I visited Mandala Tea Room for the first time earlier this week with some other lovely female Yelpers after an intense workout class at Karve. It is a cute space in Old Town, but I didn't get to see much of the inside as we sat outside due to the size of our group and the availability of tables inside.
Due to a large party inside and the fact that the reservation made earlier in the day for our party had not made it onto the books, our dining experience at Mandala took much longer than any of us anticipated. Our waitress was sweet and definitely tried to make up for the "lost" reservation and the extremely lengthy wait for our food (approximately a one hour wait) - we got some free cake to tide us over - but I thought she was also a bit flighty and perhaps a bit flustered. By the time we left, those of us that arrived at the restaurant first had been there for almost two hours.
I had the basil pesto penne pasta as my dinner and it was delicious. The pasta was cooked well and the pesto was not overpowering and not as oily as many pestos can be. I could have done without the side salad the dish came with - it was unncessary and took space where I could have had more pasta! For $14, I left full and pleased with the dish.
Right now, I will give Mandala three stars, but plan to return on a (hopefully) less crowded night so I can sit inside and try some other items on the menu.