Mantra by Host (Indian)

Mantra by Host is located 2 O'Neill Road in Toronto at the Don Mills Centre Plaza, at Don Mills Road and Lawrence Ave. E. It has $32 tiffin AYCE lunch on weekdays... It may still show $28.95 on the website but this is wrong; tiffins are the Indian equivalent of dim sum steamers. Modern, not too bright brick interior with contemporary music. We got there right at opening and there were no other diners yet. Pop is $3.50 canned not AYCD which is excessive. One thing I'm not big on is that you have to order the tiffins in sets of four which means that you might end up ordering too much even though they are rather small.

Raita is very good, fresh and well seasoned. Kachumber AKA cucumber salad is just that only cucumbers with a slice of lemon so of course the raita goes on top of it... wonderfully.

Dhoklha chaat was a tasty and interesting mix of flavours and quite good. Veg pakora we both loved and it had a warm and savoury coriander flavour. Samosas for far and away the best I've ever had with a wonderful baked breading that wasn't oily whatsoever and was very well seasoned, whereas almost everywhere else they are fried have very little to no flavour except the oil. The filling was absolutely delicious. Aloo gobi was excellent and very fresh and very flavourful with plenty of seasoning.

Butter chicken was excellent and we both loved it and it wasn't overly sweet as at most places but was very well seasoned... again, just about the best I've had in an AYCE. Buttery naan was gorgeous and also just about the best I've ever had, beautifully seasoned and gorgeously buttery. Chana masala was equally fantastic with an excellent spicing blend which was also original and had a bit of tang as to it which worked very well. It was also not overly hot. Chicken tikka masala had a pepper flavor which made one think that it was going to be much hotter than it was, and thankfully was not... it was also delicious.

Chicken curry was wonderful with a very rich seasoning full of savoury notes and very well-balanced... another best of breed. Jeera rice was nicely seasoned with caraway, and is jasmine rice in addition; it went very well with the leftover sauce from the butter and curry chicken. Kerala halibut had a distinctly fishy odor but it was quite good in the sauce provided. Dal makhni was excellent, very well-seasoned and not too hot... again one of the best of this variety I have had.

For dessert, unfortunately the coconut mango custard was out. Gulab jamun was excellent as it had actual rose water sauce which most places don't use even though they should. Rasmalai Mishy described as intoxicatingly good, and it was absolutely wonderfully aromatic with notes of cardamom and other floral scents; it was like eating incense but sweet and wonderful. I was missing the loss of Regency in Little India as it was our favourite Indian AYCE in Toronto proper but I think Mantra By Host may even be better. It’s a shame it isn’t serving this on weekends. The price is high but the excellence compensates.

Rating: 9.5 – 10 / 10