Restaurants

Nirvana Lounge at Mantra

City:

Paramus

County:

Bergen County

Phone:

201.342.8868

Price:

Cuisine:

Indian

Key:

Nirvana Lounge at Mantra

* * *
275 Route 4 West
Paramus
201.342.8868
mantranj.com

Indian food might not sound like ideal lounge fare, given its reputation for hot, heavy spices and even heavier oils. Not here. The lounge is one side of an excellent restaurant, Mantra, which boasts an inventive menu of refined Indian dishes that give a nod to French technique. Everything — from the traditional Indian breads to the tandoori chicken roti wrap — is lighter, made from superior ingredients, and accented with complex, nuanced spices.

This 40-seat lounge is really more an attachment to a sedate restaurant than a music-centric late-night spot. In fact, the enjoyable Bollywood hip-hop is piped in. Nevertheless, Nirvana provides an excellent lounge experience with its spicy hot/sleekly cool décor, its excellent martinis, and its tasty tidbits.

Take in the surroundings while leaning against a stylish microsuede couch and sipping a newfangled

cocktail such as the Goan Martini, a blend of blood-orange vodka, crushed cardamom, and pineapple juice that is as lush as a silk sari. The black ottoman that you rest your drink on will subsequently have its top flipped over to reveal a wooden tray for food. In the meantime, indirect lighting will artfully draw your eye to the bar, which is faced with sparkling mosaic tiles in the colors of warm spices. The most dramatic feature is a row of mesmerizing blue flames that dance along the top of a slate-clad wall separating the lounge from the dining room. It’s a good thing you have such visual distractions, because the restaurant is situated at one end of a strip mall, and the room has windows facing the parking lot and Route 4.

If your pleasure is wine, turn to the short but commendable list of midpriced selections, which helpfully provides guidance for pairing with the food. Medium-bodied chardonnays, for example, are touted as “perfect with the Tandoori Grill, vegetable dishes, and kebabs.”

Mantra’s full menu is available at Nirvana, but there is really no reason to go beyond the lounge’s offerings, which range from traditional (miniature samosas filled with potatoes and peas) to the chef’s take on modern American bar food (think chicken wings with saffron and chili peppers and raita in place of blue-cheese dressing). Light and springy fried calamari have a delightful twist of green mango

and basil chutney. The Street Corner Veggie Sandwich, which features squares of fresh panir cheese and comes with garlic fries, is irresistible.

The lounge menu also happens to be a bargain. From the prices (many in the $6 to $8 range) you would expect the usual small plates. What arrive are dinner plates laden to the rims.

Sure, you can enjoy a traditional meal on the other side of the three-quarter wall here, but when relaxed dining in hip surroundings is the order of the day, enter Nirvana.