NO MORE BUFFET ! Totaly shocked the buffet is no longer available ! They are now offering a combo meal in its place ! Butter chicken with two (yes 2 small pieces of chicken) standard rice and naan bread ! A few unedible add ons like raw onions and plain yogurt ! Terribly disappointed , as a pensioner I had looked forward to going once a month when I received my pension ! This was my last visit to the Mantra ! There are other buffets in Victoria who will now get my business ! I am sure this was a cost cutting decision but I doubt the loss of customers will compensate for the savings ! read more

It's located in a seedy strip mall but don't let that put you off. The food is so good its 'almost' worth busting a tire in one of the mammoth pot holes in the parking lot. I was not there for the buffet but went for dinner and everything was fantastic. I absolutely loved the butter chicken and their naan is the best! My only critique was the papadum tasted like it was made the day before. I ordered a Chardonnay and I recommend you don't. Stick to the beer. read more

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This was my first time at this Indian restaurant the service was great and the food was amazing definitely I will recommend to anyone thanks

Reasonably priced, tasty food! Excellent service. Portions are generous and I would recommend the chole (chick pea) bhatura (easily a share plate because of the sheer size of the bread!) read more

Last week I ordered take out from The Mantra and went to pick it up at their restaurant on Fort Street. When I arrived, we realized I had accidentally called their Tillicum location ... so that's where my food was waiting! As I live close to Fort St. downtown, and I had my hungry family waiting at home, I really didn't want to drive over to the other location across town. They were very understanding and kindly made the food for me and did not charge me for the order I mistakenly made at the other location. The butter chicken and naan were hot and so delicious ... I can't wait to have it again! I wholeheartedly recommend The Mantra for great customer service and fantastic food. read more

We arrived and they placed us beside a dirty table. The waitress placed 2 menus on the dirty table for us to reach. There was no ice in our water glasses which had to be wiped dry before she filled them with lukewarm water. We asked for 2 diet cokes, one of which was only 1/2 full in a punctured can. She replaced it but gave us no glass to pour it into only 2 plastic straws. I went up to the counter to get glasses to pour them into but they were all wet. So much for that idea. We asked for our appetizer first but everything arrived at once. The gobi garlic was warm, not hot and by the time we started on our entree, they were warm, not hot. Service is poor and unclean looking tables and buffet and the cooks don't seem to care. We frequent this restaurant but I am tired of putting up with the type of service for the top dollar we pay for lunch and dinner.There has to be some better East Indian restaurants out there.We won't be back. read more

Wow probably the best indian food I have ever had chicken was so tender and the spice was amazing. I would give it a five but the ac was out and it was way to hot inside. Service was very good food came out fast and delicious. Will be a defiant go to when on the island. read more

I went for the first time with my girl friend last night and we were very impressed with all the food and the service! If you're going for the first time I reccomend the aloo tikki chaat, you won't be disappointed. read more

I love Indian food. I love this place. I've been to the weekend buffet, and I've come for lunch and dinner on separate occasions. Delicious! I've had lamb and lentils, chicken, dessert. Lovely waitstaff. Food comes quickly and I'm always full and satisfied. Naan is tasty and homemade. Papadum is, too. Ambiance is nice-- casual but pretty and clean. The location itself is in a weird spot... Across from bingo and next to a laundrymat lol. My bf likes Mr. Tubbs so that and Mantra are the only reasons we're ever in this strip mall. read more

I prefer to dine-in at their Fort Street location but the food and service is great at both. We had their tender, Butter Chicken with rice and Lamb Biryani with Raita and Spinach Naan. Very tasty and enough to take home for another meal. Buffet has a great selection and perfect for a fast lunch. read more

This is by far my favorite Restaurant for East Indian cuisine. The flavors are always on par and have yet to come there to taste bland or uncooked food. The service is a little rocky rarely, but for the majority of the time it is quite excellent! Each bite you take is packed full of flavors and I enjoy each time there. I also love that they switch out desserts, so you are not stuck with only one choice every time you go there! I have gone there well over 20 times since they opened and will continue to enjoy eating their amazing food! I highly recommend this affordable reasturant to anyone looking for some great food! read more

Ordered Salt lassi- avg. Chai- Excellent Pani Puri for 7.50$ was pathetic. Told the server. 6 puris with tasteless water and mix. Chat- good Kids Chicken strips - taste was good quantity pathetic since there were 3 strips and tons of fries Overall Avg. Indian restaurant. Not sure why Google has 4.5 rating read more

Wow. Fantastic menu. Lots of choices. Lamb Vindaloo was perfect. Good service. Highly recommend this place! David read more

Visited the Fort St location, which is apparently new. Tried the buffet. They had Curry Goat which is one of my favourites and a delicious cabbage and mint salad. And freshly baked naan. Pleasant and helpful staff. Clean washrooms. If you're shopping at Charmaine's drop in, read more

Very good food and excellent customer service. Some of the better Indian food in Victoria. Can't fault it really, except some of the papadums were slightly chewy. read more

No Respect for Customers. Order Nan bread.... given 20 minutes... Showed up after 23 minutes and they never even started yet... got them after an hour. Wish we have some better place close to Tillicum read more

I'm always craving a restaurant with good butter chicken. Luckily I found it here in Victoria. 13.99 for a lunch buffet is more than fair. Coconut chicken, sweet rice and of course butter chicken are totally recommended. Will come back here soon. read more

Finally tried it out as I was a fan of the restaurant that used to be in this location. Went for lunch and it was busy, much busier than Sabri ever was so I was excited. The food itself was okay. The butter chicken needed more spice, even a bit more cumin and garlic would've made a big difference. It was very basic and rather bland. Perhaps this is because it is tailored to suit the masses. The beef curry was similar, nice but bland. They had some salads a few veggie dishes, the cabbage dish was good, as was the peppers but it all just needed a bit more spice. Had to ask for naan twice but service in general was pretty good. I may try ordering from the menu to see if that makes any difference in flavor but won't visit the buffet again. read more

Great food and lovely staff. The butter chicken was delicious and portion was big enough for two to split.

EXCELLENT staff who went out of their way to accommodate every request from our large group. Delicious food with an easy ordering system to get the spice just right. Easily one of the top three Indian restaurants in Victoria and such a welcome change from the awful place that was at this location before. read more

We are so pleased to have this excellent Indian restaurant in the neighbourhood. We stopped by for dinner the other night and our meal was fantastic. We had fish tikka and the fish was incredibly succulent, juicy and flavourful and not overpowered by the spice. We also had Achaaria Paneer, which was probably our favourite, as the sauce was an excellent blend of richness and tartness and the paneer was wonderful. We also had goat curry which, again, had bright flavours and the meat was so delicious and beautifully cooked. The garlic naan was delicious too. We also had two deserts and a beer. All of this for $65, which I think is an excellent price, given we were full after the meal, but able to take some leftovers home. The service was attentive and the staff were very friendly. We look forward to returning and also making use of the take-out service, as well as trying the extremely well priced $12.99 lunch buffet. Wonderful to have this new addition in the neighbourhood. read more