"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 Mixed Grill. read more