Rice & Spice Indian Restaurant

Dishes are really good but are on the more expensive side. Tried this place two times and each time I was satisfied but would probably never come back due to the prices

My family’s new favorite Indian food! Food is fantastic and reasonably priced. The waitstaff are friendly and very helpful. Love the dhosas and the chicken Tikka masala. Birayhni rice is very tasty. Love the buffet, too. Will definitely be back often.

The food is delicious and well spiced, though I had issues with the mango laasi. It was too sweet and watery. It was also very cold. They also didn’t provide straws with the water glasses which always makes me uncomfortable. I do have to say that the food was the best spiced I’ve had. A great to-​go restaurant.

Food is prepared from scratch when ordered! Service could use a little update. Server did not return once to check up or refill drinks. Other than that it was a fulfilling experience. Recommended is all of there types of naan from plain to the garlic were delicious! I wanted to try their samosas but unfortunately they were out that day. I was hungry so I played it safe and had the Chicken Tilka. It hit the stop! Spices were spot on! I like the culinary flavors of India and They did an exceptional job of mixing spicy with savory! This will be my second pick when Cuisine India is closed.

Terrible!!! Ordered vegetable biryani here. Smelled awful and tasted bad.
When I told that to the guy he didn’t even care.

The menu isn’t available online; they’re closed on Monday; I’ve seen public toilets with better ambiance. But if you’re willing to go in and physically get the menu; wait for another day; and order takeout, then you’re in for one amazing Indian meal at the corner of Space Center and Bay Area Blvd in the Clear Lake area. I suggest going for lunch and ordering one of their three combination plates. Chicken Tikka Masala is FANTASTIC here. If you’re White & Spice isn’t your thing, be sure to indicate MILD. You’ll feel the heat at Rice & Spice.

The first time I went it was incredibly dead. the service with on point and the food was phenomenal.
The second time. not so much. I decided to take my whole family to try it out. We were a party of 8 and the first table in there for dinner. We ordered our food and right after we ordered all these ppl came in and the restaurant was filled. We only received half of our order and they forgot the other half. When I asked the lady at the front she said «well don’t you see that we are busy now?!» Like I should understand why that was a good reason they forgot the rest of our order. I cancelled the rest of the orders and we just shared what we already had. While my dad was eating his dish with his wife he found a metal wire from a grill brush in his mouth and my step mom found a hair in hers… First off, disgusting and second we realized it would be pointless to let them know but we did anyway and they just said okay. Also, everyone’s mouths were on fire and they never gave us water so one of us had to bring in a case of water bottles that we luckily had put in the car earlier that day.
Not gonna lie, the food is really good but they really need to work on being a better restaurant, such as cleanliness and customer service. Also, handling situations better when they do get a high number or customers.

I had some bidness at UHCL that took most of the day, so I was starving at 3pm when I was free to go back into the world. There is a Sonic and a McDonalds just outside the Delta building entrance but those are Sonic and McDonalds, so it was wise to keep looking for something else prior to driving back inside the loop. I remembered seeing the ROTD for Rice & Spice a few weeks ago and since they had a bright red flashy sign in the window saying «Open» (even though it was 3pm, not the gentlesir’s traditional lunching hour) it made the case that they were going to feed me — «me want food!» Jenna Maroney style — this afternoon.
R&S sits in the middle of a one story, long strip mall running parallel to Bay Area. The tenants change so frequently I think this was a kebab shop the last time I was at UHCL, a sandwich shop the time before that, and I could have sworn a kolache shop before that. There is a large parking lot for all of the various businesses of the strip center so parking is no issue.
The layout: walk in and cashier to your left, and the somewhat open air kitchen stretches back along that left wall. There are some community style large tables in the center and some booths flanking the right wall. My first impression is that they really need to clean the booths and just overall give it a good cleaning. The booth we sat in had crumbs everywhere on the seat which needed to be knocked onto the floor, my placemat had been ripped so clearly it wasn’t brand new and untouched by whatever thing or person had previously occupied the booth, and the white tablecloth was quite stained with an ingrained stain that looks like it had been ignored for some time. If you ignore stains in white tablecloths and clothes and hope really hard, then they go away. This is science.
The guy brings over the menus to your table which you can then peruse. When you order things (at 3pm) you get the response that they don’t have that. This continues for several iterations until it is pointed out exactly what they have available (thalis) and what they do not have available (literally everything else on the two-​sided menu with tons of options on both sides.) For the thali you can get the veg option for $ 8.99 or the non-​veg option for $ 9.99. For the veg you get: mixed veg pakora, tomato dal, bhara baigan, aloo fry, spinach palak, sambar, pappad, rice, naan, and khaja sweet. For that extra buck you get chicken curry in place of the spinach palak, but otherwise everything else is the same for non-​veg.
After going through the song and dance of what they had and did not have, the guy seemed viscerally taken aback that my order was just going to be one of the non-​veg thalis to split with my dining companion — and no extras like drinks or anything like that. I don’t always dine at eight Michelin tire-​rated restaurants, but I do go places where customer appreciation is taken somewhat seriously — whether this is at a hole in the wall burger joint, or something more in the mid-​range like the Queen Vic. What I was feeling at that moment was a «thanks for nothing» kind of sentiment, which bothers me a little because this $ 10 for late lunch could have moseyed on across the street to the Arby’s pretty easily and been in curly fried heaven.
For a local comparison here: Cuisine India over on NASA Road 1 tries earnestly to cultivate a polite atmosphere with incredibly nice and thoughtful waiters, as well as a serene ambiance in which you can enjoy their delicious food. R&S seems to operate on the other end of the spectrum where service, atmosphere, cleanliness, and ambiance do not matter at all. For a place that is decorated in a spartan fashion and doesn’t seem to really care about customer appreciation, you better hope their food is just out of this world amazing.
I will give them points on presentation, there was nothing wrong with the food presentation. Having placed the order less than three minutes prior and being the only person he was serving at the time, it seemed passive-​aggressive to the max that he forgot the extra plate we asked for in order to split the thali in a carefree, genteel manner rather than one more befitting a prison cafeteria food fight — and then he grumpily brought over the extra plate like I had personally inconvenienced him so much.
There was white rice, so half of the biz’s name checks out. There was no spice though — this is not spicy at all, not even compared to Mogul’s weaksauce or Bombay Tadka. The non-​veg thali here was not bad, but it was not remarkable in any way. And I was hungry. I once had to go take a cold shower to settle down after eating a Fruit Roll Up, so my standards are low to get the ol’ motor running.
You could do far better for Indian in this town whether you were only looking at the cleanliness/​atmosphere/​ambiance or the food quality/​deliciousness loci. $ 10 won’t set you back too far, but I don’t see any actual appeal to this place besides a close proximity to UHCL if you are supes hungries.

Went to have lunch here today and the food was bombed out! It was busy and the service was slow but who cares. Told the waiter I was vegan and he was aware of my diet and fixed me right up. I imagine if the vegan options go off then everything else does.

This place is GREAT! I love to be adventurous with my food. This place will not let you down. The name says it all. And you follow me then you know I LOVE SPICE!!! As I am writing this I am still sweating in a good way.
I simply asked the owner what was his favorite and he said something about chicken and white rice and very spicy so naturally I have to have it! I love this and will definitely be a regular here! Especially since it’s 3 min from my house!
If you love great Indian food like it’s was made in a grandmother’s kitchen then get here now!

First of all this is not a review for the entire food, just for the biryani only. After reading all the so so mediocre reviews about this place, I was little skeptical to visit. I had this gut feeling that I should give this place a try and decide for myself. FYI, most of the Indian restaurants you find in Houston are not southern Indian. Most of them are North Indian and try to give you a mix of both south and north and end up confusing the flavors. You either give one particular cuisine or say you are a mix.
Coming to this place, it is a true southern Indian at least for the Dum Biryani part. As I mentioned earlier, this review is only for the biryani and I did not get to taste the other dishes.
The biryani is probably the best true south Indian biryani I had in a while and that too leaning towards the coastal belt of state of Andhra side. It is more of a true home cooked taste. You get this type of taste when your mom cooks a dum biryani for you at home. Not your typical restaurant style. So don’t’ go here expecting some other flavor you liked someplace else.
The biryani is excellent both in flavor and taste. It is not greasy at all like the biryanis you will find in the typical restaurants here in the US. I am writing this review few hours after I ate my dinner here and I am not yet thirsty which is good sign that less amount of oil or butter has been used. Unlike the regular 2 large pieces of chicken they served the biryani with 3 large pieces of chicken. The mirch ka salan that comes with it is out of the world. You can taste the chicken and biryani flavor in every grain of rice. Not typically seen in Dum style across Houston restaurants. Some rice is white and most will be flavor. However, this one is 100% flavorful for every grain. Unlike others you don’t find the typical clumps of masala paste here and there.
By the way, I travelled around 30 miles to just get a taste and will be coming for more. I was speaking to the waiters most of whom are students and learnt that the biryani this day was cooked by a chef from coastal Andhra and he is not sure if it would stay the same. So, I am skeptical if they can keep up with the taste. Most Indian restaurants in Houston fail or loose customers because of inconsistency in the food.
The ambience is ok and they are fairly new. Hey who cares about the ambience when the food is great? I will go for more and taste the other menu items and will edit my review. I sincerely hope they maintain consistency and keep up with the homely cooked taste of biryani.

Just had lunch here and I give it two thumbs up. There really isn’t an ambiance to talk about. When you walk in, it’s just a white wall room. Real simple. No music, no décor, no pictures on the wall.
My only complaint is the water tasted like iron.
The food was REALLY good! My husband and I both ordered the combo 3. Very flavorful, everything was good, and just the right amount of spice! Definitely will go back! Oh… and the lunch combos are priced just right. The portions are large for lunch. I ate about ²⁄₃ of my meal and really need a nap now. It was just that tasty. My husband probably ate ½ of his meal.

I had seen the review about possible food poisoning but discounted it in favor of the many positive reviews. Now my wife has been sick for a day and a half after paneer tikka masala. I had a few bites of it as well and just got a little sick a few hours later. I had the butter chicken which had gristle in it and seemed like recycled tandoori chicken from the color. No English descriptions. So their kiss is off my list.
Two and a half days. Still sick. Ruined my vacation. Send the health inspectors out.

The food here was really phenomenal. We ordered the Chicken Majestic, the Tandoori Chicken, Palak Paneer and butter naan.
The Chicken Majestic was light and almost sweet with a nice heat level finishing it off. The Tandoori Chicken was perfectly cooked, moist meat with a superb crisp bite from the tandoor, and blast your face off spicy heat which was unexpected, but delicious. The naan was crisp and doughy like you want it to be and the Palak Paneer was filled to the brim with huge chunks of soft cheese, my favorite part. The cream aspect up it was thinner than I like, but nicely flavored and spiced.
Having said that, I will not return to dine in here. There were too many crucial aspects that just didn’t hit the mark.
The food timing was a disaster. We waited a solid 20 minutes before my Chicken Majestic came to the table. 5 minutes after that, the Tandoori Chicken came out. 15 minutes after that, the Palak Paneer and naan.
With the seriously intense heat level of these dishes and the singular bottle of water we were allotted, we couldn’t eat our food without the aid of the rice and the bread.
The interior is so stark and oppressively lit, it was depressing. In the middle of our meal we were approached by an employee and told we should try a diet coke, because they don’t have regular coke. We hadn’t ordered cokes.. .
We asked for to-​go boxes and received 1 plastic cup with a lid and a bag, we asked for 2 more and received 1 more, asked a third time for another one and finally received it.
We asked for a menu to take with us because the food was great, next time I will definitely order to go and give them a good half hour before I try to collect my order.

Awesome place!
Andra chicken curry, mutton sukha are awesome.
This is a Telugu cuisine place. Tastes authentic to Andra Pradesh among other items.
Dosas are awesome.
And the lassis (my gf and I had the mango and sweet respectively) are out of this world.

Don’t listen to the bozo down the page a bit with his two star review. His claims of Indian food knowledge are laughable at best. Rice & Spice is excellent. The menu needs improvements because the common local won’t understand the options but that’s about it. The dining area is fine but getting the wait service nailed down will help improve the atmosphere. Getting the bottled water was a bit strange and bbq stand like but I’m not picky. The food is what matters and it’s fantastic.

I hate to be the party pooper but we weren’t happy. My predictions are notoriously bad but, in my opinion, if this place is to survive they will have to make some major changes. The good: this was Hemingway’s «Clean Well Lighted Place.» The service is pleasant and eager to please (This is almost universally so for a new restaurant).
That’s about it for the positives.
It was cold. Even wearing our coats it was a little uncomfortable.
Water was not served in a glass, it was Kroger’s bottled water in the bottle. They didn’t charge for the water but that wasn’t made clear and we didn’t know ’til we got the check. My wife ran out of water near the end of the meal but didn’t want to buy another bottle for just a couple of swallows so she drank what was left of mine leaving me with none. I’m not an avid environmentalist, but I’m not a fan of bottled water, mainly because of the load of plastic it adds to the environment, not to mention it makes tap water cost more than gasoline and nothing’s free, so you pay for it one way or another.
If you’ve read many of my reviews you know I love Indian food and have eaten at many Indian restaurants. This doesn’t mean I recognize all the names. I didn’t know what Thali was, or Sambar, Dosa, Hyderabad (other than I think maybe it’s a region of Pakistan), and others. If they want natives to eat here their menu needs to describe what the dishes are instead of just giving the Indian name.
We got the mutton korma, mainly because I knew what it was. It did not taste like the korma I’m familiar with and I didn’t care for it, but that’s a matter of taste. There were small bones in the mutton and I discovered this the hard way. I’m accustom to goat having bones (large ones you can avoid) but not mutton. Another matter of taste — I ordered garlic naan. I couldn’t taste the garlic and didn’t care for their naan. We ordered the Tandoori Chicken appetizer. It wasn’t like the Tandoori Chicken I’m accustom to and I didn’t care for it either.
So for us this was a complete blowout. I realize much of it was a matter of taste but it was true for both of us. To clarify: I’ve eaten at several South Indian Restaurants, a few on Hillcroft, and enjoyed them all. I assume it’s clear from this review, we won’t be back.
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We’ve Eaten Out Every Meal for 25 years

R&S has just opened this week, and you can tell. There is literally zero décor in the dining area, which is fine by me. It seems like it’s more of a call-​in and carry-​out kind of place at this point. The waitstaff is very green right now, but very earnest and diligent. The menus are printed out on sheets of paper, as they informed me that the menu is still a work in progress.
Ordered a mutton curry and the wife got some sort of vegetarian platter. Some of the dishes on her platter were crazy spicy, quite nice. My mutton curry was nice, but the mutton pieces were filled with jagged bones. Now, I AM familiar with authentic Indian food, but the jagged bits were a little scarey and Im a bit concerned some indian food greenhorn is going to have an accident.
Good food, lots of potential, and the price is very competitive.
One thing. If you order water, they will ask you if you want warm or cold water. That translates to: warm=tap water, cold=bottled. But they didn’t charge for the bottled.
I will definitely go back some day to see what they evolve into. They have monster-​sized dosas that I want to try some day.

I came here on the first night this place opened! Very friendly staff, and a thoroughly awesome experience.
My boyfriend and I split the Mutton Sukah and Chicken Biryani, which were both delicious. The food was cheaper than most Indian food in the area, and it tasted way better too. The Chicken Biryani was so tender the meat was falling off the bones, and the Mutton Sukah was packed with flavor and spices. Not to mention the garlic naan, which was probably my favorite part of the whole meal. The food was way more authentic than other Indian food in Clear Lake, and I thought it was well worth the price. The portions were big too, we barely finished half of the Biryani.
After dinner, the chef even came out to talk to us. Everyone was very friendly, and I’m glad to have been one of their first customers. I can’t wait to go back!

Stopped by here late on opening night for the restaurant. All I have to say is authentic Indian cuisine has arrived and it is here to stay in Clear Lake.
I ordered the recommended Mutton Sukah, lamb in a spicy sauce, and my girlfriend had the chicken Byrani with some garlic naan.
Both dishes were spectacular, the naan was perfectly crisped and the chef even came out to greet my girlfriend and I after dinner. It was a fantastic experience, great prices with tons of food and leftovers for $ 10 a person.
Also a plus, if you’re a student there is a 10% discount if you bring an ID– a major plus.
My dining experience was exquisite, flavorful, and I will definitely be returning soon.