Mantra

I came on Saturday night for the club. The venue itself is nice in terms of ambience and décor. The DJ was fantastic playing hip hop I haven’t heard in a while. Definitely made me want to dance. But the problem is the place is too small and the crowd is not diverse. Not my type of scene.

I came here for a going away party a few weeks ago and I wasn’t really impressed. We got there right around the time they opened, but nothing was ready. I ordered a lychee-​tini and they had to send someone out for the lychee cause they had none. They also informed us that they didn’t have any food that night (it was a Thursday night and we were a decent sized group). The happy hour was like $ 1 off each drink or something, which isn’t really anything special.

Hit this spot for happy hour with some friends. The drinks were priced reasonably. The food was good for norm nyc bar restaurant. We did have a good bartender who provided guidance with some food selections. There is dj and dancing later in the evening.
This was a cute little place although I think we were there a bit too long.
There is dancing upstairs and I feel that it is a bit tight and hot but so are many places in good old NYC.
All in all the stop made for a fun start to our evening.

This is my 2^nd time I been to this venue both on a friday night after work with co-​workers and reps my employer works with.
Mantra 986 has an amazing ambiance, great crowd, rock’n dj’s and their drinks are good. the appetizers are much better than what you would expect a bar to serve. The chicken satay skewers is great. i highly recommend Mantra 986 for its vibe, friendly and professional staff, and no cover charge policy.

Been here 2 times on an early Friday night and have thoroughly enjoyed myself both times. It’s easy and free to get in. The drinks are strong enough, and it’s not too packed. The DJ is awesome and got me hyped. Good mixing and sampling of hip-​hop, reggae and a little old school… every once in a while the DJ takes a break with some Latin music. I never stayed there past 11, so I can only recommend it for after work or pre-​gaming.

This place is pretentious for NO reason.
I had my birthday here years ago when it first was being opened by these owners. It was alright but even then my friends thought the space wasn’t great. The music was alright. Drinks, nothing special.
Fast forward to 3 years later, they think they’re too cool for school. Puh-​lease! They wouldnt let my boyfriend and I in because we said we were with a certain party and they wanted to force the birthday girl to buy more bottles when she already signed up to buy 5– 2 more than originally planned. They let countless people in but us because we were ransom, basically.
Plus the manager with the glasses (skinny guy that acts like a jerk) was rude to people, his own staff and patrons.
Don’t come here. It’s not all that, really.

Went here with DH on a Saturday around 10pm. At the door, they asked us if we were with a party, and when we said we weren’t, we were charged a cover ($ 5 for me, $ 10 for him). Hmm, not sure this place is worth a cover, but we paid it anyway because we were curious what it’s like inside. Once in, we saw literally about 3 – 4 people at the first floor bar. We assumed there must be more going on upstairs. Nope, not much. Less than 10 people (not including ourselves), trying to talk over loud music. I will say that the décor was cool and the second floor was opened to the outside which was very nice. It’s different from what you’d usually find in this area, and a welcome change. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t fun. We stayed for about an hour and there still weren’t many more people there. Perhaps it was still too early. If they didn’t charge a cover, I’d come back to find out what it’s like late-​night, but it’s just not worth it to me.

I went there after work on 5÷5÷08 and had a great time. Good music, cool staff and a great crowd for the area. The last thing I need is a reason to go out on a Monday night, but Mantra gave me just that.

I just got back from this right now.
I’m not the promoter but this was the first Monday night they had Sunset Mondays. Damn good house music with the DJ on the second level and the folks dancing right in front.
This place screams Miami I LOVE IT. The DJs are talented, the drinks are decent but I’ve had better… I had 4 drinks for 44… so…not terrible for a nice place in the city.
Mondays afterwork seems to be the right party.
I’m gonna go on a Saturday in two weeks cuz my chica friend is guest bartending, I’ll let Unilocal know what’s good when I go to that.

I hosted an event here a few weeks ago for about 35 people and everything went really well.
It was a corporate client event and the following day, almost everyone came up to me and said they had a ‘really good time’.
Our party was on the second floor and there was an open bar and passed snacks for 2-​hours.
The bartender was attentive, the food was above average [for bar food] and the staff was extremely accommodating.
I haven’t been here for anything other than this event, so I’m not sure what it would be like for just a regular night of drinking or happy-​hour but I 100% recommend this space for any private party or something similar.

Perhaps it was because I was already lit with the pregame party I had prior to coming– or the fact that I didn’t have to pay cover, but I had a good time here.
I don’t know if they serve food or not, but it smelled like curry downstairs which was kinda foul. The crowd wasn’t your usual pretty crowd however they were all pretty chill and fun. I only bought 1 round so I can’t say that prices were outrageous.
Why did I like it so much? They had a great DJ on Friday nights that played old school and hip hop. My friends and I had no hassles getting the 3 tables and had the whole back area to ourselves– much like a personal club.
One gross part I remember was the clogged up toilet which was pretty gross. Wasn’t a fan, but overall I had a good time. Sad to see such poor reviews. Maybe if you all came drunk it would be better too? I’m just glad I didn’t smell like curry when I left.

I went here for a birthday party, and the party was great. However, there was a lot of stuff that while it didn’t ruin my night or anything, I actually objectively shaved points off these guys’ chins for a few reasons. But first, the good.
So the place is kinda like every other lounge/​club/​restaurant/​bar in the area of Midtown East (or really north Murray Hill as well). The crowd pretty much sucks, although this place was slightly better than say Local. It’s very dark, the music is blaring, and it somewhat attempts a nice layout (the upstairs bar is way too skinny, you can only fit 3 people from the wall to the bar, but there are a lot of couches lined up around the corners to give a more comfortable vibe). The problem is it’s made up of too much hair gel and women who while attractive either don’t know why they are there and complain a lot or are there having fun but really just could be doing better. At the very least there’s no pretension, except at the goddamn door.
The staff at the door was as pretentious as you can get, the white bouncer was a total douche, and I’ll get to that in a second. The doorman was still skeptical of us even though we were there with the birthday girl who set the party up through management. We had correct dress code, I’m sorry that my jacket isn’t brand new. We get in (I’d never pay a cover here) and head upstairs, which was decidedly more crowded with less room. The bar is fairly expensive I think I paid 7 dollars for a bottle of beer, although I do see that they have a happy hour.
There are two bathrooms upstairs, one being broken because someone decided to play gag a toilet. I was waiting patiently in line, when the white bouncer comes upstairs (he already had a few words with one of my friends who was stranded outside) and allows these three girls to cut in line. I had a pretty funny exchange with one of them, who used the good but odd excuse, «I’m pregnant». and I immediately thought, and said, «What are you doing here then». Her friends got angry, asking what my business was asking her. Multitude of possible health concerns was all I was implying. I lied and said I had a kid and a wife, and they thought they were being smart by being, «what are YOU doing here then?» and I replied, «I’m here for a friend’s birthday party, so?» It kinda irked me that they had no sense of logic.
They spent 20 minutes in that bathroom. 20 minutes is so much longer when you’re waiting with the angriest line ever. It just seemed so spoiled, the bouncer brought them upstairs (when there was a bathroom downstairs) and used his power needlessly.
The people are just kind of hepped up on the notion that they think they are posh but they really aren’t; it’s like the Upper East Side decided to dance and they come down to this area to mingle so homogenously. There are good souls here though, I could tell. A lot of finance people too.
The second floor does have a nice view of the street though, right at the intersection.

Mantra is a great space, but I feel like it is one of those places that never gets full. It is loungy but the music is loud enough to be at a club and their drinks are overpriced as expected and watered down. The music was hit-​or-​miss and the crowd was weird, but I am not sure if that’s the crowd it attracts or whether it was the fact that I was at a Brandeis alumni event or a little bit of both. The appetizers, however, weren’t inedible. If I was wealthy enough to afford it, I’d rent the whole place out for a party of 100 – 150 people, I’d say but that’s about it. Who knows, perhaps it’s more happening on a Friday or Saturday night?

What was once Mantra 986, has now been reduced to simply «Mantra.» It looked small from the outside but notably packed on the inside as I came here for a happy hour event The service and bartenders were very nice, friendly about tips, and very good with stiff drinks. The prices weren’t as friendly for other typical happy hour places, as the $ 4 beers were only limited to a select few.
Overall, the lounge factor was not as relaxing with the music blaring and the excessive crowds of midtown. The place was nice looking, perhaps almost too trendy for a restaurant setting. I ended up trying some of their «gourmet» appetizers, like their sauteed crab cakes and «Yin Yang» chicken wings. Both were a disappointment as the YY wings were simply fried wings with some out of the cheap bottle of hoisin sauce. The crab cakes was served with mango chutney and was too dry and ultimately too flakey.
As the stiff drinks started to take effect, my hunger got the best of me and I ended up ordering a Kung Pao Burger for myself. It was served with wasabi fries, which were interesting, but the portion size was very limited. No matter, the burger itself was not worth the $ 12, it tasted like a wannabe kimchi burger with little bits of chives and garlic embedded into the meat. Mantra isn’t worth it for the mediocre wannabe Asian fusion food, or the ill faded happy hour.

We went to Mantra after work for an early dinner and drinks. As the only patrons sitting at a table, our waitress was more concerned about flirting with the bartender than making sure our food was delivered or drinks were full. Their ginger martini tasted like rubbing alcohol with a twist of hairspray– they should use it to scrub the floors there, which hasn’t been done in quite a while.
Just before we passed out from starvation, what seemed to be a 12 year old illegal immigrant sweetly brought our food to the table. We were wondering why the food and drinks were so overpriced and the restaurant can’t pass the savings of paying illegal workers under minimum wage onto us. My boyfriend had to walk to the bar (where the waitress was rubbing herself against the bartender) to ask for the check– the only attentive workers there couldn’t speak enough English to translate. The only reason Mantra gets even one star is because the place looks like a cheap, shiny knock off of Miami, and I like that.

The ok view from the second floor lounge hardly makes up for this places annoying door, unattractive crowd and poor DJ. Maybe i was here on off nights but, Here’s a hint Mantra spend more energy attracting attractive girls and less time rejecting guys and you will have a much better club. Not worth a cover, go maybe if there isn’t a cover. The décor is nice and makes me wish i could like this place more. I guess this is why I don’t go out in midtown.

Not a bad happy hour. The upstairs was a bit small, however, the drinks were cheap and strong:) My advice is to bring some mints. I kid you not .when it is that hot and small and a guy is speaking to you with dragon breath it could kill you:) I would say go here during the week if you happen to be in the area.

The black-​and-​white wallpaper is lovely and rather unexpected for a lounge-​bar sort of atmosphere, but aside from that, this is all too typical. The setup would be much better suited to a quieter, vintage-​y cocktail bar, but the location and the strictly-​top-​40 music selections make it a hotspot for afterwork 25 – 35 types who work in midtown. One word: dull. If you’re a girl, be prepared to get hit on by overconfident guys who work in finance.
I’m generally not a fan of bi-​level clubs, because that means the club in question can get away with making both floors much smaller than they’d otherwise be able to be – and hence borderline unnavigable due to the crowds.

Pretty good lounge. Met some nice people. Strong drinks. Corny music. Nice layout.