Mambo Italiano Cafe

This was a nice little find! We've driven through Bellingham dozens and dozens of times but never ventured beyond Meridian Way in terms of actually stopping in town to get a bite to eat or what not. Today we decided to take a break from the norm and we stumbled upon this cute place and we're glad we did! The service was really nice and receptive, the gluten free lasagna was one of the best restaurant lasagnas I've ever had, and the price tag wasn't too bad for the quality of food. It's the only pasta dish on the menu that's automatically gluten free so I had to reward them by ordering it. All other pasta dishes can be ordered GF but with all things GF there's an upcharge. You can also get GF pizzas and a couple of GF desserts, too. One *big* drawback though is the bathrooms aren't accessible and are very narrow. There are a couple stairs required to get to the bathroom so if you're wheelchair bound or have trouble with even one stair, don't drink too much. Quite frankly, as a whole, the restaurant isn't wheelchair accessible. In fairness to the restaurant, they're in a building that was made way before the ADA was enacted so this design flaw isn't on them. It's just a product of the time it was built. I would recommend against having their orange and spice mocktail. It's not at all well balanced, is far too heavy on the bitters, and tastes neither of orange or spice. The server was super kind about taking the drink back when I let them know I wasn't in love with it, however.

Their gluten free pasta is SO good. I love the add-on options for pasta. Their house salad and ceasar are delish. My husband devoured the bread and loved his lunch sandwich. Their Tuscan Pear Lemondrop is a great citrus variation and good value with Grey Goose as the standard for the cocktail. Great service and warm atmosphere.