Pioneering Indian Restaurant Becomes the Latest Montrose Restaurant to Shutter — Indika Bows Out

Chef Departure Hit This Houston Restaurant Hard

By Annie Gallay // Jun 3, 2019

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Chef Anita Jaisinghani left Indika in 2017 to focus on Pondicheri.

You can expect brand new dishes at the new-and-improved Indika.

Indika's 18-year run continues.

Indika has a mix of contemporary and classic Indian dishes.

Indika is back in the game.

Dessert is great, too.

Another high-profile Montrose restaurant is shuttering. Coming on the heels of The Pass & Provisions’ surprisingly sudden goodbye, pioneering upscale Indian restaurant Indika has revealed it will also close for good late this month.

The contemporary Indian restaurant at 516 Westheimer Road, which served an ambitious menu for nearly two decades, shared the sad news on its social media channels.

But the news included an enticing bit at the end — the owners may just be cooking up a new concept in the hip neighborhood.

“It is with full and grateful hearts that we announce our beloved restaurant, Indika, will be permanently shutting its doors Sunday, June 30th. Indika has appreciated your continued support over the past 18 years. We welcome you, our friends and family, to come in this month for a last bite. It’s been a pleasure serving you all and we look forward to our next project with the ever-evolving restaurant scene,” the statement put out by Indika reads.

Following the closings of Pax Americana and Canopy, this is another blow to the Montrose fine dining scene.

Indika made quite the impact, with its original chef-owner Anita Jaisinghani earning a nod as a James Beard Award Best Chef: Southwest semifinalist for her compelling take on Indian cuisine.

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But in 2017, Jaisinghani cut ties with her cherished Indika, selling her stake in the restaurant to focus her energies on a then new project, the heralded Pondicheri, which now boasts locations in both Houston and New York City. Mickey Kapoor, the owner of Khyber, took the helm of Indika.

If you decide to venture out to Indika before its June 30th closing, you can treat yourself to fine fare like masala fried okra, saffron saag paneer, cauliflower kafta, duck tikka masala and more.

If Indika and the host of other closings are any indication, Montrose may be in the midst of a major transformation. Here’s hoping news of the Indika team’s “next project” hits soon — and hits home for Houston foodies.