Mantra Restaurant — Restaurant in South Island

I had high hopes for Mantra Restaurant after seeing so many glowing five-star reviews, but unfortunately, our experience was very underwhelming and left us questioning how genuine some of those reviews are. Many seem repetitive, with similar wording, images, and even names, which feels misleading given the quality of food we received.

We ordered butter chicken in both mild and medium spice levels. The mild tasted like a watered-down version of the medium, yet both were far too spicy and unbalanced for what should be a rich, comforting dish. The paneer curry (with capsicum and tomato) was overcooked with a burnt flavor that made it difficult to enjoy.

For sides, the rice was fine and probably the only part of the meal we truly enjoyed. The naan (two plain and two garlic) wasn’t raw, but it was very doughy and heavy, lacking the softness and light texture naan should have. We also ordered vegetable samosas, which were underwhelming and had an odd, unappealing flavor.

We don’t want to be too harsh on this restaurant, as we understand it is a small business and we always want to support those. However, we feel it’s important for others looking at reviews to know that despite the high rating, the food may not be as good as it is represented. We’ve eaten a lot of Indian food before and therefore can compare the quality more accurately, and we suspect that many of the five-star reviews may come from people who haven’t tried authentic or well-prepared Indian dishes before.

Overall, the food simply did not match the hype or high ratings. That said, we hope the restaurant can take this as constructive feedback and improve, because with some adjustments, it has the potential to deliver a much better...

I could not believe the service we received tonight. It's byo when I walked in i had beaten the rest of my group by 15 min so told the manager I was with that booked group, he just pointed out my table and said you're over there. I told him I had my own red wine with me. The resturuaunt was extremely cold and not even being by the fireplace made it any warmer. There were no wine glasses and after 10 min I had to get up and ask for one. The manager just merely hands me one and makes me walk back to my table with my glass. my fellow diners ran around 20 min late and the whole time my daughter's and I sat there not one person came to offer water or starters while we waited. Once my friends arrived the manager stands at the end of the table to announce to my friend that he ordered a product from her colleague at the shop she works at and made a fuss about the problem and how angry he was at the customer service, we all felt really awkward and definitely not the place to carry on. I laughed when he mentioned bad customer service. Once we did order I made it clear I can't eat any diary at all. Once I finished my starters I questioned the manager if the dip had dairy he says yes it has yoghurt did you not tell when you were eating it???? No assumed that perhaps it was a coconut cream mint sauce. I spent the night unwell and have woken up with a migraine as a result. Then to top it off I was charged twice as much as what my wine cost as a byo charge. As a result I nearly fell over at our bill. The customer service was so redoculous I thought it must have been a bad joke. the young people working on tables were nice just inexperienced. The manager i can not believe...

We had an absolutely amazing experience at Mantra and its completely fair to say it is the best Indian restaurant we have been to in Queenstown and around. Having tried our fair share of Indian food in Queenstown and being disappointed to say the least, we were so delighted to have stumbled across this beautiful restaurant in Arrowtown. For entrees, Sundried Tomato Paneer tikka is a must have. The Nargisi Kofta, Dal Kabila and Paneer Tikka were perfectly balanced in terms of spice and flavour and a must try. For desserts, Lemongrass payasam and gulabjamun was a fusion combo which we absolutely relished. The Restaurant owner Guru Prasad had Masala tea made to order for us the way we requested and it was simply a delight on a cold day. The staff and owner were very warm and welcoming and we highly recommend Mantra to anyone who is looking for authentic Indian food. We for sure are planning to go again to try out rest of the dishes on their menu and to experience their warm...