Though it’s not completely vegetarian, this Indian Fusion stunner has plenty of plant-based street eats on its Mumbai-style menu, plus an always-refreshing Meatless Monday special. Gear up with Paneer Masala Curries, Smoked Eggplant Dosa, and Black Garbanzo Buddha Burgers before hitting their bake lab for swoon-worthy chocolate-, saffron-, and cardamom-laced sweets. You can also start your morning with Rice and Almond Flour Coconut Pancakes and crepe-like Dosa filled with savory avocado masala, sautéed greens, and pumpkin seed chutney.How to book: Reserve via SpotOn or get delivery via Uber Eats.

While many Houston diners prefer the taste of sushi, those looking for a taste of India can find it at Pondicheri, where classic home-style street foods of India are brought to the masses of Houston. By inventively pairing these traditional flavors with locally sourced ingredients, each meal is nourishing and tasty. Pondicheri also features daily fresh baked goods from the Bake Lab and sells spices, chutneys, and other Indian snacks for take home from the shop.

But Anita Jaisinghani, co-owner of the beloved Indika, serves up the best of the best with Pondicheri. The menu here revolves around unique takes on India’s street foods, including pakoras and a daily selection of samosas. In terms of main dishes, the best way to sample what’s being offered is by getting the vegetable or meat thali—a daily selection of dishes and sides perfect for sharing.

With a modern counter-service Indian restaurant on the first floor and a bake lab and shop upstairs, Pondicheri offers a unique experience to sample everything from chaat ($14) and frankies ($16) to chai pie ($10). In the restaurant, James Beard Award-nominated chef and cookbook author, Anita Jaisinghani does staples like butter chicken ($22) and masala dosa ($16) well, but she also takes a non-traditional approach with dishes like the green dosa ($18) stuffed with sauteed greens, in lieu of potatoes, and the protein-heavy Texan thali ($32). The bake lab and shop is also counter service, and has a relaxed, loungey atmosphere, fit for pairing Sindhi laddu with assam tea or masala milk.

Pondicheri Bake Lab offers sumptuous holiday pies including Pumpkin Chai Pie (chai pumpkin custard with ground almond and cookie crust topped with hazelnuts and fresh whipped cream, $55 for 8 inch, $85 for 10 inch). Chef Anita Jaisinghani’s Bake Lab offers sumptuous holiday pies including Pumpkin Chai Pie (chai pumpkin custard with ground almond and cookie crust topped with hazelnuts and fresh whipped cream, $55 for 8-inch, $85 for 10-inch); Carrot Pie (topped with seasonal fruit, $55 for 8-inch, $85 for 10-inch); and pecan pie (with whipped cream and pomegranates, $55 for 8-inch). Must be ordered by Nov. 19 for pickup at 2800 Kirby on Nov. 25 from 10 a.m.

Anita Jaisinghani’s fast-casual café has been an unqualified hit since day one, offering Gulf Coast–Indian fusion fare at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sure, an order of saag paneer and butter chicken might be the most basic of Indian food orders (blame one small, picky 3-year-old), but the punchy creaminess of the former and the gentle heat of the latter prove that even with traditional everyday dishes, Jaisinghani is a cut above the rest. If you're ordering to-go, Pondicheri has a separate entrance and exit, and markers on the floor make social distancing a breeze.

Alternatively, just a 2 mile car ride up the street in Upper Kirby is the posh West Ave development where you can find high end fare like Eddie V’s (seafood), Del Frisco’s (steak), Pondicheri (Indian), and CRU (wine). Once you’re full, the Village is one of the popular drinking areas in town. Most of the bars (Gorgeous Gael, Ginger Man, Little Woodrow’s) are on the east side of Morningside. Of course, you can also catch a show downtown or head to Montrose, Midtown, Main Street, or Washington to continue the party well into the night.

Year in, year out, this modern Indian diner’s prodigious versatility continues to amaze. Chef Anita Jaisinghani, who writes a weekly cooking column for the Houston Chronicle, along with her daughter and son-in-law keep so many colorful plates spinning they seem to defy gravity — from morning to night, from lofty dining room to handsomely refurbished bar, from rambling patio to snug upstairs tea room and bakery. Carefully sourced local ingredients and a fine attention to vegetarian and gluten-free options remain hallmarks.

Pondicheri in Upper Kirby –You’ll want to start with the Morning Thali at this popular Indian street food spot; that’s a traditional Indian variety plate that gets packed with things like spiced lamb keema, saag, uttapam (a South Indian dosa), morning oats, fried egg, and potato cake. The fast-casual darling also boasts eats from breakfast frankies and green dosa to masala fried chicken and brioche French toast. Hit the upstairs bake lab on the way out and grab some cardamom and chai-spiced treats to take home.

P – Palazzo's (both locations), Pappa Geno's (all locations), Pappadeaux (all locations), Pappas Burgers, Pappasito's (all locations), Paulie's, Paulie's Poboys (both locations), Peking Cuisine, Peking Impression, Pepper Twins (all locations), Perbacco, Perry's (Memorial City), Phat Eatery, Pho Binh (Galleria), Pho Binh (Heights), Pho Binh (Southwest Freeway), Pho Diem, Piatto, Piola (both locations), Pizzitola's, Ploughman's Deli & Café, Pondicheri, Post Oak Grill (both locations), Prego

Meanwhile, the city’s best sushi can be found at Kata Robata and the 16-course Omakase Neo HTX. And on the South Asian front, there’s Anita Jaisinghani’s modern-meets-traditional Pondicheri, dosa-slinging mainstay Shri Balaji Bhavan, and Goan-inspired natural wine bar da Gama Canteen. Perhaps best known is Himalaya Restaurant, an Indian-Pakistani spot in the Mahatma Gandhi District with a showstopping house chicken marinated in Indian spices and fried crispy, Southern-style.

Located on the southwest corner of Kirby and Westheimer in the West Avenue complex, Pondicheri Cafe serves a creative menu of authentic Indian food in a casual, laid-back setting. Open all day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the restaurant is owned and managed by Anita Jaisinghani, who shares her love of Indian food and rich Indian culture through her exotic cuisine. Her menus feature Indian street food favorites such as paneer paratha, pav bhaji, and lamb samosas.

The gist: Chef-owner Anita Jaisinghani never stops adding to the moving parts that keep her all-day contemporary Indian cafe spinning like a kaleidoscope. The hook: There are always discoveries to be made in this vivid, soaring industrial space — whether at breakfast service, teatime in the upstairs Bakery Lab or cocktail hour at the snug bar. The expanded patio, which has migrated into the courtyard driveway, is as much a pandemic boon as the expanded to-go options.

Owner, Anita Jaisinghani, formerly at the helm of Indika, has brought the flavors of her native Sindh culture and blended them with local Texas ingredients to bring Houston a new, organic approach to the Indian restaurant scene. Pondicheri Café restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, featuring a diverse menu full of fresh ingredients from local farmers. Breakfast and lunch are served via counter service but everyone enjoys table service for dinner.

Anita Jaisinghani’s café boasts a double dose of deliciousness with its ground level restaurant at the Arrive at River Oaks complex and Bake Lab bakery upstairs. With options like the green dosa with sautéed leafy greens and pumpkin seed chutney, and the butter chicken salad with black garbanzo and goat cheese, Jaisinghani aims to eliminate the stereotype of Indian food being too heavy. But fear not, the Bake Lab has cases full of enticing spiced pastries.

As mentioned in our previous rankings of the best Houston bakeries and desserts in Houston, Pondicheri takes the cake (or chicken, in this case) for best fried chicken in Houston. With an extensive menu featuring beloved sweets, bakes, and main dishes, you can’t miss their weekday special of “Fried Chicken Tuesday,” featuring three heritage pieces of chicken in yogurt masala and chickpea batter, pondi salad, chutneys, and house pickles.

The Pondicheri Bake Lab is a bakery and cafe located directly above the Pondicheri restaurant. The food sold at this top Houston bakery combines the complexities of authentic Indian cuisine with “the ancient body of wisdom of Ayurveda” or the magic of spices & the goodness of fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Whether you’re looking for an exotic Indian dessert or a classically sweet treat, this local bakery is an amazing option.

Industrial-chic Indian café Pondicheri made its mark on the River Oaks crowd as soon as it arrived in West Avenue. And its influence has certainly endured, especially due to its breakfast, served until 3 pm daily. Each dish has a delightful twist, like the breakfast Frankie with masala eggs and cilantro chutney, the railway omelet with spinach roti and keema and eggs, a dish with lamb mince slow-cooked with spices.

If you want to impress your dining companion, suggest Pondicheri for brunch. The Upper Kirby hotspot offers a modern take on classic Indian fare and a whole lot of baked treats for good measure. For a little taste of everything, try the Morning Thali, a traditional Indian variety plate filled with delights like spiced beef keema; saffron-laced yogurt; carrot paratha; and a bright, yolky fried egg.

Roomy Indian restaurant with indoor and outdoor dining areas. Boasting a diverse menu from all regions of the Indian subcontinent, dishes span a breakfast Frankie, (a roti wrap hailing from Mumbai), Madras chicken wings with tamarind chutney and cumin yoghurt, rich Punjabi lamb keema, and Keralan seafood stew. Desserts include custard chai pie and an intriguing sounding avocado key lime tart.

As the name suggests, this Indian-themed restaurant is the perfect place to try consistently exceptional Asian cuisine. An essential aspect of the restaurant is that the site is always swarming with friendly groups of people, both Asians and Americans, enjoying their food over rounds of chit-chat. The starters in the restaurant are ruled by Indian street food that may be a little spicy.

Helmed by Chef Owner, Anita Jaisinghani, Pondicheri is a restaurant, bar, and bake lab on the southwest corner of Kirby and Westheimer is an absolute must when your sweet tooth is hangry: luscious layered Carrot Cake, yummy Gulab Jamun Doughnuts, a little something called Chai Spiced Pie – plus an array of vibrant cocktails to wash it all down – Pondicheri is hard to beat.

Always coming up with new cookie creations, Pondicheri offers cookies you probably never thought could be made here on planet Earth. If you are ready for a cookie-eating experience you’ll remember for a long time, stop by and try such selections as Double Chocolate Hazelnut Basil, Chocolate Almond Coconut Fresh Mint, Chocolate Oatmeal Chili, and the Pistachio Cardamom.

From breakfast to lunch and dinner, diners can find Indian-inspired gluten-free menu items at Pondicheri. For breakfast try their Coconut Pancakes made with almond rice flour and served with jaggery caramel and fresh fruit. For later in the day, try their Butter Chicken with braised chicken in creamy fenugreek, tomato and garam masala, cucumber raita and turmeric rice.

This River Oaks spot by chef Anita Jaisinghani is an all-day Indian concept that offers your fill of classic, wonderfully spiced main dishes, along with surprisingly standout breakfast and brunch items that are not to be missed. The weekly specials rotate constantly, which means there's always something new to try. pondicheri.com, 2800 Kirby Dr, Houston, TX 77098

I'm originally from India and I've had the pleasure to dine at Pondicheri, the upscale yet modern indian restaurant that opened in Houston in 2012. The attention to detail that is put into each dish is nothing like I've seen before. Their tandoori (meat cooked in an oven) chicken is succulent and flavorful, made with only organic ingredients and perfectly cooked.

If you want a taste of authentic Indian cuisine straight from the streets of Mumbai, then we suggest visiting Pondicheri at Kirby Drive!. We suggest going with the Railway Omelet, and BBQ Ribs for the entrees, and a Mithai as a dessert. All in all, this entire meal will cost around $35, plus a few more dollars if you want to add some lamb to the Omelets.

Spice it up with Pondicheri’s enticing, contemporary play on traditional Indian dishes. The all-day breakfast menu includes a little bit of this and that like masala eggs, saag paneer omelets, morning thali with potato cake, chickpea fritters, and dosa (fermented ragi, rice and lentil crêpes). Of course, the onsite Bake Lab always has sweet treats, too.

If you are looking for places for breakfast in Midtown Houston, then Pondicheri is a good choice. This Indian restaurant is one of the top breakfast places in Houston although it also serves lunch and dinner. Chef Anita Jaisinghani heads the kitchen and serves the most delicious variety of seekh kebabs, pakoras, biryani, and more.

This Indian restaurant has just enough fusion to keep it interesting without losing those amazing Indian flavors. They offer an all-day breakfast every day with special dishes on the weekends.Where:2800 Kirby Dr b132, Houston, TX 77098Operating Hours: Sunday – Thursday 9:00 am – 9:00 pm | Friday – Saturday 9:00 am – 10:00 pm

Anita Jaisinghani’s Upper Kirby restaurant, Pondicheri, serves standout Indian cuisine. But head upstairs for the chef’s other passion project, the Pondicheri Bake Lab, where she blends her meticulous technique with fragrant aromas and spices. Offerings include a chai pie, lemon-lavender tart, besan mithai and rose laddu.

Pondicheri is first up on our list for the best breakfast in Houston. Pondicheri is a gorgeous eatery in the West Avenue that serves up reliable, delicious meals and that includes (you guessed it) one of the best breakfast in Houston. Now, it’s worth knowing off the bat that this is an Indian restaurant.

Pondicheri is an Indian restaurant and bakery where traditional American favorites meet unique Indian desserts. The average chocolate chip cookie goes stellar when mint, coconut and almond are added. Sweet 'n' salty gets a whole new meaning when it comes in the form of a masala cookie (we're serious).

Pondicheri Bake Lab + Shop has become a Houston hidden treasure as it serves guests in its Indian inspired interior, just above the Pondicheri restaurant. Colorful pillows, historical pictures, and so many vibrant ingredients will make up for such an aesthetically pleasing photograph.

At the Arrive at River Oaks retail complex and steps from upscale shopping mecca Tootsies, Pondicheri is a modern Indian café offering first-class people watching Grab a table at their sprawling wrap-around patio and indulge in humungous dosas paired with a saffron-spriced sangria.

Pondicheri is a great choice for those who want to enjoy Indian food in a more upscale setting. The decor is modern and the menu features both traditional and contemporary Indian dishes. The lunch buffet is a great way to sample a variety of Pondicheri’s offerings.

Pondicheri offers home-style and street foods of India with many gluten-free options. This trendy spot in River Oaks is perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and even boasts great baked goods made in house. The butter chicken and vegetable curry are to die for.

Head upstairs to Pondicheri’s Bake Lab for signature items like chai pie, chocolate oatmeal chili cookies, and bournvita ice cream sandwiches. The flavors are as bright and eclectic — not to mention vegan and vegetarian-friendly — as the savory dishes.

She mixed Ayurveda, regional specialty recipes and the power of spices. The complex menu drew inspiration from India’s regional specialties. These are Punjab’s parathas, Kerala province’s fish curries, Goa’s vindaloos, and Sindh’s millet rotis.

This is one of the most popular restaurants among locals and tourists. It is located along Washington Avenue in Houston, between Hyde Park and River Oaks. The inner walls of the restaurant are lined with Indian art and vibrant colors.

Had a yummy & creatively prepared breakfast at this attractive, Indian-fusion restaurant. You might not think of Indian food for breakfast, but this was a hit. Vegan, vegetarian & gluten-free options on the menu & in their bakery.

2800 Kirby Dr b132Houston, TX 77098(713) 522-2022 Visit Website See Menu Open in Google Maps. Pondicheri, located in the Shops at Arrive River Oaks, serves Indian combo meals and creative dishes influenced by Mumbai’s streets.

Upscale Indian is also in no short supply, with Pondicheri, a James Beard-nominated modern Indian fusion menu, and Musaafer a stunning feast for the senses, especially the tasting menu.

2800 Kirby Dr b132, Houston, TX 77098Phone: 713-522-2022 Visit Website. A post shared by Pondicheri (@pondicheri). From the first time you see Pondicheri, you get a cool vibe.

I’ve also eaten at Pondicheri (Indian food - but a bit Americanized) and it’s delicious - they were also very knowledgeable about cross-contamination.

It is a great choice for lovely dinner dates; it has an overlooking balcony where you can have a lovely talk over your Italian dish.