My son is on a quest to try every top Long Island restaurant from the Newsday top restaurant list. I keep telling him that these are not really the top restaurants. Many are paid ads, but he doesn’t believe me. So, every time we go out to eat with him, he suggests another restaurant on the list.
This time, it was Mangia Bene, an Italian Restaurant in Rockville Centre.
First off, I don’t love going to Rockville Centre because there is so much traffic and very little parking. I don’t enjoy riding around and around looking for a spot. Mangia Bene is located in the heart of the town.
The Decor
Mangia Bene had a nice, soothing decor. The restaurant had seating both indoor and outdoor. We sat in the outdoor space. The restaurant shared their outdoor space with an adjoining restaurant with a couple of plants dividing the space.
The Food
Mangia Bene is known for its fresh pasta and oven-baked pizza. We tried a pie. We ordered the Marinara Pizza. I was surprised when it came out without cheese. It was just bread and sauce. The bottom of the pizza was slightly burnt and there were lots of bubbles in the dough. But it tasted okay.
Main Course
For the main course, we all ordered pasta. My husband had spaghetti with white clam sauce. He complained that there were only three clams in his order. My son ordered the Casarecca Di Bosco, which was a nice thick pasta with truffle cream and mushrooms. It tasted good at first, until the aftertaste, which the chef obviously had a heavy hand on the pepper.
I ordered the Garganelli Siciliano. This was eggplant and sauce over fresh pasta. Again, the cheese was missing. The flavor was so strong that when I called the waiter over, he brought over parmesan cheese. I secretly wished there was mozzarella cheese or ricotta cheese to smooth out the taste, but the parmesan cheese helped.
What did we think?
Although all the pasta was hand-made at Mangia Bene, I felt the sauces were a little over the top. The food was edible and somewhat tasty but I wasn’t impressed. I’ve had better pasta locally.
