Keith B.
Yelp
I'll start by saying I'm eager to go back Mahari on a Saturday once I heard that they'll be featuring some cuisines from the diaspora that I really like. We got to Mahari roughly a week after they opened. We heard about it right before opening and booked a reservation that same day. If this is how they're doing after a week, good things are on the way.
The team -
The servers and staff were all great. It was a little odd the host told us our table wasn't ready (we were less than 5 mins late for the reservation), when they had three 2-tops open. After an odd minute, we were seated at our table. No worries. Just odd.
Server team
Our server was very friendly and helpful as we thought about our orders. Again, for a new spot, it'll get better but taking our order on a electronic device with one hand (awkwardly) while holding dishes she cleared the table next to us wasn't a good look. Just take your time and do it right - go put your dishes away and come back (I'll come back to this). Plus, I don't want to stare at dirty plates while I'm thinking about ordering.
They were also not super attentive on the water refills (usually, places that are humming don't let your glass go below 1/2). Mine got empty and stayed that way fro a while.
Food:
Sambusas - Excellent. I'd go back just for these. They were quite taste and the sauce on the plate had the perfect amount of heat
Salmon Cala - Also really great. The rice inside was good and added an interesting texture to it. They also had the right heat and the chutney was a nice touch to add some sweetness to the overall flavor. The clementine didn't make any sense and this dish could do without it. It's an odd add.
Yucca Fries - They were fine, but needed to come with some kind of dipping sauce. They were just plain, which means dry and starchy. (plus I had no water!)
Stuffed plantain - my partner said it was really good (veggie version, no cheese).
Bread pudding - Also really good. I'm not a huge fan of it, in general, but this was great. the table next to our said it was the best bread pudding ever!
The issue (which they made "right" as best they could:
The Whole snapper - This was the big issue. The food generally came fast so it was odd when my fish didn't come out with the plantain entree. After a few minutes, we asked about it and were told it was coming. 15 mins later? Nothing. My partner finished before my fish came. When it did come, the flavor on the broth was great, but the fish was undercooked and had to go back (raw in the center - which is hard for a thin fish). Another 15-20 later, a new order came out (a much smaller fish, but that was fine). The broth tasted a little different, but was fine. I feel like they rushed the first one because it was missed in the order. Our server apologized and said "it was ALL my fault", so I'm left thinking she didn't enter it correctly (see the juggling the device above). Either way, it was all good and they actually cared, and were very VERY apologetic. All good.
The fish was good, but came with NOTHING. No rice. No veggies. Just fish on a plate. everything else came as a meal. My advice? Throw a few yucca fries on the plate because that broth needed to be consumed!
Two other notes:
* They had a birthday in the house, and the community feel was dope. They are really building a "community center" there.
* The sound system could use a bit of an upgrade. We were right below a speaker in the ceiling. Th music selection was fine, but the speaker was distractingly "tinny' (like a loudspeaker) and had no bass. Given the focus of the restaurant, you don't need "concert bass" (like a club) , but you gotta have a little bit more warmth to the sound. This was a miss they should fix.
As I said. I'm looking forward to going back! I like what they got going over there!
