There used to be a time when this restaurant used to serve delicious indian food but now its best left to whatever the chef feels like making. Not that great and pricey too. Better off going to nearby Ameya restaurant or the newly opened Nan...Ching. Service is also not that great. You have to wait a lot for your order to arrive. This restaurant is in sunset mode nowMore

My wife and I had dinner at Mantra last night! We brought our own alcohol as they do not serve alcohol but there are wine/spirit shops right around the corner! The food was yummy and the staff were very, very nice and attentive, especially Dushant!...We were also very excited about the wide variety of naan (including stuffed naan) which we adored!! Eat at Mantra!More

Went for an evening mean to this lovely Indian. The food was very good. It was a BYOB place so you need to take your own liquor. We ordered the kurkure bhindi (crispy okra), kadai chicken, kalongi paneer and family bread basket. The mango lassi...was delicious. It’s good value for money. Would definitely recommend.More

I ordered online to be delivered by Seamless. Chicken in the biryani was poor quality, Saag Paneer tasted as if it was made from canned Saag, Laccha Paratha was half cooked, all other food tasted below average. This restaurant needs to see the exceptionally high...quality Indian food available in New Jersey and Manhattan markets and learn from it.More

We ordered garlic Chicken and it was the worst I had ever eaten in my life. they are fooling in the name of Indian cuisine. So bad taste. Also they make you wait for atleast 35 min before your order arrives.

I got a Groupon here, so my girlfriend and I stopped in for dinner last month. Let me preface this review by saying I'm no expert in Indian food - I enjoy it, but I rarely eat it for some reason. That being said, we...both really enjoyed the food here. The atmosphere is a little upscale, well designed and nice for a slightly more-than-casual dinner spot. Staff were friendly and welcoming, and there were no problems at all applying the Groupon. For my meal, I got the Chicken Kolhapuri. I was warned that it was very spicy, but I didn't find it too spicy or over the top at all. That being said - for those who don't really like spicy, you may think so. This is from a guy who collects hot sauce. Anyway - I really, really enjoyed it. One thing I also liked about the presentation was that the rice and the chicken itself came in different serving bowls, so you could dish the exact amount and mixture you wanted out onto your plate. I found that this made my meal stretch longer since I served it to myself in a few separate helpings. Added bonus - Mantra is BYOB and there's a liquor store right around the corner. We enjoyed the food and the vibe here and will definitely consider it the next time we're looking for a flavorful Indian meal.More

Enjoyed an excellent Indian meal here at a table for five, but the bottled water, although copious, just wasn't the right libation. Excellent roasted cauliflower with a quite spicy tomato sauce made a great appetizer. We tried the grill variety (couldn't identify everything but it...was quite good) but the best entree was the salmon in what appeared to be a cream sauce. Rice was plentiful but ordinary. A chickpea side with potatoes was quite good.More

In the sea of 'Indian restaurants', Mantra stands out on its own. We usually have buffets(lunch) here and most of the time go home satisfied with the variety, taste and the price of the food. Variety ======= Lot of options in starters, main course and...even dips/chutneys :) Eg, last Sunday buffet menu was something like this... Starters- chicken Tandoori, Chicken 65, Samosa Chat, Pav Bhaji Main Course- Saag Paneer, Veg Pancharatna, Chole Masala, Daal Tadka, Daal Makhanwala, Veg Biriyani, Pulav, Chicken Biriyani, Chicken Gravy, Prawn Tikkka Masala Dessert- Mango Pudding Wow!! TALK ABOUT OPTIONS... TASTE ====== You wont be able to enjoy all the variety because most probably you will end up hogging up your favourite dish(s) out of the lot. My wife got stuck with Pav Bhaji/Saag Paneer/Daal while I couldn't stop eating Samosa Chat/Chicken 65 and the amazing prawn tikka masala.. It is difficult to strike a balance between taste when you have so much variety but Mantra usually does that. The items are usually palatable if not delightful. Talking about delight, the bill will bring that to you ;) Not sure if there is any other restaurant in the Jersey City area which offers this value for money...More

As their menu states, "The menu incorporates both traditional classic favorites and original new dishes that apply Eastern flavors with a Western twist." To get the best of this restaurant you need to order both. Also order regional dishes. The Dahi Ke Kabab (Yogurt dumplings...coated with vermicelli & served with tomato chutney) was exceptional. Our main dishes of Goan Shrimp Curry and Goat/Lamb Roganjosh were both wonderful. And the rice was perfect - every grain separate and fragrant. I know this should go without saying, but I often go to Indian restaurants and wish I had cooked the rice myself. I'd give it a 5 star, but there is a lot of competition in NJ and NYC and some of their menu caters to the lunch crowd. Come in for a meal of just appetizer and you'll have yourself very forward thinking and skillfully prepared Indian food.More

Visited with cousins four days back and after seeing good spread,opted for buffet.Although it is very spacious restaurant,we waited for 15 minutes. In the snacks, Chicken Kabob is excellent. In the main course, Lamb curry and Goby fry are delicious. In Desserts,Gulab jamun is tasty....We all enjoyed the food and congratulated the staff. Best Indian restaurant in Jersey city.More

This review is for their buffet specifically. I have been to Mantra for a few birthday parties and food has been excellent. So decided to try their buffet on 3rd June 2017. There is one simple reason to go for Indian buffet - pay more...then usual meal price to try lot of variety. However, variety is just missing from their buffet. Their snack category is just 3 snacks. Out of which bhaji in 'pav bhaji' was many many days old and smelled like rotten food! In dessert category they similarly had only 2 items - gulab jamun fruit custard both below average in taste. Again among main course many vegetables smelled as if they are days old and smelled like rotten food. Also very limited options. This is the only Indian buffet where there was no South Indian food at all! I had a very bad headache for the rest of the day after eating their rotten food. I am probably going to complain to authorities about it as well as this business is just playing with health of customers by serving old rotten food! I have been to many Indian buffets in Manhattan, Jersey City and Edison, and this out of all is worst by all standards! Another pet peeve of mine is they included 18% tip in the bill. Why I am forced to pay such a high tip for bad rotten food. It should by my decision to pay the tip. If you are forcing me then its hidden cost. And as one of the servers told me at another restaurant owners don't give the tip money to the servers when its part of the bill. So I prefer to pay to servers directly. I never go back to a place which includes tip in the bill and definitely going back to Mantra for reasons more than one. If you want to enjoy Indian buffet on Jersey City riverfront Amya located a short walk away is excellent with quantity and quality of food. Never going back again and telling everyone I know to avoid this place.More

Kabob was decent. Goat Kali Mirch masala was good but had mostly meatless bones. Chicken Nani was ordinary. Lamb keema was flavorless except for the sweetness which isn't our taste. Ambience was decent. We ordered a raita. They gave a table spoon of it in...a bowl that typically is what a complimentary condiment is served in. They charged $5 for each of the tablespoon of raita. Ridiculous. Felt cheated. Hence am never going there again.More