So glad I stumbled across this place. By far the best Indian food in the jax area Worth the ride to get to it. Great service Started off with a vegetarian appetizer. I had the chicken kebab and anna had the butter chicken. Dont forget the nan bread. We got the garlic nan. Definitely we'll be back. read more

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*Beautiful seating area. *Chicken Tikka Masala and garlic naan were great. *Good lunch portion. *Good price. *Excellent service. 10/10 read more

New to the area and this is my go to Indian spot. I've been here over 10 times and what I like most is the consistency. Also, try the buffet whenever you get a chance. It lets you try different dishes at a great price. I would recommend this to people on the fence about Indian cuisine. Lastly, the customer service is great and friendly. read more

I really enjoyed my visit here. The atmosphere was comfortable, and the overall experience was enjoyable. I especially liked the grill meat. I would be happy to come back. read more

The three of us went here. Food is great. I had the meat grill. It was very flavorful. I ordered it medium spicy and it was perfect for me. Some people may find that too spicy. I also ordered the samosas with chick peas and for me they were great but my friend said they were too spicy and I think there were only two. Also the spices were mixed in. In her opinion it would have been better if they were in separate cups. The tea was pleasant to drink after the meal. I'm combining two different occasions as a better overall review of the food and experience eating here. I'm all about different flavors and textures. This time I'm going a bit milder, ordering no higher spice than a 3 out of 5. We ordered the masala tea, the bullet naan, Fish Molly with salmon, Sangria, sagg paneer, samosas, Kashmiri naan, Kadai curry with mushrooms, & Malabar fish curry with Talapia. The tea was the was the best warm tea I've had in a while. It was very complimentary to all of the food I ate. It was a nice finish. We all had leftovers as well. The restaurant is clean and the service was good. The waiter knew his menu items pretty well. We all agreed the salmon Fish Molly was the best. The Kadai curry with mushrooms were very tasty to me and I love mushrooms. They were thin compared to the other curries but the heat stood out a bit more with the thinner mixture than the thicker & creamier curries. All in all this was a nice mixture of tastes and textures. The Sangria was good, not too sweet. The bullet naan helped to increase the heat of some of the curries and the Kashmiri naan toned down the curries that were too spicy. You just need to find the right combination that works for you. I tend to go to extremes but all this food was all very complimentary to each other. You want sweet, spicy, tangy, coconut(y), cheesy, & spinach(y), you can have it all here. Just keep in mind that you want to go with more people so you can share all these combinations with your tastebuds. It was Father's Day and they offered a special on beer but I preferred Sangria with my meal. Perhaps I will try a beer some other time. Meals and food are more expensive than in the past, but the variety of food makes this worth the money. read more

Very nice and clean establishment. Came here for dinner. I got the butter chicken. It was pretty sweet. It was not something I'm used to. The naan bread was hot and soft. I liked the garlic one most. We also ordered the lamb and goat. It was well seasoned. Service was excellent. read more

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Always pleasant and attentive. Food is excellent. A rare treat for the area they are located in

Our whole family went, and I enjoyed the food. It is a very clean restaurant, and the service was very good, and the people were very friendly. If I was going to eat in Indian food again, I would go back there. read more

This was our first visit to this establishment but we are very very regular Indian food eaters and with the good reviews and we were in the area so we wanted to give it a try. I'd say the overall service was pretty good with a quick greeting and pretty rapid refills of our water and regular check-ins during our visit. We ordered all vegetarian as we always do and I should warn you that the spice levels are definitely above average comparing to other Florida Indian restaurants. I would say it's on par with my experiences in India and some other Indian friendly locations like London, central New Jersey (Oak Tree Rd), Jersey City, and a few others. The wife ordered her regular side paneer and asked for it medium. She's adapted to handling a little bit of spice but even I thought this was above a medium for florida. I was happy about it because I like the spice but wanted you, fair reader, to be aware. The Mills arrived shortly after the Gobi Manchurian arrived which frankly we don't like very much. An appetizer should be an appetizer. The portions were relatively small compared to the pricing which was disappointing but we had plenty of food. We also ordered a plane on which was very good and the dishes of rice were quite small which was a surprise because Indian restaurants seem to like to fill you up on rice. The Gobi Manchurian was excellent and we've had that in probably over 500 restaurants. The vindaloo had a bit of a funny flavor to it and was definitely spicy as it should be. In fact, I ordered it primarily because I used to absolutely love Linda Lou but finding a vegetarian version has been challenging. If you want spice, go with this or the much hotter inferno. The song paneer was quite good - we were both very happy with the flavors. In the end we spent 50 bucks for the two meals, the appetizer, and plain naan. Add the tip and we were at 60 which seemed a little bit steep with no drinks or dessert but I guess for the area that's fairly normal. read more

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Their butter chicken is worth the drive alone! So authentic and and so good! Service and ambiance made you feel welcome. Price was great, even better at lunch. Highly recommend even if you are new to Indian Cuisine- they will help you find something you'll enjoy! read more

I was recommended by Yelp on their collection for Indian restaurants and happened to be in the area. My son has never had Indian food before, so it was a first for him. When we walked in, I was impressed by how nice the restaurant was. The hostess was friendly and kind and sat us immediately. I knew what I wanted but used the iPad menu to review their options. She brought us a bottle of water to drink, then we ordered the samosas and the chicken Tikka masala, as recommended by Yelp. We didn't have to wait long for the food. The samosa came out hot and crispy. You could dip them in a tumeric sauce or a mint sauce, both were delicious. The Tikka masala came out afterwards with a bowl of rice. The chicken was tender and the sauce delicious, but not too spicy as I chose a mild sauce. My son loved the rice and ate almost the whole bowl. The restaurant had a lot of people, so it appears to be a popular spot. The food is delicious and the service is great. I'm glad we stopped! read more

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It was terrific and I would like to go back I had eggplant with tofu and a curry it was all good not greasy

Food is great as well as the service. The space is neat and clean. Decor is not Indian inspired but still a very nice place. We enjoyed our dishes which were large, tasty portions. I recommend read more

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The food was delicious, we got the Chicken Tikka Masala, rice and Cheese Naan. My wife got the lamb. Her only complaint was that it was too spicy and we both got medium heat. I enjoyed it, her not so much due to it being too spicy for her taste. The cheese naan was delicious also and Services's was excellent. I enjoyed being able to order from a tablet and seeing all the photos of the foods. Great time with good music in the background. read more

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Oh my goodness. This might be my favorite restaurant in Jacksonville. I grew up in California, so I was spoiled to always have delicious Indian food readily available. This is definitely the best I've had in Jacksonville, maybe top 3 I've ever had! My cousin and I come all the time; we brought my mom when she came to town last week. She said it'd been YEARS since she'd had such good Indian food. The restaurant is beautiful, great ambiance, nice open space. The staff is so friendly and always willing to work with you if you can't decide (which I often can't, because everything is so good). Honestly, you can't go wrong here. The chicken tandoori is a must, I always get it as my app. The samosas are great, too. I've tried their chicken, lamb, goat, and paneer for proteins; for curries I've had traditional, tikka masala, butter, and the jalfrezi. Everything has been phenomenal. The garlic naan is also delectable. True culinary genius. I really can't say enough good things about this restaurant. My mouth is watering just typing this. If you enjoy Indian food, have your next meal here. Full stop. read more

Masala Mantra Indian Bistro - Indian Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

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Everything went well, the food is delicious the customer service is excellent. I can't say enough about this beautiful clean establishment. It's a very serene atmosphere. I will bring my family here when they get in town. read more

The food here is amazing! Not only that but the service and ambience are top notch. Will visit every time I'm in the area!

Looking for non-chain and different than 'always available'. Found this one (via Yelp) near our hotel/airport and were pleased with the portions, spice level (they asked) and service. Saag & Biriyani were both tasty. Pleased to learn have opened one closer to home too! read more

For me, my go-to is Tikka masala (Lamb) with a couple cheese naan thrown in for good measure

We love pick up and eating in for the delicious lunch variety plate specials. One of my favorite places. So clean inside the restaurant. Absolutely love the Bombay Lamb chops. Food and timing is consistently well done. Delicious. Great service. Hard to order the Bombay lamb chops on apps, so we just do pick up. read more

Masala Mantra Indian Bistro - samosa Garlic Naan Traditional Curry - Indian Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

Very quiet space to enjoy a nice lunch. Visited after leaving the bank and was seated quickly, as a first time customer was kind of nervous, but the menu was quite clear and well priced. The food was delicious and I can't wait to go back. read more

Masala Mantra Indian Bistro - Butter Veg lunch and Masala Tea - Indian Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

This is the hardest review yet because the food wasn't bad at all but the flavor tone seemed so off. I recently tried Indian food for the first time and it blew my mind. I decided i wanted it again last night so i tried this spot out this time. I ordered butter sauce with chicken and a medium spice level last location so i decided to do the same order here at masala but instead with goat. Once again by no means was it bad but it just wasn't the best to ME. I can greatly understand why people would eat here. Now the flavor of the butter sauce was just SO sweet. On top of that i chose the medium spice option and at this point i just assume they didn't put any spice because it has just sweetness. Literally no spice. The goat tasted nice but it was just a dissatisfying amount compared to the first place i tried Indian food. OVER HALF THE "GOAT MEAT" WAS BONE. so not only was there only so many pieces of meat, it was majority bone. Maybe the chicken is different and i should give it a try however, at the price i paid, i should be able to order goat and receive a decent amount with or without the bones at this point. The rice was nice of course and the garlic naan was great also. I won't say i won't be back to give it another shot. When i do though i hope its what i expect this time because they're so close to my house i would eat there daily! read more

Masala Mantra Indian Bistro - Garlic Naan Butter Sauce - Indian Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

Bustling Saturday night! Visited again and actually had to wait a few minutes for a table. I'm happy they are doing well. I also think what may have contributed to it, is that there was a large party that came in and had half of the restaurant reserved. That party had chaffers setup like a buffet (I'd like to get in on that!). Tonight we had Samosa Chat and the Masala 65 Fry - shrimp. Both were good, but I think the star was the Samosas. The chic pea chutney it comes with is very tasty. For our mains, my wife got the Chicken Tikka Masala, and I got the Lamb fry. Both were great. We also got the garlic Naan's. You can't really go wrong with any of their Naan varieties. The service and ambiance have been consistently good. read more

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The lunch was a great value for the price. It included an appetizer and dessert. We asked for mild and medium in terms of spice and felt like they were both very mild. We would go back for lunch. Service was ok. We were the only ones in the restaurant and had to wave down our server. The atmosphere is high class. read more

Masala Mantra Indian Bistro - Butter chicken lunch special - Indian Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

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Excellent, excellent, excellent!!! Almost didn't go in (looked quiet and uninviting) glad I did. Delicious!

On the north side of the city (convenient for someone traveling that way), this Indian place offers a more upscale ambiance than its strip mall surroundings might suggest. My order was quite basic: just some chickpeas, bread, and a chai. However, the menu offered a variety of preparations with vegetable and paneer options as well as markings for vegan considerations and some other more niche specialties. The description promised a roasted spice flavor in my channa masala, and it was indeed a wonderfully deep and complex dish. Ordered spicy, it had a notable bite but not so much as to interfere with other flavor notes. A soft naan with heavy garlic flavor served to mop things up. My chai delivered on taste as well and was worth ordering, though it came so hot I had to wait a while on it. I doubt there's a better Indian food option anywhere around. read more

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I placed a to go order and it was eat to do and their staff was kind. But the food was very disappointing. The Aloo Gobi Masala was trash. The cauliflower was raw, the potatoes were old and the sauce was stale and old. The mixed veg pakora was also nothing that I am used to. Huge pieces of random veg; the mint chutney has a weird tang. read more

Update 4 days later: I hate that I didn't write down the dish I chose. I just made jasmine rice in the rice cooker, microwaved the lamb dish and it is still so flavorful. I just had to update my review with that tidbit. Yes, I love Masala! This time I came with multiple friends and we shared dishes. All of them are good! read more

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After reading the positive reviews, we decided to try Masala Mantra in Jacksonville (just east of the 'River City' commercial district) and see if it lived up to the positive reputation. The restaurant is pleasantly decorated, bright, spacious and comfortable, with a nice balance between casual dining and a bit of upscale ambiance. Just right. Service was immediate, friendly and attentive, ice-cold water was brought to the table in a nice glass bottle, enough for 2 or 3 people, and clean tasting. We started with the Garlic Naan bread which was brought to us in a couple minutes and was good. The wife ordered the Butter Chicken, and I ordered the Lamb Vindaloo. The Butter Chicken was ordered as a spiciness of "4" (out of 7)... and the Vindaloo ordered with only options being "mild" or "spicy"... There was a bit of a misunderstanding as I thought the server stated the Vindaloo only comes in one spiciness level, but that was fine by me. The food arrived in a very acceptable timeframe, perhaps 10 minutes or less... Not bad as there were probably 10 tables seated at this time on a Friday evening around 7pm. The Butter Chicken was sweet and not too spicy, with good flavor and wife was happy with it, she wanted a bit more spiciness, so i gave her a scant teaspoon of the vindaloo sauce (more on that in a minute). The Lamb Vindaloo was astronomically spicy/hot... this is not a drill, I'm talkin' HOT. Buck it up hot. Now keep in mind I've tried many Vindaloos from many fine Indian Restaurants across the country, and they've always seemed to be (predictably) medium in spicyness... I can handle hot spicy food, and many years ago it was widely understood that Vindaloo was known to be astronomically spicy... well, hat's off to Masala Mantra, because they've kept true to the historical notoriety of the dish. I was offered a second bowl of rice for the Vindaloo, and used half of it to balance out the spiciness.. I used a minimal amount of sauce on my plate and the lamb was very good, with one or two small potato chunks in the mix. I must say the flavor was good, and the spice was extremely challenging. Turns out, this was actually the "mild" version. You have been warned! (Back to the Butter Chicken... that scant teaspoon of Vindaloo sauce when mixed into a full plate of Butter Chicken brought it up several notches to borderline too-spicy, but she still enjoyed it and was happy with that addition) We got our leftovers to go, and the bill was very reasonable for the area, at $46 for 2 people, an appetizer and one beverage (not including tip). We will be returning and I'm eager to try the many other great looking menu selections here. Well done Masala Mantra! read more

All reviews for this place were spot on! Great food, service and atmosphere. Got a seat quick since we were so early. Very friendly folks. Srillekha was so helpful and patient. Explained a lot of what our options were. She took our drink and app order. Brought us some water quickly. We started with the Manchurian chicken. So good! A nice level of heat and crunchy tender chicken Next we got the masala mantra special grill. This had all the tandoori options plus we upgraded to lemon rice and a tikka masala sauce. Yummy!!!! Everything cooked so good and so many flavors. Got some bullet bread. This was hot but very tasty! A very good stop for some very authentic and good Indian food read more

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The food was excellent and the establishment properly decorated. The bathroom was clean and well maintained. The service started off good with pleasant greeting and being seated however they were not very attentive. I had to ask for additional rice, water, napkins and they did not seem too interested in asking if I needed anything. All I ask be a bit more attentive to your customers. read more

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Great food! Service was good, and restaurant is really nice looking inside. You can smell the food from the parking lot and we will certainly be back! read more

Love this restaurant. It is very clean and service is also great. The food is delicious served to your liking. I typically take my food to go, however I have dined in on occasion. I do enjoy the bar area while I wait for my pick up order, it is so calming after a busy work week. Definitely would highly recommend this restaurant. read more

Good food and service. Asked for the butter chicken to be extra spicy (it wasn't) but they provided this spicy inferno sauce on the side and that provided such a nice kick! Samosa chaat was pretty good. Eggplant dish was very flavorful and naan was very tasty. read more

Masala Mantra Indian Bistro - Indian Near Me - Jacksonville, Florida

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Masala Mantra is amazing! The food was absolutely delicious--full of flavor and beautifully presented. The ambience is warm and inviting, and the service was outstanding. Everyone was so friendly and attentive, which made the experience even better. My husband and I had a wonderful time, and we'll definitely be coming back! read more

This place is really special. I visited as a first time customer a few months ago and truly had a devine experience. My date and I thoroughly enjoyed our meal, the ambiance and the surprise of being so delighted by trying new things. I'm regretful that we didn't get more photos, but that just makes for a second visit a requirement. I am LOYAL to this place and would recommend it to anyone hungry. 5 stars! read more

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Allow me to be the 86th person to give this place a 5 STAR !!!! Masala Mantra Indian Bistro is by far one of the best Indian restaurants I have eaten at. I will easily place them on my Top 5 (even Top 3) Indian cuisines here in Jacksonville, locally. I love the modern vibe of the restaurant, the bar, the decor. Simple and elegant. Now let's talk dishes. We ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala, Rogan Josh and Lamb Pepper Fry. All were delicious, nicely blended and spiced. We also ordered the Samosas as well as their Garlic Naan bread to sample. Excellent Samosas, excellent Naans. Folks, if you have eaten in enough Indian restaurants like I have, one would find similarity in taste and spices and how most are either over spiced or taste abit overpowering. Well, not here at Masala Mantra Indian Bistro. Everything we tried was off the Indian food-chain. On top of that, service was great. Staff was friendly and knowledgeable. Prices are reasonable. They are quite a drive for me, but as my motto goes "have car, will travel" and it is worth the drive here for some delicious food. I'll definitely be coming back! Food: 5/5 Price/Portion: 5/5 Atmosphere: 5/5 Service: 5/5 I highly recommend this place. read more

Yum! Indian food is one of my faves! Chicken tikka masala was really good. I asked for more spice than medium. I think it could've used a little more heat. My husband had the lamb vindaloo. WOW! So much flavor. It was by far the best I've tasted. We also had the bullet naan which had chilis and garlic. Such hot, buttery, yummy goodness. If we're ever in Jacksonville again this will definitely be a stop! read more

The food is high quality, flavors are well rounded and delicious. Biriyani always great- Naan super fresh. The lamb chops marinated and melt like butter in your mouth. Very clean. Highly recommend read more

The I-95 gods tormented us on the Saturday after Christmas. South Carolina, which prides itself in tormenting drivers with an inadequate highway south of I-26, created a monster traffic jam that extended to every possible alternate route. The resulting four-hour southbound delay killed any hope of reaching our planned dinner stop south of Daytona Beach before bedtime. So, we pulled into a Georgia rest stop and started searching for a restaurant that would meet the requirements of four fussy eaters with conflicting dietary needs and tastes. We wanted something no further south of Saint Augustine, and within five minutes of I-95. We needed to cater to a Presbyterian pescatarian, a devoted carnivore, and an assortment of strong dislikes and mild allergies that required careful accommodations. After considerable mousing around the Internet, we found Masala Mantra Indian Bistro. There were lots of good reviews, though many were praising the takeout. It sat in a suburban strip mall, not the usual venue for great Indian food, but it had parking and it was close to I-95 and I-295. Given the positive reviews, how bad could it be? I have eaten at some really good Indian restaurants in and around New York City and Boston, but I have been disappointed at the quality of Indian food when venturing beyond the Northeast. Until now. Forget the fact that we were dining in a suburban strip mall near the Jacksonville airport, these were some of the best Indian dishes we have experienced. We had two different breads, an assortment of appetizers, and three different entrees. The chicken saag (medium) was flavorful and perfectly spiced. The butter chicken (mild) was wonderfully tender, swimming in a tomato-based sauce that begged to be sopped up with the bread. The ambiance reflected its suburban strip mall setting, with the headlights of parking cars piercing the frosted glass of the windows. This restaurant is not for your first or second date, unless your relationship has absolutely no need for romantic settings. However, if on a fourth or fifth date your partner whines about the plastic water glasses and the lack of tablecloths, instead of noticing the wonderful food, my advice is to terminate the relationship before you require a divorce attorney to extricate yourself from an unhappy situation. There was definitely a family restaurant vibe, with several large tables occupied by extended South Asian families (a very good sign). The service was a bit inattentive, and the atmosphere was less than charming, which explains why the takeout is popular. However, the food overcomes all, earning Masala Mantra five solid stars. read more