For Italian, Mangia takes the cake

By Michael Edwards

For the TODAY

For the past four years, Steve Lockwood, the owner of Mangia Italian Restaurant & Bere Wine Bar, has prepared top-notch Italian appetizers, entrées and desserts for locals and visitors to the Central Oregon Coast.

Steve’s pride in his business, his staff and the respect that he has for his customers is clear.

“Residents of Waldport and Tillamook regularly drive to Lincoln City, do their shopping and stop in for lunch or dinner,” he said. “My staff and I have worked hard to earn our positive reputation.”

Due to his use of fresh ingredients, consistently scrumptious entrées and desserts, and Steve’s personal connection to his customers, Mangia is weathering 2020’s headwinds well.

During our interview, Steve greeted and conversed with several customers coming in to pick up take-out entrées. He knows many of his customers by name.

“I tell my new staff members to treat people the way that you want to be treated,” he said. “That’s it.”

Prior to opening Mangia, Steve was a Realtor who cooked at home for fun.

“In my 35 years as a Realtor, I prepared meals for my clients,” he said. “They would tell me that the food that I was serving was better than anything that they could have ordered at a restaurant.”

The regular positive feedback from his realty clients encouraged Steve to open an Italian restaurant in Salishan.

In a typical summer week, Mangia’s staff prepares 100 pounds of pasta and cooks six to eight gallons of sauce, and yet even with that high volume of business, the emphasis remains on using quality ingredients and taking the time to make recipes the right way.

Crab ravioli and the hearty Italian standby, spaghetti and meatballs, are two of Mangia’s most popular menu items.

“Our crab ravioli is made with fresh Dungeness crab,” he said. “We never use canned crab meat: never.” 

One of the traditional Italian meals that works well in today’s new world of takeout is lasagna, which the restaurant prepares twice a week.

“The lasagna is tall, consistently tasty and it has five distinct layers that you can see,” Steve said. “It even tastes better on the day after you bring it home so it’s a perfect take-out item.”

While Italian meals like spaghetti and meatballs and lasagna are universal American favorites, they haven't always been seen as waistline-friendly, but Steve is enthusiastic about a new ingredient on the Mangia menu that will address this issue.

“We have a new Heart of Palm pasta and if it takes off, it’s going to revolutionize Italian cooking,” he said. “It tastes similar to conventional pasta but the calories are only a fraction of what diners get from traditional pasta.”

The Heart of Palm Pasta checks all of the healthy food boxes: it is plant-based, Keto friendly, uses GMO free ingredients and is gluten-free, but most importantly, it tastes good.

After eating a hearty meal and drinking a glass of Italian red wine, customers with a little room left in their stomachs order a piece of house-made carrot cake or chocolate fudge cake.

“Our desserts are always popular,” Steve said. “They taste as good as they look.”

Even with the constant attention and tweaking of his menu, 2020 has brought unprecedented challenges to Mangia and restaurant dining in general.

Steve takes very seriously the importance of keeping his restaurant clean and creating a safe environment for his customers.

“I had a family call in and they wanted to celebrate their mother’s 85th birthday at the restaurant but they wanted to do it safely,” he said. “I set aside the wine bar for them and the family came in and ate a great meal and had a fantastic time.”

The Venetian-themed Bere Wine Bar, right next door to Mangia, is an intimate space perfectly suited for small gatherings. If you are interested in reserving the wine bar for a meal with family and friends just call ahead and schedule a time to come in.

Whether you are searching for an intimate place to celebrate a special occasion with a fine meal, want to impress your family with freshly made lasagna, or are in the mood for an affordable afternoon Caprese melt, Mangia Italian Restaurant serves some of the best Italian food on the Central Oregon Coast. 

Mangia Italian Restaurant & Bere Wine Bar is located at 7755 Hwy. 101, in the Marketplace at Salishan. For more information, go to mangiasalishan.com, or call 541-764-2501.