Kiran’s

I have been a regular guest at the restaurant and have been a fan of the food here. However on my last visit yesterday (group of 10 people), I was completely underwhelmed with the service. The food order took very long to get the starters, didn’t have enough no. of potions we wanted to order (quails), we had to have half quail each! didn’t have even 2 bottles of the wine we selected (and the server only told us after opening the bottle). For the price range of the restaurant, these are not things that you expect. Our server (Babu) did offer his sincere apologies, however that didn’t help salvage the team dinner we had planned with expectation of an exquisite experience! I really didn’t get my money’s worth!!!

The service was not the best. The head waiter seemed annoyed I was getting food to go and acted perturbed when I asked questions about the menu. When I finally got the meal, it was not what I wanted and the sauce tasted like half of it was water. Maybe if the waiter had actually participated in active listening I would have ordered something more to my liking. However, it might not have made a difference since the food wasn’t good. I really like Indian food and tried this restaurant purely based on the reviews from Unilocal.Very surprised and disappointed.

My favourite indian restaurant. I have been to several places, inclufing the most expensive indian restaurants in London and this place is on top of all.
Service and food are excellent.
Half of the restaurant is filled with Indian clients which confirms the place is authentic and very good!

I found the little pricey for the serving size of curry. But, they were delicious. Must try Eggplant –paneer curry. Garlic naan was soft and remained sift during the long dinner session and we loved it. (At few places, naan after a while turns hard).
Staff are really friendly and accommodating. They allowed us bring cake from outside as our friend, who had her birthday, would only eat eggless cake. Which was nice of them. They lit the candles and brought the cake to our tables themselves. The owner gave us complementary mango-​Ice cream as she loved the custom made cake!
Ambience is great and soothing for a dinner date as well as family dinner outing. I will visit again to try their other entrees.

Kiran’s has good Indian food, but, for the price, I prefer other Indian restaurants in town (such as Pondicheri and Indika).
Prices for entrees range from $ 22 (for tikka masala) to $ 44 (for rack of venison). While the food was certainly very good, I don’t think it was worth the price. Kiran’s is one of the nicer Indian restaurants I’ve visited, but there are certain aspects of it that belie the white table cloths. For example, they tried to seat us at a booth with duct tape on one of the seats. I’d expect that at a mom and pop diner but not at a place where I’m paying $ 44 for my entrée.
The tikka masala was OK, but it needed more sauce – I like the butter chicken at Pondicheri better. The naan was good but a bit soggy. But, the rack of venison is very good, and I totally give Kiran’s credit for being inventive with such dishes – not many other restaurants have dishes like that.

Great place to eat at the bar. The bartenders are friendly and helpful. Try the mixed seafood appetizer. The atmosphere is laid back yet upscale. I would not have thought of the place as an Indian restaurant or tea room. I will have to check that out next time I am in town.

We met my dad and step mom for dinner here last week. They had chosen the restaurant after scanning Alison Cook’s Top 100 Houston Restaurants. They decided upon Kiran’s thinking it would be something interesting for the 4 of us.
Parking is spacious to say the least. Big parking lot. Also, if you don’t feel like hoofing it, they offer valet up front.
Interior is fairly formal and dressed up. There were lots of businessmen meeting over dinner and other dressy diners. I wouldn’t feel out of place in a suit or jacket here. It would also be a great place for a date if you’re excited about Indian food but wanted a more formal setting than some other Indian restaurants around town.
When we initially arrived, my dad and step mom had already ordered a few appetizers and I can’t remember what all was laid out on the table. There were a few different types of naan bread and sauces for dipping. After inhaling those, we then ordered a few more apps to go around. The fried calamari was very good and a starter portion much larger than their claim that the appetizers served one. Another notable appetizer was the daily special appetizer, which was foie gras atop toasted brioche with poached quail eggs on a little bed of greens. It was delicious and disappeared in record time.
Our main courses ranged from seafood, Racks of lamb and a more traditional Lamb Vindaloo. My dad and I both ordered the rack of the lamb and as a suggestion by our waiter had a small side of spicy vindaloo to go with it. The vindaloo was a great call, if you’re a fan of hot spices. A few bites in, with the vindaloo drizzled over the meat, and I was mopping sweat off my forehead. The lamb itself was fantastic. My dad said it was some of the best lamb he’s ever had, which is a big statement for the carnivore that he is. My wife’s dish was also a very good vindaloo and every bite we shared among plates was memorable as very well done.
Service was exceptional. There was a small team hovering around us making sure we were satiated during the entire meal. I was really impressed by their high level of service. Nothing ran empty, plates that were clean were immediately acknowledged and all the other boxes for a good fine dining front of house were checked.
It’s important to note that the 3 dollar signs are about right. If you dip into multiple appetizers for the table, a bottle of wine or two and a main course, you’ll easily break $ 100 per head.
Kiran’s was, for a very long time, a confusing named restaurant I’d absentmindedly stare at while stuck in traffic passing through HIghland Village. They’re now easily my top choice for fine dining Indian Food in Houston.

#1 I LOVE BOB THE WAITER.
#2 I LOVE CHEF KIRAN.
Ok. My family is from Arkansas. And we are African American. Not much Indian food in my upbringing to say the most. I visited Kiran’s a few years ago because I was Googling restaurants near my place of employment. I had such a wonderful experience that I reserved a table for 20 for my 39^th birthday. Bob and his amazing cohorts treated us like ROYALTY. My family usually objects profusely when asked to try something new but wanted to humor me. They loved having their napkin placed for them. They loved the food. We had an array of orders and all of the dishes were beautiful and came exactly as ordered. They were shocked at how delicious Indian food is!
My cake was brought out and I was in tears.
To be surrounded by family and be hosted so wonderfully will always be a highlight in my life’s story.
As we were departing, Chef Kiran spoke to me. She was so beautiful and lovingly kind. I was so honored to meet her that I began to cry. My emotions were high. She told me how happy she was that I shared her food with my family for my special day. She hugged me and we both cried a little.
This will always be my favorite restaurant. Always.
And yall tell Bob I said hi!!! :-)

Chicken tikka masala (⁵⁄₅) Aloo Gobi Matter (⁵⁄₅) soup flight (⁵⁄₅), paneer Karahi (²⁄₅), Delhi chaat (³⁄₅), kheer (³⁄₅). Would come back to try other dishes and maybe the Sat afternoon tea.

I came here once about 5 years ago and had the chef’s tasting menu and was blown away. It was pricey (I think it was $ 100 – 150 per person?) but we got to try such an array of dishes it was totally worth it.
Most recently I came with my mom for Saturday tea. It is reservation only and begins at 2pm. From what I could tell, they like all the tables to be on the ‘same page.’ It is a prefixed menu starting with samosas filled with mushrooms and a tea– we got the Boiled Masala Chai with Cream & Sugar– it looked like coffee but wasn’t– and it was delicious– it’s Kiran’s Daughter own blend of tea, and they display the tin of tea on the table for you– but it is $ 28 for the tin, which seemed pretty pricey to me, and I’m sure if I attempted to recreate the same drink at home it wouldn’t be the same.
We finished our first course and waited for the second, taking note of where the other tables were in their service. Many showed up after us, but we were all served our assortment of tea sandwiches and whatnot pretty much at the same time. Everything was delicious and perfectly portioned, very traditional with some twists– the Tandoor Smoked Salmon was my favorite. For dessert you got to self serve from a small buffet in the middle of the room. The desserts were all delicious and perfectly portioned as well.
I highly recommend for an authentic «high tea» experience!

Disgustingly expensive but absolutely delicious Indian food. Ordered an appetizer and 2 entrees which came out to $ 90. The food was good but I didn’t feel like it was $ 90 good.
What made up for the price was the awesome service. My food was slightly too spicy for me and they offered to remake it despite me having eaten half of it. I declined but the offer was very thoughtful. They refilled my water close to 30 times in an hour.
Décor and atmosphere were very classy and I felt a bit under dressed in my jeans and blouse. The older couple in the table next to mine were definitely shooting my dirty looks for not being classy enough. I was probably a bit too boisterous and weird for them.
I will probably go back to try their afternoon tea time.

Great authentic traditional Indian food! Having married an Indian man who has exposed me to wonderful Indian cuisine– both in America and in India– this restaurant definitely ranks up there in my list of favorites.
In my opinion, this is our favorite Indian restaurant we’ve found IN the loop that’s traditional and not a fusion type restaurant. Although pricey, we still find ourselves back here periodically.
What’s good:
— Soup flight is always good: They give you 3 different soups to sip on and they’re all always so yummy!
— Lamb & potato samosas are great: Last time we went our waiter gave us mango chutney to eat it with and it was soo good!
— Chicken tikka masala: This is my usual go-​to dish and is delicious! I love the creaminess of the sauce which is great to dip your naan in.
— Lamb vindaloo: This is great spicy dish! The lamb was tender and the sauce was not overly spicy that you couldn’t eat it without drinking a whole glass of water. If this dish is too spicy for you I recommend ordering raita to tone it down a bit.
— Palak paneer: You really can’t go wrong with this spinach cheese dish. Definitely a great complement to the spicy vindaloo sauce.
— Aloo Gobi Matter: This is one of my favorite vegetarian dishes and is made of cauliflower, potatoes, and peas. This also goes well with the rich masala and vindaloo sauces.
— Chicken Biryani: Basmati rice + chicken and spices– this is a filling, tasty, but heavy dish.
— Garlic naan: Yummy!!! (I’m a garlic fanatic so may be a bit biased).
Overall, because of the price, I would come here for special occasions or if you want a quiet, romantic place for dinner. The ambiance is elegant, the wait staff is very attentive and has great recommendations, and the food is tasty. If coming on weekend nights for dinner I recommend making a reservation on Open Table– this place is fairly busy on the weekends.

My SO and I really liked this place, but we like Indian food a lot in general! I started with the soup flight… Uh can you say YUM! Definitely get this! All vegetarian soups in this dish for you non-​meat eaters!
For the main course I had the chicken tikka masala, delicious! Perfect sauce execution! SO got the lamb vindaloo and he liked it but liked mine better. It’s nice that they let you select your level of spice in the dishes! Really nice place and will be back.

The bf and I went to dinner recently with our friends to Kiran’s, where we all ordered from the Houston Restaurant Weeks menu. Since Kiran’s serves Indian food, vegetarian options abounded!
We sat down and were greeted with a lovely little starter of crispy flatbread and sauces. The red sauce tasted like a barbecue sauce, while the green sauce seemed like some sort of spicy pesto. Both were great!
For my first course, I ordered the soup flight with onion bhaji, and holy smokes, y’all.
The three soups, served in little drinkable espresso-​type cups, were tomato saffron, mulligatawny, and corn chowder. Each soup was completely different from the next one, unique in its own way, and downright delicious. The tomato saffron was crisp, light, and acidic, and the mulligatawny was briney and earthy. My favorite (and the crowd favorite) of the three was the creamy, hearty, sweet corn chowder.
The onion bhaji served with the soups seemed to include zucchini, and the result was a beautifully battered fritter. Outstanding!
For my second course, I ordered the chef’s vegetarian tasting, which included bagare bengan, saffron rice pulao, daal makhni, and paneer makhni.
Made up of lentils and kidney beans, the smooth, filling, pureed, dal makhani reminded me of refried beans — but a more carefully concocted, silky, refined version of refried beans. I was a fan for sure.
The saffron rice pulao was pretty flavorless and wasn’t anything thrilling, but it did serve as an excellent neutral base to the paneer makhni.
The bagare bengan, a stew-​like eggplant curry, was earthy, and nuanced with many different exciting spices. This was my second favorite of the four entrée bowls.
My FAVORITE of the four though? The paneer makhni was absolutely incredible. Tofu swimming in an intoxicating, sweet, spicy, thick, cheesy masala-​like sauce made this a remarkable, unforgettable dish. Spooned over the saffron rice pulao? Heaven!
According to the HRW menu, there was also supposed to be English cucumber raita and some lachedar paratha or chickpea pancake, which were not included in my meal. However, there was so much food put in front of me that I totally forgot about those items and did not miss them at all! (and let’s be honest, I hardly had a clue what I ordered in the first place anyway).
For dessert, all four of us ended up ordering the bread pudding, and all four of us thoroughly enjoyed it. The pudding is a swirl of apricots, cranberries, and white chocolate crème anglaise. Not too sweet, this dessert was right up my alley!
Kiran’s hits it totally out of the park with their food, specifically with regards to their Houston Restaurant Weeks menu. Each dish was sprinkled with variety, care, and an orchestra of palate-​pleasing flavorful surprises. Restaurant Weeks is the perfect way to experience the many outstanding offerings there!

I’m not into the whole fusion modern Indian cuisine but I have to say Kiran’s is legit.
The good: both the chicken tikka masala and the lamb biryani were on point! The chicken tikka masala is not your generic run of the mill it’s very flavorful and rich. The chicken is cooked to perfection. The biryani is North Indian style though because Kiran is from that area nevertheless I still really like the lamb was so tender and fresh.
The bad: my bf got an old fashion and it was worse than a mixed drink at a bar, too many small cubes of ice with a sweet whiskey which made it watery and gross. For the appetizer we had the Delhi chaat which was ok kind of disappointing and heavy.
Didn’t get a chance to try the desert so will be back for that!

A very upscale Indian restaurant with AMAZING food and cocktails.
They have more than 20 vegetarian options — not including appetizers — (many of which are vegan — ask) — and all of them that I’ve tried are amazing. The Pindi Channa BLEW MY MIND. Seriously, this is among the best Indian food I’ve ever had! Their desserts are great, too!
The restaurant is very classy and upscale! The staff is fantastic — always nice and helpful! The cocktails are fantastic. One of my favorites: lychee ginger martini. DELICOUS.
Go now.

Maybe I had higher expectations, but my experience at Kiran’s was decent — food wise.
First — Unfortunately, I do not remember the waiter’s name, but he brought his A game with laughs and recommendations. Joy to be around.
Kiran’s offers traditional plates, but it is modernized. They even offer non-​traditional dishes for those who aren’t ready to experiment Indian food. «French sophistication and American informality,» the waiter said.
Although the first wine we ordered was not in stock, Kiran’s does carry an extensive wine list.
Food:
Crab Samosa (⁴⁄₅): I believe it was sweet & sour sauce drizzled on the plate, but it complimented the crab samosa terrifically. My friend seemed to be enjoying the lamb samosa as well. There are 4 options: crab, lamb, potato, and mushroom & feta. Part of the street food menu.
Onion Bhaji (²⁄₅): I love onions, but I was disappointed with this. I added mint sauce to enhance the flavor. If I had to describe this, then I would call it «waffled onion rings.» This is part of the street food menu.
Rack of Lamb (⁴⁄₅): Best thing I tried at Kiran’s. Perfectly cooked. My friend loved this as well.
Chicken Vindaloo (²⁄₅): This was supposed to be one of the most spiciest dish at Kiran’s. So disappointing… not even spicy at all. If I had known, I would have gone with Chicken Tikka Masala. Thank goodness for garlic naan, great to dip into the sauce. Garlic naan here is a must get. There were probably like 5 pieces of chicken.
Kheer (³⁄₅): Rice pudding topped with pistachios. Refreshing. This is delicious to eat alone, but you cannot mix it with other items. Perfect amount and size of pistachios sprinkled on the top.
One thing that bothered me was the lights. It was great that it was dimmed, but someone kept adjusting the lights back and forth, lighter and dimmer. Just leave at one setting folks!
By the way, they do have happy hour here from 4−7PM Monday to Friday. Kiran’s parking lot is huge, so they have both valet and private lot. Definitely a plus. Noise level was average.
Will I be back? If someone wanted to. It wouldn’t be my top 3 recommendations for authentic Indian food.

Service was good from the time my wife and I pulled into the parking lot. Valet was courteous and the host was really nice. We had a reservation, so we were seated immediately. I would probably suggest making a reservation on the weekends, cause they were quite packed.
The waiter was awesome and very knowledgeable about their menu. He pointed out all of their vegan options, which made things a lot easier for me to choose.
Herbivore and carnivore friendly.
The ambiance was nice and the food was excellent! Pretty good drink menu as well. Not necessarily quaint inside, but not spacious either. Decent size. I probably wouldn’t bring kids here, but If I was looking for nice place to take a date or group of friends, I’d go to Kiran’s!

So this is literally the best Indian food I have ever had.
Everything was spiced perfectly. Not too much not too little just right. Not soaked in clarified butter or oil. The drinks were made to perfection as well.
Service was great, valet was quick and easy as it should be since they have their own lot.
Will be back again!

Phenomenal experience at Kiran’s! I have come in many times for dinner and their famous high tea, but this was my first experience with happy hour, and it was perfect! Happy hour is Monday-​Friday from 4 – 7 pm, it’s a great place to stop in for a drink or appetizers if you don’t want to get stuck in that miserable after work Highland Village traffic! They offer valet and self parking in their own private lot, LOVE THAT! There is an excellent list of craft cocktails (made with fresh fruits and juices) and appetizer plates. Everything is priced at about $ 6 or $ 7 during happy hour.
Before anything else, you’ll notice the warm, inviting staff. From the hostess to the bartenders to the servers, each person is highly knowledgeable and helpful with the menu. Happy hour is in the bar area, which has tables, seating at the bar, or plenty of seating on the veranda if the weather permits.
For cocktails, I ordered — The Mur (Grey goose vodka with muddled blackberries and Kiran’s homemade lemonade), Pimm’s Cup (Pimm’s No. 1, ginger ale, cucumber and mint), and the Ginger Margarita with Serrano pepper. The Ginger Margarita was by far my favorite, because I have not tried anything like it elsewhere.
For food, I ordered — mushroom and feta samosas with fig chutney (AMAZING!), tandoori chaat, pani puri, and lamb slider with fried sweet potato (UNBELIEVABLY delicious!)
Everything is so fresh and flavorful. The bar uses all fresh fruits which I love in my craft cocktails. The restaurant has an extensive wine list of over 300 wines, I believe you can purchase wine at happy hour too, but I didn’t get to try any this time. Chef Kiran was very kind, as she made her way around the bar and spoke with guests. She recently created her own chai blend which I am dying to purchase! I will definitely be back again soon for happy hour!