Consistently good. I always come here if I'm having a rough week and just need a comforting bowl of chicken tikka masala (medium spice) with a side of garlic naan. Their tikka fries and korma are both great too! read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

I've tried Tarka in Austin and really liked it, and my experience this time was the same--it was great! I had takeout and ordered the mild chicken tikka masala and garlic naan--totally solid, very good Indian food. I would highly recommend both items. The restaurant is really pretty and in a new building in the heights next to Fat Cat Creamery and KA Sushi. I know some people in their Yelp reviews said they had trouble with parking, but there was plenty of parking when I was there, though I did come earlier in the day when they first opened. Everyone who worked there was very friendly, and I loved the 10% Yelp check-in discount. One thing I'll say is that it took about 15 minutes for my food to come out, even though I was like the second customer of the day. Not the end of the world, but just a little surprising. read more

Fast service and reasonable pricing for large portion and quality of preparation. I ordered veggie samosas, chicken korma, tikka masala and some rice dish with chicken cubes mixed in, Biryani. Good level of spices and served piping hot!! The mango lemonade was addictive, I drank about three whole glasses! The Korma is sweet and buttery, very good mixed with rice. The Tikka is my favorite and had right amount of spicing mix magic. The biryani was good but annoying after awhile because the tumeric is hardcore, top of roof gets grease wads lol.. You can get access to the free wifi there, check in and get a dollar off your order. They play some suave world music that directTV used to offer before getting stingy haha. The seating inside is plentiful for big parties. Wait time during lunch hours can be up to 25mins. Visiting a second time, I went at 1:25pm and waited 25mins. The naan had a reheated taste -rubbery/moist... 8D However as I took it to go, I popped it into the toaster oven at work for two mins and it became crunchy and reborn. Was very happy with the food and kept me full all day! read more

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I wouldn't recommend this location, they're rude plain and simple and they are always missing something from your order. So please check your order thoroughly before you leave. If I'm spending my money here I could at least get good customer service. read more

The food is very good, but keep in mind that this is an "approachable" version of Indian food. It still tastes like Indian food to me, but we have the real deal all over Houston, so some people may notice a difference. The service is good, they're very friendly. Concrete floors and a high metal ceiling mean it gets LOUD in here when it's crowded. Really like the food, and it's conveniently located for us. Will definitely be back. Suggestion: put tamarind chutney, coriander chutney, and raita out by the drinks! We'd love easier access. read more

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I have been in love with Tarka since I first met it several years back in Austin. I was so excited when I found out it was opening up in Houston. Maybe that's what was wrong. Maybe I overhyped it. It's not that anything was bad albeit the naan was getting close to cold when it came out, and the samosa chaat isn't as special as I once thought it was. I also think their staff is still getting adjusted as they had some difficulty processing our order, and some items we had ordered were missed. I didn't get a receipt; so for a couple of minutes it was a challenge to justify our order. The manager, however, sorted it out. Plus I have to cut them some slack. They are new and in a very busy area. The lamb biryani was alright. The vegetable samosa was decent--warm and flaky. The one stand out dish was the chicken tikka masala. It did not disappoint, and lived up to the Austin original. I think things can stand to improve, and considering this is their first week being open I'm sure it will. I will be back later to give it another try. read more

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This place was pretty good! I got the vegetable samosas, the chicken vindaloo,the paneer tikka masala, and garlic naan. Everything tastes really good but the tikka masala was a lot sweeter than I am used to. I ended up having leftover tikka masala and it tasted a lot better in my opinion. The only drawback was that it took forever to get the food. I received the samosas almost as soon as I sat down but then waited a very long time for any entrees to come out. read more

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Ate here for the first time after much anticipation while we watched the restaurant get finished out. Was not disappointed!! It was pretty busy as it was a Friday night, but the line moved fast and the staff was on point. It took about 15 minutes to get our food, but it came out hot and fresh. We tried the lamb vindaloo (pictured), chicken tikka masala, garlic naan, and the veggie pakoras (fried potato and onion slices battered in flour and cumin). Everything was fantastic! Not the best Indian food I've had, but for a fast casual restaurant, it's perfect. Portions were generous and not overpriced by any means. So glad to have Tarka in the neighborhood and will definitely frequent this establishment. read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - Lamb Vindaloo - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Well, I have had previous issues, but the owner reached out instantly! And offered for me to try again for free. When I went in, the manager came out and was super apologetic and sweet! She also took care of boxing and making sure the order was correct. She also asked questions to improve and assured me they were working to be more cautious. The location is super convenient, cute, and a great price! Now that they are aware of the previous issues and worked quickly to correct them, I would not hesitate to recommend or go back! read more

Awesome addition to the Heights. I love Indian food but sometimes I don't want to sit down, order, wait to pay out, etc... Tarka is a great fast food Indian joint. The food will satisfy your craving for sure if you don't want to spend too much money. Needless to say, manage your expectations realistically. Saag Paneer: the Paneer was a bit rubbery but I obviously knew it wouldn't be fluffy or creamy like I would normally get at a restaurant. I'd order it again regardless! Chicken Tikka Masala: Very rich and flavorful with a good amount of chicken. read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - Saag Paneer - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Wonderful food. We got the chicken Tiki Marsala and the veggie Saag plate and both were delicious. We also got the naan, which was perfect for dipping in the Tiki Marsala. The saag was a little less flavorful for us than the Tiki Marsala but still good.We also got the veggie samosas. They was delicious but it only came with two so don't share. The prices (most entrees are less than $10) and the flavors are great! read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - Chicken Tiki Marsala - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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As a non-vegetarian Indian place in Houston, this place is not too bad! The parking is a bit difficult, and it is an order over the counter and pick your seat kind of place, but the food comes out really quickly and the prices are very reasonable. My table got vegetable samosas for an appetizer and lamb vindaloo and malai kofta with roti and naan for entrees and it was all good! Admittedly, it is not truly authentic and there was nothing that truly stood out, but it was a solid meal altogether. The mango lemonade was a unique touch, and quite good, and it was also refillable! Overall, the food is well worth the price and given the paucity of non-veg Indian food in Houston, it is worth a try! After you've successfully fought for your parking spot, everything else is great! read more

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I usually order take out from here but the food never fails everything comes and the food taste's good, the service is pretty fast despite how far it is. I would recommend if you want to try some indian food that's isn't crazily authentic read more

So it's Monday night and what better thing to do before game 5 of the NBA finals than try some Indian food. We are invited to a "soft" opening of Tarka Indian Kitchen in the Heights, that's right, if this goes well we no longer have to drive 10 miles for Indian food. So we pull up to the building, a pretty cool building to be honest and park with no issues. We are greeted at the door and walk in. The place is alive and everyone seems to be in a great mood. We walk up to the counter and place our orders, my awesome wife gets a couple veggie items and I get some Chicken Masala because it would not be right to pass that up, and really the image on the little rotating electronic iPad thing of it looks very good. We do our meet and great with everyone and notice that all are happy, I mean just a down and out good time happy. We take our seats and immediately the food starts coming out. The bread is very good. The vegetable samosas hit the spot and I love the sauce. The main items then show up, it all looks very good and yes the chicken masala looks just like the image, I mean just like the image front m the cool rotating iPad thing at the counter. We dig in and I am telling you it was pretty tasty. Before you know it our plates are empty, the bread is gone and my orange beverage thing is dry. We look at each other and ask if we would come back, the answer was an easy yes. So if your looking in the Heights for some Indian food (thank goodness this opened) then swing by this place and try it out. You won't be disappointed as we loved it and I can say from the crowd and the looks on their faces that they loved it as well. Staff was super friendly, even for a "soft" opening you would expect the over friendliness but everyone seemed pretty genuinely happy to have you show up and most importantly they were looking for honest feedback. Of course my only feedback is to have Orange Fanta on tap, other than that, we will be returning that's for sure. read more

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I'm a vegetarian and I'm very pleased with their selection. But I must recommend the Samosa Chaat. God's gift to mankind. I believe it is the tomato topping that makes this dish unique and amazingly delicious. read more

Picked up food from here tonight in order to support local businesses in this Pandemic. I hope I'm wrong and maybe this is due to the pandemic. But someone here is being paid to write these reviews or maybe it's the location of the restaurant where folks living in the loop have no idea what india food is. This is by no means Indian food. To be honest, the boxed frozen Indian meals from HeB are better than this. This is beyond terrible. I stopped eating and started to write this review. read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - Chicken Biryani - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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I feel like Tarka has the same vibes as Masala Wok, but less corporate and more Heights-vibe. The price point is definitely the most attractive aspect. In my experience, Indian food is usually pretty expensive, but at Tarka, you get a huge portion for a reasonable price. Everything was tasty, and the food came out pretty fast. However Tarka isn't the kind of place that gives me cravings. I ordered the biryani and enjoyed it thoroughly, but I don't think about it and crave it like I do some other Indian places. I would definitely go back and try something new! read more

First, excited to have this in the neighborhood and they were asking for donations for their soft opening tonight and tomorrow, all for the Houston Food Bank, which is great! When we arrived at 6:45 it was slammed. But it didn't take much longer than reading the menu and deciding on items before we were greeted at the counter by a smiling face. It seemed they had all hands on deck but no one looked overwhelmed. We tried the veggie samosas, there were 2 in our order, which the hubs and I thought were pretty darn excellent, personally we loved the dipping sauce. Hubs ordered lamb naanini, meat was delicious and overall pretty good. It came with a side, so we got Marsala fries. While the fries were good they were our least favorite part of the experience. This was more plain fry with seasoning. I personally ordered the coconut curry (medium, out of mild/medium/hot) with shrimp and it was everything! We decided to share chicken biryani (medium) and it was tasty but probably the hottest meal of the set and was not my favorite. I'd probably prefer lamb. We also had mango lassi, yum.... but not nearly as good as the mango lemonade. So amazing! Before I go I should note that I also really enjoyed the Sauvignon Blanc they had on the menu. Back to the people. They were all friendly and great service. It was a great way to end a Monday and we look forward to visiting this neighborhood spot often! read more

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I came to Tarka Kitchen Saturday night. We started with the vegetable samosas, which were really good. I had the vegetarian entree, Malai kofta. The sauce was tasty and mild and the vegetable balls were cooked perfectly. My love enjoyed the lamb vindaloo and its earthy flavor. An odd but welcoming touch was that we received jalapenos on both entrees after asking for the highest spiciness level. The ambience was nice and fresh. You can tell people were having a good time. read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - It was so yummy it was almost finished. - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Really great for a casual, quick meal. Decently priced, good portion sizes and good spice. We weren't crazy about the masala fries, but enjoyed the nananini and curried chicken and rice. would get either again, but with a different side. Seems to be family owned or managed... manager was present around the dining area throughout our meal and was overheard enforcing rules with the staff which is appreciated from a service standpoint. read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Tarka is a quick way to get your Indian food fix in the Heights - we definitely lack for options in this area! I enjoy the quick service and food options on their menu, I just feel like there is some spice/flavor missing that really kicks it into authentic Indian food territory. However, their naan is out of control delicious, so I often order extra to take home! The price is right for a quick lunch or dinner. read more

Tarka is definitely the place to go for a quick and easy Indian food fix. It's counter service, and I could tell they do lots of takeout as well. You order, they give you a number, you find a place to sit and they bring you your food. The menu is pretty simple and lays out the basic foundation of Indian food. Not a huge Indian food afficionado but want to try it? Get your start here. They do a great job with the samosas (major props here!), tikka masala and biryani. I can't comment on much else, because that is all my boyfriend & I tried out. Next time, we will definitely get something different to try. $28 and some change for the 2 of us... samosas, garlic naan, 2 entrees, a canned beer and a soft drink. We will be back! read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - Samosas - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

The outside of this place is beautiful and at lunch time on weekdays, parking is no issue (I'm sure it's a bigger problem on weekends). When you enter, you order your food at the counter and place the number they hand to you on the stand at your table. I ordered the chicken tikka masala with garlic naan--don't forget to check in for 10% off your check! There was sadly no wow factor to this dish. The rice was really dry and the entree didn't have much flavor. The one thing I did love was the garlic naan! Definitely the highlight of this meal. This is a decent place to go if you want something quick, but I wouldn't go here regularly. read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Updated July 2018 - Last couple visits to Tarka have been frustrating. After ordering right away both times (no line), it has taken over 30 mins to get our food. For a "fast casual" restaurant, this is a bit slow in my opinion. Also the food just hasn't been as good lately. Chicken tikka masala was bland. Or I order spicy lamb vindaloo but it barely has any heat, they just add a couple sliced jalapeños on top. Likely going to only stick to authentic Indian places for a while instead of just convenient ones. .... Good fast Indian food. Similar set up to a Peiwei but much better quality. I like the different appetizer and side options in addition to their entrees. Employees are always friendly. Always packed when I go, so it can be tough to find a seat at dinner time but usually we get takeout. read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - Lamb Vindaloo. Too many bell peppers - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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The first time I came here it was delicious, evertime since then, my food has been cold and incorrectly cooked. My rice was overcooked and crunchy. My curry was cold. My fries we soggy. The only thing that I enjoy here nowadays are the samosas. Very bad. read more

Very bland Indian food. The mild and the very spicy had the same heat level.. portions are good, but def lacking on flavor.

Food is solid. Great price. Love the Chipotle style menu selection. I got the veggie korma, and it was delicious! Veggies included cauliflower, carrots, etc. Tikka masala was good, too. One order is plenty for 1 person. read more

Never again. Service was horrible, floors were dirty, tables were not wiped down, food was unauthentic and disappointing.

Great. Cheap. Fast. Healthy. Cool dining area. What more can you ask for? I'll be back. I got the chicken korma. Delicious. And very filling. They have beer too, for pretty cheap, which was a nice accompanyment. read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - Chicken korma - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Place was packed At 1:30pm! Great menu with several choices. Biryani was full of flavor, hot and is a large portion. Wife's tiki masala was delicious. Garlic naan was bomb. Can't wait to come back! Great food at great price! read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Absolutely love love this place. A go to Indian restaurant that I can always guarantee to be good. What is even better is that with their new app I can even get better deals and rack up points. I recommend anyone who hasn't tried to grab a bite- plus it's easy too with multiple locations around Houston! read more

So good. Every time. It's one of my favorite Indian restaurants of all time and the consistency between their chain locations is impeccable.

Had a great first experience. However - been twice for take out since and had to wait a ridiculous amount of time both orders. Tonight I placed an order to collect at 8 pm (I placed the order at 6:30pm). I got there on time and didn't get my food until 8:35pm. A 35 minute wait for take out is unacceptable, especially when I placed the order online 1 and 1/2 hours earlier. And then they forgot to put rice in my order. Luckily I realised in the car. If I'd gotten home and realised I'd have been furious. Not good enough. read more

Second visit to the Heights location. Another great meal. The samosas were da bomb while the bland paneer pakora had to be rescued by the chutney. Love, loved the korma and the spinach with paneer was very tasty. We did take-out and the food was ready when promised. Thankful for dependable Indian food nearby! read more

We ordered doordash and got the chicken tikka masala for kids deal which was a great portion size and came with a drink for a good price. Also got another chicken curry with vegetables everything tasted fresh. The chicken was good. It wasn't my favorite Indian spot but it wasn't bad either the basmati rice was a bit dry and the Naan was perfect just as expected Naan would be. read more

Parking is small, but so is everything in the area. I totally would recommend going to the music store across the street or catching a donut if you are feeling adventurous. Walking inside Tarka, its laid out like Chipotle, but without seeing a circle of people make your food. I went for a Chicken Tikka and it was delicious. Overcooked, but awesome. I always feel intimidated eating at "genuine Indian" cuisine, but the environment is calm, quiet, and you could easily get lost in how the sun shines on the restaurant. My biggest gripes is forgetting about grabbing silverware + napkins and having my food overcooked in boiling sauce or paying extra for naan. It was most definitely an okay lunch. read more

Food was great. We had lamb Vindaloo, vege samosas, chicken tiki masala, and lamb Briyani. Oh and some garlic naan. Shared each of them and they all tasted great. Really great! Love the concept too - it's like chipotle for Indian food! Deducting two stars for the service. I ordered online and paid when I arrived. That said I waited for 20 minutes after paying and had to ask if the food was ready - to my surprise it had been sitting on the counter behind the register for 15 minutes already. 7 or so cooks: busy kitchen, but the 2-3 people working the counter could use some training - including the manager that day. Line wasn't huge, and my impression was I was ignored. My fault for not asking sooner, but as I said my expectation is that it was like Chipotle for Indian food - a bit more attention to the folks waiting would go a long way. read more

Nothing much to write about. I am Indian and I cook Indian food everyday. Went to this place for a change and was hopelessly disappointed. Ordered Biryani - TERRIBLE. Tarka, word of advice to your cooks & management - leave the Biryani making to the Pakistani cooks. You're asked stupid questions like spice level and protein choice, when all they do is add some jalapeño slices to the curry, it's idiotic. I ordered the chicken tikka masala and got potatoes slipped into my food, if I wanted potatoes I'd have order vegetables on the side. A feeble attempt at creating bulk to the already measly portion of food. Never going back and I'd advise anyone reading this to do the same. Don't give this place a snowballs chance by wasting your money read more

I was traveling from other state to Houston and searched for indian food and have come down here ! Not that great ! Its a quick fix kind of recipes ! Nothing authentic about it or no heart full cooking here ! Naan and samosa are okay ! You can try this once if you are a local! read more

Love this place! The food is delicious and good portions. The tomato curry is nice and thick. I recommend adding veggies and paneer to your protein choice, preferably chicken. The lamb can be bit too chewy. Pair it either with naan or samosas. read more

Tarka Indian Kitchen - Tikka Masala - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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