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Mantra Espresso & Wine Bar - CLOSED
Category: Restaurants Tapas Bars Tapas Bars [Edit]
2707 NE 114th AveSte C3
Vancouver, WA 98684
(360) 260-5111
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
5 reviews for Mantra Espresso & Wine Bar
5 reviews in English
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Review from Ty S.
Vancouver, WA
8/15/2009
Yelp helped us stumble upon Mantra. My partner wanted small plates and wine in central Vancouver. Having once worked and lived in the area, I said it didn't exist. Martin (owner) proved me wrong. They have a great selection of wines by-the-glass. And the offering of bottles of wine-to-go is very competitively priced. We were there for the Thursday night tasting - six 1-oz pours plus a full glass of the wine you liked for $10. Plus great bruschetta and hummus. We also ordered a very tasty pizza. We will be dragging our friends back to this out-of-the way find.
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Review from Nader A.
Portland, OR
8/30/2009
Mantra Espresso & Wine Bar is definitely a unique little spot that defies categorization. It looks more like a cafe than anything else, nicely appointed, but fairly pedestrian and located smack dab in the middle of a bland and boring strip mall. They do brew up Stumptown, for those of you who swear allegiance to that particular brand of java (I'm fairly coffee agnostic).
A little closer look though and you'll see that Mantra has a fairly extensive selection of wines. They even have the stones to pour a couple domestic Cabernet Sauvignons that will set you back $25 [!] or more per glass! I've rarely run across even $20 glasses of wine at some of the hottest wine bars in town (most places won't sell their higher end wines by the glass). So it's clear that they're serious about trying to establish themselves as a higher-end wine bar (though they do have reasonably priced $4-6 glasses as well).
They also serve food, and much of it seems perfectly tailored to go with wine. Gourmet olives, cheese plates, bruschetta, and houmous all seem like the typical bites that might accompany a nice glass of wine. Add in some more filling menu items like some panninis and 8" personal pizzas, and they've got at least few items you could put together to make a light dinner.
So, now you're thinking: wine bar that also serves espresso, right? But Mantra throws you another curve-ball - they have 3-4 quality beers on tap (including Lompoc's C-note Imperial IPA and North Coast's PranQster Belgian-style Golden) and 15 or so more bottles. And to prove their commitment to being a destination for beer aficionados, they recently organized a "meet the brewer" night featuring Ninkasi Brewing's Jamie Floyd - that was actually the event that occasioned our visit.
Jamie was pouring tasters from 3 of Ninkasi's great brews - Total Domination, Tricerahops, and the Radiant summer seasonal. Having had each of these before, my buddy and I just ordered up a bomber of Tricerahops. I'm not sure if they always served double-deuces or if it was just for the tasting.
To go with the frosty bebidas we ordered up a meat and cheese plate - a pair each of cheeses and cured meats. While the menu said we were getting 1 cow and 1 goat cheese, our server neglected to identify what we actually did get. One of them was really tasty (with what looked like rosemary on top, the other was bland enough that I'd have believed Kraft made it). The couple slices of Italian meats were nice, but a little skimpy.
By this time we'd downed our beer, and each ordered a pint of Total Domination (on draught, the other Ninkasi beers were bottled). Here's where things started getting a little weird. We both thought this tasted...different. It was sweeter, flatter, and far less hoppy than any pint of TD I've ever had. I was ready to brush it off and think it was just me, but when my buddy raised an eyebrow and said, "does this taste strange to you" we had to say something.
In retrospect it may not have been the smartest move, as it certainly seemed to put the bartender on the defensive. He insisted it was a-ok, even telling us he had Jamie try it and it was perfect.
Ultimately I can't say for sure, but my guess is there was something wrong with their tap lines or something. Whatever, by this point I felt so uncomfortable that I wasn't about to send our waitress back to ID our cheeses for fear that our pizzas (that had not yet been delivered) might have some unadvertised and unwanted extra toppings of the phlegmatic variety.
When our pizzas DID arrive, they were both quite nice. Very thin, semi-crisp, but with a conservative amount of cheese and toppings each slice was easy to pick up without it falling apart.
Mantra is a study in the challenges of trying to bring "big city" to the 'burbs. It's not exactly expensive, but any time you're selling 'premium' from a strip mall it's a tough sell. I'm sure that if I was a local I'd appreciate it a bit more, but for my time/money I'd rather stay on the south side of the river. I just can't see traveling out of my way for a middling quality coffee/wine/beer bar with an identity crisis.
Oh, and their website needs attention. If typos on a resume are bad, then misspelling the word "wine" on the website of a "wine bar" is atrocious.Listed in: Not Portland...but close
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Review from jaymi e.
Vancouver, WA
6/21/2009
Although this place just opened up, it's become one of my favorite spots to hang out, grab a homemade chai, and get work done. Mantra provides just the right about of food in their unique "nibbles" menu and they have just the right atmosphere to study or chat with the other patrons.
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Review from jc m.
Portland, OR
12/8/2009
A little on the pricey side and the proprietor could beef up on barista skills. The nibbles are quite tasty and the wine is de-lish. If your date is someone who isn't a fan of wine, fear not, there are great beers on tap for the more hops-inclined folks.
It's a friendly spot with class in the middle of suburbia. -
Review from Zack L.
Vancouver, WA
7/2/2009
They brew Stumptown coffee which is great to have closeby. The portions are either a touch small, or a touch pricey which keeps it from nabbing a fifth star from me, but everything is very good. Loved the hummice!
Specialties
A uniquely local and relaxing experience, featuring Stumptown coffee and espresso, 40+ wines by the glass, 25+ microbrews and over 100 wines by the bottle. The nibbles on the food menu were designed specifically to share and pair with great wine. A sample of items include an artisan meat n' cheese plate, the Holy Trilogy of cheese plate, garbanzo/soy bean salad, roasted beet and chevre salad, pizzas, paninis and killer chocolate and cheesecakes to finish it all off with.
History
Established in 2009
Mantra was inspired by the passion of all things good and great - good coffee, delectable food, delicious wine, cold brew and great conversation.
Mantra espresso & wine bar is a new bistro concept that combines the uncompromising quality of Stumptown coffee and espresso, the passion for the leaf provided by the Tao of Tea, amazing French pastries created by La Provence, a unique and inquisitive small plate food menu, 40 hand selected wines by the glass, 100+ wines by the bottle, over 25 microbrews and a killer dessert menu to top it all off.
You will find the atmosphere to be unpretentious and conversational, bringing people together for an opportunity to explore and enjoy local and regional cuisine, espresso, tea, beer and wine.
Mantra. Just sit back, relax and enjoy.
