Mambo's Cafe-Alpharetta-Yes or No?

It always amazes me that when you go out to a restaurant and its fantastic, you recommend it to friends and they go to the same place and have a terrible experience only one week after your visit.
I recently had this happen to me and the usual suspects for our Friday night weekly get together.
My husband, daughter and I went to Mambo's Cafe a few weeks ago and experiences the delicious food, and the excellent service. There was live music in the bar area and we thoroughly enjoyed the Peruvian/Cuban experience.

When planning this weeks outing, I suggested revisiting this establishment with everyone, thinking it would be a great fit. ( I had just returned from Portugal and wanted Paella again!) The menu, which I have attached for you below, is vast and the food is prepared fresh and very tasty.

You'd expect the same service and experience each time you visit this restaurant, which is why I made the recommendation. WRONG!.
The food, I am happy to admit, is excellent. I cannot say the same for the waiter, who shall remain nameless because he never told us his name. Nor did the manager when we complained about the waiter's non existent appearance at our table for 40 minutes.

 My husband and I were the first to arrive at about 6:50 PM. We made a reservation for 7:00 PM on Saturday night. After being greeted by a lovely hostess, we were seated in a private area of the main dining room. We thought, "Oh, this is so nice, a private table for 10". As Alex and I looked over the menu and waited for our friends to arrive, we were approached by the waiter who seemed very confused that only two people were at the table for 10!
When we asked for water and ordered our Peach Sangria, Alex asked if it was still Happy Hour and if the drinks were still $5.00 a glass. The waiter seemed even more confused by this question. He again left the area and did not return until about 8 minutes later when, to his surprise another couple, who were also a bit early had appeared. They, too, asked about drinks. This didn't seem like a difficult questions to us.
The waiter disappeared and did not return until 7:30 when all had arrived. This is a drinking crowd so everyone was ready to get started. Oh, by the way, our drinks and the waiter are what appeared when he returned to the table to find all the guests.
After ordering their drinks we sat for another 10 minutes then he returned looking puzzled again, drinks in hand from the order placed by the new arrivals. We asked to have him take our order since some of the dishes take 30 minutes to prepare. Again, a glazed look. After taking the order and leaving the area Alex, went to the management to express our displeasure of the waiter and his lack of- lets say- experience.
The manager never came to the table to see assess the situation. When several times, we complained about the waiter, still, management went without apology or an appearance. Our food arrived at the table at approximately 8:50 PM. I would say we were pretty good about the wait since the conversation always flows and we have a good time. The food was prepared correctly and was very good, as stated earlier. That's not the issue here at all.

I believe when you visit an establishment twice in two weeks, you should have the same level of service and standard. I don't know, maybe I'm asking too much. Thoughts on that please? Part of having a great dining experience is , not only the great food, but the entire dining experience. With that being said, I can say that I will revisit Mambo's Cafe, and ask not be seated in this waiters area.

Had the manager come to the table instead of looking at us with the same bewildering glaze, we may have left on a happy note and I would not be writing this review as above.

What is your opinion and do you agree that part of a dining experience should be the complete package from greeting to food to service.
Just sayin"
Disfrutar de su comida!!

Babs





http://mambos-cafe.com/menu/