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10/11/2026
October 12th to October 18th, 2026 Specials
Tuesday, October 13th - Fried Chicken - $22 | $32
Ghee fried chicken (2 or 4 pieces), Pondi salad, pickles & biscuit or dwaffle.
Friday, October 16th - Fish Special
Fenugreek Fish $28 - (Gluten-free)
Have you been missing Anita's Fenugreek Fish? Miss-no-more as this classic dish splashes back this Friday. The best of south Indian flavors melded with hearty winter fenugreek - get your herb on.
Sunday, October 18th – Araam Thali $20 | $25
Channa batura ~ curries garbanzo beans with fermented puffy bread, semolina halwa. Your choice of lamb keema or butter chicken (only available in-house).
Sunday, October 18th - Biryani
Chili Chicken Biryani $24 - (Gluten-free)
Another favorite returns - classic Indo-Chinese flavors collide in this bowl. Chili chicken thighs packed with seared vegetables, sesame and herbs. Too good to pass up.
10/04/2026
October 5th to October 11th, 2026 Specials
Tuesday, October 6th - Fried Chicken - $18 | $26
Ghee fried chicken (2 or 4 pieces), Pondi salad, pickles & biscuit.
Friday, October 9th - Fish Special
Fish in Tomato Cream Sauce $28 - (Gluten-free)
Simple fish in a classic creamy tomato sauce spiked with fenugreek. Get it with a naan or rice. Yours to enjoy!
Sunday, October 11th – Araam Thali $22 | $27
Potato curry, pooris & semolina halwa. Your choice of lamb keema or butter chicken (only available in-house).
Sunday, October 11th - Biryani
Steak Biryani $38 - (Gluten-free)
Calling all meat and potato enthusiasts! A rib-eye steak biryani to behold. With aromatic spices, cumin yogurt and freshly cut fries…
09/27/2026
September 28th to October 4th, 2026 Specials
Tuesday, September 29th - Fried Chicken - $22 | $32
Ghee fried chicken (2 or 4 pieces), Pondi salad, pickles & biscuit or dwaffle.
Friday, October 2nd - Fish Special
Fish in Green masala $34 - (GF)
Local fish with bright green herbs and a creamy finish sound good? Come by this Friday.
Sunday, October 4th – Araam Thali $20 | $25
Channa batura ~ curries garbanzo beans with fermented puffy bread, semolina halwa. Your choice of lamb keema or butter chicken (only available in-house).
Sunday, October 4th - Biryani
Lamb Biryani $32 - (GF, contains almonds)
This Sunday, we bring you a biryani that has soft pulled Rajasthani lamb shank chunks strewn through it. Topped with almonds and peppered with ginger, it’s a true comfort meal. A small chicory salad on the side…
09/20/2026
September 21st to September 27th, 2026 Specials
Tuesday, September 22nd - Fried Chicken - $18 | $26
Ghee fried chicken (2 or 4 pieces), Pondi salad, pickles & biscuit.
Friday, September 25th - Fish Special
Saffron Shrimp with Roti Chennai $28
An old Indika classic, reinvented. It’s a mild curry ~ feel free to ask for a topping our chile masala oil. Do try use your hands eating it!
Sunday, September 27th – Araam Thali $22 | $27
Potato curry, pooris & semolina halwa. Your choice of lamb keema or butter chicken (only available in-house).
Sunday, September 27th - Biryani
Punjabi Cauliflower Biryani $25 (GF)
Cauliflower is now on our menu and this Sunday; come enjoy a Punjabi style biryani with it.
09/13/2026
September 14th to September 20th, 2026 Specials
Tuesday, September 15th - Fried Chicken - $18 | $26
Ghee fried chicken (2 or 4 pieces), Pondi salad, pickles & biscuit.
Friday, September 18th - Fish Special
Fish Cutlet $27 (GF, Dairy-free)
A crispy fish cutlet atop sauteed mushrooms and greens. Coconut sauce all around, rice to dip into and a pomegranate reduction to bring it all together!
Sunday, September 20th – Araam Thali $22 | $27
Potato curry, pooris & semolina halwa. Your choice of lamb keema or butter chicken (only available in-house).
Sunday, September 20th - Biryani
Black Bean Biryani $24 (GF, V, Nut-free)
The best of plant-based goodness in this biryani with the iron-rich black garbanzo beans. A few peppers to boost, lots of greens herbs and pumpkin seeds….
09/09/2026
Our new menu has landed! ✈️ A little early this time but carnivores, or carnivores who mask as omnivores, have a lot to ❤️ love on this menu. The Kashmiri Kebabs, awash in saffron and yogurt are a sweet black cardamom kiss to the northern Himalayas of India. Over decades in the restaurant business, I have realized that Americans love chicken. So, the new Green Masala Chicken is grilled and doused with a fresh herb mix. Sautéed greens on the side with a few chunks of roasted pumpkin. This entree comes with no starch or carbs so eat away, guilt free.
The Rajasthani Lamb is not the usual red Laal Maas but an unusual take on meat from the deserts of India. The sauce is made with aromatic spices, yogurt and chickpea flour. A rendition of an Indian kadhi. Much to delight in and even more to lather onto the millet roti it comes with.
We have a lot more on the new menu ~ Citrus 🍊 Salad which is a WIP, a Peanut Fish Stew and Shrimp Balchao…a lovely tomatoey dish from Goa. Accompanied with a crumbly roti called Roti Chennai. When are 🎉 you coming in?
08/26/2026
The Saffron Cookie, a sugar cookie suffused with cooling saffron is the latest in our daily baking rotation.👩🏽🍳 Saffron is sprinkled through many parts of our menu ~ the Golden Soda, buried inside the chocolate covered Gulab Jamun and soon to be on the new Kashmiri Chicken Kebabs launching next month! 🎉
08/23/2026
August 24th to August 30th, 2026 Specials
Tuesday, August 25th - Fried Chicken - $18 | $26
Ghee fried chicken (2 or 4 pieces), Pondi salad, pickles & biscuit.
Friday, August 28th - Fish Special
Saffron Fish Stew $32 (Gluten-free, Diary-free)
A delicate stew with local fish and shrimp ~ bathed in a saffron sauce. Chili can overpower saffron, so this one is mild.
Sunday, August 30th – Araam Thali $22 | $27
Potato curry, pooris & semolina halwa. Your choice of lamb keema or butter chicken (only available in-house).
Sunday, August 30th - Biryani
Saffron Chicken Biryani $27 (Gluten-free)
The chicken is sauted with onions and such with a touch of chile. Folded with saffron rice, almonds and currants, it makes for a satisfying biryani.
08/19/2026
When we launched our summer ☀️ menu, I knew the Mango 🥭 Melon 🍈 Salad 🥗 was going to be a hit. Knowing it was summer, I wanted to keep it light and tight. So, if you have not had it yet, time to make a trip to Pondi! Roughly two weeks left before we flip the menu for the fall. 👩🏽🍳
08/16/2026
August 17th to August 23rd, 2026 Specials
Tuesday, August 18th - Fried Chicken - $18 | $26
Ghee fried chicken (2 or 4 pieces), Pondi salad, pickles & biscuit.
Friday, August 21st - Fish Special
Shrimp Pakora Pongal Salad $26 (Dairy-free)
Yes, the shrimp are battered and fried, but when tossed with tangy greens, coconut, beets and so much more, it makes for a wonderful meal especially when served over pongal, a South Indian savory rice and lentil stew with cashews.
Sunday, August 23rd – Araam Thali $22 | $27
Potato curry, pooris & semolina halwa. Your choice of lamb keema or butter chicken (only available in-house).
Sunday, August 23rd - Biryani
Green Salad Biryani $26 (Gluten-free, contains almonds)
Salad and biryani may not belong together but wait till you taste this! More home cooking than restaurant ~ rice tossed with a bunch of farm greens, vegetables and nuts. It will be served warm to room temperature. Thinly sliced chicken is added, feel free to leave it out or replace with paneer.
08/13/2026
This week will be dedicated to kids. Our weekly fish 🐟 & biryani specials are simple and kid friendly and hopefully a chance for your kids to taste something new! ✨
As for anyone who avoids bringing their kids to restaurants because they can be loud or rowdy, the unspoken rule is to bring kids early. Let them color 🖍️ with our India 🇮🇳 inspired coloring sheets, roam around our plants 🪴, go up and down the escalators a million times (Lion’s 🦁 favorite), run up to the Bake Lab for a sweet bite and enjoy the thrill of being at Pondicheri. 💕
Address
2800 Kirby Drive
Houston, TX
77098
To reach the Indian restaurant on Kirby Drive in Houston via public transport, you can take the red line train and get off at the Museum District station. From there, walk south along Caroline Street until you reach Hermann Park Drive. Take a left onto Hermann Park Drive and continue walking until you reach the intersection with Kirby Drive. The restaurant will be located on your right.
If driving, take US-59 North towards downtown and exit at Kirby Drive. Make a right turn onto Kirby and continue driving for about 2.5 miles. The restaurant will be on your left-hand side. Parking is available at the restaurant's parking lot or along the street nearby.
Opening Hours
| Monday |
9am - 9pm |
| Tuesday |
9am - 9pm |
| Wednesday |
9am - 9pm |
| Thursday |
9am - 9pm |
| Friday |
9am - 10pm |
| Saturday |
9am - 10pm |
| Sunday |
9am - 10pm |
Alerts
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What people say
Indian restaurants are known for their inventive and sumptuous pairing of flavors, and Pondicheri on Kirby Drive in Houston is no exception. This restaurant takes it a step further by incorporating locally-sourced ingredients into their dishes, resulting in a truly unique dining experience.
One standout dish at Pondicheri is their chaats, which are the heartbeat of street foods in India. They offer a delicious iteration with fresh Texas peaches, cucumber, crispy paneer pakora, and the holy trinity of sauces - cilantro, tamarind, and yogurt. It's sweet, salty, crunchy, soft, creamy and tart all at once!
Their lemon cardamom cake is another must-try item on the menu. It has layers of lemon curd and berry jam with a creamy chilled saffron whipped cream around it that gives it a gorgeous yellow color. This cake keeps evolving to become even more delicious.
If you're looking for something savory, try their Simla biryani special named after a beautiful hill station in Himachal Pradesh. It features tender pieces of lamb gently cooked with fiddleheads and black cardamom that will leave your taste buds wanting more.
Finally, don't miss out on their fern pizza made with fiddleheads and cabbage topped with melting gruyere cheese and green herb masala. It's the epitome of springtime flavors.
Overall, Pondicheri offers an exceptional dining experience that combines traditional Indian flavors with locally-sourced ingredients to create unique dishes that are sure to impress any foodie.
