Mantraa- Thane

Touching the highway leading to Cadbury's junction at Thane and just a few minutes before you reach Koram mall is the restaurant Mantraa. I had been to this place earlier for Mom-Dad's 25th anniversary dinner. That makes it special to me. And to add to this special place feeling, we recently celebrated Vijay Kaka's 75th birthday here.

Happy Birthday Kaka!

Make sure you have reserved a table here in case you want to try this place over the weekend. Waiting for food is no fun right? They have valet parking which is a relief when one is staying in a city with space constrains. The full length mirror at the entrance pleased the narcissist in me. Mantraa has the restaurant upstairs and the party hall on the ground floor. The hall is a nice little place for around 80 people. The buffet was arranged on one side. The waiters are a bit slow but manage everything well. The hall has an attached common washroom area. A partition here was much required as this place is like right there near the food counter. These are small things that matter much. For starters there was paneer tikka with chutney, veg schezwan fingers, corn cheese balls, fish koliwada, mutton seekh kabab and cocktail samosa. My favourite is the mutton seekh kabab at Mantraa. These are a must try. Must try reminds me they also fix up a nice glass of long island ice tea. I remember having it at their restaurant upstairs during a dinner out with friends. The main course started off with piping hot tomato soup and bread croutons. It was being served from this huge pot. There's something about pots which makes food look authentic. The soup tasted just right with a hint of sweetness and tang. Paneer makhanwala and veg kadai were the vegetarian dishes. They weren't too oily or spicy and tasted good. The paneer was so soft that I was tempted to take an extra peice.

Veg Kadai and Paneer Makhanwala

Chicken handi was well made but Mutton rogan josh was the star of the party for me. Perfectly cooked mutton with spices that blended so well, this dish was bang on. This is a Kashmiri lamb curry dish and it tastes simply delicious. Well cooked mutton impresses me like nothing else. This dish has already won my repeat order for the next time. 

Chicken Handi

Mutton Rogan Josh

These dishes were accompanied with the usual basket of Indian bread consisting of naan, kulcha, roomali roti and paratha along with veg biryani and steamed rice. Among other dishes were the dal tadka , russian salad and tossed salad. The food was delicious. Too full to go for the desserts but I never say no to icecream. Pieces of kulfi topped with this lovely coloured seviyan and there you have a nice bowl of Kulfi falooda.

Falooda Seviyan

Great food and a well arranged party made for a lovely afternoon at the Mantraa. All credit to Monica kaki for this fabulous party. As for Mantraa, I would say that the food is above average and don't forget to try their mutton seekh kabab's and mutton rogan josh of course. A meal for two will cost approximately 1200. Value for money I say, not much for the ambience or service but for the quality of food.