Sunday, June 26, 2011

Houston Indian: Kiran's Restaurant & Bar

I've been spending a lot of time in Houston lately, mostly in the Galleria part of town which is dominated by chain restaurants. I was happy to find Kiran's Restaurant & Bar, an upscale Indian restaurant focused on northern Indian dishes, particularly tandooris. The dishes were full of bold flavors with a bit more finesse than your basic northern Indian cuisine.

We mostly stuck to the specials, but everything was quite good. The Halibut Tandoori came with a savory watermelon sauce, a brilliant concoction with a hint of watermelon mixed with spice. I never knew watermelon could work so well in a savory dish. The lamb shank special was intensely seasoned and falling off the bone tender. Daal saag, a pretty standard dish of spinach and yellow lentils had a nice consistency which was less mushy than I often find.

Goat cheese and mushroom samosas were also very good. The goat cheese added a nice bit of funk to the samosa and gave it a bit of a lighter feel.

There were a few things I was less fond of. Duck kabobs were a bit too salty and the seasoning obscured any of the duck flavor. A deep fried, stuffed squash blossom had too much breading, making it more akin to a jalapeƱo popper than Kiran's other more refined dishes.

Lobster is a big emphasis at Kiran's (they have an entire lobster menu), but I wasn't up to that kind of spending. Even without the lobster though, bold spicing and use of creative ingredients to present a new take on Indian classics make Kiran's a fun experience. I'll be excited to head back the next time I'm in Houston.


Kiran's Restaurant & Bar
4100 Westheimer
Houston, Texas 77027
(713) 960-8472

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