Besides Aga's, I'm really skeptical of Indian food in Houston. Chain or not, this was actually pretty good. Ordered a couple of dishes and they were all good. Loved the samosas and the mint chutney sauce. Chicken slightly dry, but not all of it. Definitely coming back. read more

Authentic Indian food that happens to be a franchise restaurant. Perfection!! All of their ingredients are fresh, very well seasoned, and full of flavor. Not shown but the Mango lassi is a favorite! I've been to both locations in Houston. read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - Tomato Coconut soup - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Really impressed with Tarka. This is fast casual Indian food -- it's not the best or the most authentic out there but it's pretty damn good. Also, the prices are LOW. Good and cheap? Count me in. They have a large menu with really affordable options. A side of naan -- $2.50. A cup of soup -- $2.75. Samosas -- $4.25. You get the idea. I had the Madras soup, garlic naan, vegetable samosas, lamb korma, and a mango lassi with yogurt. Everything was really tasty. Also, their mint chutney condiment is excellent. Very quick service. Food came out right away. Ample seating inside. Easy parking in the lot. read more

Vegetable samosas were very good with the mango chutney. However, the vegetable korma was soupy with very few vegetables and overly sweet. Didn't even have the color of typical veg korma. The vegetable tikka masala had too much onion flavor. The only thing we enjoyed were the samosas and mango lassi. Decent price and fast service but definitely wouldn't return or recommend. :/ read more

Tarka is literally so good. The veggie samosas are the best and the people are so friendly. The food is more modern than authentic but still very good. read more

I had high hopes for Tarka but wasn't amazed by what I got. Overall, the taste of the food was fine, but they could use some improvement in terms of portions of the food. Chicken tikka masala: nice and creamy, but there was barely any chicken in there! Mostly just sauce (my friend ordered the same thing and hers was the same) Garlic naan: a little hard, but it was nice after being rewarded at home. I'll give them a pass on this one since it was a take out order Rice: the taste was fine, just regular rice. The portion was a bit small (1 little box for 2 full orders). I thought each order would come with its own box of rice but that wasn't the case. read more

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A solid spot for Indian food in the upper kirby area! I got the saag paneer, paneer tikka masala, and malai kofta paired with roti. Each dish also came with plenty of rice, so the roti is definitely not a necessity to order. Saag panner: 5/5 - the flavors of the gravy was spot on and very authentic. I will definitely be returning to Tarka just for this dish alone. The creamy/spicy spinach paired well with the paneer cheese chunks. I would recommend getting this with paneer instead of chicken/meat. Paneer Tikka Masala: 3/5 - I usually love a good tikka masala but the gravy in this dish wasn't my favorite. It was very tomato-y and didn't have a creamy rich flavor im accustomed to. I would probably skip on this dish. Malai Kofta: 3/5 - I was hoping to love this dish because malai kofta is my favorite north indian curry. The gravy was again, not my favorite and didn't have the authentic malai kofta flavor. The gravy tasted very similar to the tikka masala gravy (very tomato-y and not creamy/rich). Overall, not a bad option for decently affordable, quick indian food in the local houston area. Will def be back when I'm craving some saag paneer! read more

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The food was pleasantly delicious!! My cousins and I have tried their food for the first time and they did not disappoint :)

Fast food vibe. We got the vegetable pakora, chicken tikka masala and the lamb vindaloo. We also got the aloo gobi and an order of naan. I liked the lamb vindaloo and aloo gobi. Their mild level is still pretty hot. Wait time was reasonable. read more

This is just what we needed after a week of WFH (working from home). Indian food is our comfort food, and Tarka is both good and affordable. It was so easy to place our order via phone (their website was having issues), and our order was ready in 15 minutes! Given Social-Distancing, we were able to quickly park, pick up, pay, and leave all within 7 minutes. Impressive! Our food was just what we needed. Between us, we had Lamb Korma, Chicken Tikka Masala, Naan, 2 orders of rice, and vegetarian samosas. The flavor was fantastic! Spices were on point and spice level was what each of us requested. I felt as if I had more "sauce" than chicken in the Tikka Masala but the lamb korma had an adequate amount. The rice was plentiful to say the least! It lasted for more meals after this one. The samosa was fantastic as well as the delicious mint-chutney that went with it. Oh my goodness, my mouth is watering writing this review. I'm going to have to return - - haha. read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - Takeout on Sunday to start the week off right - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Excellent food and service without exception. We have eaten at several locations both in Austin and in Houston and I can tell you that the food is always consistent and the service is usually great as well! Being of an Indian background, I know what authentic flavors are supposed to taste like and I still prefer Tarka to any "traditional" Indian restaurant. The food is made to your heat level specification without losing the flavor or essence of the dish. I love how fresh and flavorful everything is without being oily or overly oily. Very happy to be a loyal diner! read more

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Was not expecting an Indian fast food type of place, however it was a nice spot for a quick dinner. I am not well-versed with the Indian menu nor do I have any idea what any of the dishes mean, so I would definitely recommend having pictures on their menu to help the customer make their selection. We tried the tiki masala as well as the chicken nugget version of Indian Food and also the paneer and I'll type of spinach artichoke dip looking type of dish. I will say that the food was good, but I wish there was a wider selection of side dishes, or maybe a sampler that we could've tried like a lot of Indian restaurants do. Regardless the food was good and it satisfied our cravings. Will probably try an Indian buffet before coming here again. read more

First visit - wanted to try somewhere new. Ordered online and came in shortly for pickup knowing my food would not be ready yet. Service was weird. There were five people standing up front, but not much was getting done. I wait a minute and then someone checked on me. She told me food would be out shortly. The to-go food started to stack up on the back counter. I waited and continued to watch cat videos. After about 10 minutes I went to check on order. She went and checked on one of the orders that went to the counter about two minutes after I arrived was bagged and handed to me. People behind the counter were polite, but very passive about the work. Took food home to eat. Food was meh. Korma was fine but a little grainy. Chala masala was okay. Chicken vindaloo was spicy, but the chicken texture was strange. Naan was quite good. Will stick with the tried and true. read more

The food and services were excellent. We are from out of town and really enjoyed everything.

We frequent Tarka's off of Sheppard at least 2-3 times a month. Today we decided to stop in, I got the new chili (forgot the name) cheese naan, garlic naan, and shrimp biryanis. I only had the chili and the fried bread that came with it. Which tasted a lil different from when I first tried it a few weeks ago. I started feeling sick right towards the end of what I was going to eat. There was still plenty left in the bowl. I became dizzy and nauseous. 2 hours past and by the time I got home I'm feeling worse. I started getting cold chills, pains In My stomach, (like I'm getting punched in my gut) then I started throwing up and having diarrhea. Ugh! It's been since 2pm since we ate it's now 4 am and I'm still sick as a dog and running to the restroom. Even though the heater is on, I'm still cold. I'm not sure if someone was there that was sick or if the food was spoiled but I almost feel like I got food poisoning. I can't believe they served me something that me sick!!!!! I use to love this place. read more

Not sure why, but my previous review was removed. A REMINDER FOR FUTURE CUSTOMERS!!!! Always, always, always ask for your receipt frim this establishment and any of their branches. I ordered a pick up on 11/5. Upon checking my receipt, I was surprised that apparently their staff loves to being sneaky. They added tip WITHOUT my consent. Called back their manager. And it seems like this incident happened often. It makes me wonder how trustworthy are this place? How do they run this place with crews that likes to adding tips in for their own benefits? This called stealing!!! Never going to return again to this place. Not worthy of any penny. I hope this won't happen to any of y'all. Good luck! read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - Outrageous tips WITHOUT any consent/permission - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Good spot for quick service Indian food. Ordered the samosa chaat and chicken tikka masala bowl. The samosa chaat was tasty, but could have been spicier. The chicken tikka masala bowl was spicy but a little tomatoey, could have used more Indian spices. Liked the basmati rice. read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Amamzing food. Reasonable prices and 5-star level taste. Will definitely be coming here again when back in Huston. read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - Chole bhature - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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3.5/5 Stars. As many have mentioned, Tarka fits a very under served food niche in Houston! Indian fast food. Definitely good enough for my Indian taste buds. Is the food like my Mom's or my Aunts? Not really but it gets the job done without breaking the bank. Don't get me wrong the flavor is great and I really like the spice level selection. The garlic butter Naan was excellent. One discrepancy was that I selected Samosas for appetizer but got the vegetable pakora. Not a big problem because that was very good too. Update here: I forgot to mention that the app and website for Tarka work great! A really good experience compared to many other platforms and applications. The app even works on my ancient iPhone 6s that has never been updated! As a warning, if you are going to the Shepherd location watch out for construction right in front of the store. You might find easier access from the back roads. Lamb Biryani, Lamb Tikka Masala, and Garlic butter Naan. Thank you Tinku Saini for reading my review. I'm very grateful to have the pleasure of eating great Indian food close to where I live. I hope one day you can have more locations here. There is surely a great demand for this in a city like Houston. Especially, in the Medical Center or Rice Village! read more

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A very good fast casual Indian restaurant with quick service and delicious food. Love getting a quick bite here (B)

Solid Indian food! Got lamb biryani (Indian fried rice), chicken tikka masala, garlic naan, and chicken pakoras (Indian chicken nuggets). Loved the exotic flavors of everything. Really enjoyed the garlic naan with the tikka masala! Definitely a good spot for anyone trying Indian for the 1st time! Oh and my fingers still smell like curry hahah read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Mike and his staff are amazing!! I go there at least four times a week. The food is of great quality, and delicious, every time. I highly recommend this location and this chain for excellent Indian cuisine. read more

Small, high quality portions for reasonable price. Just right for my needs. Like the patio

Let's start this review with the fact that I've always loved Tarka Indian Kitchen and it's unfortunate that I have to leave this review and declare that I will never go into Tarka Indian Kitchen again. The problem is that the service was wonderful as always, the flavor of the food was on point. but in their wisdom they've decided to join all the other restaurants that are gouging Americans on the portion size as well as raising the prices of everything. I would pay an increase in the price for the same portions that I got pre-covid but that is not an option so I will not be returning to the restaurant. I would advise that you find any other Indian food restaurant and just go there. read more

It was a rainy day. I was hungry (and perhaps slightly hungover). Refusing to get out of bed, I ordered up some Tarka Indian Kitchen. I stayed in bed eating my delicious saag paneer, veggie biryani, and veggie samosas and watched all three Bridget Jones Diary. #treatyoself Fast forward to a few more times when I ordered takeout. Still same great food and quickly prepared! Honestly, I've never dined inside a Tarka, because they have reliable delivery and takeout. Fast, affordable, and delivered pipin hot. My only issue is that their saag paneer has a tomato based flavor. I think my favorite menu item is the veggie samosas served with tamarind chutney and mint + cilantro chutney. Two come in an order, and they're large and filling enough to serve as an entree (for me at least). Enjoy! read more

Overall, a decent choice for quick Indian take out. Some of the dishes were hit/miss for us but overall tasty choices. The vegetable Biryani was a favorite and very flavorful and had lots of good veggies. The saag paneer was good too as well as the chicken tikka masala. The garlic naan was kind of weird since the garlic was just raw like and plopped in one area of each naan. Not the best experience with that. The chicken vindaloo just wasn't as good compared to the chicken tikka masala so it just wasn't a favorite. The fries just got soggy with the sauce and additions and it being takeout so also not the best. Definitely will be getting the favorites (saag paneer, vegetable biryani, chicken tikka masala) again sometime though when we have a hankering for Indian food. Also! The ma read more

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For fast causal Indian food it's really good. It is Americanized as I ordered Hot and could Easily tolerate it whereas at a more authentic place I would have been crying. I got the chicken biryani and the samosas. So good I ordered again the next day. Also tried the chicken pakora and wasn't a fan of that. Next time I'll just double up on the samosas read more

We always get Tarka delivered to our home. OMG their samosas are just to die for. You can't go wrong with the chicken Tikka. Good food at a great price! read more

I've been a fan of Tarka for awhile now, and really happy they opened this museum district location as it's much closer! As of yet I haven't gotten a chance to dine in, but the times I've ordered to go the service has been spectacular! The most recent time I was able to notify them via text that I was "On my way". Then when I arrived I texted "HERE" and literally within 30 seconds they come out with my food to my car. Wow! I have never experienced such fast service! Furthermore, really appreciate the fact that they bring the packed food out on a tray and you grab it yourself. Food is good as always. Faves here are the tikka Masala, saag paneer and beyond keema. Tikka and saag were both non-spicy on mild level. Beyond keema had more of a kick even on the mild. I also noticed some new appetizer items. Will be coming back soon to sample some of them! Thank you Tarka for spectacular food and service during these tough times! read more

Awesome food, very fragrant and flavorful. Good potion sizes and great options for most dietary preferences. The restaurant is lovely and the staff are kind! read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - Garlic Naan - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Definitely not a bad spot. I ordered some delivery from here tonight, and it arrived on time and the portion sizes were definitely acceptable. Their chicken tikka masala was honestly pretty good. And for roughly $12, it's hard to go wrong. The only thing that woulda have been better was if there was more protein in it - the chicken was kinda lacking, but it's all good. The taste was pretty damn nice. All in all, I'd order again. I probably will actually. read more

Since moving to Houston i hadn't found my goto indian spot yet, but i think it will be Tarka. I ordered take out last night with my friend to have over a Zoom date. We both got our orders promptly and everything was packaged well! I ordered the chicken biryani and a mango lassi. The lassi was fresh and creamy, a satisfyingly standard drink. The chicken biryani was really flavorful and i liked the yogurt sauce too. I asked for extra sauce with my order since i'm a sauce person. I usually love spicy food but because it was my first time ordering i went with medium to test their scale. I think medium is perfect for when i want a little heat and i'll get hot next time i want some kick. The medium level is about as hot as standard buffalo wings. I was super happy with my order and can't wait to try more things on the menu! read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - Chicken Biryani take out with extra sauce - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

This is my first time ever trying Indian food and everything was just excellent. We got the Chicken Tikka Masala, the Biryani, Garlic Naan, Vegetable Samosas. The Vegetable Samosas were filled with soft SOFT potatoes, and the sauce that came with it complimented the flavors well. I got hot for both Chiken Tikka Masala and Biryanis, and they both had a good kicks to it. The chicken was tender and juice while the curry was flavorful and rich, that dish was just dreamy! Oh they have fun choices for sodas too, also other drinks! Love their customer services and cleanliness. I will definitely come back. read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - Chicken Tikka Masala, Garlic naan, Biryani - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Very good food at reasonable prices. The menu is limited, it is a fast food format, but quality much better than traditional fast food.

Tarka has officially brought Indian food into the fast casual scene! It's a brilliant idea for a quick and easy way to get your Indian grub on, especially during a lunch break, but of course the food has to pack the same bold flavors you'd expect from a typical Indian restaurant for the concept to work... so does it? Food breakdown: -Samosas -- Just how I like them: flavorful and large! -Chicken tikka masala -- You know I enjoy the masala sauce if I'm drowning my naan in it and you'll find me doing that with the masala at Tarka. They do a good job on a classic dish, I just wish it had more chicken. -Chicken biryani -- I'm not usually a fan of rice based dishes, but biryani is the one exception because it brings bold exotic flavors to the otherwise bland base of rice. It is one of my go-to Indian dishes so I've been exposed to the full spectrum of biryani, but it won't be something I order again from Tarka because the biryani here is on the dull side. Overall, Tarka is a decent option for Indian food that I'd reserve for casual/quick dining or take out. Give it a shot! read more

We tried Tarka for the first time last week while under COVID-19 isolation. Delivery was prompt & left on our front porch. I got a text as soon as it was dropped off. We ordered a Channa Masala (vegetarian, chickpea), Lamb Tikka Masala, a kids Chicken Biryani, & a Mango Lemonade. Everything was a hit with the entire family.. & the kids ate every bite of theirs! We're looking forward to the opportunity to dine in once this lockdown is all over! read more

Orders take out via Uber eats - also, as soon as I placed the order via Uber I called in to follow up as well. Ordered - everything extra hot - follows by a call to the resultant to make sure they did in fact make it extra extra spicy: Lamb biryani Mattar paneer with extra panner at an additional charge. Garlic Naan Onion Plate Biryani - tasted like raw masala was added as an after thought, no spice - like NONE - and only four small half an inch to an inch size pieces of lamb :( they added slices of raw jalapeños on top which could give a coconut a run for its money on "which ones spicier." Mattar paneer with extra paneer - right off the bat you could tell they missed the extra paneer they charged me for. None the less, this too was dressed with "coconut" jalapeños and lacked spice. It was actually very very sweet. Which is odd for this dish. I was very sad as I was looking forward to their mattar paneer all day. The garlic naan was missing the garlic but still softish albite cold. And the onion plate. Well it was a box of sliced onions and jalapeños I over paid for. It'll be a while - if ever - I go in person or delivery from here. I was so looking forward to my meal from them and now I'm just $40 bucks out and still hungry/unsatisfied. Things looks pretty though. read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - Mattar paneer (with missing extra paneer) - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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I love Tarka, so was excited to hear about a new locations opening. This location was just as good as the one off 19th, which is impressive considering they just opened a few days ago! We started with the Vegetable Samosas and Chicken Pakoras. Both were great! The Vegetable Samosas were my favorite though. They had great flavor and a good mixture of different veggies. The sauce was also really good on both. For entrees, we went with the Chicken Korma, Chicken Tikka Masala, and Garlic Naan. All were great, as always! The Chicken Korma is creamy, with nice flavor. The Chicken Tikka Masala is your standard Tikka Masala with plenty of flavor. We ordered medium spice and it was a good amount f or me, but probably more like mild. The service was great. They were really busy but the employees handled it very well, clearing tables quickly and were well organized with seating people. read more

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I'm literally addicted to this place. I order korma with lamb, coconut curry with lamb, samosas, mango lemonade, strawberry lassi, tikka masala fries & I spread my meals to last 3/4 days. The meat is sooo tender. Oh! The shrimp briyani is amazing!!! The staff are awesome as well! I just got a sweet message written on one of the boxes. I order for delivery from here through Postmates where I can't earn points. They added a card that instructs how to earn points while using the delivery option. THANK YOU! read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Love it! Perfect size food to go! Really like to pick up, and eat at home! Chicken Marsala or Coconout, THE BEST! read more