flying mango

we went to flying mango tonight with 2 friends - we were seated immediately for our 6 pm reservation. ordered drinks and then dinner salads and entrees. our waitress was good - drinks and salads came in fairly timely manner. later she came by and told us that the restaurant was full and the chef asked us to be patient - we enjoyed another drink & conversation - 2 groups who arrived after we did were served - one couple who we knew arrived after we did, ate and left about the same time we received our entrees. food was great but shortly after we received our bill the owner came to our table and told us they had a 7:45 reservation and we needed to leave - our friend was still enjoying her drink. we were so shocked we got up and left. the owner was rude and she ruined the entire evening for us. never again - we love local restaurants but there are restaurants just as good if not better where we are treated like valued customers.

love it!!. i love this place. the food is delish and always cooked perfect. atmosphere there is really neat and i recommend it to all my friends.

i don't eat meat but i've heard it is really good. my mom knows the manerger or the owner and he is super nice.

this place is loud. food is good, but the service is crappy, at best. given the choice, i'd pass. there are better options

i was trying not to over use "really" in the title to say how good the food is.. awesome food, but i wish the place was bigger. this place gets packed quick so get there early because the regulars will fill this place up, and with darn good reason. if you're from this part of hemisphere where the weather is hot (i.e. southern us, caribbean, south america, etc.), find yourself in iowa, like your local/regional spicy cuisine you will find beautiful nostalgia in their food. if you're that guy that does not really like food that is too spicy because there is no flavor when it is over done, you will find an awesome flavorful experience that you will enjoy and not soon forget. the spiciness of the food is really something that i appreciate for the same reason i like a full body wheat beer over light beer, for example. the experience and flavor of the food pushes the limit of your taste buds without feeling like you need college drinking buddies in your head telling you to "man up and take it" just to finish the plate. spices is meant to enhance flavor not to be over powering, it is truly refreshing to dine at a restaurant where the chefs haven't forgot that. flying mango gets the a+++

a neighborhood gem. carol and i are foodies and newcomers to iowa from the chicago area, and we have been actively researching area restaurants to identify our replacement favorites ever since we moved here in april. the flying mango is now certainly among our favorites.

our nephew, ross, joined us and it was our first time here and we could smell that this was a smokehouse type of restaurant. we were greeted with a very friendly face and led to the big room with about 20 tables with very colorful and tasteful pictures hung all along the walls. there was also some nice "toe-tappin" background music which wasn't too loud to affect our conversation.

the menu was certainly a unique blend of grilled and spicy caribbean delicacies with a wonderful collection of specialty beers, and an adequate selection of wines.

for appetizers, we were enticed into ordering the "bag of bones" selection. what we received was a small brown paper bag with enough rib sections, prepared memphis style, to satisfy both ross and i.

i ordered something i had never tried before, smoked brisket with mixed vegetables and a glass of their pinot noir. for presentation, i spied on my plate a colorful medley of the vegetables along side a thickly sliced cut of the barbequed brisket with a small bowl of spiced apples. the brisket i found to be flavorful but a little too dry for my taste. there was a lot of fat in the brisket (not unusual) which didn't do much to moisten the meat. the pinot was perfect with the brisket and very drinkable. ross tried the shrimp creole which he said had a nice spicy flavor and he would certainly order it again.

we finished out our meal by splitting the southwestern chocolate cake with a distinctive red frosting design (pepper shape) on the top. i thought the flavor was wonderful with a light, not too sweet, chocolate flavor with a touch of a bite to it. it was wonderful !!

the prices are very fair for the value received and the service was a little slow at the beginning but then very attentive the rest of the evening. carol and i will certainly be back to try other items on very interesting menu.

i had a small reservation for a friday night in this tiny restaurant. arrived and our table was ready. food and drink were all good but my guest and myself we treated so rudely. this place was practicably empty on a friday night. hours were clearly state till 10pm. our table had a reservation at 7pm and we had our tab was closed out with a more than generous 20% tip at 9:24pm. at 9:45pm we were just wrapping up our good byes when the owner came over and said how about the "magic" of leaving. we were all shocked and didn't know how to respond. we looked at our watches and realized it wasn't closing time but put our coats on left. we will never come back

all i can say is, the best bbq in town. great service and food. worth the wait on a busy nite. a real treat, can't wait until i go back to iowa in october. a real ddd joint.

pleasantly surprised. i had no idea what to expect when i first came here. i knew that flying mango was more of some sort of fancy bbq joint but i had never had a chance to try it. i was blown away by the food. it wasn't even the tender briskets, or hickory smoked burnt to perfection crisped ribs that had me. it was the sides that made the entire meal. i loved the various unique flavorful and beautiful sides. i ordered the pancake with mango sour cream (phenomenal), corn bread with honey butter (equally amazing), and the braised collard greens with bacon (yummm). the only thing i might not like about this restaurant is that you must pay to split/share your dishes. instead of getting one meal though and paying the $10 extra to split the meal what my friend and i did was buy a meal and then get a sandwich which costs the same amount and you get an extra side with it. you get more for the $10.

people seem to let like it. i don't know why seasoning so heavy its hard to hold down.

my husband received a gift certificate to the flying mango from his company for christmas. he had perused the website and decided we would try it on our date night tonight. we started our night with a shiner cheer for him and a mango margarita for me (how can you go to the flying mango and not order something with mango?!?). both drinks were very good! for entrees my husband ordered 24 hour brisket and i ordered the chicken breast with goat cheese and asparagus. my husband was shocked when they brought his meal to the table with no knife. he was certain he would need a steak knife for the brisket and was shocked when the butter knife cut the brisket like butter! very tender and juicy! perfection! i always ask for a to-go box but tonight i finished my entire meal! can't wait to go again!

for my birthday this year, i decided i would take my family to flying mango. i had been there this past february with my wife and some good friends, and we fell head over heels for this place. it was an interesting experience. they feature barbecue (for their style of barbecue, i refused to shorten to bbq). this isn’t bib overalls and lemonade kind of barbecue. this is barbecue, done smart. bbq iq = flying mango. they take traditional bbq dishes and modernize them, often times infusing other inspirations into them. for example, their bass-ackwards’ chicken wings utilize soy sauce. and their orange bbq-glazed ribs utilizes, well, an orange glaze. ok, so on paper it maybe doesn’t sound so profound but it is. everyone raved about these orange glazed ribs. they were juicy, flavorful, orangy. orange bbq-glazed ribs i had to fight to get this picture without hands in it, as there were multiple hands reaching for another rib. here’s one with both the ribs and wings: orange bbq-glazed ribs and

love it!. went here with my wife and some friends a few months ago and absolutely loved it! one of our favorites places in des moines. their food is top notch, atmosphere is incredible, the open kitchen when you first walk in is really fun, service was great, etc etc. i enjoyed it so much that i'm bringing a group here for my birthday next week. best brisket ever and the wings are a must. what's interesting about this place is that it's got a very modern decor yet they serve food that i usually wouldn't associate with it. it's a fusion of modern with bbq/caribbean. it's difficult to explain but once you're there it all makes sense. their food is top notch, do yourself a favor and give it a try if you haven't already!

flying fruit. the flying mango sits in a neighborhood setting in the mecca of fine dining (beaverdale iowa).

immediately the color and the music and setting .......soothes your soul.

with walls that are adorned with colorful works by until now unknown artist hc porter........and the friendly and cheerful waitress that came softly to the table.........talk of food came into the mix

the owner came and introduced himself and spoke with warmth and thanks for our coming to his restaurant ......later a surprise cut of beef brisket that melted in my mouth.......was presented along with a delightful meal

my son had the lamb chops and a unique blend of korean cajun and imagination salad that had a unique peanut sauce .......arrived in seemless fashion ......as i sipped on my peach tea (great on its own)

sharing a rack of ribs (smoked in cherry wood) .......with an array of sauces the likes i have never seen (some eclectic brands and the owners own sauces) .........it was as if i was transported back to the big easy ........it was served with some red beans and rice .......with little pieces of onion and other ........that was big easy master level ......a meal in itself and done with french quarter magic ....amazingly good.

this is a not a good fine dining experience........it is a great dining experience.

great service
great ambiance
great food

excellence in motion...........bucket list kinda place

wow! food, drinks and service were amazing. the owner is so involved with everything. we love love love this incredible delicious place. this place is a must!