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Mingos

Written By Scott Joseph On January 22, 2014

Mingos logo

Could it be that Mingos is finally starting to get things right?

Mingos, you’ll recall, is the hastily redone redo of Lotus, the hastily haphazard redo of Prickly Pear in the Sanctuary condominium building in downtown Orlando. Lotus was a hot mess. Consultants were brought in and Mingos was born. Management changed, too, which was key.

I stopped in for a quick look and a bite to eat recently, and I’m liking the way things seem to be turning around. Of course, the only way to go was up, but at least that seems to be where it’s headed.

The first good sign of improvement was that someone actually greeted me and smiled when I walked through the door. So there seems to be an acknowledgement that Mingos is in the hospitality business. I chose to sit at the bar, and I can’t say the bartender was all warm and fuzzy but he was accommodating.

Mingo rollNot all was perfect. I ordered the Mingo roll — I’m usually drawn to items with the restaurant’s name; it usually indicates a signature dish. This was a head scratcher, beginning with the name. You see, Mingos is supposed to be short for Flamingos, with the Fla representing Florida. This was an Asian style egg roll with Korean barbecue short rib and cabbage slaw, served diagonally halved in a smear of soy glaze next to micro greens. It looked very nice. Unfortunately, it was very greasy and tepid.

(As long as I brought up the name, I should mention that even though it’s supposed to be short for Flamingos, the restaurant’s logo is a swordfish, and seafood is its focus. I didn’t expect to have fried flamingo on the menu, but there is a bit of a disconnect.)

My scallops entree, however, had very nice flavor, even if it wasn’t the prettiest thing ever plated. The five scallops were seared with varying degrees of evenness, and plopped on ploufs of a mash that included diced carrots and chopped shrimp. I couldn’t identify the sauce, but it had begun to develop a skin by the time it got to me. That didn’t affect the flavors which were quite good.

Mingo Scallop

Little seems to have changed about the decor other than the addition of a couple of paintings of flamingos on the wall next to the bar.

Mingos is still finding its way, and obviously not all is perfected, but it’s nice to know it’s heading in the right direction.

Mingos is at 100 S. Eola Drive, Orlando. It is open for dinner Monday through Saturday and lunch Saturday and Sunday. The menu on the website does not have prices. The scallop entree was $20. The phone number is 407-781-2539.

Mingo flamingo

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