The Mansion is a Melbourne staple that is perfect for any occasion. I have been coming here for years and it never gets old. Between the rooftop dining, the enormous beer selection, and the tasty food options, it is always a crowd pleaser. This is one of the many great restaurants in Downtown Melbourne alongside Crush Eleven and Mustard’s Last Stand.
Table of Contents
The Atmosphere
This restaurant is self-described as a casual American restaurant, which I think would be an accurate portrayal. The food varies from tacos to burgers to filet mignon to a pot roast. So you can find something for whatever mood you are in! I love coming here for lunch and getting one of their salads. It’s a great time of day to hang out on the patio and enjoy a drink and a fresh meal.
Here’s a picture from the first time Andrew and I came for lunch for Valentine’s Day 2014! We were just in college and could only afford the cheaper lunch menu than the dinner menu. There have been so many memories made at the Mansion through the years since. We have also dined here to celebrate our college graduation and friends birthdays. It has rained every time my parents come here so sadly they still haven’t been able to get the full rooftop experience. As I have put together this review, I found I have a lot more pictures from lunch meals than dinner meals. This is mainly because mainly because the lighting is better in the day.
Drinks at The Mansion
One of the many cool things about the Mansion is that they have over seventy different beers on tap at all times. The selection is always changing and I try to get something different every visit. The selection is very varied with national and local breweries. They always have a lot from Bell’s, Dogfish Head, Terrapin and other well known craft breweries. There is also a large selection of Florida breweries like Playalinda Brewing Company andFunky Buddha Brewing.In addition to beer, they have a variety of signature co*cktails and an extensive wine selection.
Appetizers Options
My favorite thing on the menu is the Grit Cake topped BBQ Bacon Wrapped Shrimp and pico de gallo appetizer. The shrimp is always cooked to perfection and there are just so many flavors in one bite. The barbeque shrimp goes so well with the cheesy grits that we just can’t resist ordering it. The conch fritters, soft pretzel sticks, and ahi tuna tacos are other appetizer favorites of ours.
I have had the antipasti plate in the past and I do not recommend it. The deli meat on it was extremely basic and I usually expect better quality meats for this type of appetizer. The cheese and bread that come with it were very plain was well. The nachos are also not the best I have had either, as I found them to have too many black beans and not enough cheese. Other than these two items, I think the rest of the appetizers are safe bets.
Salads, Sandwiches, and Entrees
The salad I usually order is the tortilla salad with bacon, avocado, corn, black beans and a chili lime vinaigrette. This is much better than your average taco salad and all of these ingredients are very fresh. I also enjoy the spinach, strawberry, goat cheese salad and the tavern house with feta and pumpkin seeds. I think the caeser salad is extremely plain and overpriced, so I would’t recommend it. My mom got the wedge on our last visit and she said it had an excellent ratio of fresh ingredients.
There are so many options with entrees that it can be hard to decide. Luckily they have options for any mood. The Mansion tacos are a popular pick that we love, especially with fish. I am partial so the pork chop with andouille cheddar mashed potatoes, where as Andrew loves the Tavern Pot Roast with a Guinness gravy. They have some great burgers and sandwiches as well like the roadhouse burger with bbq sauce, cheddar and caramelized onions and the blackened salmon BLT.
The Mansion frequently offers unique specials that normally consist of a bistro steak and a fish of the day. These option are always really unique and well done, like the miso salmon they had on our last visit. One thing to note is that the specials are usually at least $30, which can be surprising since the rest of the menu is mainly under $20.
We have rarely had a bad meal here and almost always find the meals to be well executed. The only thing on the menu I wouldn’t recommend is the Cheese Steak, which I got once and found to be on the bland side. We pretty much never get desert because of how filling everything is. If you want dessert, I would definitely go with the Key Lime Pie which we have loved in the past.
The Cellar at The Mansion
One other distinct feature of this restaurant is The Cellar, which is basically a liquor store selling more kinds of wine, liquor and beer than you could imagine! It is kind of like Total Wine, but instead of a big store, it’s a series of little rooms and hallways where you can always discover more booze! They have some very rare offerings here, including all sorts of interesting bourbons and tequila for us to pie for. You can also build you own six pack from the variety of beer bottles available.
Tasting Events
Another thing I love about The Mansion is the unique tasting experiences they offer. Multiple times per month, there is either a wine or liquor tasting in the cellar. We have had some very fun date nights coming to these tastings. The last event we went to was a gin tasting, and we found it to be an all around excellent experience. For $25 per person, we got to try eight different samples of high quality gin and some interesting mixers as well.
Andrew and I love a good gin and tonic, but we did not know much about gin otherwise. This tasting opened our eyes to the nuances in the different varieties and how to best serve them. They also served a couple of huge plates of appetizers for the group of ten people in attendance and there was more than enough food to go around. The only downside of the event is that you get very tipsy trying all these different types, so be sure to take a Lyft if you go. They have a Glenfiddich Experimental Series tasting coming up, as well as a Halloween wine tasting and I am tempted to go to both!
The Mansion is open everyday from 11 AM to 9 PM and 11 PM on the weekends. They also now offer brunch on Sunday from 11am to 2pm but we have found it overly expensive compared to other restaurants in the area. You can sit on the rooftop, under a covered patio, or inside. This is pretty much the only rooftop dining spot on the Space Coast so it can be good to have a reservation for Friday and Saturday night dinners.
If you are visiting Melbourne, then you really need to go to The Mansion for a meal. The atmosphere and variety of food and drinks is unlike anywhere else. And if you live around here, I would be shocked if you haven’t been – it’s that popular! I’ll try and update with better food pictures in the future, but I was just there a week ago and it was too dark on the rooftop for me to get a good picture of the Fish tacos.
Do you like rooftop bars and restaurants? I can’t help but love a great meal with a view!
