Monk's has officially become our Houston tradition. We drive in from San Antonio, and this is a non-negotiable stop for us every single time. Honestly, every dish we've ever tried here has been fantastic--it hits exactly the right spots. The Flavor Profile: A quick heads-up for those seeking "authentic" traditional Chinese--this isn't it. This is the Indianized version of Chinese food (Indo-Chinese), so prepare for bold spices and a serious kick. If you grew up loving those specific flavors, Monk's is the gold standard. The Verdict: The heat is on point, the portions are great, and the flavors are nostalgic and bold. It's the kind of meal we look forward to all the way down I-10. Truly a gem for anyone who appreciates the spicy, savory fusion of Desi Chinese! read more

Where spices, spice. Service: 5/5 Quick and friendly. Ambiance: 4/5 When I looked up the restaurant, I didn't realize it was only for takeout. I walked in and the spices were spicing so much so that I started sneezing. I asked if maybe the dining area was through some door, but no there is no dine in. It's a small space with a register and seats to wait for your order or you can wait in your car. Food: 4/5 Chicken Tikka Masala it was creamy and velvety, I'm not a big fan of tomato but know is a core part of it, which I did distinguish the taste in this order that I haven't usually tasted in others. The garlic naan had good flavor however it was a bit tough and crunchy when biting into it. Which wasn't my favorite, but got the job done to dip into the sauce. read more

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This is a typical chill Indian restaurant with a variety of options. We were looking for Indo Chinese and I would say we got it but, it was okay. The service was mid, everyone was nice but didn't feel that homey experience you typically get at an Indian restaurant. My biggest surprise was that we wanted to order chai after our meal and they said they didn't serve chai on weekends...so shocked especially given it was on their menu. Unsure if we will be back. read more

We have gotten takeout from here several times, and my biggest critique is the inconsistency. Sometimes the food is really great, but sometimes it's incredibly subpar. The butter paneer we had today was way too full of cardamom, to the point where it was overpowering any other flavors, and made the curry sweet and unpleasant to eat. There's also been several takeout orders we've gotten that are missing items or sauces. When they're good, they're great, but unfortunately the quality is not consistent. read more

Did a door dash order here early September cause I wasn't in the mood to cook and indian food was on my mind. Found this spot and placed an order for a few items which were: Veggie Samosa - 7/10 Chicken Tikka Masala - 7/10 Gongura Shrimp Biryani - 9/10 Garlic Naan - 6/10 Both the veggie samosas and chicken tikka masalas were solid; not over-the-top but good. The samosas had some crunch and good filling. The chicken tikka was tender with good spice and seasoning. Garlic Naan was alright, texture-wise it's soft with good amount of seasonings. By itself, not bad. Dip in that masala, now it's to another level! Favorite was the Shrimp Biryani, by far. Shrimp is large, the rice and seasonings go well together and it's quite filling. And the portion is huge! Had leftovers for the next day and it still tasted awesome when microwaved. Price-wise, it's a bit expensive but that's with the doordash extra charges (why do I keep getting suckered by them). I look forward to checking out the restaurant and eating at the establishment where it's much better cooked-to-order than delivered to you. read more

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Kinda great food, not even gonna lie. Was feeling mad hungry today for some reason and so I ordered some butter chicken, garlic butter naan, and momo. Surprisingly, the momo stole the show. The butter chicken was good but their momo was definitely where it's at. Food came quickly as well. Will order again. read more

What has happened to the Monks restaurants. I had ordered the tikka masala and there were hardly any pieces of the protein I had ordered it with. Moreover their quantity has shrinked largely. A year ago they were way better. If I compare them with Tadka Indian Kitchen in Heights, Monks is no where close. read more

Underwhelming. I love Indian food and I've been to plenty of Indian restaurants and I can honestly say I would never order from here again. We ordered a chicken tiki masala, paneer butter masala and a side of garlic naan. For starts the food was super salty; couldn't taste any of the spices & herbs. Second, the portions were very very small. Not worth the cost! read more

First of all, take note that this spot is take-out only. Second, be aware that they serve a lot of SPICY dishes here and don't really do a great job designating that on their menu. I will say that the spiciness wasn't just that, it was accompanied by an amazing mix of delicious flavors. So I still really enjoyed the food even though my mouth was burning. But just be aware and if you're sensitive to spice, you might want to ask before ordering. The food was delicious. I had the goat biryani and it was so flavorful! Large portion with ample meat buried inside the rice. Pretty dang spicy though (which I wasn't expecting because the menu did not specify it). My fiancé's chicken biryani was even better. The chicken was so tender and moist - YUM! Also very spicy. I'm assuming all their biryanis are. We also got the fiery Sichuan paneer (obviously expecting it to be spicy). It was delicious. The Monk's special momo (dumpling) with chicken was pretty tasty. A little dry but perfect with the chili oil it came with. The only small disappointment was their naan. I found it inconsistent in terms of its texture -- fluffy in spots and too thin in others. Overall though, delicious cooking. I took a star off for their online menu. It was often unclear and confusing while missing explanations and designations for spicy dishes. Ultimately, I had my doubts about this spot since they serve both Indian and Chinese and I wasn't sure how that would go. However, it's mostly Indian with some fusion dishes. I ended up loving it and will be sure to return. read more

Monk's is a great option when you're in the mood for some quick and comforting Indo-Chinese food. Located in a shopping center next to a gas station, it's strictly a takeout spot--no dine-in seating. We consistently order the wok-tossed Hakka veg noodles and Manchurian veg fried rice, and they always hit the spot. The flavors are solid, and the portions are decent. The magic maggi rolls are also a fun item. The rest of the menu isn't particularly exciting, but it gets the job done after a long day when you just want something flavorful and satisfying. If you're looking for fancy or restaurant-style Indo-Chinese, this isn't it, but for a reliable takeout option, Monk's delivers. 4 stars for consistency and convenience! read more

Great Indian food in the city their chicken tikka masala and butter chicken and the Birriani is my favorite. Customer service is really great and they're always so nice and friendly. And super close by. read more

This place surprised me. I ordered take out on a Saturday afternoon. I got the following Lollipop chicken byriani: the chicken was soft and tender. The rice was good and it came with yogurt. Hakka noodles: this was good too. I added hot sauce and the noodles were soft and flavorful. I got this with chicken. Dynamite cauliflower: this was very flavorful and really good. read more

The Monk's- Heights - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Delicious! The staff was also so friendly. We had the butter chicken, kabobs, wings, and other dishes. Every bite was so good. There was a marinated lamb dish on the app list I'd highly recommend. The garlic naan was five stars. The bland building outside doesn't do justice to the cute interior and wonderful food inside. read more

Some really delicious Indo - Chinese food at the Monks. Must haves is gobi Manchurian, drums of heaven and momos!

Amazing food! They are carry out only in a small little store front and a little hard to find, but don't sleep on this place. The food is incredible! read more

I have ordered here for years and since it's take out only and I highly respect it. This place is delicious and service if very efficient. Perfect place to order from if you need to feed a large group of people. read more

Full disclosure, I've only had the Indian options here. The online ordering is really easy. Positives: DYNAMITE CAULIFLOWER. Seriously, I want to Scrooge McDuck in this sauce, it's downright scrumptious. It's their version of 65 but is a bit creamier. The saag is great (watch for bones with the goat), the chicken in the chicken tikka masala is incredibly tender (it's so often overcooked!), and their vegetable cilantro lemon soup is soul nourishing and very flavorful. Negatives: their naan is a bit overcooked, they don't provide chutney, their portions are a tad small, and the filling in their Monk's Special Momo (Tibetan/Nepalese dumplings) was dry. Negatives aside, their food is quite good and I'm eager to try out more of their menu, especially the Chinese options. read more

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Chicken tikka masala is so good here. Gotta pair it with their garlic naan. I order take-out only from here and they're super quick.

I've gotten food from here a couple of times and most everything has been very flavorful and good. I'll get the bad out of the way...the chopsuey chicken noodles, I honestly am not sure what it is supposed to taste like but it was really bad. We couldn't bring ourselves to eat it, it was super sweet and just weird tasting. The monks fries are a favorite, and is a large portion you can share. The tikka is very rich with plenty of chicken, the masala fried rice is a large portion and very flavorful. I love the momo but they are SO spicy, too spicy for me to enjoy. I tried 2 kinds but unfortunately couldn't eat them, however if you can handle the spice they have so much flavor and the filling is juicy. This is a to go place only, there is no seating just a counter to order and pick up from. read more

Found my favorite biryani place in Houston. I always get takeout food so was in heights area and got their gully gobhi and chicken biryani. Gully gobhi was really tasty but chicken fry biryani was very spicy and chicken didn't taste good. This isn't a dum biryani, but their rice flavor and texture is really good. Next got take out of Vijayawada chicken biryani and veg keema biryani, this was a very good choice. Both these biryanis tasted amazing. Also got shrimp biryani where shrimp was over cooked and was rubbery and isn't taste good, wouldn't recommend getting this. Also highly recommend getting their maggie spring rolls. read more

Good was delicious! I past by here not knowing it was there! Service is quick and kind. It's a pick up and go so what do you expect!! Love it! I'll definitely come again! read more

One of my close friends lived a cross the street from here. I figured we should try it after him talking about it. I honestly would truly recommend it for delivery. It was great. The spice level was great. I loved the different options. It wasn't your basic choices. I'd like to go back again soon being so close. I didn't get to check the service or feel since we did it for delivery. I have heard it's a tiny place though. read more

Holy moly, this place is absolutely delicious! I recently dined at their Westheimer location for the first time and was blown away by the amazing flavors. Nothing like I'd ever experienced before. To my surprise, my boyfriend (who was surfing Yelp for a place for dinner) informed me that they have now opened a location in the Heights! This location is so much more convenient for us but unfortunately it's takeout only. I will say, the customer service was a lot better at this location but then again it's just takeout. You can order online, over the phone or just walk on in and order like we did because we didn't read ahead of time that there's no dining here I'm going to rave yet again about The Magic Maggie Rolls... If you've ever eaten Magic Maggie Masala noodles (they're India's version of ramen noodles but they are spicy + 10x better), then picture these delicious noodles wrapped up into egg roll paper and fried. Mouth-watering goodness to say the least! I ordered them yet again and will continue to come back for this deliciousness - especially since there's one close by read more

The Monk's- Heights - Signature wallpaper with seating area - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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I've ordered here a couple of times since it was highly recommended by a friend. They offer both Indian and Chinese food made for the Indian palate. You can tell that the momos are handmade and they had good flavour. Not exceptional like at some Nepali restaurants I've been to but it's good with the accompanying sauces. The gobi biryani was excellent although my friend complained her egg biryani was too dry. I also had the "hot & sour" soup. It's not the traditional Chinese one, hence the labeled quotes, and I can argue that salty should be added to that name because it's a salt doozy. I do not know if I was the victim of a heavy salt day for the kitchen, but every dish I had in that order from the green chile veg entree, chettinad veg, and gobi manchurian was loaded with salt where I didn't notice the spice as much. I had to cut them down with as much as rice as possible and even had to cook more rice. read more

The Monk's- Heights - Gobi biryani and the two types of vegetable momos - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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This place uses very cheap ingredients and is poorly done. I purchased two entrees and eggrolls. One entree was suppose to have garlic and was full of onions and thigh chicken meat, the other was watery and had few pieces of thigh meat. The eggrolls were raw on the inside and the rice was refrigerator cold. I would not recommend this place to anyone! read more

The Monk's- Heights - All onions - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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I ordered from here via a 3rd party app after seeing so many good reviews. I am glad I did! I'm always on the look out for local Indian spots in my neighborhood and am very glad to have this new option. For my first order I opted for your standard Indian takeout fare - chicken tikka masala curry and garlic naan. The curry had a nice little kick to it, just enough to clear the sinuses, and the naan was full of large garlic pieces. Very yummy! I look forward to trying more things off of their diverse menu! read more

Our to-go order was ready before expected. The food is amazing! I especially like the "Burnt Garlic Fried Rice." Unfortunately, the food is very expensive for the miniscule amount seen in some of the entrees. We ordered 2 different breads, and they packed them in the same foil wrap. Both of the breads look exactly the same, so there's is no telling which is which... if they didn't just give us 2 of the same thing. Assuming the breads ARE different, since they are packed together, the cross-contamination of the 2 breads means we cannot enjoy the different flavors. read more

My go to Indian takeout spot! This place is an Indian/Chinese fusion spot that only offers delivery/pickup. I've enjoyed all of the curries and grilled items I've ordered and love the fresh garlic naan. It's the perfect compliment to their tikka masala. Make sure to order ahead of time as they tend to get busy. Highly recommend this place if you ever have a craving for Indian food! read more

Best byriani ever! Food is top notch with huge portions for the price! I highly recommend visiting monks. read more

The Monk's- Heights - Byriani! - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Was really hesitant in trying at first just because the location is somewhat hidden and it was takeout only. But once i tried it OMG it was so good!!!! I usually go to Neetas off of Hillcroft but this location is closer to my job and it tastes about the same! I loved the butter chicken and the garlic naan! read more

My first time trying Indian food & I love it. I asked the guy at the register for his recommendation since I never had Indian food before and he recommended the biryani. You get to chose your meat, I chose goat since my favorite meat is lamb and I actually grew up eating goat meat back in my country. The flavors are great, it's spicy but not the kind of spicy that will make your mouth burn and stomach hurt. Super flavorful definitely highly recommend this. Ps. Sorry I already started eating before taking a picture lol read more

The Monk's- Heights - Goat biryani - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

I recently met my friend for dinner at The Monk's, and we had a great experience. We tried a combination of the momos, Desi entrees, and noodles - you really can't go wrong. The flavors were incredible. One thing to keep in mind is that The Monk's is takeout only! Because of that, we ended up eating at a park which is just a short drive from the restaurant. read more

The Monk's- Heights - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

I thought my take-out was just okay. Not bad, not great. The portions were decent and I always appreciate that. I think I ordered one of the chicken dishes, but that fact that I can't remember speaks to how memorable I found it. read more

The Monk's- Heights - Takeout only - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

was not super impressed with this place. I felt that the chick was a bit oily and the sweet and sour chicken didn't really have enough chicken in it for two people to share in our order. is was 80% sauce. the fried rice was fine but nothing memorable. overall not impressed, probably won't be back read more

The so called 'Indian' and 'Indo-Chinese' food here is not good. The dishes are salty, bland and the Indo-Chinese food is sweet and gooey! YUK. read more

Take-out only, highly recommend calling ahead of time or placing your order online, otherwise you'll need to wait for about 30-40 minutes. There are two benches you can sit and wait inside, but the store is very small and you'll get the smell of the food all over your clothes. If you are not familiar with Indo-Chinese dishes like us, it's kinda hard to know what you are ordering. The menu at the store doesn't have any pictures either, wish they could add some pictures to the menu. But we are brave and decided to try: Kadai Masala with vegetables- slightly spicy and has a smoky taste to it, very unique and delicious. If you want an Indian dish that's not too creamy, I'd recommend this one. Sweet and sour paneer- wow, best of both worlds, we love sweet and sour flavor, and love paneer cheese, and this dish is a perfect marriage of both. You won't find this dish anywhere else, love it! Definitely a a lot heavy, but worth it. Garlic Naan bread - soft, fluffy and flavorful. Recommend getting the bread, goes so well with everything. read more

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Very very good. YUM THE SERVICE IS GOOD And the ambiance is how ever the food is which is good lol. 10/10 would recommend read more

3.5 - Butter Chicken, naan garlic 3.8 - Butter Chicken, naan plain. 3.0 - Butter Chicken, white rice. 2.5 - Chicken Tikka Masala, naan garlic 3.5 - Chicken Tikka Masala, naan plain. 3.0 - Chicken Tikka Masala, white rice. 3.5 - Naan, Plain. 2.5 - Naan, Garlic. 3.0 - Rice. 3.5 - Wok Chicken (order w/o veggies next time) read more

The butter chicken 10/10 great customer service. Great prices, food is always fresh and no long wait time

I think this is the best Indian place in the loop close to downtown. The moment you enter you know it's legit because the wok and curry smell is in the air. It is take out only so make sure you call ahead to place your order. The menu is pretty extensive and features Indian Chinese. I really liked their green chili entree. Super flavorful but not overly spicy. The entrees do come with rice. The naan is really tasty here also. Gobi manchurian wasn't the best I've had, but will definitely satisfy a craving. Knocked off a star because I think it is a bit pricey for take out. Pretty much the same pricing as a sit-down restaurant. read more