Mangia Italian Bistro

Number disconnected today when I called today, guess they are closed

Best authentic Italian food in Lafayette! Generous portions, friendly wait staff, and delicious flavors. Will definitely visit again!

My personal favorite is the spaghetti Bolognese. It keeps me coming back. It’s a delicious perfectly spiced spaghetti. Again, huge portions so if you’re super hungry you can finish it but more than likely, you’ll have great leftovers.

Walked in and was greeted by the owner who is from Sicily. It was a Friday night and was completely empty. The place looked very cute and I don’t always trust empty places especially on a Friday night… We had Eggplant Parmesan, a salad, some Black Truffle Pasta, almond cake, tiramisu. I ate all of it. I felt like I’m in an Italian person’s home and the food was devine. The service was fantastic and the music soothing. I’m going to become a regular now.

Mussels appetizer was chewy, fishy, and inedible. Eggplant parm was mushy, soggy and cold in the center. And it was not cheap. I wouldn’t pay half of what we paid to eat there again. The service was good, but I am never going back.

Just enjoyed an amazing Friday night dinner at Mangia! There was absolutely no wait & the service was friendly. We had the lasagna and the manicotti with the tiramasu, all 3 were winners! This is real authentic italian food hidden away but worth discovering!

I went to this restaurant last night after seeing all 5 star reviews. Bad idea. Extremely misleading. I assume all workers gave it 5 stars when it opened.
I ordered the lasagna… It was good, but cold in the center. Not a big deal though because it was pretty good, I simply had them microwave it and that was that. However, lots of oil in the bottom of the plate which was kind of unpleasant to 1. Look at in my dinner plate and 2. Eat.
The kicker is what my boyfriend ordered — the veal parmesan, which is my absolute favorite Italian dish. It was AWFUL. so awful, he sent it back. Overly seasoned and the bottom layer of breading was thicker than the actual veal… Also extremely soggy and gritty. He then ordered the spaghetti bolognese (excuse the misspelling) which was saturated in oil. He separated the pasta in the bowl to form a valley to capture all excess oil — this oil rose halfway to the distance of the mound of noodles.
Not what you expect for a $ 20 entrée. The staff was nice and friendly. Not many people in the place. Nice atmosphere, but I’ll never be back.
Nash’s has excellent Italian food, as does Marcello’s. Skip this place, it’s a waste. You can find much better in Lafayette.

Great little place. Same chef from the old Italian Market.
Lasagna and spaghetti were great. They also have a small bar. Great date spot.

Man, I am on a roll. I had not had a decent Italian meal since I left Florida four years ago and here in the span of two weeks I stumble upon TWO sensational and authentic Italian places in Louisiana, one in Shreveport next to the Horseshoe, and one here in Lafayette, about five blocks from my house. I MUST be doing something right.
Like I wrote in another recent review, I am a total and complete Italian food snob. I grew up in NY, and over the years I’ve eaten in well over 100 Italian joints including little Italy’s in NY and several other cites, San Fran, Miami, DC, and a crapton of others. I’ve also eaten Italian food in Italy.
I had not had a decent — let alone good Italian meal in ages — and certainly not in Lafayette, LA. While Lafayette’s dining scene and quality of restaurants is very high, it has never had a good Italian place… that is about to change.
Mangia is owned by a guy from Sicily… that would be in Italy. He’s got the accent, the pedigree, and his food is sensational.
Warm homemade Italian bread served in a bag — delicious.
House salad — just right. Nice vinaigrette dressing,
Spaghetti Bolognese — ohh man. Where do I even begin? Can you say Italian food heaven? This beautiful (and large) bowl of pasta and sauce is drenched in a meat sauce which has beef and sausage bits in it. It has that beautiful golden oil in the sauce which indicates that it has some fat (and flavor) in it, and it is amazing. I do not get impressed easily by a red sauce — this stuff tastes like it was made by an Italian grandmother in the Bronx, it’s that good.
Nothing else needs to be said about Mangia except for you to go there now. If you know about this place and then go eat dinner at Alessi’s or (God forbid) Olive Garden, shame on you.
This is Italian food, and it’s the real McCoy, and it’s five blocks from my house. God is good.

.zing. There are no other words for this little restaurant which recently moved into La Pagua’s old location in the little strip mall with Baskin Robbins just off Johnston. The cook is from Sicily – an older man with silver hair who comes out of the kitchen periodically to gesture and explain and laugh. Not to be confused with the apparently quirky and capricious Italian owner of pane & vino downtown… The food was absolutely incredible – light and fresh and rich and flavorful all at once. The service was also excellent. This place definitely has two new regulars in my husband and myself.