After building a loyal following in Metairie, Mantra Indian Cuisine is moving to a location in Mandeville, which is set to open in December. Owners Bansi Lal and Jael Hilic opened Mantra in 2020, in the midst of the pandemic. Hilic recently told What Now New Orleans that Mantra has enjoyed massive support in Metairie dating back to before the official grand opening in 2020.
“We had to open before the official opening day because people kept coming in after smelling the food out on the road,” she said. “My husband said, ‘Let’s just open today,’ so we did and posted it on Facebook.”
She added that the family-run restaurant was able to be successful partly because of the personal interactions they had with their guests.
“We tried to get to know them, their children, and their grandchildren,” she said. “We talked to them when they know someone is in the hospital or who passed away. We try to have really strong relationships with the customer.”
The new location at 4250 LA-22 in Mandeville will feature an expanded bar, a larger dining room, and a private event room that can hold up to 80 people. It will also have a larger kitchen that will allow Lal to make more dishes from his native Kashmir and Jammu region in northern India. Most Indian restaurants in the US focus on dishes from southern India.
“The Kashmir-Jammu area is sort of like Louisiana in the USA,” Hilic said. “It’s known as the best place to eat, and the food is unique.”
