A few weeks ago, i bought a $25 Groupon worth $50 at Mantra, a new restaurant in downtown Raleigh. At least, i think it’s new. I jumped on it, thinking it would be a perfect opportunity to dine with our friends K & P who are our Indian restaurant friends. They have helped us get acclimated to the menus and learn what was good.
The Groupon expired at the end of November, so we needed to make a date, and everything kept falling through. Last night, after our date fell through again, Lance and i decided we had enough vocabulary to order by ourselves and that we would just go and pig out by ourselves.
When we arrived at 7:30 we had an slightly bizarre exchange with the hostess. It started normally. She greeted us with, “Good evening, how are you?” And i said “We’re fine, how are you?” And she just looked at me expectantly. There was an awkward silence. I quickly analyzed the exchange in my head and concluded it was just barely possible i had accidentally spoken in another language, so i repeated myself in English, “We’re fine, how are you.” She looks at me like i have two heads and then remembers her line, “Do you have a reservation?” I glance sideways at all the empty tables as i reply in the negative. She then says, “OK, i just have to go check something. I’ll be right back.”
The place was not empty; maybe 60% full. We had arrived at 7:30, which on Friday night at Olive Garden means a 1-hour wait.
She returns with the news that “we just gave away our last walk-in table, but you could sit either at the bar our outside where there’s a heater.” We had seen the outside section on the way in, draped with plastic lining. We opted for the outside option. I kept my coat on.
The food was amazing. We ordered Tandoori Paneer Tikka as our appetizer, which was spicy and good. Kulcha, which is Naan stuffed with cheese and potatoes – very good. The entrees we shared were to die for: Murgh Tikka Masala and Daal Mantra. We always love whatever we order at Indian restaurants. Lance vows to become an Indian chef.
The atmosphere was nice – the music seemed authentic. It was a bit chilly outside, and my feet especially were pretty cold by the time we left. But the outside seating was acceptable.
Lance commented that this definitely felt like a new restaurant. They did not have all their logistics worked out. For example, when we were being led to our seats, we almost ran into 3 different servers. It makes me think that seasoned restaurants must have a path down which they lead patrons, and the servers avoid the main path. Also, we had issues getting plates for our appetizers, and a table next to us couldn’t get an extra roll of silverware. They just seemed disorganized. Thirdly, the service was pretty slow. We waited noticeably longer for each course, and 10+ minutes just to get the check after we’d requested it.
Finally, i was turned off by the bill. They added 18% gratuity automatically, but did not really point it out very well. I HATE that. They present you with a bill where the server has already been compensated, but it still has the same 3 lines for you to fill in for Tip, Total and Signature. Some restaurants do this right, and label the tip line as “Add’l Tip” to at least clue you in. How many people double-tip in this situation? I would argue a LOT. I generally always tip 20% but i assume that you are giving up your 2% upside when you want to guarantee no one tips only 10%. If i had truly exceptional service, i suppose i might add additional tip, but i haven’t experienced that combination quite yet. That left a sour taste in my mouth – it just reeks to me of a general distrust of your customer. Maybe it’s warranted in a lot of situations, but i don’t like it.
Overall, i would say the food was tremendously good, but the service was below average. I liked it, but i will wait to return until they’ve had time to get things running a bit more smoothly.