I lucked out in that July’s Yelp Elite event was on my 35th birthday! I got to spend the evening with a small group of fellow Yelp Elite at Mingos and it was a blast.
Not all of my normal Yelp crew (#yelpsisterhood) got into this event because of the small size, but it was still a great time. A few of us met up at Mucho Tequilla (which was across the street) from Mingos for a little birthday/happy hour tequila. $5.50 for a margarita AND a shot of tequila! It was a fun way to start off what turned out to be an amazing night.
It is hard to even know where to start with this event. We were seated at a long table off to one side of the restaurant. It wasn’t a private room, but it pretty much felt like it. Mingos is all about 5 star service and that is exactly what they delivered! After being greeted by the manager and head chef, their head server AJ took over and guided us through a 6 course meal that lasted over 2 hours. Each course was explained and detailed to us before being beautifully presented. The portions were reasonable so that you were able to try all 6 courses and not feel like you were going to explode by the end of the night.
We were told about the menu ahead of time and our Yelp Community Manager asked if anyone had any dietary restrictions. One of the entrees was steak so I sent her a short email explaining that I don’t eat steak. When it came time for that course I asked if she’d gotten my email and she said the restaurant knew about my request. As they were bring everyone their steak I noticed that they weren’t placing one in front of me. I totally expected just to be skipping this dish and I was completely okay with that. But our head waiter AJ came over with a special plate just for me. The chef had prepared a fresh seared scallop in the same way as the filet so that I too could experience what everyone else was. How cool is that?
Which we were waiting for dessert to be served they started bringing our champagne. I assumed it was just part of our Yelp Elite special treatment… until they set down a special dessert plate in front of me that said Happy Birthday. Our community manager Andi had told the restaurant it was my birthday and they treated me like they would any guest that came their on their birthday – a special dessert and champagne for the entire table. They decided to thoroughly embarrass me and everyone sang happy birthday. I must admit that it was one of the best birthday dinners I have ever had.
Mingos did a great job of treating us ALL like VIPS. The service was stellar, the food was AMAZING, and the restaurant was beautiful. I rarely go downtown (or anywhere near it) to eat, but I will definitely be coming back. We had the opportunity to check out their regular menu before we left and the prices were pretty reasonable for a high-end seafood restaurant. Also, they have Happy Hour Monday through Saturday from 4-6 pm and Friday and Saturday from 10 pm – 12 am.
Thank you to Andi, Yelp, and Mingos for an amazing Elite event and a FABULOUS birthday 🙂
