Mingo

Disclaimer: I just joined Unilocal and I’m catching up on my reviews!
What an overrated place to eat! My boyfriend and I came here for our anniversary dinner, thinking it looked «fancy» enough for our type occasion. Not too big a deal, but not super casual either. Wish we chose a different restaurant, and we did… But I’ll come back to that later.
The food is way expensive for what it is, the flavors were not memorable, and their portion to price ratio is sooo off. We left hungry and not impressed. So much so, that we went next door almost laughing at how ridiculous our situation was and filled our stomachs with sushi at Mio Sushi. Yup, we had a second dinner after our first dinner because it was so unsatisfying. And on sushi, no less. Same price and way better food, quality and quantity.
Maybe this place would be better if it wasn’t so snobby and their food was more filling for the price… I’d eat here again if someone else was paying for it.

I’m extremely unhappy. Actually walked away from the table without even ordering. I timed on my phone (during an empty happy hour time, which should have been my first tip off) that we sat not approached by a waiter after getting given our water for over 6 minutes. And this was watching a bartender run food continuously to I assume her managers during their lunch to dinner change over. So the kitchen was working, there were staff present, but service to customers? Not really. I’ll give the bartender points — she did tell us to let her know if we wanted drinks and then didn’t stop in at all during the time we were there.
When a couple sits with their napkins on their laps for over 5 minutes twiddling their thumbs it’s a decent hint that they are ready to order, especially as they look around trying to make eye contact with passing by staff. What a turn off.

Want some pasta, try this place. Specials every night, ravioli and other pasta dishes.
Dinner by myself at the bar. I orders the Pinot and wild mushroom pasta with a sherry cream sauce. Fantastic dish.
The bartender made sure I had everything I needed.
Looking for a good meal in the Beaverton area, this is the place.

Seriously? Your signature dinner, Penne al Sugo di Carne, is a large plate of ordinary pasta with about 1– 2 tbsp of shredded meat? Think Chef Boyardee. Spouse had the driest halibut ever. We couldn’t even think of a reason to take them home.

We’ve given Mingo three chances now, and have been underwhelmed all three. First off, the service is… odd. Maybe it’s just the server we had, but all three times, he neglected to tell us there was a kids’ menu available, despite detailing the kids’ menu to the other tables with kids around us. My seven year old daughter is very obviously a child. Not that we necessarily WANTED a kids’ menu, but it was puzzling to us that we weren’t given the option.
We’ve tried the majority of the apps and found them all bland and disappointing– except for the octopus, which was so oversauced that it was way too sweet. The rice balls are completely flavorless. I ordered the Mingo salad last night and found it so boring that I stopped eating halfway through. $ 10 for a plate full of lettuce with a bit of romano cheese and croutons on it and a flavorless dressing is insane.
On to the entrée last night: gnocchi. Or, rather, what they choose to call gnocchi. What they served me most definitely wasn’t gnocchi; it appeared that they had ladled their potato mixture onto a baking sheet, cooked it, then cut it up into squares. They weren’t individual potato dumplings, which is pretty much the definition of gnocchi. They tasted like tater tots.
Desserts are uninspired and arrive waaaaay too quickly, if you know what I mean.
The prices for the quality of food you receive are way out of line. The ambiance and appearance of the restaurant are great, which is probably what brought us back three times. I’m disappointed, because we REALLY wanted to like this place; the location is great. But the service and quality of food is extremely lacking for the price.

Uncomfortable, poorly designed, patio seating, understaffed, odd, tryin too hard menu specials. Pizza was OK, but more an appetizer than an entrée.
Will not go back.

Will never dine here again! The waiter was a stuck up queen and the owner was even worse. The food was mediocre at best and the prices were ridiculous high. Seems the charge the patrons for the rudeness of the staff. Worse dining experience of my life. DO NOT PATRONIZE THIS SH! T HOLE!

Overpriced and pretentious.
I ordered the Penne el Sugo (braised beef penne dish). The penne was tough and the beef was even tougher. I also ordered a «kids» penne with marina sauce that was $ 9, wowser, expensive and was the same quality as Chef Boy-​Ar-​Dee.
We were celebrating a birthday for a party of 21 and wanted to serve cake that was purchased elsewhere, we were told that we would have to pay $ 2 per plate to have our own cake served at the restaurant. Talk about being nickel and dimed.
The service was mediocre. If you are expecting to be treated as a valued customer, you’ve come to the wrong place. There are so many restaurants in the area, this place is not worth it.

The Mingo Salad and fresh ravioli was awesome! Next time I will time my visit around happy hour, looks like a delicious frugal offering!!!

We have been to Mingo’s several times and I have always found myself wishing I could try more on the menu than I could possibly manage, with so many delicious options! A combination of salad/​small plates is often a good option — the Mingo Caesar-​like romaine salad is fresh and tasty, the Cicchetti tapas and octopus appetizers are delicious and well made (the octopus of a very tender texture). Our party of four ordered different desserts so we could each sample various ones; my favorite is the cannoli. My European husband loved the fruit crisp, as it was not overly sweet as so many other American fruit desserts tend to be. I did find the panna cotta to be overly sweet for my taste.
Staff members have always been friendly and welcoming, although sometimes service can be a bit slow (attending to water glasses, for example). Still, this is one of our favorite visits in the somewhat culinary desert of Beaverton.

I was there tonight for the concert with a bunch of friends! I used the bathroom several times as we bought wine from your outside area but I was told that I needed to go outside to the porta potty since I was not buying dinner in the restaurant! I have spent hundreds if not thousands of dollars in your restaurant and I thought the comment was very rude! At the time the porta potty’s outside were no longer available so I immediately left and went home!
Several years ago a large group of us was there for a friends milestone birthday and I read an article about your co-​worker Suzie who was going through cancer. I rallied the troups that night and we raised hundreds of dollars to contribute to her. Excuse me for using your bathroom! :(
Cindy

Just had a beautiful dinner here. The pasta with braised beef in Chianti was outstanding –as it was last year when I visited. And I love the intelligent wine selection. I do not give 5stars easily.
A

We visited Mingo last evening and had a wonderful time! We arrived around 7 on a Thursday evening not expecting it to be busy but we were surprised that the place was full. So make a reservation on a weekday too. We ended up waiting less than 10 minute and the hostess accommodated our needs.
Food is pricey but really delicious. We tried the whole wheat vegetarian pizza and the gnocchi small plate. Both were nicely done and tasted great.
Good selection of wine and a few cocktails as well. Didn’t have enough room to try dessert.
Location is good as it opens up to Beaverton Central MAX station with a nice area for kids to play. Will definitely come back to try the rest of the menu!

You can’t really put a Gucci price tag on a Coach purse and call it high end designer.
Beware of the drinks. While they are decent in spirits, the price point would kill you. My friends have mixed drinks, lets say they were to the point of being lush and happy. Nobody was smiling on their way to our next destination after paying an exorbitant amount which ¾ of it accounts for the fruity drinks.
I LOL’d, cried and commiserate deep inside. I feel bad for their bleeding wallets. Well, wasn’t that sobering or what?!
Oh wait, they got my order drink wrong. TWICE. It’s a simple cider. And definitely not PBR.
The food is decent to good. I guess when you’re the only decent restaurant in THE ROUND, you can hike up the price to your liking. I had the Penne al Sugo di Carne, the beef is tasty but definitely chewy on some parts. That is not braised well or I got the last night’s burnt side/​end part.
As they say most of the time, is it worth it? I say no. Go buy some other messenger bag that does have the flash and substance. Go buy something that has craftsmanship and design that compliments your personality.
Go eat somewhere if you can. And we have gems in Beaverton.

The Thai have a saying, «Same Same, But Different!» Same Same in name only.
Service: Meh.
Food: Kinda terrible — but unapologetically so.
Cost: At some point you’ve got to order what you think will be a half-​way decent meal and put your faith in owners’ price points.
Overall: Those two shrimp cost $ 12.00 each — or — If I knew rabbit tasted like this I would have stayed home.
Seriously? I don’t have time for this.

Came for a workk holiday party. Everything was delicious! We the antipasto, the crespelle (ridiculously good for those who are vegans), polpo, spedini, the chef choice of lamb was falling of the bone delicious. I also had the pancotta which was to die for! Service was exceptional. Choices was good. Taste was ridiciously good. Wine/​Beverage choices are great as well. Value was exceptional. Will definitely return!
Would be good for a date night.
Don’t be afraid of the location as it is in a strip mall area. It’s great spot!

Definitely the finest Italian restaurant in Beaverton. The menu changes around once in two months but I have yet to order something I didn’t like :)
And oh! If you have a sweet tooth, I highly recommend the Limoncello before you leave!
As they say in italiano: Mangiamo!

Portland BLT review:
Fancy place for a BLT, eh? You know it’s a fancy place when the menu link on their website is buried at the bottom of the page. The place is so good, you don’t even need to look at the menu. Fancy price too — $ 12.00 — but this BLT came with pancetta!
For the record, this was a BLAT. Oops… more technically, a PLAT. I love avocado, but I’m not sure I need on my BLT. Although creamy, it does high-​jack flavor away from the rest of the goodness. Update: I’m sure the avocado is unnecessary.
The pancetta was delicious, but between it and the avocado, the taste of the tomato went missing. The romaine was definitely crunchy and yummy. All that Italian goodness was surrounded by ciabatta bread! Quite honestly, my all-​time favorite bread. Delicious spread too — tasted like an extra virgin olive oil mayo (no hint of garlic), though they call it an aioli. I feel like a snob not giving this baby 5 stars, but here’s the deal… the pancetta overpowered the sandwich. I had to struggle to taste anything else.
This was a delicious sandwich, but I like the American version better;)

Mingo has great food, yes I am a fan. You can tell the ingredients are fresh and sourced locally. They atmosphere and location is removed and away from any busy shopping malls. It’s nice to sit by one of the big garage windows, which are often open on warm summer days.
My family shared a few dishes including the crab stuffed ravioli with lemon cream sauce and perfectly cooked halibut, very delicate and buttery, with artichoke pesto and a delicious risotto cake. Our waitress made a great wine recommendation and pairing for the meal. She was also attentive and friendly.
We ordered a side dish of asparagus that had a couple stocks, not a huge portion, for $ 8! The quality wasn’t extraordinary and not worth that amount. Mingo would earn my 5 star rating if prices were a bit more reasonable. The prices would be expected at a location like the Pearl district but not in the suburbs of Beaverton.

It’s a nice place for Beaverton, which may be worth a visit but definitely not a second trip. Nice ambiance but the food was not up to par.
SFORMATO DI FUNGHI ($ 12): This appetizer was really good! Savory flan made with mushrooms and served with a tarragon brown butter sauce. I love mushrooms and the «flan» was super fluffy. This was the only dish I really enjoyed and I wish I just ordered this instead of the other two.
PENNE AL SUGO DI CARNE ($ 19): Beef braised in Chianti and espresso tossed with penne pasta. It’s good for a few bites but beyond that it’s too salty and I felt sick of it quite quickly. One thing I really didn’t like about it was the beef was extremely salty but the pasta itself had no taste. Seems like none of the flavoring was cooked into the pasta.
GRANO INTERO PIZZA ($ 14): Whole wheat crust pizza with portabello mushrooms and roasted garlic. It usually has a goat cheese but I swapped it for fresh mozzarella. I’m not sure if it’s because I ordered the whole wheat version but the pizza crust was hard and dry but at the same time the pizza was extremely greasy. They really skimped on the mushrooms too and I could barely taste them probably because it was overpowered by the garlic.