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. read more

Pondicheri - Lamb curry - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Great location. Very convenient for lunch or drinks with friends. We all tried multiple dishes and were happy with all of them. The desserts are quite nice as well. It's refreshing to see Indian food presented and served in this format. Pretty unique concept in the country. 5 stars. read more

This restaurant always delivers a high quality food with just the right quantity. The restaurant vibe is always calm and peacefully blissed. The food is stellar and the tables were very clean today! I came early around 10am and so happy they were open for dine in! Seems they have new management and it was a little slow to have order taken but they were kind. There is an area for guests to serve themselves filtered water! The fried chicken was amazing and only $22 on Tuesdays were it's normally $30! I'd order from the special menu again! read more

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Great food and v fresh! The Pondi Latte is amazing! Had the fried chicken only available on Tuesdays. Well worth stopping in mid week! Chocolate cake top notch. Not too sweet thick chocolate icing terrific topping to the v moist, dense cake. Goong back v v soon! read more

I'm a fan because its food is Pondicherry cuisine. As such, it should be lighter in flavor than traditional Indian curries, and I think most people are not aware of this intentional flavoring. I got the Vishu Vegetarian Thali and generally liked everything. The Spinach with cumin was strong in cumin for me. I'd like to try and sub something else next time. Ambience is nice. Good date place but also to take your parents too. The cashier that took our order was a bit snobbish. We asked some questions about the food and he didn't give his own opinion or answers but just told us to look at the menu. This of which, you had to do while standing in the long line to get to the cashier in the first place. Slightly off-putting but, wouldn't mind going again. Perhaps the person didn't have enough food knowledge of the place and was worried about the long line so just wanted to rush through us. read more

Pondicheri - VISHNU THALI (Vegetarian) Vegetable korma, brussels sprouts, smoked eggplant, sautéed greens, Sindhi pakoras & carrot roti [v] - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

A nice restaurant in a cute area. I tried their breakfast menu which has plenty of options for savory and sweet. A creative menu with a modern twist to a typical Indian menu. read more

Pondicheri - Breakfast - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

My friend told me he wanted to try this place, so we did! This restaurant is by Crú A Wine Bar within the plaza. The aroma inside smelled so so good. The spices probably. You order and pay at the counter. They give you a number and bring the food to the table. I chose the Earth Thali, and my friend chose the Butter Chicken. I'm not sure about 2 dishes in Earth Thali except the Butter Chicken, Vegetable Curry, and Sautéed Greens. I loved the Butter Chicken! Chicken was tender, but the spice was heaven. I used the sauce to mix with other dishes. It isn't spicy but if you keep eating it, you can taste a little kick. Vegetable Curry was okay. It was like a tomato based sauce with potatoes. My least favorite was the Sautéed Greens. It lacked flavor.. Bland and hot. It would taste better if it was room temperature. The other two dishes were okay. The naan in the Earth Thali was too thin and dry for me. I wasn't full, just satisfied. Something I found pretty cool was the wall of quotes before the bathroom. In conclusion, my friend and I agreed that you can find better Indian places. Especially those that have bigger portions for cheaper prices than Pondicheri! I would come again but wouldn't be a regular here. read more

Pondicheri - Earth Thali - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

The last review I gave for this restaurant was not favorable. To management's credit they reached out to me and offered a gift card with a hand written note to please try the restaurant again. My wife and I did. The food was so much better and more importantly the service was so much better. We sat at the bar all night with the bartender offering suggestions, allowing us to enjoy a slow relaxed meal, while he was still attentive when we needed him. I noticed that the owner was there and thanked her for caring enough about their customer experience to quickly address not an optimal experience. She was so gracious and genuinely thankful we let her know. We will definitely go back. read more

This is our go to establishment for Indian cuisine in the inner loop. Always consistent, full of flavors, and wonderful service. read more

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Food is great! It did take me a long time to understand the menu and order. Best place to go to for vegetarian food with some good spice!!!! I can't wait to come back. Drinks here are limited read more

Let me tell you a tale of two restaurant visits: Visit 1: I immediately liked the decor and feel of the restaurant. The food options were really interesting, and I would've like to try more than one. I settled on the Morning Thali, though, and wasn't disappointed. It was all really delicious. (The attached photo is from Visit 1) *I then told all of my friends to try Pondicheri. They didn't think it was nearly as good as I described, so I decided to go again* Visit 2: The staff wasn't very friendly. Even though it wasn't a busy morning, we couldn't get anyone's attention for water or utensils. The egg was cold, the tea was served in a bag rather than loose leaf, and we received a bottle of coke that smelled like it'd been stored in a dirty bathroom. Overall, I'm upset with the inconsistency of service. I regret recommending this place to others. read more

Pondicheri - Morning Thali - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Please don't go here if you have any kids. We made a reservation, only to find out that they have only one working highchair for the entire restaurant. We were provided the others, one which didn't have a snap lock for safety and another alternative one with a broken snap which wouldn't lock. What's worse is that despite showing this to the manager and servers, no attempt was made to help us get any working highchairs and obviously noone seem to care for safety of kids here. We left the restaurant. Hopefully they will care to fix this. read more

Pondicheri - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Ambience is over the top. Service is fabulous and if you are a fried chicken freak like me the go there. Finger licking with spice!

I went for a quick lunch date! When you get in you grab a menu and pre- order before sitting down. The ambiance was pretty laid back, but the decor was gorgeous and eye-catching. I had the Shrimp Balchao, which was very good! It has a bit of a kick to it, so if you are new to Indian food I would try something else. The rice was perfectly cooked and the shrimp and okra was very flavorful and filling. You get a good portion of food for the price. The menu has a small list of items in each category, (appetizers, entree, curry, etc.) but I assume it is because they change their menu every so often. Also, the menu is a la carte so keep this in mind as well. Overall, this is a nice place to eat if you are in the area and want to be a little adventurous! Next time, I need to try the dessert bar! read more

Pondicheri - Shrimp Balchao (Baked Beets, Okra, Rice) - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

The food, the ambiance, the service, everything was incredible! We came here for a family brunch and it was amazing! Their deserts are awesome as well! Would definitely recommend trying out this spot! read more

Ahhh, I feel like my meal and experience was NOT worth the $30 something I paid. I was craving Indian food, but I left this restaurant wishing I had went to a more authentic restaurant to satisfy my taste buds. My initial reaction to this restaurant was "Wow, this place is nice". It's a very open and well decorated space that definitely gives off a upscale/ modern feel. I've seen many pictures of the gorgeous presentation of their food and I was excited to finally try it. FOOD: -CORN SAMOSA (2/5): Nothing was too memorable about this Samosa. Although it's labeled as a corn samosa, majority of the filling was spinach. There's a kick to it. It's a tiny bit spicy. The sauce that came with it was okay. -LAMB SAMOSA (4/5): This one was yummy and savory. I really enjoyed the combination of the saffron yogurt dipping sauce with the spicy lamb. -RANCHER THALIS (3.5/5): I like the idea of a combination platter, so I can taste test a little bit of everything. The Rancher seemed to be the option with the most meat, so I decided to try it. My two favorite things from the entree was the butter chicken and the lamb chop. The butter chicken was decent. Tasted accurate, but not ranked high in my list compared to other butter chickens I've tried. The lamb chop was surprisingly very hearty and had a good smoky flavor. I only picked at the other sides, didn't favor them too much. SERVICE: Waiter was attentive and made sure to make his routine check ups on the table throughout our meal. Always refilled our water glasses for us. Everyone there lacked enthusiasm though. Nobody smiled at us even once, not even initially at the hostess stand. There wasn't a warm environment here, but they all do their job well with no issues aside from that. Overall, I'm happy I got to finally try out this popular restaurant but do not see myself coming back if I'm craving Indian fusion food. But, I've heard only good things about their bake shop upstairs, so I'll probably make the trip back for that. read more

A very enjoyable lunch experience today. It was very quiet (Monday in the summer) and meatless Monday, so not sure if that had something to do with it not being busy at all. The good: - We liked our food. I had the Yogi Thali, which was a sampler platter with a bunch of vegetarian items: spinach salad, rice, curry, lentils, paneer kabobs and a delicious saag paneer samosa, as well as a divine little piece of spiced fudge. The paneer was slightly too charred, but everything was good and filling. My friend wanted something spicy and was recommended to try the Earth Thali. She was happy with it as well. I sampled her pakora and thought it was pretty tasty, but a bit too deep fried. I think that's the only thing she didn't have much of. - Since it wasn't busy, we had our pick of self-seating tables. We opted for a nice booth by the window. The so so: - I'm not crazy about counter service, but I guess it works OK for lunch. You get your own utensils, water, water refills, etc., and if you need another beverage or anything, you go back to the counter. Like a Café Express. The water cups are cute, but really small so I needed several refills. Not a huge issue. - A tiny bit pricey for lunch (samplers ranged from $14 to $16) and I had a glass of wine since I was off today, so my total was around $28. read more

Pondicheri - Yogi Thali platter - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Love! I absolutely love this place. The place offers a variety of flavorful dishes. I am absolutely addicted. The ambience is amazing. The staff is very attentive, and the food is incredible. I highly recommend Pondicherry. read more

Pondicheri - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

The best thing about this restaurant is that the staff is friendly and service is very nice. The restuarant environment is good too. However, the food is not good. They have gone overboard with creating Indian fusion cuisine. The food is missing flavor that you should expect from an Indian food. On my last visit, the fruit bowl with my entrée contained a blueberry with fungus. This confirms my concern to the quality of food at this restuarant. read more

Unique fusion food, quality was good and nice setting. I was there on vegetarian only food Monday night.

We had a perfect dinner here tonight. Arrived during happy hour so wine was 25% off and we ordered a bottle of cab, a nice glass of Pinot Gris and a great Italian rose. Service was great as usual. Lovely dynamic atmosphere. The cauliflower steak special was awesome as were lamb chops and the mushroom salad. Don't let the simple 'mushroom salad' title undersell an amazing dish. It was all amazing. read more

With outdoor tables available, flavorful dishes and masked waitstaff, Pondicheri is a welcome taste sensation worth your visit. Skip the overpriced "pitchers" of cocktails ( which came to us as a carafe and was rapidly gone at our three top ), grab a beer or something simple and dive into well seasoned, perfectly balanced dishes, flavorful naan, and just right attention. Enjoyable! read more

Pondicheri is such a cute spot with a great vibe!! Great Indian food as well as prepackaged items, sweets, coffee bar....definitely worth a visit! read more

Pondicheri - Pondicheri outdoor area. - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Went back to Pondicheri after a few years....and things definitely have changed. The food is ok at best and would come across as Indian cuisine only to the uninitiated. The place does have some positives...good location, easy parking and the drinks. But if you are looking for authentic Indian food, Houston offers many better options. read more

As some others (including me I guess) have mentioned, it's designy Indian fusion. And by designy, I mean all the good stuff: massive steel windows, super high concrete ceilings, stained wood accents and tables, steel finishes. Oh right, they serve food, some of it great. And somehow, I missed my previous review where I noted that this might be the only place I've had bad Roti - in this visit we had the Dal Roti, which lacked the signature epic greasiness of other roti and included a more-than-sufficient-portion of near-flavorless Dal... is this traditional? But the wife had a far superior order of butter chicken, which made up for it. It wasn't your run of the mill rich British-Indian butter chicken though. The sauce was much more "herbal" and a bit less sweet. But still wonderful, especially given that the chicken was perfectly tender and not overcooked. Next time we're in Houston, we'll be here. read more

this is such a wonderful place!!! From the location to parking to decorations to service and finally to the food! Perfect!!! I didn't actually have high expectation on this to be honest because of Indika. I thought the American-fusion Indian place is just so-so. Then I was blown away by the first appetizer-queen kachori! The full flavor of the dish was kind-blowing and the color was beautiful too! Later I had the paneer&saag. Simple as it is, with naan, the combination was great! Probably better with more chili for me coz I like spicy, but that little kick was good too! For dessert, I had bournvita ice cream. My Indian friend told me about how his 21 years growing up with the cookie and the milkshake of bournvita. He thanked so much to the great chef for bringing all the memory back for him!!!!! U just have try this place! It's wonderful! read more

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I LOVED my experience at Pondicherry, and especially during quarantine. We sat on the patio, ordered inside, and food brought out to you. Waiters and waitresses ready to help or bring out food. Food was so yummy for so many reasons. You will taste the Indian culture in any dish you choose. My friends and I went for a Sunday Funday and had a blast! Carafes included. read more

The food here is absolutely AMAZING! I'd never eaten Indian food like this before. The spices, flavors, all of it meshed well together. I really liked the service too, it was quick and everyone assisted you with whatever you needed. The atmosphere around the restaurant is very nice as well. read more

The food is always good here, it's one of our go to restaurants. We typically order ahead of time and pick up to take home.

Overpriced mid food, service was slow, cool stuff to buy on shelves. will never eat here again

Mixed review. I've been here twice. After the first time, I thought it was ok, but honestly didn't think I'd go again. The desserts and chicken curry were a disappointment, plus the bartender heard my drink order wrong and gave me something I couldn't have. I ended up going there on a double date a second time, (accidentally on Meatless Monday), and liked it much better. The food I had was much better than the chicken curry I had the first time. The appetizers were good and the drink was delicious...I'd go back just for the Golden Milk. I'm sure I'll go a third time to see about it's consistency. Especially since I have a few friends that eat vegan. read more

The dosas were very good and not oily. The ingredients that were inside (mushroom, spinach, avocado, pomegranate) were very refreshing. It wasn't that filling though. It comes served with a potato ball that is full of flavor, honestly the highlight of the order. The samosas aren't filled with your usual vegetable samosa filling - it didn't have potatoes. I prefer traditional vegetable samosas since they're more satisfying. The butter chicken was good but the meat didn't really fall off the bone. It was a little dry. The overall atmosphere was really nice. It's not too crowded even during lunch and the interior had a nice rustic feel to it. The bakery upstairs has a lot of desserts and pastries too! read more

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Colors! Atmosphere! Flavors! With their multi-course platters with roti and naan to their creative baked goods, Pondicheri has earned a new fan girl :D It's a perfect place to come for a date with the bf, the bff, family, or yourself-- you can't go wrong ordering a thali! Walk through their very cool glass slabbed doors and order at the counter before seating yourself. While you wait for your meal, bask in the sun's rays that filter through the vast glass windows and gaze at the rich red drapes gracing down from the soaring ceilings. Spectacular ^^ Oh, and the water is self-serve~ The food came out within ten minutes, and it was so pretty! We ordered the Pav Bhaji appetizer ($8), which came with fluffy slices of pumpkinbrioche and a potato-cauliflower curry with mixed seeds and topped with pomegranate. Pretty darn tasty, sort of like a more solidified curry with bread. The Earth thali ($14) came with a smorgasbord of dishes; my favs were the butter chicken and the carrot roti, as both were rich but full of complex and intriguing flavors. The Rancher thali includes a lamb curry and naan instead of roti for an extra $2, but I didn't really like the flavor of the lamb-- super earthy, kind of like dirt to put it unkindly! Both meals included a tin of raita, a milky rice dessert that was a sweet ending to our meal. Afterwards, we headed upstairs to their bake shop! They have a selection of baked goodies downstairs near the ordering counter, but the shop upstairs had a greater selection of carb creations and puddings, ghee, their spicy catsup, etc. There are plenty of couches and side tables to sit at. And if you *really* want a thali set for home, they sell dishware as well :P I really eat with my eyes, and Pondicheri has so much going on, in terms of flavors and selection. Drop by one day, you won't be disappointed :D read more

Pondicheri - Pav Bhaji (pumpkin brioche slices + potato-cauliflower mix) - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

I am here to rave about the absolutely delicious meals I had for takeout from Pondicheri. The first time we ordered pondicheri, I mistakenly ordered the vegetarian date night meal (65$) instead of the nonveg version, plus a mango lassi. I thought I was going to begrudgingly eat it, wishfully thinking I had discovered the mistake earlier and fixed it. But no, I inhaled the samosa, garlic naan, paneer, chai pie and everything on the plate. The mango lassi had a kick of what I think is cardamon to it. The portions were generous, but you know it would have been great to have a mango lassi and samosa fountain to continue stuffing my face. We had to order pondicheri a second time now, to correctly order the nonveg date night meal (75$). You would think now that now maybe your mistake from before was actually luck, that the veg version is the tastier version and you're just getting set up for a letdown. Nope, the samosa probably had crack in it, so did the butter chicken. The lamb chops were out of this world, that dry rub was probably 100% crack, I was licking it off the bone. I mean, is there a place to hide my husband so I can eat the rest of the meal by myself?? Please, go eat at Pondicheri, or not eat at Pondicheri (and save me any wait on my delicious meals, for I will be back to try the entire menu) read more

I have consistently gotten the breakfast Frankie, morning thali and butter chicken here. The food here is fragrant, fresh and delicious. I really enjoy the brunch here and this restaurant is a Houston staple for me. I've noticed over the years they tweak or offer new menu items and they have always been delicious. Bake shop: I like everything here! I really love all the coffees and juices and especially the rose milk drink. read more

The food and experience here are so good that I feel compelled to leave a review. I initially passed on visiting Pondicheri given the many options for Indian cuisine in Houston and many with higher ratings, which was a huge mistake. Pondicheri is now one of my few go-tos. The menu is super interesting, spanning the entire Indian subcontinent, and the service is awesome. Don't miss out on some of the creative cocktails! read more

Absolutely delicious! Ate the non veg thali and family had the ribs. Great flavor and will definitely be back! read more

Pondicheri - Aromatic and delicious. Throughly impressed! - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Super yummy and quick service. We go here often for brunch and I really enjoy it. My favorite is the masala egg wrap and the coconut pancakes (not sure if these are still on the menu). The ambiance is good and you can sit outside when it's nice. read more

Very interesting and unique experience awaits those who walk through their doors! Yes it's intimidating in many ways but those worries go away after you settle in.... Can't wait until the next time when we go back. Don't let parking or culinary worries bother you because they are only that, just worries! Now have fun! read more

Got the Texan thali it was so good! loved the outside seating and the atmosphere. first time trying indian food, did not disappoint! read more

Pondicheri - texan Thali - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas