Tantra

Ok, I really should have paid more attention to Unilocal reviews! I should have been better prepared for the upselling and the sneaky ways that the servers offer stuff to you. Example: just a small dessert for the celebrant — EVEN THOUGH I clarified & motioned with my hands «just a small one for her» — surprise! It’s a sampler plate for a whopping $ 30!!! Thank goodness, I didn’t fall for the specials with the «special» prices! I must say, the service was really exceptional — I guess it’s because they charge you 20% gratuity! In all fairness, the food & service was good-​shame on me for allowing myself to be upsold & for not asking the prices on the things not on the menu!
I may one day go again, but next time I will be prepared. Good thing I got my
coupon!

Finally tried Tantra and I was very, very disappointed.
Walked in and I thought, Is this some kind of Hollywood night club? Do I really need to hear the LOUDEST remix of Rihanna’s «Rude Boy» in an Indian Restaurant? This is when I should have turned around and walked out. However, I am dumb. Here we go!
1. Seating was a problem. We were taken to the upstairs, which was way too dark to see the menus, or even each other. We found the light switch and made it a little brighter, but they quickly came and changed it back, when they packed a huge family up there with us.
2. Waiter was pushy. Gave us a 10 minute long speech about the specials that we didn’t want, tried to push appetizers, and bent his wording into TRICKING us to purchase certain things. For example, one of the things he did was say «would you like yellow lentil or black lentil with your dish?», yet failed to tell us that the lentil DOES NOT ALREADY COME WITH THE DISH. It’s $ 9 extra. Big, big mistake, and surprise when the bill came. Very dishonest.
3. See number 2, but now add a beverage situation. I told him I wanted water. He asked me if I want sparkling or flat water. I told him, «just regular water». At ANY restaurant I’ve ever been to, I’m either brought regular tap water or whatnot. He brought over and poured a $ 5 bottle of water that I didn’t want, and didn’t realized I was being charged for water until the end.
4. By the end, I wanted out, and was blocked by 3 – 4 servers bringing giant furniture up the stairs and delaying our exit. Thanks for adding an obnoxious obstacle course to this fabulous night.
HOWEVER, THE CHICKEN MARSALA WAS PRETTY GOOD. Expensive for the portion, but good. I will give you that. The rest of the experience was pretty bad. I should note, the server did take the $ 5 unnecessary water charge off the bill for us. But, in the end, it was too little… too late. Not a place I’d expect in Silverlake. Maybe stuffy Beverly Hills.
Go with your cheaper, hole-​in-​the wall restaurant where they are nice to you. I recommend East Indian Grill on LaBrea/​Beverly, but I’d actually recommend almost anywhere over this place.
TOURISTY is a great word for this place, i like that i can fill this in.
EDIT: THEY’RE CLOSED FOREVER AND I TAKE FULL CREDIT

It’s one of our special treat restaurants and although the food is a mix of traditional and uniquely ‘fusion’ Indian dishes (I think), it’s all great.
The service is exceptional and one time we were lucky enough to meet a manager there who’s demeanor was highly pleasant and gave the experience a more welcoming edge.
Me and the wife love it here and recommend it to any and all.

I ate here for a friend’s birthday party a few weeks ago. I had never had Indian food before, but I’m always open to new things so I figured what the hell.
I’m glad I tried it, because it was terrific. I am now addicted to Chicken Tikka Masala and the green chicken was also incredible.
Everything was delicious, and our server was very good about explaining all of the dishes to those of us in the group who were Indian cuisine neophytes. I will go back.

Fell in love with this place the moment I walked inside. I was invited here by my former CSULA colleagues for a going-​away party tonight in my honor, which was very sweet of them…
Arrived Sunday evening at dinnertime and entered… the tables were set up for our rather large group, they were ready for us, and politely showed us to our table.
The aesthetic was flawless. Spotless interior, beautiful color palette, everything was gorgeous. Waitress was friendly yet professional, had a fun personality. Every recommendation she made was spot-​on.
We all loved the food, the ambiance, the vibe, and the service. A manager (owner?) approached us twice to check in, and was gracious and polite each time.
One comment made by someone at our table: Perhaps it’s really loud/​busy at other times. It had a fantastic mellow vibe on a Sunday night, which may or may not be true other nights. Just a thought.
Three couples in the group tonight all said they wanted to return for a date night. They really did a great job with this place.

1) Cassandra L. is with this company, disregard her review!
2) This place is mediocre at best!
3) No, I lied… this place is sub-​par.
3) Save your money, go ANYWHERE else!
4) The wine is okay.

@ Bar/​Lounge
Jan/​22/​2011
Sat 9pm-1:30am
Free admit/​21 Older
Dress to impress!
Advise private party of 100 would occupy this location. Service can be improve, I would have given it a 4 due to the vibe and the securities seems to be on top of their priorities. I really like this place only if you want to celebrate with your close friends and family.
We encounter one Saturday night. There are 2 things that bothered me, #1 was the plastic cup and #2 the bottle service. What’s up with their bar serving on a plastic cup? We came here to attend a celebration with some of our local friends. We got here early and went straight to the bar and ordered something to drink while we wait. The bartender asked me if it’s okay if he serves my apple martini on a plastic cup, I mean like a plastic cup that you would find at a .99 cents store. I made a funny gesture and asked if it was biodegradable and I continue with a funny laugh. So I let it be at least I had my drink in a plastic cup. lol,
oh well at least it seems like everyone had a great time and enjoyed the evening without any drama :).
Facility = 4
Security Service = 5
Bar Service = 4
Waitress = 2
music = 4
Updated Review: 1÷29÷2011
Business or Pleasure?
Kim’s Birthday Party
We came back to Tantra for more friends celebration. I must say it’s a great lounge to have fun with couple of few friends without being in not so crowded room. We still came back to the same plastic cup and service, but I happened to bumped to supposedly a manager and had express and suggested my concerns to aka Mr. Manager about thinking on investing into more earth friendly products such as biodegradable cups. He ask me if he can help him, I said sure I know some people that might able to provide him the type of eco friendly products and services such as the business in referral as one of my
LinkedIn network.
At least one thing will be change and it all end to do one thing green.
I am still looking forward to this place for continual change in their business mission. to do something great in customer service and surely the mission to turn this business into Green Tantra.
Glad to have turn this into a pleasurable business experience.

Sadly, and with a heavy heart, I dial this review back to 3 stars.
They don’t have a DJ on nights anymore and ever since the Chef who was on Iron Chef stopped Cheffing there, the specials are usually the same and the food has lost its former luster.
Let’s have a moment of silence for the TantraZ that once was…

I had such a fun b-​day here a few years ago.
Great food. A little pricey, but then again Indian food usually is. But what made the night was watching the Indian (Indian with a dot not a feather;) men get down on the dance floor. Once a month they have a club night on the bar side (half the place is a restaurant and half is a bar). I’ve never seen anyone get down like that and there was a whole room full of them. Me and my other blondies had a blast and they loved us too.

Been coming here for a couple of years and am so happy that they re-​opened.
Skip the samosa, it’s just so so. Go on to the Tika masala, the tofu version is good but the paneer is even better. The baingan bharta Is good, the okra very good. But the best dish is the sea bass. It’s delicately seasoned and comes apart nicely in you mouth. Double up on this– so good you won’t want toshare.
Service has improved dramatically so give them another try, I’m glad we did.

It is with a heavy heart that I re-​review Tantra. Sigh.
I went there for my birthday, as I often have, and this last time? HORRIBLE service. They forgot us. Completely. We never even got drinks. BAD.
I went in there the other day for my favorite apricot lamb curry? Here’s what:
— the bag of food was on the counter when I got there which is great but there was no one to take my money for at least 5 minutes! and there were only three tables with people at them in the whole place. Who is running this place any more? anybody!
— a very nice girl took my credit card, ran it, but. the pen didn’t work, in fact none of the 12 pens worked so she had to go in back. Hey, this happens but DANG I already waited for almost 8 minutes now.
–the other half of the restaurant is a hookah bar now. I saw one couple in there. The place was empty.
–they don’t have Cardamom rice any more. Boo.
–My lamb curry is now $ 15!!! wtf??? it used to be $ 9.75 or less!!! The most it ever was was $ 13.
on the positive, the lamb and the curry was top notch and there is nothing like it so far in this great city — such an amazing flavor. yum… good naan also.
So there you have it. I’m afraid this place will shut down (again) if they don’t get their shit together. such a shame.

BEST Indian food ever!!! hands down. I’ve never had anything like it. I ate here about 2 weeks ago and I’m still thinking of the food. It’s as simple as this, if you are looking for Indian food that doesn’t just have the curry taste to it, then come here. Also, we had the best and most articulate Indian server who took his time to describe, explain and entice us with their amazing specials. Just do it! You’ll LOVE it!
TIP: Be adventurous and try something that catches your eye!

I can easily say that my favorite food in the entire world is a neck to neck tie between sushi and Indian food. There are few things better to me than a rich, multi layered, complex, aromatic, spicy curry atop fluffly basmati rice and a huge piece of naan. It makes my mouth water just thinking about it. India is an amazing country and their food, in my opinion, is the best part.
That being said, Tantra isn’t very traditional. I went with some friends the other night and unfortunately I didn’t really see the whole space, just the main dining room.
The décor was pretty cool and surprisingly large for Silverlake. When restaurants are that big though, it kind of makes me wonder…
Okay first the wine list. There was none. That’s okay though because I went on a limb and ordered pinot grigio and it was amazing. One of the best pinot grigios ever. I think I had 4 glasses. Good stuff.
The food. Hmmmm. The bf’s chicken tikka masala was good but it was served like portioned out on a plate, not like a big bowl of it and then you put it on your plate. I guess that’s the modern influence. I’d have to say, if I go back, I’ll get the tikka masala. Delicious. My friend got a lamb dish that was great. I got a white fish, can’t remember which one but it was not good. So tough that I needed a knife to cut it. Yes, a knife to cut my fish. Bad news.
So that’s that. I’ll probably come back but as far as Indian food goes, this is not something to write home about.

** This is a review for the lounge, not the restaurant **
Came here for a friend’s birthday on Friday and it was packed. Well, it was mainly packed because of her birthday. Everyone literally knows her. So I don’t know how it is on a normal weekend night.
The place is small and there’s only one bar. The set up is obviously a restaurant set up and they just took all the tables and chairs out. So that was a bit awkward.
(This next part is going to sound a bit crazy so please don’t judge…) I swear this happened — THEY WERE SERVING FAKE GOOSE! Well, not «fake» Goose, but I’m 100% sure that they disguised Absolut or some other generic vodka as Goose. I know this because I’ve probably consumed my body weight x100 worth of vodka in my life. I’ve also consumed so much cheap vodka in my life, I had to switch to a more «upscale» vodka — Goose. So believe me, I know when I’m drinking the cheap stuff! It tastes like rubbing alcohol and I want to spit it back out in someone’s face. (Thankfully, I didn’t.) So I consumed about 3 shots worth of the cheap vodka and woke up with a splitting headache the next day. No, not the hungover kind of headache (I’ve had enough of those to know what it feels like), but the I consumed too much cheap liquor headache. Barf.
I would probably never come back. Maybe to try the restaurant b/​c I love Indian food, but not to the lounge. The set up is all wrong, and they messed up on the most important thing — booze.

TantraZ has changed since I last reviewed it, so I thought it deserved an update. The excellence of the food hasn’t changed, don’t think that. They’ve just kept up with the times; their prices are now not quite so spendy. If I’m not mistaken, they have also given up some of the space they used to occupy. None of this compromises the quality of the experience dining here.
The cocktails are still kickass as well.

Whenever someone asks me to recommend them an Indian restaurant, I tell them to go somewhere else because I want to keep TantraZ to myself! No, seriously. Go away. Mine.
I never have a bad time when I come here. The décor is gorgeous, and most importantly, it’s nice and quiet. There’s nothing more irritating on the senses than having to listen to some annoying chick’s high-​pitched cackle all night long (you know who you are!) when you just want to enjoy a peaceful meal after a long day.
It’s street parking, but we’ve never had a problem finding a spot, no matter if we go on a weekday or on the weekend.
Maybe it’s because we stand out, but the manager always remembers my bf and I when we go in and greets us warmly. He will even remember what we ordered last time, which is impressive. We like to start off with a samosa sampler (potato is still my favorite), which comes with a delicious trio of dipping sauces. Then we move on to some form of naan (cheese and garlic have both turned out wonderfully), and a meat dish. I suggest the lamb because it comes with saffron rice included so you don’t have to order rice on the side. The meat is so tender! Very, very delicious.
To make the experience top-​notch, the staff are all extremely polite and attentive. Can’t wait to go back to TantraZ again!

Great place to hang and host a private event or even a theme party, even if you just reserve the room upstairs. Their catering appetizers are palatable to even the most unadventurous tongues. If it’s a fixed fee contract, their bartenders may seem to be a little slow with putting out the drinks (you can do the math with the economy), but in any case, their Mango Method is delicious.
see pics!

This review is about location only! I didn’t try the food, so I can’t comment on that at all.
TantraZ has a nice ambiance going, with large mirrors, couches, and plasma/​lcd screens blasting out Indian videos. It’s a cute place. They also have this very nice and intimate room upstairs that seems great for small parties and get togethers.

I came here for a private event, so this may not be too representative of the average experience. The space is really cool, with a downstairs, and two upstairs area (one of which is really cozy).
I tried some of the appetizers, which were pretty delicious, some were just OK and far too fried. Their bartenders were moving fairly slow, but that may be because they were being overworked (the place was packed) and underpaid (several drinks we free).
Otherwise, cool space that could be a lot of fun to go back to.

Incredible Food, Beautiful Place and New Lower Prices
Do NOT go expecting to order up your old standby Tikka Masala Chicken off the Menu. This is an Indian inspired restaurant. They have come up with their own tasteful blends that surprising and delicious. I suggest getting the appetizer plate that offers a variety of their different dishes. The presentation is excellent and the food is yummy.
The staff was very fast and friendly. My water glass never got below half. The setting is like a movie set, very trendy and intimate. It never got too noisy that I could not hear my dinner mates.
The alcoholic drinks are very, very different. I do not know that I would order them again but they were very fun to try.
We had this multi-​layered desert that the chef created but it was not on the menu. Wow, they should add it to the menu. Each spoonful was different as you descended through the layers. It was a wonderful mix of fruit, coconut, noodles and and anddddddddd. Zeow!
They have really reduced the prices and now the meals are reasonable and affordable. ENJOY!!!