Indika

Doesn't Recommend

john d.

Joined 1 year ago

Indika. I ordered a Med Rare Filet Mignon and it was cut in the shape of a pyramid. Obviously it was not cooked to a consistent temp the whole way through. The edges were well done and the center was rare. I informed the waiter that the steak was not cooked appropriately. A few minutes later the owner came out questioning whether or not a knew what med rare was. He was obviously irritated that someone would ever question the way they cook their food. Normally things are good there but if its not don't bother telling them because at Indika the customer is ALWAYS wrong.

Doesn't Recommend

lataa

Joined 2 years ago

What a disappointment. We have been eating here for nearly 10 years and have been big fans of this restaurant. Today we were there for lunch and I can say I have never had this kind of bad service at any other restaurant. This is supposedly a buffet, which makes one think that there should be no wait for food. We ordered our food as soon as we sat since we know what we want. After about half an hour a chat plate was served. As we were waiting we noticed one other customer leave in a huff without getting his food. We were of course not planning on giving up since this is (I should say was) one of our favorite restaurants. However when we did not get our food even after waiting for an hour we decided it was time to complain. When I approached the main desk and told them about the situation they told me I can leave without paying !!!

I am just stunned at this kind of service at a restaurant that charges $25 dollars per person. Makes it hard to see a good restaurant go down the drain like this. I really hope that Anita is able to get this place together. Makes me wonder if opening Pondicheri has just meant this restaurant is going to suffer.

Asha

Doesn't Recommend

rpatel487

Joined 6 years ago

Vegetarian? Food sucks. My husband and I went to this place because we love to try new "fusion" type places but this one was absolutely horrible. We order the sweet potato samosa appetizer which consisted of 3 tiny (and I mean tiny) samosas that tasted ok but notthing spectacular for the crazy price. We order the vegetarian plate which apparently included a mix of random vegetarian items and it was soo bad. Daal tasted like it came from a box, poor vegetables (and a small quantity!). Roti was also not good. Being vegetarian, I have definitely received good quantities of stomach filling food that tasted amazing elsewhere, NOT at this place. Fortunately, we did not even order the dessert because it looked like the size of a dime. One good thing that came from this experience was that I got this restaurant out of my "restaurants to go" list. Always was curious about this place and now I can say I've been there. Never would I go back again.

Also, this place is very cramped at dinner time....my elbows were practically touching another persons at another table (maybe I'm exaggerating a tad bit...but it was a really really tight fit)...Not a date night place.

I recommend Kiran's...still my favorite "fusiony" fine dining indian restaurant. Bombay Sweets is my favorite hole in the wall place.

Recommends

MikeS02

Joined 4 years ago

Impressed. It has been about 2 years since I have been to Indika and I was very impressed with how the restaurant has matured over time. Years ago, I thought that the service was sluggish and the food was high mediocre. This time, however, the food excelled and the service was first rate. Everyone at our table was very impressed with the restaurant and I'll be back soon.

Recommends

Chelsia

Joined 3 years ago

New Love of Indian Cuisine. I received a gift certificate to Indika and was a little hesitant as this was my first time to eat real Indian food. So I took a friend who loves Indian cuisine and we checked out the restaurants happy hour.

After my experience at this Houston hot spot, I fell in love with the flavors. We started happy hour off with a local pale ale beer and the house pomegranate cocktail. Both were extremely satisfying.

Our waiter and bartender was impressively familiar with the menu and made great suggestions for us. We ordered the bread pakora and the baby goat burger with sweet potato fries. It didn’t disappoint. I’ll definitely be back to check out more of the menu in the future.

But be prepared to hoof it or valet to park at this restaurant. If you're not down to valet find street parking in the surrounding Montrose-area neighborhoods.

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HoustonTexReview

Joined 4 years ago

Foie Gras Better than Birthday Cake. We went to Indika for multiple birthday parties this week, and I was glad to see that they still had the seared foie gras on the menu. A few of us actually had it as a birthday meal.

I think Indika is a great place for birthdays, because one can escape Houston and feel somewhere modernly exotic. The new and contemporary building with a high ceiling is designed with saffron walls with some Indian artifacts. I like the contemporary, but dim lighting and the Indian dance music there too. They also have a draped VIP seating area that seats up to 20 people. They also have a nice patio with umbrellas and is surrounded by enough plants and flowers to make you forget about Westheimer.

Mishall, the lead bartender, is a great conversationalist and has a knack for creating aromatic concoctions. Their happy hour is from 5:00 - 7:00 PM, and they have 1/2 off drinks and 1/2 off the bar menu.

The customer service is always supreme. Rusty, the manager, used to be a manager at Cafe Annie, and knows how to deliver platinum service and recommend the finer wines.

Note: Added a photo of the patio/entrance at sunset.

Recommends

DMaxC

Joined 3 years ago

One of the best, most creative restauraunts in Houston!. I'm honestly a bit surprised at the number of negative reviews; although if you look closely, you'll see most people either love Indika's or hate it, and both sites like Yelp and Houston Chron give this place great reviews.

Anyway, I have to say Indika is by far my favorite restaurant in Houston, perhaps my favorite of all time. Before I ate here, I had a misconception of "fusion" cuisine as being watered-down and Americanized, but the owner-chef has come up with some absolutely amazing combination of ingredients and flavors. Eating at Indika's is the closest this college student can get to being a guest judge on Iron Chef; the dishes are that delicious, and that creative.

Indika also deserves extra points for having a beautiful dining room filled with natural light, and a helpful, laid-back staff. Everything here is delicious, but I would especially suggest the Eggplant stuffed with paneer and cashews - which should prove any meat lover that vegetarian dishes can be just as fulfilling - and the sweet potato samosas as an appetizer.

Doesn't Recommend

FarzanaVirani

Joined 4 years ago

HIGH HYPE, LOW SUBSTANCE. no indian in their right mind would like this restaurant. i'll jump right into an example. my chocolate dessert had TURMERIC in it. turmeric?!! yes, turmeric is very indian, but with chocolate?!! in dessert?!! also, my chaat (mixed food snacks) was quite good except for a nasty syrupy-sweet tamarind sauce. this pretty much summarized every dish at indika - there is always something that ruins the dish. that's the so-called "inventive" part.

now i love traditional indian food, true to my roots. however, having lived in major international cities, i've tried my fare share of modern/fusion indian food. i find it's either fabulous or ridiculous; indika is the latter. (for reference, i love 'tabla' in new york: classy, inventive, authentic in ingredients, modern in presentation.)

pros: A for effort, not result. the interior is very posh and warm at the same time. service was decent.

i asked my indian friends what they thought of indika and we're all in agreement. it seems only white americans with no concept of real indian food enjoy indika -- the kind that think real indian food is "too darn spicy".

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InsertWitHere

Joined 4 years ago

Mixed Bag, Apparently the cocktails are infused with gold.. After reading mixed reviews online I suggested it to my group for lunch.

Yes, upon entering the establishment there is a scent of barn yard or perhaps city "infused" with barn yard.

The menu is a bit odd as there are duplicates of the same list but there was a set menu for the day. We ordered several of the tasting platters and the three course menu for the day. The foods were not awe inspiring, the lamb tasted exactly like my first attempt at curry (it wasn't offensive but not something I'd dream about). The edible flowers were a nice touch however pomegranite is over "infused" into nearly every dish. The drinks are entirely too costly, nearly $10 for a single cocktail "infused" with vodka. The most amazing part of the entire meal was our service, a scruffy young man named Bryce assisted us without fail. The busser cleared our table of semi- eaten meals without our approval and so a large amount of our meals were "taken".

-The Turboozen (cocktail) was bland although the basil and mint floating in it were delicious, together with the grapefruit and vodka it faintly tasted of soap but grows on you as the liquor takes its course.

-The Kamasutra (cocktail) was great. End of story, there were several of those to be had by our table.

Post Dinner Drinks

-The Sherry was potent and smooth, no complaints.

-The Antiquity Wiskey (neat) was aromatic and dazzling although served in a comically over-sized snifter.

Note: The quality of the fine liquors was delightful however I must point out that 1) they were not made by Indika and so I cannot credit them for this 2) we came for the food.

Honestly, while the food was not unbearable and even surprising in the best ways it does not warrant $50 a person. Indika is in theory a "Fusion Indian Fine Dining Experience", in this case theory does not transfer well to reality. The ambiance, location, price point and even the music suggests that this is a fad-spot; a place for indie rock loving midtowners to be seen enjoying indian fusion cuisine.

I return now to my hunt for Indian cuisine to write home about.

Recommends

jenpreu

Joined 4 years ago

LOVE IT!. I have read some questionable reviews about this place but I have gone twice with nothing but perfect service & food! We had the venision chops most recently and they were like butter! I cannot wait to go back!