Maha Mantra

Having read the mostly positive and upbeat reviews here, I was excited about going there today. However, having eaten at Appfel a couple of days earlier, Maha Mantra came as a bit of a disappointment. First of all, the Indian touch as mentioned in the description and reviews is very fleeting, if at all. In fact the only truly Indian item in the menu was the poori, and in fact that was the best item. The pooris were piping hot and best I have had anywhere, including India. There were 3 potato dishes, and in each dish, the potato was half cooked, making it almost inedible. The lassi (I asked for plain, since in my view yogurt should not be mixed with any fruit) I had was strange. I took one sip and had to waste the rest of it. However, the bean soup was excellent. The rest of the items were mainly different components of salads, nothing original or creative. However, Fernando the host, who was the only one who spoke English was very warm and effusive and helpful. Overall, the meal was disappointing, specially since the restaurant is nowhere near any Metro station.

Was a pleasure to eat there. Only problem was I did not have enough time to go back a second time.

We had the best time today. :) The house is beautiful and the food was absolutely DELICIOUS. The host was the owner himself (almost sure of this), who was a sweetheart and very nice and helpful. It is a buffet with only about 4 non-vegan options out of 30 something, everything that is vegan has a V o it, so you don't have to ask all the time... But if you need to ask anything, they are willing to help and the host, Fernando, speaks perfect English. It is the type of food that you can feel was made with love. There are different rooms where you may sit, now, if you pick the one with the pillows on the floor, please take your shoes off first or you will have the same embarrassing experience I had when I read after I had finished eating that you were supposed to take off your shoes... No one said anything so I was only embarrassed by myself. ;) So if you like the sitting on the floor style take easy to take off shoes because you will be walking to and from the buffet and this room is one floor above. They make juices and teas and deserts, I had the organic grape agar-agar which was very good. They also sell a few products, I bought some organic spices and chocolates. Everything is very clean. There is good energy. And the price was very good about U$20 per person and we ate a lot and very good quality. Definitely going back on our next trip. Beauty tip for girls: if you wear lipstick take a pocket mirror with you because there are no mirrors in the bathroom, which BTW is very clean.

If you`re visiting Sao Paulo, you have to go to Maha Mantra!! The specialty is the Indian cuisine, but you`ll find a lot of vegan options (don`t worry, no dead meat at all!). The place is quiet and comfortable, easy to reach, and the staff is very helpful and friendly. Try the "poori" (indian bread) and the banana chutney (spicy, but not too much).