Manna - Cuisine of India — Restaurant in Oklahoma City

I came in about 6PM an was the only customer there. I wasn’t greeted when I came in, the guy just stared at me until I asked if they were open(I think I woke him up from his nap). He also didn’t ask what I wanted to drink, he brought me a water, I had to prompt him that I wished to by a coke. Those are very small things that I can overlook though. A few people came in to pick up to-go orders, and that gave me a little hope.

The televangelist blasting on the TV was giving a sermon about birthing out the Devil, complete with birthing sounds. Every menu has brown liquid stain on them, there are brown spots all over the walls.

I ordered chicken tikka and naan bread. The meal came out sizzling in a fajita skillet, so it at least smelled good. But right after the plate was set down, a small roach ran across my table towards me from the skillet handle, it was probably either hiding in the pot holder or in the wood piece under the skillet. The pot holder had white powder all over it like someone grabbed it with naan dough on their hands. The plastic tongs that were left for me had been melted by the skillet at least once in the past.

No one checked back on me after the meal was delivered. Not once.

Ever single slice of onion on the dish was burned to a crisp. The first piece of naan seemed OK. The chicken had decent seasoning on it, and the sauce on the side had a nice flavor. the chicken was a little dry, but I wouldn’t have complained about it, until I started seeing green spots in the meat, even though the spices were red. On the second piece of naan I noticed not all the black spots were charred bread. One of the spots was a black splatter mark, and I couldn’t stop wondering if it was burned onion or something worse. I was very hungry when I went in, but I was not able to finish my meal, and I definitely didn’t want to take it home. I couldn’t leave fast enough. The burned onion taste was in my mouth the entire 1 hour drive home, and I was wishing I had went to a casual chain restaurant instead.

I normally don’t leave negative reviews if I have a subpar experience, but this went beyond “not good” and way into “scary” territory. They should be more scared of the health inspector than they are of the Devil.

0 out of 10....

Food was great. Let me tell you the whole story, though.

The place is easy to find with help from Google, but the only signs that say Manna are on the windows, so don't look for a large marquee with their name above the place. This isn't a problem, I just want to help you get here.

We walked in and there was no one there but a woman and young lady on the opposite side. The young lady asked us to sit wherever we like. We sat and talked for a while and were brought napkins and two bottles of water. We were pretty worried about our food place decision by this point. Finally the young lady brought a menu to the table. Turns out they only have one menu. Again, we were worried.

We ordered tandoori chicken, chicken tikka masala, and garlic naan. Yeah, you read correctly: garlic naan. Also, the tikka masala was ordered to be spicy. We talked for quite a while and listened to multiple phone orders being made. Still we were the only customers at a table on a Friday night (6pm). We made jokes about how the food will probably do a number on us but just laughed it off.

Finally a sizzling plate of tandoori chicken turned our attention towards the kitchen and we watched the food being brought to us. The smells were incredible and everything looked delicious and colorful. We were given styrofoam plates and plastic cutlery which was weird, but looking back it was all a part of this weird experience.

From here, I feel I must say that the food made the odd experience completely worthwhile. I'm not eastern Indian, so I can't say what was authentic. Instead the best way I can describe it was that I felt the cooks were likely to cook these same meals at home for their family and that this food was not "for tourists" if you know what I mean.

I give Manna five stars because great food doesn't come from things like matching tables, big marquee building signs, and multiple menus. I came here for great Indian food and got exactly that. Be adventurous and take a chance on this place if you enjoy variety and flavor. Pass on this place if you lack patience or can't enjoy a great dive restaurant. Heck, you can always order for carry out if any of my description sounds...

Updated review August 22, 2024: Have always been a fan of this place for how great the food is, enough to even recommend this to people I know. But today would be the last time I come back. Why? Because they made us wait almost TWO HOURS for the food even though we call an hour ahead of our pickup time. We were told 30 mins, but knowing this place we were certain they needed more than that. Nope. Just sat there and wait for another hour. Food came out after we were all tired and annoyed, no apology, no compensation for the time they wasted. If they need that much time, could have at least told the customers ahead of time. Guess what’s even funnier? While we were waiting along with a bunch of other customers who also had to wait no less than an hour, the guy who answered the phone still had the audacity to tell customers on the phone that it’s a 30 mins wait??? As much as I love the food here, I cannot justify the way they let customers wait HOURS for some curry. If you have all the time in the world to waste, come here and enjoy their amazing butter chicken. Otherwise save yourself some time and headache and go elsewhere.

Previous review 2022: I ordered butter chicken and cheese naan, food was ready promptly after I placed the order on the phone. The food tastes amazing, I asked for medium spice which probably would be the best choice if you don’t have high tolerance but still want a little heat, it also comes with a small box of white rice. Portion seems a bit small for a total of $17, but you can probably split it in two meals if you eat alone, or share it with someone. Service was decent, the lady at the front desk was friendly and even called to let me know my order was ready for pickup. Overall pretty satisfied with...