Spice Runner

Easy going environment with friendly and pleasant servers and great food.

I could eat ALL THE THINGS! But on a serious note, everything I have tried on the menu has been absolutely delicious. Get any flavor of their savory pies, and thank me later. The crust is buttery heaven… Paula Deen would graciously approve. My personal favorite bowl is the Indian Reflections on the veggie noodles — healthy, fresh, flavorful, again you can’t go wrong. Hubby’s go to is the Texas Chili on white rice. There is nothing bad here! Just typing this makes me want to head there for dinner. The service also has been spot-​on, and I’m a restaurant snob. Why are you still reading this? Get over there!

Awesome atmosphere with amazing food you can’t get anywhere else. I couldn’t stop eating. You can eat anywhere in the world at this one spot.

Absolutely fantastic restaurant. Food is top notch and the service is second to none.

Hubby took the family here after having a work lunch. He rarely gets excited about food which was surprising that he was extremely excited to share this new find with us. We arrived after the lunch crowd on a Saturday which was good and bad. Good because we didn’t have to deal with a crowd & we were able to take our time and order without feeling like we were holding up the line. Bad in that they were out of the daily special that I REALLY wanted to try — the oxtails. But I quickly rebounded with an alternate choice. I had the Country French with veggie noodles. Hubby had The Alamo sandwich, my oldest son had the beefeater and he and my husband split in half and shared. My youngest had The Roman. We also got a beef meat pie and a chicken curry meat pie. My husband loves the beef meat pie and my oldest and I favored the chicken curry pie. We all had a taste of each other’s and we all agree that the food was fresh, spices mingled well together & we all liked each other’s that if we had to trade we wouldn’t complain The only downside of coming after the lunch crowd was that all the tables were dirty but we didn’t mind cleaning our own table and made sure to clean up after ourselves when we left. I will return so that I can try the oxtails!!! Overall, a great lunch experience!

First time here. Friendly greeting. Had the Louisiana creole bowl. I really enjoyed it. Looking forward to trying some of the other dishes. Really enjoyable atmosphere wasn’t too loud or too quiet.

South African meat pie was awesome and the veggie noodles works great with any meat option!

I’ve been to Spice Runner twice in 1 day… that’s how good it was. Thanks to Culture Map Houston’s review, a friend and I ate here for lunch one Saturday. Their bowl choices very interesting and flavorful!
Nice to have a choice of White or Brown rice, pasta or Vegetable noodles… which by the way was delicious. We tried both their Indian Bowl and the special of the day, South African Lamb shanks. It was sooo good that we ordered take out for our husbands… the French country bowl and the Thai bowl. It too was a hit with our hubbies… so good that my husband asked to have dinner there that night.
So off we went to try the South African Bowl — another smashing hit.
It’s BYOB no corkage — thus our dinner was complete!
We definitely will be back

Alway great food, I have eat here at least a dozen time. One of my must go to places while I’m in Houston. If you like bold flavors you need to try this restaurant.

Not at all impressed … Menu and sauces are a bit confusing, food was bland and no flavor for a place called spice runner … You would expect it to be full of flavor?

Veggies are extremely fresh and well-​prepared, the sauces are tasty but not the most authentic. It is a pretty good value for a quick, moderately healthy lunch. Their veggie noodles are a standout, and nice for something different.
I’d go back for a quick lunch if I was nearby, as it was tasty, but it’s just not something that I’d crave.
It was very good, just not exciting! I wish Unilocal would allow us to give half stars, I was really torn between a 3 and a 4, 3.5 would be ideal.

Louisiana Creole bowl. Delicious! Great quality and quantity for the price. So glad to have run across this place!

This place is delicious and fairly healthy dedicating to Vegetarians or those of a Gluten Free diet.
I ordered the lousiana creole which was too spicy for my comfort (I am weak with spicy food).so I decided to try another route. I started creating my bowls which I highly recommend, such as (Creamy Florentine Sauce, Shrimp, Mushrooms, Spinach, topped on Brown Rice). A delicious, simple, and special treat. So far, the staff has been accommodating. Prices seem to be fair and must be worth it if people become regulars.
This restaurant started as a FOOD TRUCK… Pretty Neat

This place is an affordable alternative to the usual fast food places. I say fast food but really they cook to order. They offer different types of cuisine and different spices.
You can choose between rice or pasta dishes, choose your meats and sauce. They also serve sandwiches and meat pies. I’ve tried just about everything. They are all good. Today I grabbed the curry chicken meat pie and a sausage roll.
They sell their sauces and frozen meat pies as well. The staff is always friendly. The manager, Barry, is a very nice guy as well.

This is a awesome place to come eat. I have a feeling this will be my wife and I new favorite place and with so many options from all around the world it will never get old

Found on Unilocal,of course… busy during lunch time, but they got our food our quick. I had the Indian Rajah Sandwich, great flavorful taste… almost like Butter Chicken on a sandwich bun! definitely will come here again and try the bowls! i would say its an Fusion Chipotle!

I was pleasantly surprised with my dinner last night! I ordered the South African curry with beef, potatoes, and corn over brown rice and it was delicious! The beef was tender and not dry and the sauce was super tasty. The service was polite and fast. The reason it’s a 4-​star and not 5 is that the butternut soup wasn’t very good and the «fresh» condiment area looked as though it hadn’t been attended to in hours and was mostly empty. Not very appealing at all.
Otherwise, it was great. In fact, I think I’m going to go grab lunch there now!

My husband had the South African Durban Curry with beef over rice and I had the Thai Island with chicken over rice. Both dishes were great! The owner gave us a free chicken curry pie to try for free and it was delish! We literally demolished it. You can also buy their special sauces in jars to take home. We’ll be back :)

We had Spice Runner cater for our kiddo’s birthday last weekend and everyone absolutely loved the sandwiches and meat pies we had brought in. Nothing but positive comments (from a party of 32).
The owner is kind and generous and clearly wants to provide good service.
My only comment is that I miss their old cookies. Now they have these giant cookies — but they just aren’t as tasty as the smaller cookies they used to offer.
Also — you can buy their sauces in the store (a little pricey, I think) — but they’re fantastic.
Definitely recommend this place for both dining and catering.

First visit here… Wow! The food is delicious I got the Louisiana creole sauce with shrimp, chicken breast and bell peppers on white rice. Mind blowing, but the creamy florentine with chicken and potato was soooo mouth watering and these meals totally gives you a stuffed feeling. Lol It was great you guys. A must try

After smelling a coworkers Thai noodle lunch wafting from the other office today. I decided to skip my turkey sandwich lunch and head over to Spice Runner. I arrived and was met by a mix of spicy smells and a varied menu featuring sandwiches, bowls, soups, and meat pies.
I went with the «Indian Reflections» bowl on white rice that comes with chicken, mushrooms, and spinach. Now, I’m the type of person to not be stingy with my salt shaker but I think the spice runner chef accidentally dumped half the salt shaker into my rice bowl. It was super super salty and after a while it was all I could taste. The rice was watery and mushy too so it all kinda mixed into this mushy salty mound.
As I drink from my water bottle for the next twenty minutes (thanks salt) I think that I won’t be back again. Though the cashier was nice, I don’t think it will make up for the food.

I absolutely love this joint! My family and I have visited at least 10 times now. We’ve never been disappointed — the food is absolutely delicious. It’s fresh, made to order and full of flavor. We’re always greeted warmly and we never wait long for our food.
I lived in East London and Port Elizabeth, South Africa, for a about a year. The pies and beef dishes really take me back. Now they just need to sell some biltong and I’d be in there everyday. :)
Of all the options in the area, I’d say this is one of the healthier. Went low-​carb with their veggie noodles tonight (paired with some beef, sausage, green beans and Country French sauce) and was super happy. Again, delicious!

Very excited to find this tasty option that is also healthy! You have the ability to choose your own ingredients or use theirs listed. From beef to chicken to sausage, pulled pork or shrimp — you can find something for the pickiest eater or an exploring child. Looking forward to trying all their sauces. The environment has music that is soft and creative without being too loud. You can easily move tables to accommodate larger parties. Self serve with a fine dining taste. Come and check it out! They are open until 9 so an early date option is possible. Closed on Sundays to rest up for Monday. See you there Friendly staff willing to help you choose a perfect meal. I’ll be back for sure.

Alright so initially I had no idea what type of restaurant /​food this place had to offer. What caught my attention was Shawn S. Tip about this place having some tofu as a meat substitute. However it did manage to take me a while to make my way literally down the street from work. I usually have my spots I hit up phở tan an, watsons, even ginger thai all close together. But that day I knew I wanted something new & that’s exactly what i got!
At first glance they have the menu posted outside of the window so the regulars to Salata, North China Restaurant & even Subway can see what this place has to offer. First you pick your sauce, then meat & veggies followed by either your choice of rice (white or brown) noodles, baguette & lastly vegetable noodles! Wait did I just say veggies noodles? Yup sure did.
First time there I grabbed a brown rice & tofu plate. Super legit. This time I tried the veggie noodles & yes also super legit! Noodles consisted of spaghetti squash, zucchini & carrots. Opted for the Texas Chili sauce which was ok. Not great also not terrible. I think the African Durban curry sauce was way better. But thats just me. Some of the other sauces have yogurt in them so my selection is limited. They also have a lava sauce which is pretty good & also some different kinds of sauce, basically whatever your fancy is.
Overall if your looking for something new to try, this place is a must. Just make sure to welcome those new flavors to your taste buds.

Overall I would recommend. I arrived in the parking lot about 11:25ish and got a spot right in front of the restaurant. I left about 11:55 and the parking lot was full! So get there early or you will have to find parking on the streets. I ordered South African Curry, from their suggested pick menu. It came out very quickly and the cashier was very helpful in explaining the operations. It had a mild curry taste and I had it served over white rice. The dish is beef and potatoes in a curry sauce. The beef was tender and had a nice flavor. The potatoes where not over cooked so did not fall apart in your dish. Between the meal and a fountain drink I paid $ 10. Seating was not a problem because I arrived early; however, I can see where it could be problematic if you got there during the peek of lunch.

Good concept. Average Taste. Quantity could have been a little more.
So everything depends on the ‘Sauce’ you choose… good thing is you can ask to taste the sauce. I tasted Indian (ok ok), South African (weird) and Caribbean (worth ordering next time). I decided to order the indian sauce with Potato, Tofu and Eggplant… in a white rice bowl.
Rice quantity could have been a little more… it would have been filling. There was definitely ‘something’ lacking in the taste. It wasn’t BAD, but you just wish it could have been so much better. It wasn’t spicy at all.
They have a selection of what’s supposed to be some spicy side sauces… againt…not spicy enough. They did improve the taste a little bit. I tried the mango, Coconut and Curry spicy sauces… also tried mixing them all (which was cool).
I guess it’s a hit and miss… will have to try at least one more time

This place was a welcomed surprise as I was staying the Energy Corridor as quick, convenient, and above all tasty. I ordered the South African curry in a baguette with potatoes, peppers, and crimini mushrooms. Wow — what a great way to serve curry! Stuffed in the baguette, the removed dough is placed on top of your curry — very unique. If there is one thing I would recommend it would be to top off your baguette with a 5 pepper blend sauce or the mango habanero which will thrust a new flavor onto a baguette that will fill your stomach to the brim at a reasonable price. Yummmmm!!!

Have eaten here or had take out 3 times now in 2015. Very tasty! Basically rice bowls with different sauces, meats and vegetables. The Indian is my favorite but the South African and Thai are close behind. Don’t forget to grab several bottles of sauce to try it at home. Compared to the prepared sauces you buy in the store Spice Runner is lower in calories and much fresher tasting. You can definately tell that this restaurant has its roots in the food truck business.
Parking at lunch time can be difficult until they finish paving the new street/​parking area behind the strip center.
Try Spice Runner. The food is healthy and delicious!