dining experience.Located on Canal Street in Mid-City this restaurant has been a family style mainstay for a very long time, yet continues to maintain consistent quality.You can't miss the place based on its vibrant pink facade. There's a small parking lot next to it, and be sure to arrive early as there are no reservations and the wait time can be long. This place is popular with locals, and they get a good number of informed tourists too.We arrived early for dinner, 5:45, and seated right away. The atmosphere is cozy and down home. Comfortable for comfort food.I ordered a cup of gumbo that was awesome, rich and delicious with all the right ingredients for my taste, including a crab claw. YUM!We got bread and it was the perfect accompaniment.For my entree I had catfish with shrimp Creole on top... oh my gosh, so good. It was a substantial portion and although catfish is not my favorite fish, this was absolutely perfect in preparation and taste.I washed it down with a local draft IPA beer. It was all good and our server was absolutely delightful, helpful and professional.I always look forward to coming here, again and again.

Great service from when we entered, seated, and ordered. The food was great. I had a bowl of seafood gumbo and it was loaded with shrimp and crab. As an addition there were 2 crab carcass in the gumbo for flavor. It was one of the best gumbos I've eaten. I also ordered a shrimp salad and it was very very good. Maybe a little more mayonnaise than it needed but delicious either way. I'll go back again to test out other seafood and Italian dishes.

We waited a while. Our server was the best part of the meal to me. So friendly and quick. The crab claws were yummy but not a ton of flavor. The chicken parm was average to me. We got a wedge salad and it was delish, but just too much dressing! I didn't have the rest of the food. Good atmosphere, feels like a real neighborhood spot with charm.

Excellent sandwiches. Also had the crab claw appetizer, was excellent. Service was prompt and friendly.

We actually ended up here having tried to come somewhere around the corner with a long wait, and boy was i glad! The restaurant is definitely old time, with most all of the clientele being much older, and the dishes all being old southern comfort food. The portions were absolutely huge, and everything was so delicious! The restaurant was a good size and very bright with memorabilia of it's time in New Orleans all over. We had some sandwiches and I had a pasta dish, and again the portions were incredibly large, but that meant we all got to try each other's food and I'm so glad! My pasta dish was covered in shrimp and very well seasoned, my husband's shrimp po boy was ginormous and delicious, and my parent's muffaletta was definitely the star of the meal. Get out of bourbon street and the French quarter and try this delicious place next time you're in town!

Fast service and our food came out quickly as well. If you're ordering anything as a starter, make it the crab fingers! They look like some kind of alien concoction, but they are seriously so good! Either withhold eating the complimentary bread or ask for extra so you can dunk it directly in the sauce!I love that their muffuletta comes with whole olives vs chopped - it added a different type of texture to the sandwich. Lastly, my catfish with gravy was massive and so delicious! I want to try the catfish almondine next time. I swapped my fries for a side salad - if you do this, be sure to ask for dressing on the side because my salad was dripping in dressing and could've used a softer hand.

Mandinas is a local institution and its busy no matter when you go.They have a little of everything on the menu from seafood to steaks to italian.Staff was all very friendly as were the locals.I had the meatballs with spaghetti. The meatballs are really good. But the sauce is just wonderful. Silky, smooth and somehow simple and complex at the same time.The white chocolate bread pudding was also great. But the cheesecake was quite a bit different than the New York style we love so much that we just didnt like it as much.Everyone at the table enjoyed their food and we all left full and happy.

The service was excellent as was most of the food. The Catfish almondine and poboys were the group favorites. The restaurant was just a short trolley ride away, so it was very convenient to get to. I would recommend this place to anyone wanting to experience authentic New Orleans cuisine.

Excellent old timey NOLA eatery with traditional Italian and local specialties. I had a special combo our lovely server suggested (not on menu) of Turtle soup and a small Po Boy lunch, all extremely tasty. It was a great way to sample without ordering too much.