Mantra — Restaurant in Paramus

"A Decent Night Out"

As an alternative to the typical night out and to our customary celebratory dinner, my wife and I decided to eat Indian cuisine for the night of our seventeenth wedding anniversary. While there is certainly a great selection of eateries from which to choose, based upon the reviews we chose Mantra located in Paramus, New Jersey. Having had some exposure to Indian food in the past, I recommended for my wife to search online to read up on some of the more popular Indian dishes to prepare herself; this is a good idea, by the way, especially if you're a novice to the typical fare.

Upon inspection of their site, I was impressed with the selection Mantra has to offer. Their menu doesn't disappoint. Our expectation of the restaurant vibe was high, and we were not surprised by the Ramsay-styled decor.

There's a chimney wall from floor to ceiling, separating the bar area from the dining space. The Maître D' handles check-in (for our reservation), and he doubles as Coat Check Clerk. The lighting is elegant, and our server lights a table candle. We dressed the part, although attire is apparently not important; some folks wear sports team jerseys, sneakers, etc. Don't be fooled by the appearance, the restaurant is kid-friendly.

If you ask for it, you get it - and expect to pay for every single thing the waiter brings, including bread. The naan isn't included; it costs $4.50 per basket of four pieces.

We're given a choice of regular H2O or sparkling (Bolle from Italy). The bottle costs $7.00. If you order alcohol, be prepared to pay through the nose. My wife orders a coconut martini for $12.00.

We order appetizers, and they're delicious. I order Dal Shorba, a lentil soup, and it's fantastic for $5.95. My wife orders a delicious and recommended cauliflower, called Lassuni Gobhi for $9.95; it has a good amount of spice and is a pleasant warm-up (so to speak) for anything else we'd order as an entree.

For the mains we order the Mixed Grill. At $21.95 it's a good choice for the novice. I order the Andhraa Goat for $20.95. Basmati rice comes with mine, but we order a side of lemon rice for the mixed entree for an additional cost of $6.95. We feel the order should have come with the choice of rice.

By the time the dessert option comes, I'm conservative and order a $4.00 espresso. My wife orders a Kulfi Trio of three ice cream scoops for $7.00. The frozen treat reminds me of a gelato from ShopRite.

All in all, with tax and tip we're in it for $122.90. Remember, this is for one alcohol drink and a shared bottle of imported spring water.

Positives? • Selection • Ambiance • Service • Location • Flavor

Negatives? • Price $$-$$$$$ • à la carte

What advice would you give to dine here? Be prepared to spend some money. It's certainly not as much as a steak dinner from Ruth's Chris - it's a little less than half of what we paid there for an anniversary dinner. Check out the menu in advance, and decide upon what you'd like to eat beforehand. I have little faith that the waiter will be able to adequately describe the food. Although, our waiter did make a good recommendation for appetizer and was spot-on with the amount of spice in the goat dish.

Would you recommend a customer to order anything in particular? Of course I was attracted to the mere fact that this restaurant serves goat. But, there are plenty of other great options on the menu from which to choose. Everything mentioned above is good. Again, if you are an Indian cuisine novice, there's a section of menu that features staple options - that's where we found the...

I had this place bookmarked for a while and went with the fam and was ready to take on my second Indian food venture lol I was a little skeptical by the outside appearance which looked a little rough to say the least but don' t let that sway because when you enter the ambiance and decor is PHENOMENAL !!!

As far as the food goes WOW:

The menu had a nice variety with plenty of options. And diverse for vegetarians and vegans etc.. which is the case with most Indian places I have been told. Everything we had to eat wad FLAWLESS.. We started with the garlic Naan and plain Naan for appetizers and WOW the softness and taste was The portions were plentiful and very good cost vs portion quality ratio! Their Chicken Tikka Masala was just amazing. A thick well seasoned tomato sauce seasoned with onions and peppers prepped and baked in a large clay oven and you could taste pureness.I had that with plain Basmati rice (Not Pictured for the whole table) The rice was so light with full of flavor mixed with green peas. This dish was just heaven the taste was REALLY REALLY good in an addictive way seriously. The "Khate Masale Murgh" Tender chicken breast cooked with lemon puree, turmeric and onion was also REALLLLLLLLLLLLLL GOOD the Tenderness of the chicken bursting with flavor The turmeric and lemon gave it a that perfect blend of mouth watering flavor. MUST ORDER PERIOD !!! my daughter also got the got the spinach rice as a side (My daughter will try different stuff LOVE HER LOL !!) It was different to say the least but very good surprisingly for me, My son and mother ordered Kabobs which they said was very good as well.

Big SHOUT OT TO THE STAFF FOR THE PATIENCE AND PROFESSIONALISM. We had many questions and they answered them every time. The service here was very attentive, and the waitstaff so friendly. Just a flat out overall amazing experince amazing experience.

Other reasons to visit/try this lovely beautiful place in my opinion: Large private parking in a mall strip so no issues their the prices are so cheap for all the food you get - rare for an Indian place Portions are generous vs cost and quality ratio are great. They deliver

Overall here are my the score/mini breakdowns recap lol: Food: 6/5 Everything perfect !!! Service: 5/5 Patience and professional from the entire staff and that was much appreciated and refreshing Atmosphere: 4/5 Don't let the outside deter you from missing out on a great experience Price: 5/5 Reasonable prices for the quality of food you receive and portions.

Overall this experience was perfect in every aspect for my personal experience. They made my family feel welcomed and the food and ambiance/decor was very nice. This is also a great place for a special occasion or date/anniversay etc.. Its pretty...

Had a reservation for a group of 5 friends and still had to wait even though the place was empty. Waiter came and walked past us then looked at us like "hello aren't you gonna follow me" we were so confused. We got put in the back of the restaurant and then ignored for like 10 mins. Nobody asked us for drinks or anything. We had to flag somebody down to get our drinks and appetizers in. Then about 15mins later a large family came in and sat next to us. They were immediately given water and service. Idk if they were family but it was very upsetting. Then we got our drinks and appetizers and the drinks were horrible, two of us sent ours back it was so bad. Next we had to wait some more to order our food because nobody was checking our table. Finally when the waiter comes the large family next to us has already been given their dinner. We get our orders in and have to wait about 30 more mins. We were staving just looking at the large group next to us eating and talking to the waiters who are ignoring us. Finally we get our food and they give us 2 small bowls of rice to share with our whole group of 5. So then when we asked for another we have to wait again. Finally we start eating after about an hour of being there and the food was TERRIBLE. I've had Indian food many times and I was excited to show my friends who've never had it before, something different, but it was the WORST food I've ever had. Idk why but nothing was seasoned, like no salt, no pepper, no basic ingredients. The rice was the worst of all! One of my friends refused to eat it and the cook had to come out and apologize which was so awful and awkward I've never had that experience. My friend then asked why the large group/ family next to us received better and quicker service and we were told "oh they call like 2 weeks to a month in advance." So they gave you guys their full order a month ago and that's why we were ignored 🤔 make it make sense. In the end we ended up paying over $200 for food none of us finished, for drinks none of us finished, for water we didn't ask for, and with an additional 18% gratuity with terrible service. The waiter had such a bad attitude and didn't even come back to the table after a while. I will NEVER come back here...