Mango's Wood-Fired Pizza in Mystic offers winning pies

June 06, 2018 12:00 am • Last Updated: June 06, 2018 2:49 pm

By Rick Koster
Day Arts/Features writer

A selection of Mango’s pizzas. Mary Biekert/The Day
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Mango's Wood-Fired Pizza in Mystic offers winning pies

As a huge fan of the mango — a soft, sour/sweet tropical fruit indigenous to Asia — I've been delighted many times in life at how it turns up in a variety of culinary styles. Heck, just a casual Google search of "mango + restaurant" reveals such possibilities as: a Peruvian joint in St. Louis; a tiki bar on the sand in Reddington Beach, Fla.; "multi-culturally influenced cuisine" in North Olmsted, Ohio; a West Indian place in Charleston, S.C; numerous Indian, Mexican and Thai spots everywhere; and even Cajun-Creole in Hampton, Va.

So far as I can tell, though, only Mango's in Olde Mistick Village is a pizza place.

The name IS a bit of a puzzler. Mango's Wood-Fired Pizza Company. Hmm. Sounded good to me; as an enthusiast of Hawaiian-style pizza with ham and pineapple, I was more than jazzed to try a mango pizza at Mango's — except for the fact that there isn't a mango pizza at Mango's. (There is a Hawaiian pie, for the record.) Anyhoo, I'm not sure how or why it's called Mango's, but it seems rather like opening an ice cream shop and calling it Pork Rib's.

Hey! Maybe the pizza owner's name IS "Mango." There was a popular rock band in the early '70s called Mungo Jerry — remember the catchy hit "In the Summertime"? — so perhaps the pizza chef in Mystic is Mango Jerry!

Bottom line: You're not going to get a mango pizza at Mango's, but that's okay. Three of the four pizzas we tried recently over two visits were very, very good — and that's said with the acknowledgement that we Connecticutians really like pizza and there are a lot of terrific options.

Tucked away in a standalone structure near the Mystic Aquarium and on the I-95 side of the Village, Mango's is a large restaurant with a lot of floor space angled around an open kitchen rimmed by bar-seating, with cement floors and unfinished, blond wood walls paneling. I can attest to the idea that Mango's is a popular spot for family and/or kid's birthday gatherings as well as for office co-workers' gatherings in Happy Hour fashion. That's cool; it's nice to see folks having a good time. It should be noted, though, that the concrete floor can make things really loud.

During both meals, our waitresses were humorous and pleasant, and they get the food out really quickly. The menu is focused and pretty simple: appetizers, big salads, red and white pizzas, and sandwiches.

Starters are fairly representative of tavern-style food and range from wings and chicken tenders to an antipasto and giant meatballs. We tried a Caprese salad ($9.95) and an order of plain nachos ($9.95, $11.95 with pulled pork).

The former features five thick pucks of fresh tomato, each topped with a slice of creamy mozzarella and a leaf of basil and drizzled with balsamic and oil. Some more basil would have added character, but it was a nice, light way to get started.

The nachos were crafted in the wood-fire ovens, and it works in that they're very crispy around the edges and easily supported the swampy layer of melted cheddar jack. Tasty, particularly when dappled with the accompanying sour cream and a mild salsa — but the menu description included scallions, diced tomatoes and jalapeno peppers, none of which were included. It's also true that it's a very modest serving for the price.

Let's talk pizza. They're thin crust and nuanced in the titular, 800-degree oven. The fresh mozzarella comes from a small-batch cheesemaker in Connecticut; the dough is made daily in the open kitchen, and Mango Jerry (or whomever) tries to locally source produce in season. And the hand-smashed plum tomato sauce pops tartly and wonderfully on the tongue.

The pies come in 12- and 16-inch varieties, and arrive at your table looking amazin' good (as folks used to say in Texas). There are crispy char marks on the crust — this is a really good thing, by the way — and there's an endearing amoeba shape to each pie.

Four diners were split between vegetarians and people who have fun when they eat. JUST KIDDING. Vegetables are very tasty!

Consider the Virgin 'Gorga ($13.75, $18.75). Fusing olive oil, fresh garlic and sea salt with fresh tomato, spinach, gorgonzola and mozzarella, this is a great but delicate concept since cooking fresh garlic can be tricky — perhaps more so in a wood-fired oven. The first few bites were a bit of an adjustment, taste-wise, but ultimately the on-the-browner-side garlic worked really well with the amazing crust and the bright toppings.

Mango's Mozzarella Pie ($10.75 and $16.50) celebrates simplicity with sea salt and grated Romano speed-dating with mozzarella and the house sauce. Perfectly conceptualized and realized.

Meat and fowl can be fun to eat, too. The Funky Monkey ($14.50, $19.95) splashes generous, stand-alone hunks of sweet Italian sausage with tang-splendored banana peppers. Onions are typically included, but we opted out to let the other flavors tryst in special fashion. I loved this.

On the other hand, The Jake ($14.50, $19.50), a white pie promising crispy bacon, over-roasted chicken breast, gorgonzola and mozzarella, disappointed. The chicken was very dry, and we utilized leftover sour cream from the nachos to help moisten it up.

And don't overlook the sandwiches at Mango's, particularly the Wood Fire-Roasted Veggie sandwich ($11.95), with roasted red peppers, broccoli, red onion, sautéed blue oyster mushrooms and fresh spinach with a light herb cheese spread — all fighting for space on warm, rustic, wood-fired bread.

My wife literally said, "Give me some of that bread and some olive oil or butter, and I'll never need any other food in my life." The veggies were a bonus, of course, though we couldn't find any herb cheese dressing. She took half the sammich home, doctored it a bit with her own dressing, and pronounced it an excellent and healthy feast.

A misstep with The Jake aside, all of us agree that Mango's offers some of the finest pizza in the region, and that's saying a lot. Plus, it's a pleasant and comfortable place and good to know about in a busy area now that tourist season is here.

Mango's nachos (Mark Biekert/The Day)
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