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Mantra Restaurant & Lounge

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632 Emerson St
Palo Alto, CA 94301

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(650) 322-3500
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Mantra Restaurant & Lounge - Palo Alto, CA
Mantra Restaurant & Lounge - Palo Alto, CA
Mantra Restaurant & Lounge - Palo Alto, CA
Mantra Restaurant & Lounge - Palo Alto, CA
Mantra Restaurant & Lounge - Palo Alto, CA
Mantra Restaurant & Lounge - Palo Alto, CA
Mantra Restaurant & Lounge - Palo Alto, CA
Mantra Restaurant & Lounge - Palo Alto, CA
Mantra Restaurant & Lounge - Palo Alto, CA
Mantra Restaurant & Lounge - Palo Alto, CA
Mantra Restaurant & Lounge - Palo Alto, CA
Mantra Restaurant & Lounge - Palo Alto, CA
Mantra Restaurant & Lounge - Palo Alto, CA
Mantra Restaurant & Lounge - Palo Alto, CA
Mantra Restaurant & Lounge - Palo Alto, CA
Mantra Restaurant & Lounge - Palo Alto, CA
Mantra Restaurant & Lounge - Palo Alto, CA
Reviews
( 14 )
( 4 )
( 8 )
( 2 )
( 2 )

Best

I went with a friend of mine for a casual dinner. The best samosas I have ever had. I focus on the little things like chutneys and raitas and Chef Sachin Chopra delivered what I h...

Worst

We decided to try out Mantra and must say that they have a great place. There was live music on that Saturday evening. However we were disappointed with the food. We had the chick...

Bunch of rude and unprofessional folks run this place 4/23/2011

My wife and I decided to celebrate, at Mantra, our 9th anniversary of the moment when we first met. I checked on the web and found multiple dinner hours listed on the web - Mantra's own website stated that they close at 11pm on Thursdays. To be safe, I called the restaurant and spoke with a polite lady who made reservations for us and told us that they'll stop letting people in after 9:30pm tonight so as long as we are in before that, they'll serve us and we'll not be rushed. We reach there at 9:25pm and called them from my car to get exact location (we were only 2 car distance away from the restaurant at that time) and the man that picked up the phone said that they are closed and could not let us in - doesn't matter if there was a lady who had made a reservation for us and had told us that if we are in by 9:30pm we are good. more
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Unprofessional Service 1/8/2009

A girlfriend of mine came across Mantra as she passed by and since we were meeting for dinner suggested I meet her there. She had to wait about 20 minutes for me as I took a wrong turn so she sat at the bar having an appetiser and a drink holding a seat for me. Apparently a man approached her wanting the seat and she explained I was soon to appear so could not give it up. Once I arrived we had dinner and enjoyed the design of the restaurant and bar area, warm yet modern. I had Chicken Masala and she had a lamb curry both were good and our bartender/waiter provided good service. The place is not inexpensive however the food was well seasoned and they took into consideration our desire for spicy and delivered. Pros: Decor, good bar service Cons: rude owner more
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Good but not best 10/18/2008

It was our reunion party all my friends has gather together but we were not getting any idea where to celebrate this occasion, one of mine friend suggested that there is a best place to celebrate. Before this I have never been to this place. I liked this place when I entered in this restaurant. What to about this restaurant everything, I mean everything was perfect. From Looks to Food everything was nice. Not getting words to describe. more
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Not as expected! 9/26/2008

We decided to try out Mantra and must say that they have a great place. There was live music on that Saturday evening. However we were disappointed with the food. We had the chicken curry and arugula-cheese platter with naan and found it to be really ordinary. Specially for the price for each of them. It was almost $18-$19 per plate and didnt taste very good.The dessert we had was nice (cant remember the name now but it was a torte). I would skip this place the next time I am in University ave area..there are other good eateries! more
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Best Indian restaurant in US thus far, second best being Baluchis in NYC 4/19/2008

I went with a friend of mine for a casual dinner. The best samosas I have ever had. I focus on the little things like chutneys and raitas and Chef Sachin Chopra delivered what I have been looking for over 9 years in US now - both were the best by far. more
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Unprofessional service 12/17/2007

We had a large dinner party here. The food was good. Experience was great until the end when we got the bill. more
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Great location, fusiontastic! 11/9/2007

Tasty mussels and great curry chicken, I would recommend this place if you have at least 1 hour and half. This being said the service was slow, at least on the server side, the water and dish guys were operating at great speeds. Pros: Great indian california fusion. Cons: Slow service - Takes awhile to get your food. more
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Too expensive 8/21/2007

Came here yesterday for the "Dine Downtown Palo Alto Mondays" prix fixe. The decor is very nice, especially... more
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Too expensive 8/21/2007

shpladaow Provided by Partner
Came here yesterday for the "Dine Downtown Palo Alto Mondays" prix fixe. The decor is very nice, especially the wall waterfall fountain. Mantra ... more
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Wow, I think I'm falling for Mantra 8/17/2007

My follow-up review for this restaurant. Read my previous review for this restaurant... more
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Wow, I think I'm falling for Mantra 8/17/2007

Tom Provided by Partner
My follow-up review for this restaurant. Read my previous review for this restaurant "*here*":/reviews/55320 Update 08/17: Maybe I'll feel differ... more
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Some very tasty unique options for a high price 8/4/2007

There are a few restaurants that I would recommend highly, with the caveat its covered by an expense... more
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Some very tasty unique options for a high price 8/4/2007

Tom Provided by Partner
There are a few restaurants that I would recommend highly, with the caveat its covered by an expense account. Mantra is definitely one of them. I... more
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good, not great 7/18/2007

Mantra was hugely dissappointing, it has so much potential, but the kitchen just doesn't execute. It is a beautiful restaurant with nice art on the walls and it has a fun hip vibe, and the menu sounds great, but it doesn't come together on the plate. I'm not against Asian fusion, I 've actually started becoming quite fond of it, but I think Mantra is an example of why some people are so against fusion. The paneer appetizer lacked flavor. The samosa's are way overpriced for being as simple as they are. The lamb chops were undercooked, we asked for med. rare and got very rare. The seabass itself was very nice, but the accompaniments lacked flavor. All this and you walk out with a big hole in your wallet. Pros: nice setting Cons: poor execution on food more
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Best new upscale restaurant in Palo Alto 1/6/2007

I was at Mantra a few nights ago with a friend, and had a terrific experience. The bar, called ""Daru Lounge"" may just be my favorite physical part of the restaurant. Grandly yet sleekly designed, with friendly, accommodating bartenders, it wouldn?t be out of place in a chic neighborhood in Manhattan. Of the drinks we tried, I particularly enjoyed the pomegranate ""pom-pom"" martini and the red mist martini, although my friend preferred the slightly harder ""Mantra"" special. We also tasted the chocolate martini, which was too sweet for my palate, but our bartender Jerry said it's a favorite with the ladies. The martinis were a little pricey at $10 a pop, but given the exquisite ambience of the bar, and the fresh naan and chutney we were given as a special treat from the owner, it was entirely reasonable. Pros: Ambience, Food, Wine List more
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best indian fusino restaurant 12/29/2006

i was a little hesitant when my family told me that we were going to eat indian/french food on christmas eve. as i dont generally like indian food i must say i was quite impressed. we ordered the menu that offered a four course meal. the firset course was a refreshing modern twist on the traditional peruvian dish of ceviche drenched in fresh lime juice and for the vegeatrains there was a magnificent mozerella substitute. following that was served a zesty butternut squash/carrot soup with a hint of an indian aftertaste. As the first two courses were of the perfect proportions, i still had a decent appetite when the main dish came. the main dish was a puff pastry covered in a zesty chile sauce with shitake mushrooms inside. last but not least came the desert which i must say was divine. itw as something ive never heard of called a chocolate bombe which had white chocolate in the center and was submerged in a jasmine tea soup. i can't wait to go back and try their main menu. more
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Beautiful restaurant with great California/Indian Fusion food 11/23/2006

My wife and I had dinner at Mantra last week. We were impressed by Mantra's warm modern decor, vibrant colors and contemporary art work. Mantra has a very long very urban, New York style bar and lounge. We were greeeted warmly and seated near the fountain. The server recommened Sea Bass and Mixed Grill as their signature dishes. We had an interesting Vegetarian Starter called Paneer Cuboid that came with a shot of delicious cold soup. The Sea Bass was the best I had. We had their one of their Burgundy Pinots by the glass. The service was prompt. Will highly recommend this new addition to Palo Alto. more
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Poor service - don't come here 11/3/2006

My husband and I went there for dinner tonight. I ordered the lamb chops and he ordered the steak. We were seat at 7 pm. They totally forgot our orders. When we follow-up on our orders, neither the maitre-d nor our waitress apologized. I got my order at 8:05 pm and my husband got his around 8:15 pm. In addition, my husband ordered medium done for his steak and it came out rare. When we brought that to our waitress' attention, she stood there for 30 seconds before offering to have it cooked more. Again, she didn't apologize for not getting the order right. Basically, she took his plate in and had the kitchen cook the section of the steak that was rare. When his plate of steak came back out, it was half cold and half warm. For what this restaurant charged us, the service was quite poor. The portion size was also small. I'm giving Mantra a 1/10 because my lamb chops tasted good but that's all it had going for it. Pros: food tasted okay Cons: poor service, poor value, bad attitude more
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Incredible wine and food at great prices and wonderful service! 8/23/2006

Learned about this restaurant from Michael Bauer's blog. Incredibly talented chef trained in New York at some hot restaurants. We got fresh California cuisine with Indian influenced spices and flavors. Tasty scallop app, lamb kebobs, and watermelo salad to start. Then the sea bass, mixed grill with lamb, shrimp, chicken, and a vegetarian timbale. The wine list was really well selected and priced low! How refreshing. They have 18 wines by the glass. I wish everyone had this friendly of service. We loved our waitress>nice and well trained. The lounge is a cool place to meet up before dinner. They have awesome cocktails and played Bollywood movies on their plasma>a weird but cool touch. Pros: service, freshness of food, wine prices Cons: parking a little difficult but where isn't it? more
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Nice but not special 8/21/2006

I ate there on 8/20/06. more
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Menu for Mantra Restaurant & Lounge


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Editorial

  • In Short
    Innovative Californian cuisine with a smattering of Indian flavors provides options in this fine-dining establishment. Executive Chef Sachin Chopra's training in both America...

  • 7/25/2006 Provided by Citysearch
Additional information
  • Hours: Mon: 4:30pm-10pm Tues-Wed: 11:30am-2:30pm, 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm Thurs: 11:30 am-2:30pm, 5:00pm-11:00 pm Fri: 11:30am-2:30pm 5:30pm - 11:00pm Sat: 5pm-11pm Sun: 5pm-10pm
  • Payments: Master Card, Visa, Diner's Club, Cash, Discover, American Express
  • Neighborhoods: University South
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