First Look: Mantra Cafe Brings the Taste of Nepal to Denver

Indian restaurants are popular in Denver, where diners expect such traditional dishes as curries, tandoori and tikka masala — which was actually created by immigrant Indian chefs in the UK. In recent years, a growing population of people from Nepal have come to Colorado, bringing their culinary traditions with them.

Now, Denver has a restaurant that proudly proclaims it serves "Nepali Indian Fusion Food." Mantra Cafe opened last month on Broadway in the Golden Triangle, across from History Colorado and the Art Hotel.
The idea of "fusion" is already hardwired into the food of Nepal. A tiny country sandwiched between India, Tibet and China, Nepal's culinary traditions are flavored from all sides. Mantra Cafe's menu includes such typical Indian dishes as chicken tikka masala; chicken, lamb or shrimp vindaloo (yes, there are river shrimp indigenous to Nepal); and various curries, of course. But there's also a "Himalayan Delights" section that includes a variety of wonderful momos — Nepali dumplings — as well as "Sherpa Stews" with different proteins.

And then there's an offering that might surprise some people: chow mein, which reflects the influence of Chinese culture on Nepali cuisine over the centuries. You can order veggie, shrimp or chicken chow mein with familiar wheat noodles, or chicken keema or lamb keema chow mein with minced meat and finer rice noodles.
Mantra Cafe also takes the fusion idea into the American West, offering a chicken or lamb naan tikka taco that uses naan, the traditional Indian flatbread, like a soft flour tortilla, then filling the bread with meat and vegetables and drizzling sauce on top.

Surendra Pokharel, one of the owners and managers of Mantra Cafe, is proud of his Nepali heritage and happy to be able to introduce people who like Indian food to Nepali traditions — even if the dishes might have other influences, too. "I mean, momos are really like Chinese dumplings, although a lot of cultures have dumplings. Japanese have dumplings. Koreans have dumplings, everybody has theirs, yeah?" he notes.

Momos may be one of the few Nepali dishes that Americans are familiar with — in name, at least, if not the actual dumplings.
Pokharel also points to lesser-known Nepali dishes on the menu, like the choila small plates, which have grilled meats with vegetables and herbs, and the Sekuwa appetizer, which is smoky grilled chicken. "Nepal has a different culture, but Nepal and India have similar spices like cumin, turmeric, ginger, garlic," he says. "We have similar ingredients but a little bit of cooking is still different."

By combining traditions, Mantra Cafe emphasizes cultural differences, he says: "We are trying to make the fusion, that's why we're different."

Mantra Cafe is open from 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. seven days a week at 1147 Broadway; find more information at mantracafedenver.com