Mana
“We ordered fried curried sweet potato dumplings for our appetizer, and tempeh temptation and salmon teriyaki for our entrees.”
“hard to find macrobiotic food in NYC, i thought the people were friendly, prices reasonable, and food prepared well”
“Although not everything is organic, I love the vibe and the clean food, not greasy, very health conscious, vegetarian, they do service fish though, but I'll let that slide.”
Mana
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
As a vegetarian, I was super stoked to come here. In the end, like other reviewers, I found it to be pretty bland.
The sweet potato dumplings were spot. on. highly HIGHLY recommend.
Then I got the curried tofu. The curried tofu itself was good, the rice was bland, the kale was bland. I probably won't ever go back. but it wasnt horrrrrrrible.
Also, the waitstaff was totally fine–I know other reviewers had negative things to say about that.
I'm a big fan of the food at Mana and have been coming here for years. Anytime I feel the need to "cleanse" after a week of hamburgers and pizza, I trek up to 91st street. Ambience is cute although there is rarely anyone eating in the store – which is why I always get take out.
My go-to dishes are the steamed sweet potato curry dumplings, the gomaee, the simple plate or the incredible salmon teriyaki. All main courses are huge. Imagine a steaming plate of brown rice, steamed kabocha, carrots and turnips, seaweed, beans, and tofu or tempeh. Just delicious, hearty, healthy meals. The sauces at Mana are all also excellent (miso sesame, carrot ginger, etc).
I only say 4 instead of 5 stars because some of my favorite items have been removed from the menu. Bring back the cabbage wakame salad! I feel empty without it.
Mana is great! We just happened by it and it looked so inviting and open air, we went in. We scored a table by the large open french windows which was perfect for the perfect almost summer evening.
The service was very friendly if slightly inattentive. The decor is super adorable, imitating the "outdoors inside" aesthetic.
For appetizers, we had the fried veggie dumplings which were just ho hum. But the tempeh temptation entree was great – with a lovely soy sauce base and lots of fresh veggies including bok choy which I love. It was served with couscous and shredded beets. Our other entree was the broiled salmon with ginger and it was cooked to tender perfection. That was served with a tiny cup of brown rice, and some very bland kale.
I also love that Mana is exactly my diet – lots of fresh veggies, some fish, and no dairy. It's like they know my exact diet. A tiny bit pricier than I expected, but it's good.
I understand vegan or vegetarian food can limit your choices but man… put some seasoning on the food!!! Not even salt?? I should have gone to the market and start eating food from the aisles and it would have been better!
I hated this place. I went a couple of years ago and still remember the lack of flavor. Rice without any ingredient or seasoning… just plain white rice from the pan. Steamed vegetables that they just put in the steamer and that was it. Everything on the steamer! There are other cooking methods you know…
I guess I'm not the only one who thinks the same about this restaurant because it's always empty! I still don't know how they survive
This has become the new go-to take home place for friday night dinner with the bf and his parents. The food is so fresh and healthy. His parents usually get some rolls and salads on top of their main dishes, but i find those to be too "healthy" and bland for my taste – and by bland i mean no salt (i love salt).
My bf normally gets the penne pesto which has red potatoes and string beans and we all usually get the salmon. I am not actually sure which dish it is, but it'sserved with brown rice and a ton of vegetables. The salmon is always cooked to perfection.. so delicious – and i'm talking after-an-hr-and-a-half-train-ride still good.
I've been here to eat a couple times as well and it has been good. We've tried the apple dessert that's kind of like a stew with granola and such on top. Warm and nice to end the meal. We had some tea as well which was very good, but i don't remember which. Looking forward to this coming friday 🙂
Very nice little place. The (I think) owner was so thoughtful — she came around to every table. The food was great. I loved the sautéed greens — they were in an awesome ginger, garlic sauce. The curry veggies were really great, too.
Amaze-balls. Too bad I'm moving out of the neighborhood on tuesday or I would frequent the hell out of this spot. Farm to table is a wonderful concept and I'm happy to know there's a spot on the UWS that serves a great quality of food that I can enjoy.
1) Salmon sushi roll – brown rice, deliciously cooked salmon, tons of flavor.
2) Split pea soup- tasty, creamy (no actual cream added), and satisfying.
3) Fish tacos with cod- just okay – I would probably stick to the other entrees next time.
4) Mana Burrito Bowl – this is legendary. Amazing fresh ingredients perfectly paired together.
5) Pasta Primavera- very fresh sauce that does not feel heavy, seasonal veggies.
Why not five stars? This restaurant does not take American Express, which is the only card I brought with me. Slight embarrassment when my dining partner has to pay for my meal.
I'd love to give Mana a higher review. Yummy, healthy food in my neighborhood? And affordable to boot? The service/lack thereof was just inexcusable during my visit here, so three's gotta be my max. But – I enjoyed my meal enough that I'd like to grant Mana a second chance. I guess I just can't go famished next time.
Came here on a Sunday night around 8:15 to find it pretty busy. It's a tiny restaurant, so it doesn't take much to make this place seem full. The ambiance is very cute. It's like you're sitting in a small village somewhere overseas – reminds me of my trip to a tiny town in the Asturias (Spain). So points for decor – a rustic vibe in NYC is always a nice change of pace.
If only the service was as warm and friendly as the environment. Okay, it's not like they were rude and blatantly neglectful, but it probably took 20 minutes for someone to come to our table. As I said, this is a small establishment, so making your way to a new table really shouldn't be that difficult. At times, I found myself questioning whether or not there were even employees here. Between this wait time and needing to physically get up and walk back to the restaurant to ask for more water, I already had a bad taste in my mouth – and we hadn't even gotten our food yet. But speaking of food…(see what I did there?)
I ordered the Tempeh Temptation which was quite tasty. The food was good enough that I'd like to return. I'm a health nut, so menus like this are music to my ears. Everything in my meal was fresh and flavorful. I had only eaten tempeh once before (and didn't know what it was at that time), so I took a chance – and I'm glad I did. I personally like it better than tofu, and I think it's more nutrient dense too. The tempeh is served with bok choy, mushrooms, beet salad and some kind of couscous. I could eat bok choy and mushrooms everyday of the week, so this dish was almost a no-brainer for me.
So, definitely a mixed review. There were a ton of other menu items that looked appealing to me, but maybe I'll try take-out next time.