I have been trying to go to Mister Mao for months. I finally got a group of five together and we went a week ago. Let me start by saying how excited I was to try this restaurant. Out of the five of us that went, 4 are very adventurous eaters and most of us have lived and traveled abroad. Let’s just say we are not averse to trying new and interesting things.The decor and vibe of the restaurant is fantastic, it is fun and shabby elegant. There is a tropical deco feel to the decor and we loved it. All the drinks we had were excellent and the server was lovely, but a bit distracted and forgetful.The food: the menu is interesting and broken up in sharing plates, bites, larger meals etc.. This always bothers me, and it has become the norm for so many restaurants. It just leads to confusion when ordering. I never know how much to order, who is eating what etc.. Anyway, the food all sounds interesting but none of us really knew what we were ordering due to the menu descriptions. We started with 5 shared plates, we ordered a variety of things, most of which I can not tell you what they were due to the complexity of the menu. Four of the 5 of us really enjoyed one of the plates_ I believe it had avocado and some citrus with some crunch. It was delicious. Two of the dishes none of us liked, just blah or fatty, not great flavors. We also ordered the pork dumplings because we had a fairly picky eater with us and everyone loves pork dumplings, right? Anyway, the dumplings had a great flavor but they were drowned in chili oil, the spice level was so high that our one diner who has lived in Africa and South America thought it was too spicy. I appreciate spice but not at the level where it unnecessarily drowns out all the flavors. By the end of the round of shared plates, only one plate was fully eaten. That is just weird that none of us liked the majority of the food. Our pickiest eater did not eat anything. At this point we decided to throw in the towel and get our check. So disappointing.My suggestion is to continue to have an interesting and eclectic menu, but to add a few dishes that are universally enjoyable. The menu is weirdly obscure, and I love that, but it needs more variety and a smattering of simpler dishes.I am going to give it another try because the atmosphere is brilliant, plus so many people have given it great reviews maybe I missed something. I just do not know how a group of five people were all so underwhelmed a equally disappointed to the point where we did not even eat what we ordered- I have never had this happen to me before. Just strange.
Amazing dinner at the chef’s table. Every course was better than the last. Incredible fusion of spicy and fresh with great presentation. Very tasty wines by the glass. Couldn’t be more pleased with the meal. Recommend highly!
Cannot recommend them high enough. Impeccable service, inventive cocktails, and truly delicious food. We ordered 5 share dishes for the two of us but could’ve gotten away with 4
Love love love! The atmosphere is amazing and so are the food and drinks. I had the Kashmiri Fried Chicken. It's spicy and so good! Prices are reasonable. The waitstaff is very attentive and knows their menu very well. I highly recommend.
A beautifully decorated and pleasant environment, yet a very high noise level. Had to yell to be heard at our table of 7 which may be a contributing factor to the noise level. Food, however, was amazing, inventive and delicious. I did not appreciate the wellness fund added to our check. Although it is only 3%, I think it should be optional. You're not given a choice or an explanation
Phenomenal food with a very attentive staff. All around fantastic experience. Would recommend without hesitation.The combinations were just so unique, it doesn’t feel like I possess heavy enough words to pass along just how creative and well executed this menu is. The fact that it changes is even more of a testament to the skill in that kitchen and the attention to detail on the FOH side compliments that skill beautifully. Drinks were delicious!One of the best meals I have had in this city. The most creative meal in this city that I have experienced by far. Mister Mao is an answer to a collective cry for exceptional restaurant talent.
Funky, refreshingly weird and very cool. Not sure what all I was eating, but all of it was great. Very creative and eclectic menu, starting off with a bourbon cocktail “Daddy Issues”. ??Moving on to “Things that bring us joy & hellfire heartburn”… I mean, come on… you gotta jump in and try some of that. We jumped in on Pani Puri. Still not sure what it was, but when you pour fiery mint water on little pastry things it’s gotta be good. We tried sever others… crab claws and escargot Wellington, both were awesome.We sat at the bar enjoying the wonderful conversation and service.Great place.
Enjoyed a nice dinner here with my non vegan husband. The menu is every changing but they always have something vegan on it. Items are not listed as vegan but our waiter was very knowledgeable on vegan items. I enjoyed the two vegan options I had and will be coming back to try more. Great atmosphere and overall lovely dinner.
It is places like this that make me wish I had the talent as a writer to convey just how much I loved my meal at Mister Mao. I do not say this lightly, but my dinner there was probably the best meal I have ever eaten.We ordered a little bit of everything, and each thing that arrived was better than the last. I think the menu tends to change from night to night, but I recommend the escargot Wellington, the fried chicken, the ginger salad, and the pork. The fried chicken in particular was seasoned with such an interesting combination of spices (and…pineapple??) that I just about lost it right there at the table. There are influences from a variety of cuisines throughout the menu, including of course the American South and several regions of Asia.The pictures I shared with this don’t capture much of it due to the mood lighting, but wow I simply cannot recommend a meal at Mister Mao emphatically enough.
Definitely a memorable food experience! Enjoyed food & drinks! We ordered alot off the menu.. sharable for sure! Staff were friendly & attentive.