Pondicheri

Amazing food and drinks. We have tried just about everything on the menu. The service is great. This is the best Indian food I have had out of the hundreds of restaurants I have travelled to throughout the US.

I’m a huge fan of Indian fusion… If done right! Our experience was very mixed here. My wife had the paneer masala it and it was abysmal… Truly awful.
On the other hand I had the mint lamb burger and it was fantastic! The desi fries have that spice I don’t care for but it grows on you.
Had the whist and the shandy cocktails and they were strictly okay.
So normally I’d give it 4 stars for that phenomenal burger but you have to deduct 1 star for that gross sludge they call paneer masala.

Service: Staff was friendly, helpful, explained the menu, and told us popular items.
Ambiance: I like the décor! It kinda reminded me of a popular Indian restaurant I went to in London. I felt a little like I wasn’t in Houston (in a good way).
Food: Tasty tasty tasty! I got one of the sampler plates (Thali Rancher). I liked that I didn’t have to commit to one dish and that I got a few bites of several different things. Everything was super tasty! Will go back for sure.

I love the ambience and décor here, such a cute place. There was a short wait if we wanted a table so we sat at the bar. The staff was super friendly and attentive. The food came out super fast! i was so surprised since it was a busy night.
Thali Rancher (³⁄₅) & lamb curry (³⁄₅) — The food was decent and really nothing stood out about it. There was really not much flavors to it.
Coconut naan (⁴⁄₅) — this was tasty but wish they would have noted that it’s really spicy!
Mango lassi (³⁄₅) — taste like mango yogurt
Great place to try out but not for me. Nothing really stood out.

Indian fusion? Where is the Indian?
Upon arriving my friend and I walked up to the counter. We were not greeted, we grab what we assume are the menus because no one advised us. Instead of directing us to the menus the hostess rudely snaps, «Those are not menus» we look around and see the menus are back by the door. (What we grabbed were apparently the to go menus.)
The ambiance is nice and attempts to give a very real Indian feel. It is pretty crowded and hardly enough seating.
The food lacks true Indian flavor. The flavors are best described as Americanized. Rather than a beautiful harmony of flavors my butter chicken tastes mainly like tomato sauce. While the masala chia was decent my friend’s desi fries were cold as if left out for hours. Besides my friend there were no Indian people in the place including the staff in the kitchen. Not that that is essential however maybe there is a reason no Indian people are eating there.
I didn’t hate it but I won’t return when I seek Indian food I seek Indian food.

The food was okay. Not great or something which represents Indian cuisine. The Spice Chai Pie was amazing though. Not a recommend if you’re looking for authentic Indian food.

I ordered a bottle of Syrah at the bar, while waiting to get seated. The bartender (who’s probably 19 years old and doesn’t even know how to spell the word «wine») recommended (and brought) me another bottle, a cab («goes well with spicy food» — which I had not ordered yet). The first question is… If I order a Syrah, what makes you think I want a cab? It’s as if you order a steak and they bring you fish and say «you should really have fish». «But I want meat». «Oh, trust me, you should have this fish… Goes well with the dessert (you haven’t ordered yet)»… But the worst is that the wine was 60% more expensive than the one I ordered initially. Who does that? Other than a 19 year old probably on his first day on the job.
Food is tasteless, no spices (why did they want to sell me on a wine that supposedly goes well with spicy food?). They might as well claim they serve Italian, or Japanese, or Vietnamese food. All the same… Oh, and if you want to hurt a person real bad, order their Roti and throw it in their face. Careful, it’s so hard you might kill them.
One star for a restaurant that’s a real joke and should not have a license to operate, only because I’ve just learned that it’s mandatory to give a star at least. And I’m being generous.

Pondicheri probably should be closer to a 4 – 4.5, but I’ll round up, because I really love this place.
Pondicheri feels like the hip younger cousin who knows how to dress well and is really creative. While the brunch isn’t as good as Indika, Pondicheri is one of my favorites for its fairly reasonable prices and high quality. I love the entrees with multiple items that allow you to have many different small bites.
Pondicheri enriches you with diverse flavors and new textures without make you feel like you binged ate. The interior is a mix of modern and urban touches that bring out Pondicheri’s roots. I love the ceiling high windows that bring all the natural lighting to illuminate your meal with family or friends.
If you manage to still have room after your meal (or if you have a second stomach for dessert), the chai pie is really highly recommended. It’s worth getting if you were planning to get dessert anyway.

I really am sorry for what I am about to do… burn on a place that has a nice atmosphere, good service, and relatively good ratings. I am not a fan of the flavors this place has to offer. it’s about as simple as that. Every item has a nuance of India in it. I like Indian food… but I want a blackberry muffin that tastes like a blackberry muffin. I do not want chai in everything.
To all you who love this place, more power to you. for new omers, just be aware that the flavors are unique.

It’s such a cute place but surprisingly kind of small. I went on a very raining Friday night and there was still a wait. The staffs are friendly and the food came out really quick!
Thali Rancher (³⁄₅) & lamb curry (³⁄₅) — The food was decent and really nothing stood out about it. There was really not much flavors to it.
Coconut naan (⁴⁄₅) — this was tasty but wish they would have noted that it’s really spicy!
Mango lassi (³⁄₅)
This place is overpriced because it’s located in the nice River oak area… so I won’t be complaining about the price. Overall, a nice place to try out but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it.

Honestly wasn’t that impressed.
The décor here is really nice, it has the look of a really high end restaurant. Additionally, the lighting provides for a really good atmosphere, and it’s nice enough to double as a date place as well as somewhere to go with friends.
However, I was really not that impressed with the food I got. I ordered the earth thali which was a sampler of sorts that came with vegetable korma, butter chicken, mango celery salad, roasted eggplants, some fudge dessert thing (the name escapes me), carrot roti, and what the waiter described to me as vegetable fritters. These are all things you can order individually as well. Most of it was just average, aside from the vegetable korma and roasted eggplant which I really did not enjoy– there seemed to be some really heavy seasoning it that just came through way too strong. And for the whopping $ 15 that I had to spend I definitely did not feel as though I got my money’s worth. Just in general, I think this place is a little too pricey for the quality of their food.
The best thing about this place was the service, our waiter was really nice and our water was always filled. But if that’s all, I think it might take some convincing to get me to come back again.

Oh Pondicheri. The first time I was here was great, worthy of a five-​star review, but the second time, catastrophic, apocalyptically horrible.
I have been hesitant to write a review for Pondicheri for a while. Mostly, because while a lot of my friends had ordered amazing items for brunch, I had somewhat mediocre dishes. Bland, uninspired, and overpriced. However, the items that I sampled from my friends menus were all quite good. Maybe I just suck at ordering here.
Our most recent visit was for a recruitment event for Rice University. While most of the dishes that we ordered were very tasty, the price that they charge is just obscene. 9 dollars for 2 samosas… yeah if I were coming here and shelling out my own money, I would look elsewhere. The prawns were quite good, but they tasted medicinal, not fresh. However, the appetizers that we ordered did come out in a reasonable enough time.
Once we ordered our mains, it was about 40 minutes before we got them. For a recruitment weekend, we wanted to make a good impression on the prospective students coming. However, while most of us got our mains, one of the recruits was waiting for almost an additional half hour before it came out. We were also dining outside, and it was almost 9 PM, cold, and windy. By that time, all of our entrees were stone cold. The situation could have been ameliorated if the kitchen had sent all of our food at once, or even just came over once every few minutes to explain what had happened. But no, the initial first impression was ruined.
Not only did the restaurant look bad, but the manner in which they served us also reflected upon the school as well. For me, this is absolutely unforgivable. Because of the kitchens incompetence, we were made to look like fools.
⁰⁄₅ stars

We came for breakfast here. All my friends and I ordered the Morning Thali. It looked so little but it was light AND very fulfilling. I liked how you had different options to add to the pancake– meat, veggies, yogurt, etc. everything was just SO FRESH. The Thali is a twist breakfast dish with Indian components.
Service was fast and friendly. Setting was casual and lounge-​y. Decent pricing.
I was very impressed with their menu and the Morning Thali. Will be back for more.

I’ve been in twice for dinner and have visited the upstairs bake shop/​lab once now, and although it’s not the best Indian food in town (perhaps not even in the loop), it gets a lot more right than wrong.
You’d be hard-​pressed to find an Indian place with a trendy, upscale interior selling their curries at $ 14 apiece. Even my favorite hole-​in-​the-​wall place is $ 13 a curry and $ 2 per naan, with a fraction of the swank. Pondicheri is sleek and feels fresh, the kind of place you’d start your night, not end it.
I’ve had the desi fries off the Happy Hour menu. They were a shareable size and topped generously. I would recommend them over the paneer samosas, which just left me with lots of bits of spinach in my teeth and weren’t my favorite.
For dinner, I’ve had both the butter chicken and the paneer masala. Perhaps it was my own ignorance, but I imagined a «cashew masala» would be more like a traditional gravy — tomato and cream based. However, it was a light, almost green creamy sauce that I didn’t care for, with a flavor I found to be pretty bland. I didn’t finish it and didn’t ever touch my leftovers. The turmeric rice that comes with the curries is usually good though (and different!). My husband has tried one of the samplers and ate every last bite.
Upstairs is where the magic happens, I think. They have creative baked goods such as cardamom shortbread (oh my GOSH, so good), Chai Pie, coffees, interesting spices, and neat foodie gifts including a «Pondi Pop» popcorn mix we have yet to try.
While it isn’t my favorite place for Indian food and the menu is smaller (for example, leaving off korma, biryani, potato samosas.), it’s also creative and provides some excellent sweet finishes upstairs.

Pondicheri’s food is between 4 & 5 stars, but the service is not great. You order at a counter before sitting and have to get up to get your own silverware, napkins and water. We did not know that until our food came. Also, they will not bring the appetisers out before the food… we were told that they had to bring everything at once. We were surpised by this!
The upstairs bakery is better. The service is great and so is the selection. Both the restaurant and bakery are extremely clean.

I had been hearing about this place for quite some time, so we finally decided to check it out. We came at about noon on a Sunday and it was fairly crowded, but the service was quick.
First off, let me mention that this is a counter service joint where you get a number and wait for the food to be delivered to your table. I definitely wasn’t expecting that, but it allowed the flow of traffic to go much faster and smoother, so it’s understandable.
Now to the food. The menu is rather extensive with various types of Indian cuisine, which is foreign to me so I had to rely on pictures and word of mouth to determine what to order.
I settled on the goat samosas and the barley salad with curry shrimp added. The spices on the shrimp were divine and the shrimp were monstrous. The goat samosas had a crispy flax like crust and a yogurt dipping sauce that made a great pairing.
My husband got the rancher thali and he ate every morsel. He is more of an Indian food lover than I am and he thoroughly enjoyed his dish, especially the butter chicken.
Overall, the prices were high. but the food was exceptional. We probably won’t be back frequently due to cost, but it will most definitely be a treat from time to time.
I highly recommend the samosas and Thali for a first time visit. Perfect place for brunch as well. The mimosas looked incredible!

I’ve been here a few times and this place never disappoints me. I really enjoyed their breakfast once when I had Beet Uttapam!
This time, I came with a friend on a Monday and the menu was Meatless Monday! Even though I’m not a vegetarian, I appreciate that they have this option once a week.
I ordered earth thali and my friend ordered paneer masala. We both enjoyed our dishes! I always like to order one of the thalis because I like the idea of sampler platters to try variety of dishes. It’s fusion, so I wouldn’t say it’s an authentic Indian food, but I appreciate how they incorporate different ingredients to create their dishes!

Good Indian food… butter chicken is delectable, however I’ve been to 2 other Indian restaurants that have more menu options… so just be warned that they don’t have a big menu… saag paneer samosas were a bit dry and not enough paneer cheese.

Healthy, creative & tasty cuisine. Knowledgable & welcoming staff. A definite favorite! Valentine’s Day Surf & Turf and Paneer Masala were great to split.

The Service was excellent. Our waiter was fast and attentive, but not overly so.
We started with the Madras Chicken Wings — these were excellent. Nice and spicy, bu the heat starts slowly. They’re surprisingly hot, but they well cooked and flavorful.
We each had a Thalis, their sampler platters. I had the rancher. The lamb was tasty, I would have like some more (spicy) heat, but it was rich and savory. Definitely my favorite on the sampler. The butter chicken was good. It was well cooked, not at all dried out, and the fenugreek tomato sauce was rich and flavorful. the turmeric rice was bland, not a big fan of that. We grabbed desert at the bakery upstairs and the brownie and lattes were excellent.
Overall a good american/​indian fusion restaurant. Nothing knocked my socks off, but it has a great atmosphere and is certainly worth trying again.

Ehmagawd. Noms.
Pondicheri is a really lovely place with great service, great atmosphere, and great flavor. It’s definitely fusion, so come in with an open mind as you order and anticipate flavors. Personally, I think what they have done is beautiful and truly artistic. Pondi is one of the places that makes me happy to be a foodie.
Now that I’ve praised the place to death, let me tell you why. The menu is large, and has a lot of options. My favorite is the Thalis, which are essentially sample platters. This is a great way to get exposure to a lot of flavors and some nice variety. They are really good about allowing substitutions, so if you don’t really love the sampler they have you can feel free to try something else. Also, the samosas are some of the best I’ve had. The goat samosas were SO flavorful, deep fried without being greasy, very meaty, and the crispy outside had hints of sesame and turmeric. I can only describe it as artistic. Furthermore, the butter chicken curry is quite good, as is their barley salad. I prefer the barley salad to the pondicheri salad, as I believe it has more cohesive flavors and a lighter dressing.
The value of the food, for the price, is incredible. The service is also great. Everything is served on these beautiful silver tins, and even the check comes out beautifully plated. The design is beautiful, with an open kitchen and simply lined tables. Very pretty, great for girls nights and first dates. Or second date. Or just because it’s that good ;)

So this is my first time having Indian fusion brunch. If you like curry and other Indian flavors, you will enjoy this place.
The décor is warm and eclectic «lite» :))
I could have had a little more help with meal descriptions despite being very familiar with Indian food.
Had the lamb omelette which was good as well as the sampler. Freshly squeezed OJ always a winner
Then upstairs is the bakery… loved the chocolate chili cookie –nice way to top off brunch
Overall good choice for brunch outside of the norm

Butter chicken is so good
And the carrot paratha was delicious
Ice tea pretty good with agave
Lamb curry was #2
Nice scenery and sell service station
Great for dates

I would give the food four stars. But because of the price and especially the service, I knocked it down a star. We have been probably here three times. I would go again though for pretty good food.
The thalis are fun to order to get a sampling of several dishes. I’ve had the earth and the Vishnu thali. The butter chicken is good but nothing to write home to mom about. I like more variety in the thalis better. We went to their bake lab upstairs… and the chai pie is awesome! Pondicheri did a great job of re-​imagining this tea into a coagulated, congealed and delicious pie! It’s so exactly like how you’d imagine chai in the form of pie would taste. Very good.
There are is a mix of traditional fishes and more modern take of Indian food on the menu which is interesting.
The layout is trendy as is the crowd, which makes sense given the area. The prices are also kinda what you’d expect given the area of town. But I have a thing about Asian food needing to be a low, reasonable price. You can go to Little India and get food just as good, and for cheaper! My bigger complaint has been the inconsistent service. For some reason, the hostess is always gone for several minutes when I walk in. The first time we went, i recall the waitress was attentive and asked if we had been there and explained the menu. But on another occasion, the waitress hardly paid us any attention, I don’t even think ever refilled my water (a hugee pet peeve), and all on a night where the restaurant wasn’t busy. And another time, the waiter was super hyper, a little weird but also kinda nice and friendly.
So all in all, you go here for comparable food, location and atmosphere. Service is a bit up and down and the price is a little bit high for Indian food but probably Ly BC its a trendy part of town.

After you open the huge and slightly confusing glass doors, a room with tall ceilings and huge windows wrapped in earthy colors will greet you. You will have to wait about 10 – 20 minutes in line before being able to order giving you time to study the lengthy menu.
The teas and coffees didn’t stand out for me, but my beet and lentil pancake with a steaming fried egg on top made for a great morning. The casual environment is lively with chatting couples and friends on brunch outings and others sipping coffee and enjoying the free wifi.
This is an inviting and relaxing environment with an open kitchen and atmosphere.

Came here for brunch on a busy Sunday. All I wanted was oatmeal, and the Pondicheri morning oats did not disappoint. Steel cut oats cooked with jaggery, cinnamon, cardamom & coconut milk, topped with granola and fruit (some strawberries and blueberries).
The rest of the menu looks really delicious (as did everyone else’s food at the tables around me). Would definitely love to come back sometime for dinner and drinks!

Tried this place for the first time yesterday and definitely coming back when I have the chance! Had dinner with a friend here, and the experience overall great. Food, our server Cody and the staff, and the atmosphere made it A1.
I’m not too big of an Indian foodie, but I could say this was pretty good. We first started off with the Saag Paneer Samosas and I couldn’t complain about it. Crispy, spicy spinach taste was good. For our entrees, we shared the Rancher Thalis Platter and the Dosas Chettinad and those both had us satisfied by the end of the night. We both wanted the Butter Chicken and the Sayel Lamb and it was convenient that there was a combination platter that had both! The Chettinad was okay. A little bland, but maybe it was just me. Overall, this place was great. You won’t be disappointed!

This place is right down there with Indika — overrated yuppie Indian restaurants where you pay out the butthole for the ambiance, not the food.
The first time I came here I was severely peanut poisoned (I’m very allergic) because they do not note that there are peanut ingredients in many of their dishes, although they do note what is gluten free/​vegan. The waitress was super nice in accommodating substitutions.
I got the rancher and there was literally ONE tiny piece of lamb. There were TWO small pieces of chicken. The tiny little bowls of food were good but not mind blowing. And when you’re paying $ 20+ total for less than 10 bites of food you feel pretty dumb.
Also, the shower curtains in the bathroom are weird AF. I’ll be back never.

If you are going in to get a good Indian breakfast, this is a disappointment. I ordered green dosa and it contained pomegranates and cooked spinach. So who puts sugar in dosa? To me, this is Americanizing Indian food with out of box thinking but very disappointing for someone with love for good dosa.
My wife ordered Thali and for the amount of side dishes they only served one small bread and it costs 12 bucks. I just feel that the breakfast menu is designed without good application of thought on what is a satisfying food experience.
If you are going in for upscale experience in a beautiful part of the town, this is one of the most beautiful restaurants. I love the idea of bringing Indian food into American palate. I’m certainly willing to try lunch sometime and may update my overall experience based on that later.

Located in West Ave, Pondicheri is one of my favorite spots in Houston. While the little sister restaurant to Indika, Pondicheri certainly holds its own.
While I can’t attest to how authentic the food may be, the flavors are on point as is the service.
I have yet to have a bad meal here and always leave stuffed.
The Bav Bhaji is amazing and should definitely be tried.
Beware, meat lovers, as Monday’s are meatless. They also have a vindaloo rib special Thursday through Saturday. The ribs are incredibly tender and obviously spicy, but delicious nonetheless.

Considering the options in Houston, this is not the best I have had, in fact it was quite expensive and sub par. The only outstanding item I had was the ice cream sandwiches. Those are by far the only thing I will be coming back for, if I ever do go back.
I’ll be sticking to the hole in the walls, and various joints off of Hillcroft for my future indian food fix. You are truly paying for atmosphere here but the service is quite terrible. You have to ask three different people for a plate when you can’t find your waiter, and the waiter is in a hide and seek war with you all the time.

Love everything about this place!
The wait staff is very helpful in explaining the different food choices (if you don’t know what you want).
The food and wine selection is quite yummy! If you are like me and love flavorful, different spices and Naan :) you have found the right place!

I came here for Sunday brunch and was initially concerned about the line, but since you order at the counter, and they bring the food to your table, there ended up not being much of a wait.
Pondicheri is a really lovely, airy space with floor to ceiling windows. I tried the vegetarian morning thali; it was just OK — edible but nothing to write home about. I preferred my partner’s paneer paratha, which was waaay more delicious. I would order that if I return again.

I love the patio outside. The weather is getting slightly cooler now and it feels so good to dine outside!
I thought this was just another Indian restaurant, very wrong! This is the coolest Indian fusion place ever, and they expanded recently and moved the bakery upstairs, spicy and sweet, can’t get any more unique than that!
We tried their fusion plates, a vegetarian one (can’t remember the name) and the Earth (butter chicken) the butter chicken is tender and flavorful, the sides are like ones you see in a Thali restaurant, cute little bowls with dishes exploding of spices, herbs and flavors. If you’re like me when it comes to spicy, you will need to refill your water at least once, if not three times.
The bakery upstairs is pretty cute, and we got to try their chili chocolate, date and coconut cookies. They are all pretty sweet but so delicious, the chili chocolate one isn’t spicy, more like a chocolate cookie with a spicy kick to it that doesn’t make it spicy because it’s so sweet.
Overall we had a great experience, great service, great outdoor patio and food, and oh we got to sample the baby oils upstairs too, loved the scent and feel of it.

I’ve been to pondicheri twice. The first time, I ordered the morning thali and the second time, i ordered the buddha burger upon my friend’s recommendation.
My first experience left me thinking that this was a quaint place with a cool kind of approach to modern indian food, but the morning thali left me desiring something more. It was a very aesthetically pleasing dish with the metal containers and the beautiful fried egg on top, but it was underwhelming as each sampling was okay but small in size? It’s almost like a tasting plate rather than a meal. And for the slightly steeper price, I felt a bit ripped off.
However, the buddha burger was pondicheri’s saving grace. Completely vegetarian and completely delectable. My problem with vegetarian burgers is that they always appear too mushy in texture, which doesn’t fare well juxtaposed against an also soft bun to finish off the burger. But the buddha burger’s patty was a mixture of delicious exotic indian flavors and ingredients that held up against the toasty bun. Not the prettiest plate, but definitely salivating at the thought of it as I type this review.
If you must, order the morning thali as it seems to be the most popular and it was definitely an experience to be had. But if you want a true representation of what’s good at pondicheri, maybe try the less hyped items on the menu as it definitely turned me into a believer of what pondicheri can offer.
PS. suuuuuper busy around brunch time, especially on the weekends. food turn around is fast, but finding a table should be a concern on your mind when tackling pondicheri.

The food here is incredible! We go the samosas as an appetizer and they were delicious — I’d never had them before but they tasted really fresh and good. I ordered the vegetable Frankie, which I would best describe as sort of an Indian-​style burrito. I got it with the desi fries (paired with the Pondicheri curry ketchup), which made for the perfect combo of sweet and spicy.
The service was great; our waiter was super friendly albeit a bit distracted. Also, the venue was really cool. It was very trendy feeling, and even though the setup of the tables made it feel slightly cluttered, the ambiance made up for it.
I’d definitely go back. I’ve never been super into Indian food, but it had a really cool Houston-​fusion vibe that made it unique as well as delicious.