It always bodes well for a meal when you’re having a tough time choosing among all the items on a menu. Everything at Pondicheri sounds good. Chef Anita Jaisinghani gained a national reputation for innovative Indian food at her Montrose mainstay Indika, and her creativity is evident in her latest project as well. But whereas some chefs can get a little goofy when they’re freewheeling with the bacon fat and themed menus, Jaisinghani’s food is decidedly adult with just enough humor to show she’s having fun.
The dining room is fittingly industrial-chic for its trendy West Ave location, with floor-to-ceiling windows and cement floors softened by gorgeous orange drapes. A separate bar area is where waiting diners bide their time for a table, munching on appetizers that can be ordered in the meantime. (Two-dollar Lone Star even made it onto the drink menu, perhaps as a nod to the younger patrons taking advantage of a lower price point compared to Indika.)
Of the snacky “Street Starters,” my table ordered the masala pav, a few toasted slices of house made bread with yogurt and shallot chutney topping, and papdi chaat. Of all the items we consumed throughout the meal, the chaat may have placed first with its playful mix of textures and flavors from the crunchy semolina crackers, soft potato chunks, sweet pomegranate seeds, yogurt, sprouts and lentil dumplings. The nihari, a curry of beef shank and oxtail, is rich and brawny and an order of vegetable thali offers tastes of five sides at once. The only regrettable note of the meal was an order of iced chai, which opened with the taste of water and closed with flavor of dirt.
We closed out the meal with an order of Bournvita ice cream sandwiches, Bournvita being the UK version of Ovaltine. Nostalgic and adorable on the plate, it was an uplifting way to end our visit to a restaurant we’ll come back to – especially once breakfast service begins in a few weeks.
Pondicheri, 2800 Kirby just south of Westheimer in West Ave., 713-522-2022