Mandala Tearoom
Closed as of Jun 15
Hours
Daily
- closed
Profile
$ - inexpensive
Atmosphere galore in an urban tea lounge, organic vegan kitchen, and contemporary art gallery
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Added by Jennifer Miranda on Dec 6 05 (updated Nov 18)
Reviews
My husband and I are hard-core vegans and had been dying to try this restaurant for quite a while. Unfortunately, we were very disappointed! The food was expensive and the portions were very small. The lettuce wraps for an appetizers were very small and tasteless. I ordered the raw burger, which could have been good, but the portion was tiny and there was no bun--only lettuce leaves! My husband ordered the manacotti dish which had no flavor and was also a very small portion. We both left the restaurant starving!
On the positive side, the restaurant has great ambience, a good wine and beer selection and the service wasn't too bad. Manala Tearoom just needs to get a better chef and make some improvements to the menu and portion size. If I, as a hard-core vegan don't want to come back--how are you going to attract non-vegans to your restaurant? You probably won't make it on just vegans alone.
Went to Mandela Tearoom for the first time on a Friday around 1930h, and was surprised to find it just half full. We sat at the front of the restaurant in the pillow corner right by the large windows. After reviewing the menu I ordered :
iced coconut tea : which was wonderful!
tea crumpets: rosemary spelt foccacia toasted with spreads: organic artichoke + garlic, classic garbanzo hummus + sautéed greens, organic roasted tomato + fennel : I loved the artichoke and garlic the best which is surprising as I am a tomato freak.
04 cabernet sauvignon/ chile
curry vermicelli rice noodle bowl: noodles topped with grilled tempeh, chopped assorted organic veggies + almonds-served with a warm coconut curry sauce : this was a light dish perfect for hot weather, although I added a bit of salt
chocolate bundt cake w vanilla soylicious : very rich, awesome…
The service was great; our server took time to answer questions and was friendly and quick. No complaints here.
The cuisine was interesting and enjoyable. Service was the worst. How can it take 10 minutes for water?! For the price, you expect above average service, especially in Scottsdale. It seems as though everyone moves at the pace of a snail here. I am not sure if I will be returning. The tea was excellent.
great food but WAAAAYYY too overpriced.
and last i checked....honey is not vegan :(
Great tea! Great food! Great ambiance! In that order of importance. This is a wonderful tea shop/restaurant and is definitely worth a try. You can't not go there again if you've been there once. The organic vegan menu is great, especially for the zillion different kinds of teas. We tried the Early Grey, Mango Ginger Peach Tea and the African Rose Tea ($3 each) - all were great and refreshing. We tired the Ziti which was delicious. The garlic bread that came with it was whole wheat and I didn't feel guilty having it at all. Very healthy! We also tried the Curry Vermicelli Rice Noodle Bowl, which was light as well as fresh. The noodles were just right... light and soft. The curry was not oily at all. We also tried the Blueberry cake and my brother and I were almost fighting over it! If all that wasn't enough we even got their dark chocolate truffles to go. One of the best ever. A little pricey at $3 a piece, but worth a try.
Not to mention the Mandala paintings are great.
A little pricey, but that's tough to avoid in Scottsdale.
This place was extraordinary! Everything on the menu sounded great and there were so many different varieties of teas that one won't know where to begin. The quality and presentation of the food was top notch and the service was some of the best I have experienced, and I eat out A LOT. And I can't forget to mention the atmosphere - there are great artworks on the wall and the ambiance was very comfortable, but still had the hip, urban feel to it. A definite must for all Phoenix area vegans!
mandala tearoom has a great atmosphere with a cute salon and gift shop attached next door, beautiful mandala paintings on the walls, and nice decor. I love the nachos, which are made with delicious vegan sour cream instead of cheese. All the desserts I have tried are fantastic and moist- which is often hard to find with vegan desserts! If they have the tiramasu when you go I would definitely recommend it. I also really enjoy their soup and baked pasta. The vegetable croudet was disappointingly small and not worth the price! It was a couple veggies and a small portion of hummus for $9! My only complaint overall is that the portions are sometimes too small for the price, but it is a wonderful peace of mind to know that the food you're consuming definitely does not contain any animal products.