Mantra Indian Cuisine & Spirits

If you’re looking for a spot that feels like a well-kept secret, this small, cozy Indian restaurant is a must-visit. The atmosphere is intimate and welcoming, and the food is remarkably fresh and vibrant. The Starters Somas: These were a standout—crispy, golden pastry pockets filled with a savory, spiced mixture. They had that perfect "homemade" feel that you only get in smaller, authentic spots. Spring Rolls: Light and perfectly fried, these offered a satisfying crunch. The vegetable filling was fresh and bright, making them a great contrast to the richer dishes. The Main Course Butter Chicken: A total crowd-pleaser. The sauce was rich, creamy, and velvety, with just the right balance of tomato acidity and mild spices. The chicken was tender and clearly well-marinated. Chicken Biryani: This dish was fragrant and well-executed. The rice was fluffy and separate, infused with aromatic spices like cardamom and cloves that didn't overwhelm the palate. Whatever you do, order the garlic naan. It is easily the highlight of the meal—warm, pillowy, and generously topped with fresh garlic and herbs. It’s the perfect tool for scooping up every last drop of that butter chicken sauce.

Worst takeaway experience EVER! Ordered chicken tandoori multiple times, but it's always a disaster. Boiled, not grilled. Cold, not warm. Looks like they've got a batch cooking factory going on. Complained before, but still getting the same subpar food. Don't waste your money or time, trust me. You can see in the picture

SO GOOD! The vegetable pakora was salty and hearty. Can’t go wrong dipping in either sauce (cilantro or tamarind chutney). I had the malai kofta for my entree, and it was amazing.

The buffet was great! The wait staff was very attentive and they kept the buffet stocked even with the big crowd! 10 out of 10!

While traveling for work I found this place. It's at walking distance of main hotels in Davenport, IA. The food was delicious. I had samosa, chicken korma, rice and garlic naan. The women attending were friendly and pleasant. There was no wait even though it was busy. I would recommend it and visit again when in town.

First time trying Indian food and I loved it. Service was great, the dining area was packed with laughter and enough naan bread to go with every delicious dish! I can’t wait to go back to try more of their cuisines! The pricing was very fair as well.

This was a great Indian restaurant. way beyond what I expected from a mid America spot that usually feels like they have Americanized it. But this felt way more real I would fill up my bottle with chai that was made there it was nice to have a place to get real chai for most of my days at the Figge museum.

Always spot on!! Haven’t been for dinner in ages. Place was full, service was wonderful as always, and food was timely and delicious. Of all the Indian options in the QC, this is by far our favorite!

The food was a thousand times better before ownership changed hands...and it's the same head chef they always had that they brag about having 40 years experience. I generally want to be constructive with my criticisms, but they are either very naive or know exactly what's going on. They hiked up the price of the buffet from $11 to $15 for food that tastes like they are cutting corners and making boxed dishes taste better. Plus, just my take...no Tikka Masala on the buffet? That's like in the top three selling dishes of any Indian restaurant. Anyway, the food is mediocre, really salty, and sadly the only reason I occasionally go here is that it's the only buffet in town. The bathroom could stand to be a bit cleaner, like having what looks like black mold on a light switch...so I can only imagine what the kitchen looks like. The place is totally drab and kind of depressing really. Damage on the walls next to all the tables. Again I like to be constructive, but they should do that themselves, be constructive for the prices. It's certainly not "fine dining" as I once heard them describe. Get your act together, Mantra.

Communication is a problem. My niece adores this restaurant and understands the language, sort of. However on this particular visit we struggle. Drinks came and then the appetizer, then we sat for 25 minutes before our waitress came out to tell us they were out of shrimp, what I had ordered. We struggled with "do you have anything similar" and "that's fine" because I had no idea what she was saying. 15 minutes late a she handed me my nieces ordered and placed a shrimp dish in front of her. It gets better. We asked for refills on drinks and the waitress said, "no". I said, "I understand we will need to pay for more. Can we get a second round?" She promptly brought out one drink, but I never got mine. The food we received was good, but I still don't know which dish I received that had shrimp they were "out of" and the price was reasonable, if you like "can you guess what you are eating?" I have a feeling my niece will bring me back so hopefully I will have a better experience and I can update my review.

Mantra is a mandatory stop every time I visit Davenport. I bring a group of friends and we all pig out on the delicious food. We went there 3 days in a row this years visit!

I am completely spoiled by all of the excellent Indian food restaurants in Chicago, but Mantra in Davenport is now in my top 2. (Please don't make me choose!) while the menu looked extensive and certainly worth another trip (or 3), we chose the buffet for lunch. Everything was excellent. We all took a couple of trips, ordered yummy drinks, had our used plates cleaned promptly. A very cool building that could use some TLC, but clean.

Running a restaurant myself, I am on the one hand understanding and forgiving, especially about service on a busy Saturday night at peak -- but I can also see things that should make people outside of the industry run the other direction. Our waiter brought us to a dirty booth and it was not long before they cleaned it but it WAS long, I mean 10-15 minutes before they offered us drinks. Then when they did greet us and take our drink orders I was not expecting to have to order everything right then and there. I mean it, we got the check before being offered a chance to finish eating, grab desserts or a refill. I liked the paneer, naan, pappadum, and samosa. I would skip the loaded lentil cakes and vibrant green chutney. I did not like that the server set my plate in front of me and removed a chunk of something with her fingers right in front of me. My whole perspective changed when I saw this was the light switch in the bathroom: this was not even the scariest wall. I always say you can tell everything about a kitchen by the state of the bathroom, I was not surprised when my sister who barely ate said she felt sick later and we are both feeling it this morning.

The Mantra had a very authentic feel and ambiance. It was extremely enjoyable and can't wait to be in Davenport again to visit here. The food was really good and was salted very well. The service was also outstanding.

Food is the best Indian in the quad cities! The only reason I can't give 5 stars is the facility is dated and not inviting. I just pick up to go and I'm the happiest I can be as Indian food is my favorite food ever!!!

Having worked in Bangalore over the years, I looked high and low for descent Indian food. Mantra definitely hits the spot! The ladies are so welcoming and the lunch buffet is a great way to sample their options. Always busy midday every time we go which is great to see. My 10yo has come with me for years and always asks to return. We have our favorites, but everything we've tried is great!

Great food! Mango drink was great! Family atmosphere Yummy rice Butter chicken was delicious

Butter chicken to die for. The naan was also excellent, throw in some great service, you can't go wrong

Authentic Indian cuisine Great customer service and hospitality Everyone looks as if they are enjoying the experience Be careful--there are multiple spice levels

Authentic Indian food! The chai tea was super tasty with great spices... I ordered tandoori chicken half size, it was huge and very tender and spiced well. I also tried the butter chicken which was super tasty. The garlic naan was also very good. I really enjoyed the nut naan, it had raisins and maraschino cherries inside, I loved the flavors! The best part was the golub jamin, these little cheese donuts served in super sweet and Indian spiced syrup... loved it! Took off one star for cleanliness and needing some inside decor updating. Service was a little slow but very nice waitress.

Mantra has the best inadian food at the best prices. The nicest people work there too

Great food, good service, and nice ambiance! Went on a casual Sunday night and everything ran smoothly.

My husband and I love getting take out from Mantra! We used to dine in more when we first moved here, but now it's just super easy and simple to grab it to go and eat at the comfort of our own home. Lucky is the staff here that have taken care of us and super friendly each time. I'm vegetarian and have dietary restrictions, Mantra has not only been able to accommodate, they make the food tasty. Tip: they don't mess around the their spice here! Let them know if you want it spicy, and they'll totally bring you the spice. We used to get spicy and now started to get medium and it's still a very good spice / kick. I love getting their cauliflower pakora, chili paneer, paneer makhani, and vegetable korma. :)

Really good food! Servers are really kind. Servers also make sure you have a good experience with them. Restaurant has a peaceful and welcoming vibe. One of my favorite restaurants for sure.

Looks like a typical family run Indian food restaurant. Not sure if that's actually the case. They serve a lot of take out as well as eat in traffic. Servers are busy, but attentive. The most common dish I saw served was the tandoori chicken and it smelled amazing. I tried a new to me chicken dish that was good. Seems delicious enough that I would come back. It's on the rotation.

Nice little restaurant near the Mississippi waterfront. Had channa poori and took home aloo gobhi and dal. Food was authentic and slow. Service was incredibly slow. Place is really dark.

Very nice curries. Great vegetation options. Informal. Always happy when I leave there.

There are few Indian restaurants in the quad cities. This is my go to place for Indian food. It has a good ambience and menu. They brought back the lunch buffet. It's available every day they are open, from 11am-2pm. Price is $17.99. Well worth it. It gives you the opportunity to try new dishes, if there are any dishes you haven't tried and there is a salad and dessert section, essentially a three course meal and you can get seconds. The buffet menu also changes so it is not the same offerings all the time. The service is attentive and the noise level is low to moderate.

Dude this food is so good. By far the best Indian food in the QC and the staff is always so kind!!

This place never disappoints! Truly the best Indian food I've ever had. Food comes out fairly quickly even when busy, and staff is friendly. Highly recommend

The food was SO full of taste and flavor. This was my third visit. I ordered to-go, the food tasted just as delicious as it does when you dine-in. The resultant has a delicious aroma that invites an ambient and traditional-friendly environment.

The best butter chicken i've ever had so flavorful great portion size and decent pricing will return.

The real deal ... you'll know as soon as you walk through the front door. One of the best Indian restaurants I've been to in the US, and not expensive. Enjoy!

Bussin get the chicken vindaloo and some garlic Nan It was so good I went back three times. Chile trust me

I travel to the area a lot for work, and as someone who loves Indian food, had to try this place - especially with the weather cooling down. They have a large portion of the dining room shut down due to COVID, but they still seemed pretty busy in to go orders (which is what we got). I usually get paneer tikka masala, and this place was SO good. Flavorful and aromatic, plus HUGE portions. They are very friendly with sharing their rice. The Samosas are a must try, probably the best I've ever had, and their naan was fluffy and great. Everything I had was amazing. I will definitely be back next time I'm in town, I'm not sure if this is the only Indian place in Davenport, but I would highly recommend it to anyone coming through and looking for a good meal.

Not a huge fan of the chili chicken, the naan and mango lassi were good. Very quick service!

Good spot. There's a parking garage right next door with cheap parking. Am in the quad cities and would recommend to anybody looking for some Indian cuisine while in town !

Best food every time!!!! Very authentic and delicious! The tiki masala and Channa masala are my favorites.

Second time coming to this place- this experience wasn't the best- took almost an hour to get our meal- probably 6 or so groups that came in after us all got their meals way before us (us being only 2). They definitely weren't a fan of water refills as that was nonexistent. The garlic naan was the only thing saving them from a 1 star review.

40 dollars for lousy buffet ate there in years past butter chicken not good. I will not return poor choices also.

First time trying Mantra and I was impressed. We tried the chicken tikka, chicken tikka Marsala, chicken biryani, Samosa, and garlic naan. We had all the entrees spicy and everything was spicy and very flavorful. The naan was fragrant and you could taste the herbs and garlic. Mantra is priced right for their portions too. It's a large amount of food for dollar. I will definitely be back and try some other options as well. I highly recommend them for your Indian cravings in the quad cities.

I don't live anywhere near this area so I won't likely be back, but I enjoyed it there. We appeared to be the first customers of the day. I don't have too much to say - I enjoyed my kadai chicken. Two others in my party got the Butter Chicken and someone got the chillie something from the Indochinese section. I tasted them all and like the butter chicken pretty well and Indochinese dish was good but I just wasn't feelin it. We had garlic buttered naan as well. Again, I liked it all. Service was decent. The guy's English could use some practice but it wasn't terrible. One of my party members is a bigger fan of Indian cuisine and he wasn't impressed. The bathroom needs a renovation.

Felt like we ordered everything off the menu and all was so good. Great service. Expansive selection of Indian beers too. The naan with the nuts and cherries was amazing!!

What a fantastic lunch. We came on a Sunday at lunch time and this place is quiet and awesome. Very clean and well decorated. Nice Indian music playing softly in the background. They have a very expansive menu with offerings for vegetarians and non-vegetarians. I had the Chicken Tikka and Garlic Naan while my mom has Chicken Curry. Both dishes were fantastic with great portion sizes. I can't wait to come back and try some more of their options. If you are ever in the Downtown Davenport area you owe yourself a treat at this awesome place!!

Best Indian Restaurant in the QC! They offer an array of traditional dishes and the food is delightfully authentic. Check out the buffet...great way to sample dishes.

Stopped here while waiting for the Megabus. Pros: -Great food. Got the Chicken Tikka Masala that came with rice, naan and a Mango Lassi. Food and drink were flavorful and very tasty. Naan was fresh and hot. -Fast service with helpful staff. -Close to bus station so it's good for a nice meal before a journey. Con: -Gets a bit noisy with lots of people.

Seems to be a popular hang-out in the downtown area for lunch buffet. Still, there were tons of seating options, so don't be scared off! During lunch hours, it looks like they only offer their all-you-can-eat buffet. We weren't offered a menu when we showed up around noon. $10 will get you all-you-can-eat during their lunch buffet. Service was adaquate, but it seemed like they were rushed with the crowd and didn't get a lot of personalized service. Even-so, my server did a great job refilling our water glasses. Buffet was in pretty good shape too. All of the food was warm and tasted fresh. Nothing was out, and when things got low, they were quickly replenished. All of the food was pretty contained, and I didn't see any "contamination" from food getting outside of its container into other containers. Lots of excess plates, forks, and bowls to make it easy to get the containers you needed. They did accept credit cards.

Went in hoping to try their buffet but it seems like they aren't offering that right now. Disappointed, but the delicious food more than made up for it. My kid and I shared an order of samosas and roti. I had the chicken biryani, and my kid had the fusion biryani. Both were delicious with plenty of spice even ordering it as mild. Such a generous portion that we've gotten three meals out of each serving. Next time we will get the samosas chaat as I sampled my friend's - it was so good, and we will split one order of biryani to save room to try dessert. Service was prompt and friendly. I look forward to eating there again when visiting my local friend. I know he will be back too.

Mantra has one of the best Indian lunch buffets that I've ever visited. I came last week with my vegetarian cousin and her vegetarian husband and everyone felt satisfied. We were seated immediately and service was generally great throughout the meal. The buffet featured samosas and chicken tikka masala, both of which are items I rarely see at Indian buffets. The saag paneer was another dish that was exceptional. The naan was NOT great, however, as it was a little scrawny and seemed to have been sitting out for quite awhile. I'll definitely return to Mantra for more lunch and dinner. It's exciting to have a quality Indian option available in the Quad Cities!

I work in the area a couple times a month. I've had another Indian buffet and it was not as great as this one! I know where I'm going next time I have a craving for Indian food. This buffet is not stingy on flavor nor meat. I tried everything on the buffet. I didn't have the salad bc that's not what I came for! The mango pudding was a nice compliment to the spicy curry dishes. The restaurant itself is really cool. It's split level which creates an interesting look. The music was awesome too. Def creates the right ambiance. I was seated and also checked out quickly. Good service!

Some of the best Indian food I've had in a while. Mango Chicken was sweet and flavorful even when you ask for mild spice.

Out of the Indian restaurants in the QC area, Mantra is the better one. The restaurant looked nice and comfortable. The buffet had many vegetarian options and a few non vegetarian. Overall, the food was good. However, the kofta tasted weird and the chicken gravy was very watered down.

Delicious food. Spicy is spicy, mild is mild. My toddler eats the lentils from here. The chef must be a miracle worker.

I was contemplating giving it three stars, but I've had such better Indian cuisine. The buffet here ranged from bog standard and mediocre to not so great. I will admit my standards for Indian food are fairly high because I eat it so frequently, but still. The price is great, with tax it's just $10 for the buffet lunch, $2 for a sweet lassi on top of that, so great price point. But the food options at the buffet were fairly limited, I think only 8 dishes including soup which may seem a lot, but many Indian buffets have 10+. Indian soups are generally not great as soup is not really a native Indian dish, but I tried it anyway and indeed was was pretty bland. Just tasted like plain lentil soup. I tried a bunch of the dishes but the only two worth going back for more were the curry chicken and the mattar paneer. I love mattar paneer but this was definitely a forgettable mattar paneer. If I didn't love the dish so much I would not have gotten more of it. The chicken curry meanwhile was pretty standard, would've hoped for more. I hope there's some better Indian in the quad cities.

We ordered to go so I can't comment on the service or atmosphere. But the food was excellent. We had chicken tikka masala and paneer tikka masala. Both were excellent. Highly recommended.

Mantra Indian Cuisine & Spirits is a welcome addition to the Quad Cities area, where good Indian/Pakistani food is hard to come by. The food is amazing, and definitely authentic. The atmosphere is much nicer and cleaner than that of the other Indian restaurants in the area... Ever since this place has opened, my friends and I have been hooked! We come here at least once a week. It's awesome food for a great price, usually less than $10 per person. The next time you are in downtown Davenport, be sure to check it out!

Mantra is under new ownership, and I have to say that I feel it is better than it has ever been! The food is soooo delicious, prices fair, and I love that they have their lunch buffet on Sundays! On the topic of their buffet, it's better than ever as well!! They consistently have some of the most "crowd-pleasing" dishes, always fully stocked and hot. So much flavor, and they keep things nice and clean! I was there again the other week and I was told that one of their servers was sick, so didn't come into work, and the nice young lady apologized to me in advance, since she had the entire dining room and a private party upstairs. Interestingly, the service did not lack one bit! Our food came out in a timely manner, and my water glass was never less than half full! She kept apologizing, which was gracious, but I kept reassuring her that the service and experience were excellent! So glad this restaurant exists! I hope they're around for many years! My favorite dishes: Saag Paneer, Lamb vindaloo, butter chicken, chicken tikka masala, Chana masala, samosas, biryiani, and so much more!