Since opening its doors in 2009, Mandolin Aegean Bistro has become one of Miami’s most beloved dining destinations, offering guests a taste of the Mediterranean in the heart of the city’s vibrant Buena Vista neighborhood. Nestled between the Design District and a charming residential community, the restaurant welcomes everyone from local families to international travelers seeking an authentic dining experience. Inspired by the Greek and Turkish heritage of its founders, Mandolin pairs time-honored recipes with the freshest seasonal ingredients sourced from Florida farms, creating a menu that evolves with the harvest. Whether guests are sharing a table of traditional mezes, celebrating a special occasion or hosting a private event for dozens, Mandolin has built its reputation on bringing people together over warm hospitality and memorable food. Margot Eisbert explains how Mandolin Aegean Bistro has become so successful and what makes it truly special.
What inspired you to get into foodservice?
“I grew up with sort of a large family, but we would always have family gatherings; food has always been our love language. I know that a lot of people in this industry have the same experience. I think that growing up around a family that cooks nightly, we had a lot of family dinners, which, as a young kid, I didn’t really appreciate until I got older.
A lot of my friends didn’t grow up like that, so, being able to pass that along as well for all my children and their children, I think is really important.”
What do you love about your business?
“It caters to my OCD, anxiety and need for perfection! I think that a lot of people have the same sort of…characteristics, mentally and physically, and that’s why they get into the restaurant business. I find myself working with a lot of perfectionists, which is good and bad, but I think mostly good when it comes to restaurants.”
What makes the environment at Mandolin special?
“Mandolin is a very family-oriented place…we share tons of family meals together. We’re actually, today, doing a bake off with our team. Anybody that wants to cook and bring in something, we’re judging them kind of like a Top Chef at the restaurant with our staff. We do fun things all the time…everybody’s kind of like a second family there.”
What’s the most interesting thing to happen to your business?
“We have been open for almost 17 years in Miami and have expanded our space slowly from 20 to over 200 seats during that time. We quadrupled our staff area and kitchen area since 2009. We have a lot of our team members that have worked there since Day One, so they’re coming up on 15, 16 years and they’ve seen it since that first 20 seats, and to have the restaurant be over 200 now, it’s like we constantly feel like we can do anything and get better as the years go by.”
What do you attribute Mandolin’s growth to?
“I think we take a lot of pride in the way that we serve our guests. We kind of treat everybody as if they were our own family as well. We don’t have a typical hostess stand, and we welcome people at the door as if they were coming into our own home. I think our guests feel very comfortable and relaxed while still feeling like they’re getting an elevated experience with our food.”
What is the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome?
“We only have about 30 seats that are indoors, and then another, maybe 50 that are covered with awnings. So, we’re very diligent about checking the weather throughout the day, especially in hurricane season from June to November. 
A downpour could happen at any moment, but we train our team very strictly on the order of things that need to happen in order to move our guests safely to a covered area without sitting anyone new.
We kind of have it down to a science. I actually think next year we’ll be able to cover the last areas that aren’t, and then fix some of the drains in the ground too, because right now, when it rains, it almost floods a little bit, but even our guests, they kind of find it magical, and they’ll just sit there with their feet in a puddle and just continue eating and drinking their way through the menu.”
Which Cambro products help make your business successful?
“Food storage containers, and shelving. [The Camshelving] is washable, it’s very easy to clean, no rust, it looks pretty uniform and the most durable thing that I’ve had.
I’m constantly visualizing how to make every space that we have more manageable.”
About Mandolin Aegean Bistro
Location: Miami, Fla.
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