We actually ate there on a week night and enjoyed the food so much we decided to come back on Saturday for the buffet lunch. They actually have a lunchtime buffet everyday. And this is definitely the way to go cause you can try so many different things and everything was great! I loved it all! And all the workers were very attentive. Unfortunately we live in N.C. but we will absolutely come back when we are in the area again!!! read more

Ordered takeout. Chicken tikka masala medium spicy, saag paneer, garlic naan and gobi Manchurian. Everything was good but the paneer was rubbery and my boyfriend said the chicken tikka masala wasn't very spicy. The garlic naan was delicious, I ordered 2 orders but could've used 3. The gobi was tasty and spicy, probably would have been a bit less soggy if it was eaten at the restaurant. The management is very friendly during pickup and it only took about 20 minutes for the food to be ready. Will likely try again sometime. read more

5 star for food. It's absolutely yummy. It looks like they don't really care much about business. Last time we came at 6 pm, all their outdoor seats were empty. We said we wanted to sit outside. They asked if we've reservation. We didn't. Then you can only sit indoors After 10-15 min we checked online and we could reserve for that very time slot online. Why couldn't they either reserve it for us when we are already there or ask us to make the reservation there and then? Instead they didn't try to provide any solution. Another time my wife and I came during afternoon and only about 20% tables outdoors were occupied. We wanted to sit far from other folks so even though there were so many 4 person tables available and they would've closed in sometime, they didn't allow us to sit on the 4 person table. Instead they asked us to sit on the 2 person table which was squished between two parties of 4 folks each. It wouldn't have been social distanced and safe but they were not agreeable. We had to get up and go. read more

Amazing food!! it was delicious and so beautiful, The service was also great. We were treated very well. Roop made us the best drinks! We'll be back soon read more

Good food and always tended to and staff is very kind. Nice lighting and not too loud. Very good experience.

Nice food, fanatic service. Great value. A fabulous place to entertain your family and friends.

Food taste and quality was not good. There were very limited options for buffet which were bad to average range. Overall I don't recommend this place for authentic Indian food. read more

Food is always really good, biryani and the butter chicken is always a hit. Garlic naan is always a good idea. The service is always really great, very attentive. read more

The food was amazing and our waiter joy had a very good service he always gives us the best experience

This restaurant delivers excellent service with a variety of flavorful dishes. The Malai Paneer is creamy, the Peshawari Channa is hearty, and the Dal Tadka is well-seasoned.Cocktails are exceptional. Overall, a satisfying dining experience with cool ambience. read more

Mantra India - Indian Near Me - Mountain View, California

Last week, I dined at Mantra... Among the great meals here, I recommend the malai chicken and chicken curry with garlic naan. Ambience is fantastic, and the service is exceptional. read more

Mantra India - Indian Near Me - Mountain View, California

I will give two stars only for food, it was ok. But service was very bad. We've waited for menu for 10 minutes. 10 minutes more to order. I've asked a question about one dish and decided to go with another one. We've waited 40 minutes for food (two people, not a huge party). Waiters didn't care. I've asked how long should we wait and they ignored me. By that time a party of six which came after us was finishing their food. So finally waiter brings a dish I've asked a question about. And was trying to prove to me that this was my order. By that time they didn't bring even rice or naan. At least something. Well, anyway, we've spend hour there being hungry as hell, spent 10 minutes in rush trying to eat our meal, which was, again, ok. No one ever apologized or at least tried to be friendly. Save your time and go to another place. read more

Revan and his hospitable team delivered excellent service and food once again! Loved the ambiance too. Hope management can give the staff a raise. read more

Pricey. Place doesn't have enough room to move around. In fact there is one table of 6 near the toilet and next to that table there is a big garbage cane overflowing. read more

if you didn't make it to Mantra today for the special Valentines Day buffet you missed out on an exceptional experience. The food was delicious and exciting. The colors of love; let me count the ways. Pink rose sauce, pink strawberry panda cotta, pink berry mocktails all delicious and fun. A special appetizer station and lovely salads. Abundant vegetarian choices as well as a variety of meat, chicken, and, seafood. My favorite was the eggplant dish in a savory sauce. They outdid their selves in both food taste, presentation and service. The decor of this restaurant is very beautiful in sparkly earth tones. My favorite place to each, but this day was sublime. I couldn't have chosen a better lively place to share a Valentines meal with my loved one. read more

Excellent food, attentive service by Joi. Ambiance was very pleasant. Not noisy and good music

Went in for the Diwali Lunch Buffet priced at $30. The menu was pretty average for the occasion. + Ambience + Service + Dosa counter - Veg options were limited and included Lauki sabzi, Plain Dal, and veg pakora. No value for money. Gobi 65 started and Paneer Lababdar were the only 2 items worth having again. - Biryani was distasteful read more

I have been wanting to try out Mantra for a while. I caved into my cravings for good Indian food and ordered vada pav and the lemon chicken this weekend. The vada was tiny much smaller than what I am accustomed to but the flavors were there. The pav or the bun was soft not too buttery and the masala had a bit of a kick to it. Just the way I like it. The lemon chicken was well lemony, a bit too lemony for my taste but overall good. The flavors were excellent, you could taste the fenugreek and the curry was creamy. I was however quite disappointed by the amount of oil in the dish. I could hear my arteries screaming. While I am aware that Indian food is quite unhealthy this dish was another level. Flavorful yes but the oil was just a bit much for my liking. read more

Mantra India - Lemon Chicken - Indian Near Me - Mountain View, California

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Absolutely love Mantra. The food is delicious, the ambience is exceptional, and the service is outstanding. Also want to give a special shout-out to Prem Reddy -- he was so kind, friendly and attentive. Will definitely be back! read more

Horrifying service. We ordered food and waited for over 45 minutes. When we asked where our order was, the waiter gave a us a short, rude answer. We even had to ask twice just for a cup of tea. Customers who arrived after us both got their orders before us. Save your time and money, and eat elsewhere. I'm not sure what's going on in the kitchen, but the staff needs to work on their order management... read more

We had an excellent experience dining at Mantra on Sunday night. The food was delicious and our waiter, Joy, was very courteous and prompt with our order. Recommend this place for a fine dining experience. Their meat Appetizers are delicious. read more

3.5 stars Came here for lunch on the weekend with one other person. We're walking up and down looking for restaurants and saw that this place had a buffet that was fairly cheap as well - only $18! And for two young men, that's a deal! They have a fairly good selection of curries, meats, rices, etc. to choose from, I was able to try a bit of everything and that made me super full at the end! They had your classics like tandoori chicken, butter chicken, biryani, naan and more! They even had some fruits and other classic Indian desserts to finish off. In the end, I think this place has good value, if you want something quick, tasty and cheap I'd come here, but it's far from the best Indian restaurant I've been to. read more

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We ordered catered food for our event and couldn't be happier. Food was great (special mention -- cocktail samosa, hara bhara kabab, Rasmalai) and everyone loved it. Working with Mantra team was smooth as well. They confirmed all the details and delivery was smooth as well. We will definitely be ordering for our next event. read more

Great appetizers, modern ambience and great food. Service was excellent! Nice to walk around Castro street after too.

Food quality and service was excellent. The servers Joy and Romaldo are very good and provide best service

This place is not at all worth the hype. We went on a weekday and they could only offer bottled or canned drinks because their bartender did not show up. The food was far below average. The asparagus tikki was over fried. The paneer tikka was a lot of paneer heaped on a plate with no sizzle and surely not much flavor. They were promoting Angoori paneer as an entree during November, that boasted paneer croquettes in creamy gravy. What was served was super sweet paneer makhni. The reason quoted was that some customers complained that the croquettes were too hard and so they replaced with normal paneer. Since this was a monthly special, they did not want to correct their printed and advertised menu. They were out of the veg biryani and said that they only make a few on a weekday and they were all gone. The server was very nice and tried to accommodate our requests. Not a place I would bother to go again! read more

Went here for the lunch buffet on a weekday. Busy (a good thing as food turns over often and they did refill often) but not so crowded that you couldn't get a nice table or booth. Each dish had its own distinct flavors so the dishes didn't all taste the same. About half the dishes are vegetarian and the other half not (maybe a dozen total) so a good selection but not like some of the the big places from long ago. Pretty standard Indian food selection you would normally find at a buffet but much tastier and the quality was very good (to us but we are not Indian). Couple of lamb/goat dishes, tandoori chicken, some other chicken dishes like Pesto Chicken and Chicken Tikka Masala, paneer dish, vegetable dishes, etc. They had three basmati rice dishes - Saffron rice, a goat/lamb basmati, and a vegetarian basmati. My wife and I liked all the different basmatis but especially the vegetable one. Warning - all dishes are not that spicy hot like many Indians would like; catered spiciness to the masses just like the Asian buffets. There were a couple of soups, couple of desserts (like the kheer and sweet balls in syrup - very fluffy), a number of appetizer dishes like samosas and chili chicken, fresh fruit, etc. They also bring you fresh naan bread at your table. All in all, we likes what we had and would return. They are better than many of the Indian buffets we've had. We did miss them not having butter chicken nor a Saag Paneer. Servers were friendly but never came back to refill water. There is also good outdoor seating since Castro is closed off to traffic. Parking is easy as maybe half of Castro street shops are out of business (sad). read more

Haven't had an Indian buffet since my undergrad years and with COVID was very leery of hitting a buffet up. The cravings overruled my senses lol. This was a well put together buffet with some of your classics such as butter chicken to biryani and plenty of vegetarian options as well. I had not eaten goat in such a long time and enjoyed it. Food was not too spicy. The dining area was small and full but it was nice overall. Service was attentive- they cleared your plates and we were able to get fresh naan to our table. Their vegetables were fresh and outdoors they had someone making fresh dosas. Some of the food lacked certain flavor but overall it was good and satisfying. We came here on a Saturday. The price was a little pricey but it is what it is. I'd come back if I was craving an Indian buffet. read more

Food quality was good with the variety in the buffet. - Following the wait list is a bit disorganized though. They were not scratching the names in the list after people were seated. read more

Really good lunch buffet. Super clean and great food. Service was super nice and attentive.

The food is awesome and delicious. Everything was well made. The whole experience went well. The service was very efficient and courteous. The restaurant manager made sure everything went smoothly and it was a memorable evening! read more

I came here for the weekend lunch buffet with my friend's family and definitely enjoyed it. Their selection is pretty large, with a fair share of vegetarian options. We also all agreed that it was fairly spicy for a buffet, which was a good thing. Included in the price of a buffet is a mango lassi or chai, and a basket of naan for the table. They also had a dosa station outside on the street which was fun, but I already ate too much inside to partake! I'm not sure if that's a weekend-only thing or what, but it looked good. The service was very prompt, but they did ask us to leave right after giving us the check (not even like a few minutes later, just immediately). They did apologize and say it was because it was Diwali, which I guess I understand, but it was still a little harsh. Overall we were there for a while though, so we weren't upset or anything, and I definitely won't let that stop me from coming back. read more

We had a buffet lunch on a weekday. The spread of menu items was good. Starters, veg croquet, coconut shrimp fry, Greek salad, cut fruit, Chaat were all good. The main dishes were some good and others tasteless. Mutton biriyani and kashmiri Rogan Josh were tasty. Goan fish curry and lamb curry not so good. Naan rotis we're good. Gajar halwa, kheer and gulab jamun were tasty. Service is friendly and seating comfortable. At $ 20 plus tax, price is ok. Parking was available in one of the nearby lanes since Castro Street is no- auto zone read more

Recommended by a hotel concierge when our first choice was booked solid for our stay. As Indian food afficianadoes, we always like dine at one when we travel. In this case, we would have been better off foregoing this experience. We knew we were off to a bad start when, at 6pm, we were told 5 of the appetizers were not available as was the bottle of red wine that we chose. Um ok. The Gohbi Manchurian was pretty decent. As it turns out, we should have just ordered 10 plates and water because it was the high point. We ordered the Mantra Malai Paneer which arrived in bowls but without sides of rice. When we asked for the rice, the waiter (not the one who took our order) ,said "Did you order rice? You didn't order rice." He quickly came back with a bowl of rice that was obviously in the process of being cooked and about 15 minutes away from being completed. Again, we've dined at some of the best Indian restaurants in the country (Rasika, Lehja) and we've never had to ask for rice and get a separate charge for it on the bill. Oh and they were also out of roti. (Again, not sure how that happens but ok then.) To say the service was less than stellar would be an understatement. Glasses were never refilled, the waiter would angle himself to avoid any eye contact with us. After sitting for a good 15 minutes with full avoidance by the original waiter, a young woman asked if we were finished and if we needed boxes. After declining, we waited another 15-20 minutes until she came over again and asked if we were waiting for the check. Shout out to her for being the MVP of the servers that night because I'm pretty sure we would have still been there 4 days later. This establishment's Mantra must be "aspire toward mediocrity." I'm assuming that the reason that there was no attempt to upsell was because they were out of desserts and drinks.) The one star rating is for not getting food poisoning. read more

Excellent Indian buffet lunch! Wide variety and Great service ! $10.99 per head for unlimited breakfast! It's worth it read more

This is a Indian lunch buffet place in Mountai View Downtown. The location is very reachable. The ambience is fine as well, comfortable seating however when it gets busy the walking around table to buffet gets cumbersome. The food is okay,. read more

I have to thank the wonderful staff for their responsiveness when our table lost an important item. In less than a minute, multiple people were helping resolve the issue. The Tandoori King Salmon and Yellow Dal Tadka were delicious. read more

I love this restaurant, especially the service which is the best by Ronaldo,Roop singh and Prem . They were really nice and friendly and put of they're best read more

This place is about as good as it gets for a lunch buffet. Huge selection of dishes. Amazing butter chicken, naan, and saag. Goat curry was good. Chili chicken tastes like a Chinese dish but is appreciated nonetheless. Standard fruits and desserts available. I even was able to make myself a dish resembling pani poori. Free chai included. The buffet is pricey and it's a little crammed in the buffet area, but overall, if you want great Indian food, this would be my top recommendation in the area. They also have a happy hour that seems to have some really good deals. I look forward to trying some of their appetizers at happy hour in the future, as I only got a beer, but it was a good atmosphere and quite cheap. read more

Very good lunch buffet, both the variety and flavor. Well worth the visit, weekend lunch is a few dollar more but they have a made to order dosa station to satisfy your southern Indian taste buds. read more