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| - If Berkeley and Santa Monica had sex after an intense Bikram yoga session and then took a long shower, you'd have the Mandala Tea Room. And I mean that in the nicest way possible.
A lot of stereotypes come into mind when you walk into this place: Crunchy vibe. Deep Forest-ish music. At least one thing from India on the wall. Words like "vegan" and "elixir" floating around. That said, being where I'm from, I'm used to all this stuff. Except here at Mandala there is no overpowering patchouli smell. Nor roaches tittering about. Success!
We sat in the corner of the room, leaning back on throw pillows at a low table. Our friendly and warmly welcoming server, who was glowing with health and good cheer probably because she hasn't eaten anything deep fried in a decade, presented us with menus.
I chose a Rooibos Chai (no caffeine).
"I'm sorry. We're out."
I then chose another normal-ish tea with no caffeine.
"I'm sorry. We're also out of that one."
So apparently Mandala has 54 teas and I'm having a good knack of picking out the 4 they don't have in stock. Which was briefly disconcerting. I'm a chai and kawa (green tea) drinker by birth and all this fruity tea business that was left to choose from wasn't all that appealing to me, but I had no choice and ended up going with one.
It arrived in a French press, and then I noticed a whole bunch were also on sale on a shelf next to me for $30 (talk about clever cross-marketing and insane profit margins - maybe Mandala's not so Berkeley after all). And after a few drops of organic agave nectar, the tea tasted pretty good, I'll admit.
We also got dessert, which I was initially skeptical about. I got the vegan coconut cake because that meant no worries on the drive home. Esteemed dining companion had raw berry pie, which actually felt and tasted like a gelatinous smoothie. Which sounds pretty nasty, but it was really damn good. Believe me. And so was my cake, surprisingly enough (tasty, not nasty). Now, I'm not turning vegan anytime soon, but I can certainly appreciate when vegan's done well.
We then relaxed amongst the pillows and hung out for a long while, waxing about life's possibilities while drunkards walked past outside, trying to find Devil's Martini. Ah, the poor souls. Trying to find their nirvana in a pair of fake mamms and the ragas of Usher and T-Pain. But more power to them...
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah. I noticed that Mandala has free WiFi, which is a bonus for folks who want to work in a quieter environment. However, the place closes at 9 most nights, which for the laptop WiFi crowd is basically 3 in the afternoon. That, not so great.
But in the end, as a place so close to some of the most obnoxious places in Scottsdale, I'm amazed Mandala's managed to remain as it is for so long. Definitely recommended for those who like tea (except apparently the teas I want) and a chilled out atmosphere smack in the middle of old town Scottsdale. I don't see myself coming here all too often, because something about spending $5 on hot water with leaves is a little hard for me to reconcile, but Mandala is still quality product.
3.75 stars (round up to 4)
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