MANTRA INDIAN CUISINE , GELUGOR — Restaurant in George Town

It was my first time here and I absolutely love the food. This is an Indian restaurant serving authentic north and south Indian dishes located at Gelugor opposite the famous Indian temple across the road. The restaurant is actually in a bungalow where the rooms are converted into dining area. There is outdoor seating as well.

We tried the Hyderabad lamb briyani, lamb briyani (you can see how much my family love lamb), palak paneer and a chicken thali. Hyderabad lamb briyani and lamb briyani is actually quite similar. Only difference is the spices they use to cook the mutton. The rice is fluffy, and full of flavour. Mutton is tender. Mutton portion is small, we get only a mere 4 to 5 small pieces in a briyani set.

Chicken thali is nice. One of the chicken is cooked in shallots and curry leaves (not sure if it is Chicken Varuval).. that is really awesome. Chicken is flavorful and very tender.

Palak paneer is also great. Paneer is fresh, palak is grind to a fine puree. They put some small strips of ginger in there too. I actually didn't like the ginger so much.

Parking is available at the restaurant compound. Not sure how many cars can go in.. at the point of my arrival . 2 cars are in there, I was the third one. There is actually space to park 2 more cars.

The ambiance has room for improvement. Maybe put some orange light. And too bad they use table cloth for curry food. There are visible stains in our table cloth. Air cond is not cold enough.

Price is compatible with the quality of food. The restaurant only accepts cash and card. No ewallet...

Dined at Mantra on a regular March Friday evening. It was completely deserted except for group. Restaurant is nestled within a rundown bungalow, right behind Gelugor's rundown post office. Limited parking, equivalent to 3 cars max. Lots of waitstaff for this small crowd. All rooms and spaces in this bungalow was converted into dining areas. The partitions across dining spaces created an illusion of a semi private dining. In our room, mosquitoes abound for us to swat the whole night. Air con was under-powered and the space underneath it received no ventilation, so it was dining in sweat 😅. Food wise, Mantra is quite good esp considering where it's located and even by Penang's standard. I definitely think there's much work to be done in terms...

The restaurant is a nice and cozy one. Its a house turned into a restaurant. Very welcoming staff and the place is clean and tidy. They have good seating capacity and a couple of outdoor seating as well. Not crowded all the time. We went in the noon. The menu was very well organised. They have a complimentary drink and a snack. Dishes were tasty, but the portions are huge. They have parking inside for attractive about 6 cars. Otherwise it is difficult to get parking space. The restaurant is somewhere close to the main road and google maps could mislead you behind the restaurant, so be careful. You can taste almost authentic Indian dishes. Good option for vegetarian options are also available. Overall we had...