In the year since its debut, Amrina has nabbed a spot on Eater’s coveted 38 Essential Restaurants list, and Houston Chronicle critic Alison Cook dubbed it “one of Houston’s most exciting restaurants, with destination-worthy dining.”
And it just keeps getting better. Chef Jassi Bindra recently aced Food Network’s Chopped by dazzling judges with a lavish egg custard-soaked French toast and his take on the Indian street food mirchi wada, stuffing sardines and mushrooms into poblano peppers.
Amrina opened in 2022 in the Woodlands township just outside of Houston, immediately pushing the boundaries of an Indian restaurant, taking cues from Sichuan to Spain, in ways no other chef here has. Plus, Bindra’s having plenty of fun along the way with some cocktails seeming to arrive from outer space.
That’s all reason enough to visit Amrina, but here are five more on why you should jump on a booking right now.
1. Theatrical dining takes center stage.
Hospitality at Amrina is all about whimsical, flashy tableside presentation. The gin-based My Space cocktail arrives in a spaceship-like vessel with a tiny astronaut holding the drink, the Maharani’s New Fashioned (a take on an old fashioned) comes on a log, and spicy baked oysters are delicately balanced on rocks. “It’s theatrical because I believe everything should be theatrical,” Bindra says.
2. Playful mash-ups drive the menu.
Bindra’s food draws from his extensive experience cooking around the world, and that means no cuisine is off limits. The crispy Sichuan eggplant nods to Asiatown and numbing Chinese mala that’s now popular on menus in Houston; the octopus with pickled onion and chermoula vinaigrette is a nod to North African cooking; and the compressed matar paneer is a take on an Indian classic, reimagined as an Italian lasagna with layers of peas, cottage cheese, and mint in a spicy cashew and tomato sauce. It’s all about “marrying great ingredients,” Bindra says.
3. There are three distinct menus to choose from.
Bindra doesn’t just stick to one menu to show off his culinary chops. Yes, there’s an exciting dinner menu, but there are a couple of surprises in store as well. The six-course tapas takes place at a 12-seat counter and spotlights the best of Indian street food with dishes like momos and bhel puri, alongside a host of cocktails named after Indian actresses. The fantasy hour is an indulgent happy-hour menu (all food and drinks are $10 or less) with dishes like Wagyu-stuffed kulcha and a jackfruit burger with sriracha mayo.
4. The drinks alone are worth a visit.
Wine bottles from around the world line the restaurant’s walls, and a thick, leather-bound list boasts a selection of more than 900 that earned Amrina Wine Spectator’s coveted Best of Award of Excellence in 2022. As for the cocktails, if the theatrical ones above aren’t enough, there’s also a butterfly pea flower-infused vodka and elderflower drink (Clouds of Alya) that’s like stepping into a pool of fresh-plucked wild flowers. “If your cocktail is great, you already have an idea your food is going to be great,” Bindra says.
5. You’ll leave with a sweet high.
As it should be with desserts, Amrina embraces decadence. A rich cardamom and chocolate mousse comes topped with a pair of gold leaf-covered white chocolate lips. Death by Citrus, a lemon pie with layers of orange shrikhand (an Indian yogurt dessert) and yuzu jelly, has a lime macaron on top.
More than anything else, Bindra wants everyone to choose their own adventure. “I really wanted to bring everything under this roof to create an experience that is like nothing else, for everyone to come and surprise their taste buds,” he says.
Lauren McDowell is a Houston-area native and freelance food and lifestyle writer with an M.A. in Food Studies from New York University.
