Ciao Mambo

THE GOOD: One dinner was very good.
The wait staff was excellent. So nice and thoughtful.
THE BAD: My Caesar chicken was so over dressed It was soggy and wilted. Hard to wilt romaine lettuce. I left half. Disgusting.
THE UGLY: 30 minute wait time for table (excusable) then a 35 minute wait for our ordered food. A salad and a Carbonara. Really?
Lastly, The noise is maddening. Diners and music. It was like eating in A football stadium. Very stressful.
Sadly, We won’t be back.

Tried multiple food items. Was not disappointed with anything. Food was privately sourced and staff was very courteous. One of the better places to eat in the flathead. Relaxed atmosphere

We were lucky to get in at 5:30pm on a Tuesday… WHAT??? I read about this restaurant in Unilocal with great reviews. We sat at the small bar which looks into the kitchen. I ordered Fettuccine alla Lulubella only as I saw the guy next to me with a huge plate of spaghetti and meatballs, so I knew the portions were huge. The Fettuccine was delicious — creamy parmesan with pancetta, peas and mushrooms which were cooked perfectly. My husband ordered a caprese salad which was served with tossed greens with a great dressing. He had the Saltimbocca di Pollo as his entrée and was a little disappointed.
It was a fun and enjoyable experience and we would go back anytime and highly recommend it to our friends.

The food was FAB. But the atmosphere was awful. I tried to make reservations, but they will only do that for parties of 8. It’s a resort town, but we showed up on Thursday night in the off-​season & had to wait 30 minutes. & then we got the worst table in the restaurant — next to the noisy kitchen & work station. When we were waiting for our table, we were told that we could wait outside — & it was 50°F. Or we could stand on the stairs, so that we were out of the way. & the worst thing was — there were 2 tables set up for 6, but they wouldn’t let anyone sit there! Even though, there were NO groups of 6 that came in during the 3 hours that we were there. But there were lots of couples who had to wait half an hour.

We chose Ciao Mambo for a family dinner… out of town visitors, gluten free, dairy free guests, the entire evening was just perfect. We were treated so well and the food was amazing! Very memorable and fun, festive evening! Can’t wait to go back.

Great, fresh Italian food. Our server, Julia, was a doll. Super friendly and effecient. The hot Italian garlic bread was love at first bite.
The Pollo Con Fromaggio was huge and delicious. The food came out steaming hot.
I love the flexibility when ordering your meals. Pick your pasta/​sauce, substitutions not a problem. I love this.
The zeppoli was fantastic, pick your dipping sauces all or none.
Will definitely return next time I am visiting Whitefish.

The food was decent but the menu was not nearly descriptive enough. Apparently «white sauce» = a clear broth. The main reason though, for 3 stars is the terrible service. Our waitress disappeared after taking our order and we were never able to order the drinks we decided we wanted after ordering our food. Once we got our order, seeing mine did not meet my expectations for content or flavor, our waitress was absent for another 20 minutes. When she finally did come back, there was no point in ordering something new and although she was somewhat sympathetic, she didn’t offer any other alternative to our situation. She was not unpleasant, but did not do anything to try and make our experience better despite our food not being what we wanted. We overheard the table next to us send a dish of food back shortly before we left as well. Potential to be a really cool place, if they invest a little more in their guests and hiring pleasant, friendly wait staff. The hostess was by far the nicest, most helpful staff we interacted with. I hope it gets better!

I like Ciao Mambo but I didn’t love it, mainly because I am a weirdo with a ton of allergies and can only eat certain things. I didn’t realize how small the restaurant was either, but thankfully they had room on top of the roof in the patio area on a Saturday night when we were planning on going without a reservation. We got lucky because we were able to get seated pretty quickly not that long after 5 – 5:30ish. When we were leaving the restaurant it looked like a lot of people were waiting though-​so I’m assuming this place gets PACKED on the weekends and just in general is a hot spot.
I got a salad and loved it with a glass of wine. I couldn’t get pizza because there was no gluten free pizza so that kind of bummed me out but it kept my options healthier so I don’t really mind all that much. Our waitress wasn’t the best but I can’t remember her name. It is sure authentic though!

Love this place! I always order the Pasta Ravenna and it never disappoints! The bread is fantastic as are the salads. Yes it’s a little pricey but I think it’s well worth it. I love to sit at the counter so I can watch all the action!

Have been here several times this trip was not anything different. Average Italian. Mushy pasta, average flavors. Good service but entrees arrived before we were done with salad. Had the eggplant parm. Asked if I wanted pasta with it. I said yes and that was a big mistake. It was a watery mess that the eggplant was placed on. Others had the manicotti and pasta with vodka sauce. We were expecting a sort of pink vodka sauce. It wasn’t very different than the red sauce on my pasta. Salads weren’t great either. Small ceaser had to many mushrooms and there was no small portion of the spinach salad we learned after the fact.
To many other better options in town

Great experience. Our party of 9 with 5 kids were seated pretty quickly at 6 pm and we felt very welcomed. Everyone enjoyed their meal, and service was very attentive, even at a very busy time.

This was a breath of fresh Montana air. Best dinner we have had on our trip. The food was so yummy and huge portions !!! The penne ala vodka was amazing so was the bolognese !! The wine portions are amazing and the prices incredible ! We also had the Spumoni for desert, it’s two huge scoops of ice cream so if your already full from dinner it’s better you share dessert because the are really big. Our server is what really made the night a hit. Her name is Abbi. Definitely ask for her when you go there. She’s great !!

A must place to dine in Whitefish for Italian. Very cozy and comfortable. Impressive wine list. Service attentive, but not overwhelming (good thing). Had a great day in Glacier met a great couple sitting next to us and the atmosphere made it comfortable to visit with them. Will be back on our next vacation to Glacier.

Great atmosphere able to have a conversation! Loved sitting at the bar/​kitchen. Friendly staff with a short wait. Huge portions split the salad and pasta in half and you will still have leftover to take home.

I have eaten here twice in the last few weeks. The food was good and they give big portions… I had pizza the first time and Pasta carbonara the second. The bread was warm with fresh garlic on top. Both were good. The wine was a bit warm for my taste. Cab should be about 55 degrees, the wine both times was warm/​room temp. The place is nice but both times it was super crowded with a wait and noisy. They don’t take reservations unless you have 8 or more people in your party. I enjoyed the food and the service was good but don’t go if you are trying to have a quiet Romantic dinner. This is more like a loud Italian family gathering but the food was worth it. For three of us having an appetizer, two alcohol drinks, one Coke and each an entrée it was 90.00 plus tip.

Such fabulous food. For me, it’s everything I want in an Italian restaurant. Garlicky, basily, cheesy, spicy, so intensely flavorful, I can’t quit eating it.
We started with the Caprese which surrounded a small green leaf lettuce drizzled in balsamic and olive oil. Lots of fresh basil, herbed seasoning, and sea salt. A great starter for two.
My hubby chose the Pollo con Formaggio which is their rendition of Chicken Parm. I tried a bite of his and it was moist. The perfect chicken parm, really. You can get pasta with it or not. He chose no pasta and it is such a huge portion.
In fact, as we watched the plates coming out, all the portions were generous and leave you with plenty leftover.
I chose the Cioppino which was the best I’ve ever had. (Comparing to Seattle and the Oregon Coast). This surprised me as we are in Montana and seafood isn’t always the best. I am used to getting some crab in Cioppino but this honestly doesn’t need it. The broth was addictive. Fresh rosemary and basil, fish stock, olive oil, garlic, divinely umami tomatoes embracing shrimp, cod, mussels and clams. So so fabulous but it came out piping hot and I had to wait a good 10 minutes for it to cool. But it was so worth it.
Meals come with AYCE fresh baked parm and garlic bread. Its heavan.
Service was good. James knew his stuff. Unfortunately, he was so busy and rushed. They seemed understaffed.
We were highly pleased. We’ll be be back soon.

Pretty disappointed top to bottom with my time here. I’m allergic to just about everything, so I have to be fairly particular with where I eat since most places don’t have anything I can eat without getting sick. The gluten free possible is noted here, which was nice. I even asked, half jokingly if they had any gluten free bread too since the appetizers were all non starters for me since I’m dairy allergic as well, and the server to her credit volunteered to bring me an apple. I thought that was a nice thing until she said the kitchen told her that she couldn’t bring me an apple because that was more expensive than bread. I’d have paid $ 1-​$ 2 for the apple but the fact that you told her to tell me that was prickish and unfair to her, and pissed me off.
When I ordered my entrée I (thought I) asked for just plain steak no sauce (since most sauces make me sick) with some gluten free pasta and red sauce but it came fully marsala’ed. Maybe I didn’t ask that way, but the steak was rare and tough anyhow, and since I can’t stand Marsala it was tough to choke down about half of it, but I was starving so I ate what I could till I got to the really rare part and threw in the towel.
I wanted to like the place as most people said to go here but we should’ve just went elsewhere. Your mileage may vary especially if you don’t have allergies but I just thought that for approaching Shula’s/Ruth’s Chris steak prices the meat should’ve been a little less chewy. Maybe the extra went to cover the apples in the kitchen that I couldn’t have anyhow.

Horrible service and worse food.
Simple to go order and both parts were messed up. Asked for one garnishment to be left off because the smell makes me sick, it was in the dish. They’re was no sauce with the appetizer (that was supposed to have it and desperately needed it) so that was barely edible.
Plus I was left standing in the over crowded entry way while waiting for someone to find who took my order. I got there 25 minutes after I called my order in and it still wasn’t ready.

World’s Most Beautiful Server
So this place is «Italian»… nachos Italiana??? Whatever…
Food is undeniably mediocre.
Wine list is pedestrian.
BUT…
There is a server who shall go unnamed. Former model in Italy. SO beautiful, and so gracious. I fell in love. Seriously. I have been inspired to paint representational figures again after years of abstraction. I would travel back here and suffer the food just to see her again. I know. Seems stalker-​ish. But she’s THAT beautiful!
Otherwise, have a bottle of wine elsewhere and go in and order a pizza.
Buona Fortuna!

We must of hit this place on a good day it was fun.
Many choices, great food and fun atmosphere.
We sat by the kitchen at the bar infront of the bread station
If there is a long wait to be seated move on to Latitudes downstairs or Casey’s