Jal The Grille

Love it!

If you’re a carnivore like me, this place is as good as it gets in the ~$ 15 price range. I came here on Mother’s day with my family and they had a special buffet deal for $ 14.99.
The ambience and décor of the place is great, with solid customer service. Tables were spacious, and the booths were pretty comfortable.
Onto the food; the buffet had about 8 – 10 options, ranging from all types of dishes with chicken, beef, fish, and lamb. There are literally no vegetables in the entire place, just meat on meat on meat, and I absolutely loved it. My favorite dish is the beef stew (it was in some persian/​iranian name), but this place isn’t really for you if you can’t handle at least some level of spice.
I do want to come back to try the beef ribs that everyone is talking about on a regular day, and I endorse this place!

Oh my goodness the nan is FRESH and the hummus and light oil most refreshing.
Tastefully appointed. Great art work and lighting. A good mix of intimate seating Truly a good 3^rd or 4^th date place.
(I like the heavy menu)
I’ve been here twice. Very Acculturated Middle Eastern Indo Pak style; and wonderful. Everything is made to order fresh so plan to take your time and enjoy yourself in good conversation.
Be sure to compliment the chef and staff.
Super clean lines simplicity and modern interiors. This place is a lot more interesting than you think.
Service is genuine, personal and sincere. If you haven’t had this type of Asian food. Please, Feel free to request their opinion on the menu to compare your flavor favorites. The staff is eager to please.
Delicious Wow!
Carnivore are treated well with tender tastes. For sure get the kabobs. I’ll be back just for them.

Fantastic kababs. Spicy, tender, juicy and mouth watering. I ordered the carnivores platter and there was so much meat that I could not finish it. An absolute gem of a place. The only catch is that they don’t serve alcohol. not a biggie as you can bring your own. there is a wine shop in the same complex that you can walk over and bring your poison after you put in your food order.

Went here because I was craving some Persian food and according to Unilocal this restaurant is Persian. It’s more of Mediterranean/​South Asian because I was not expecting to find samosas here. The beef samosas were overall very good and flavorful. Ordered the bihari kabob which came with rice and salad and a yogurt sauce. The kabob overall was very tender, maybe a little too tender that it felt a little mushy? The rice was very good. The restaurant was a little empty for 7PM on a Tues but would like to come back again.

Delicious Desi AND Mediterranean food in a hip, nicely decorated restaurant.
The masala fries and beanalicious are amazing. Hummus is good but beanalicious is hand’s down better. Good Greek salad. Naan and paratha only, no pita bread. Naan comes out fluffy and warm. Jal’s Carnivore Platter & Medit-​Arabian Platter are a great way to share and taste a variety. So far there has only been one item we don’t care for– the shahi seekh kebab. The texture is grainy & mushy. Manager told us a neat story about why it’s prepared that way. We just substitute for another bihari kebab and we’re happy campers. Beef nihari and chicken biryani are also yum. The biryani is lighter than most restaurants but really tasty.
Love the combination of food, great prices, hearty portions, and good service, though slow (and really loud) at peak times (after 7pm).

My daughter and I tried Jai for the first time for our Thursday lunch. Around 12pm, my daughter was meeting me for lunch. As she was driving thru the parking lot this black Nissan Maxima came flying thru the parking spaces cutting off and almost hitting my daughter’s car as she was trying to park. The guy parked right in front of Jai and entered the restaurant. It’s obvious he worked there. Inside he acted like a manager (he checked up on us as we ate our meal), but he also waited on one table. The guy needs to learn to drive. Anyway…
My daughter and I have had this type of food before so I’m comparing Jai to what we’ve experienced. I guess you can say Jai’s atmosphere is contemporary. The tables and booths are all black. There’s not much to look at when you enter the restaurant. There was only one other diner besides us and it stayed that way until we left about 1pm. The hostess/​waitress took our drink order and took a long time to return. We finally ordered our lunch. My daughter ordered the Shahi Seekh Kebab ($ 10) and I ordered the Chicken Tawa Qeena.($ 13). Our food came out fairly quick.
My daughter’s kebab was extremely spicy hot even though the menu didn’t say anything about peppers. She could only eat half of the two kebabs. She actually had sweat on her face (I can laugh now). Her side of rice was tasteless and dry. My tawa qeena consisted of ground chicken with onions, tomatoes, and the «chef’s special spices.» It too was spicy hot and I never could taste any «special» spice or ginger. We also got some naan. The naan was warm, but chewy (aka rubbery). You know how bread gets chewy after being heated in a microwave oven? This is how their naan tasted.
Service was so so. Our waitress took my water glass for a refill, but didn’t return for several minutes. Prices seem high for the amount and quality of food you get.
Overall, we weren’t happy with Jai and won’t be returning.

Great food and a great value! My favoritea are the ravenous ribeye and the beef short ribs but today I tried the goat kahari which was also delicious. Haven’t had a bad dish here yet! Be sure to ask for the black bean hummus, you won’t regret it.

Jal the grille has become the place for halal ribs in Houston!
Jal has created a unique experience for a Pakistani restaurant with the clean interior and non desi wait staff. Which makes the service slightly better in my opinion.
Each time I’ve gone the beef short ribs are the most popular item. They have a decent amount of meat and seasoned very well. I’ve been for dinner a few time and ordered ala cart from the menu and once from the buffet.
Although the steaks are not seasoned with desi seasonings, they are over seasoned and sometimes salty. They are good about cooking the steak to your liking but you have to be specific. The masala fries are delicious!
I tried the chicken boti as well but it was a bit dry.
The mocktails are all delicious so make sure you try them!
The barfili was a very popular dessert choice.

Great food and amazing service and workers! Definitely will be coming back!
Really good masala fries, kashmiri chai, and mango lassi!

I was visiting from New York City and this place has the best steak ever and it’s all halal.
I had the Ravenous Rib Eye steak with masala fries and rice. The steak was the most delicious and flavorful piece I’ve had at medium rare with no pink. The take out service was quick and friendly. Prices are decent for steaks. I forgot to get dessert.
The other menu times looked good as well.
I want to take a flight back to Houston for some of the most delicious halal places, including this one. Coming back for more soon!

I had an excellent experience here on New Year’s Eve. We had a party of six looking to make a last minute dinner reservation, and we picked this place for its good reviews. I’m glad we picked an earlier time slot, because it filled up fast!
This place is kind of a hidden gem. There is plenty of parking as it is located in a shopping center, and it doesn’t look like too much from the outside but don’t let that fool you. The décor inside is very classy and lovely. The host was great, and our sever was very polite, gave us great suggestions on the menu, and was very patient with me as I tried (unsuccessfully) to pronounce things on the menu! Ha!
They do not sell alcohol of any kind, but luckily we heard that you can BYOB, and the manager (I think) happily opened our wine we brought without an uncorking fee!
AND OMG THE FOOD. Everything. Everything was amazing. We started off with masala fries and hummus, enough for a group of six. The manager told us about a special black bean hummus they had that night… Holy smokes it was memorable.
For dinner, I chose the Kawa Teema, which was incredibly spicy and wonderful. Luckily they brought me a ton of yogurt to add to it. My husband can’t remember what he had, only that he really liked it. Most of my friends ordered chicken or beef kobideh, and they all had good things to say! The manager brought us an amazing dessert. I don’t know what is was (something that reminded us of both ice cream and cake), but I would be happy if I ate it every day until I died.
The restaurant and the bathrooms were very clean. The only bone I had to pick was that we accumulated a ton of plates from all of the different things we ate, and the ones we had finished with were never taken away. I’m kind of a weirdo and that kind of thing really bothers me.
Whenever my friends are back in town and I head out to the sugar land area, I’m sure we will be back to eat here! Thanks!

Their off-​the-​menu Nehari (sp) is fantastic. This isn’t our first time and it certainly won’t be our last.
We keep coming back because the food is wonderful and the people there are friendly.

Just had dinner here on a Sunday night. Firstly, I must say, the service here is excellent. Very cautious staff. Very well-​spoken and polite. I had the beef short ribs which were delicious. Very juicy and savory. My parents helped themselves to the Desi side of things and had chicken karahi and beef nihari. Though I found the nihari bland and lacking much flavor the karahi was fantastic.

The décor and ambience is excellent. Nice, clean, wonderful lighting.
The service is top tier. We were constantly being checked on and our requests were accommodated generously. Even the manager came out a few times to check on us, regardless of the fact that there was a large party group at the same time. We ordered a small platter and shared it, yet were given plenty of attention. Really appreciated that.
The food: wow great food. I had the beef short ribs: tender, flavorful, slightly sweet bbq flavor. They’re amazing. Masala fries are a real tasty ethnic spin on french fries. Their fried rice is light, with a medley of ingredients to give it a good taste. Mango Lassi was awesome. Had a little dash of cardamom to give it a little kick.
Overall their food is well thought out and prepared and presented real well.
Its one of those rare places that has got everything put together just right and are ON their game. Hopefully it stays that way. Highly recommended!

If you’re looking for great halal food tha serves western dishes come to this place. Hell everything is really good! Clean and nice interior with a friendly staff. The quality of food doesn’t dissappoint yet the rice is just bland. You would think a place that serves indian food the rice would be tasty but it was a dissapoint. I was impressed with items and the drinks are just as good. Go check it ou, t this place is the truth
Order the short ribs btw, a bit pricey but it is worth it

Hands down the best grilled food I’ve ever had — period. There isn’t even another in the same ballpark. We had the beef samosas, the babaganouch, the boneless chicken boti, the beef short ribs, the masala fish, the chapli kabob, the Carnivore platter, and the superstar of the night — the goat chops. Everything was of superior high quality and seasoned to perfection. We also tried their lychee mojito, the mango lasi, and tea.
I can’t say enough about this place and their SUPERIOR SERVICE.
I would drive the 180 miles from my home in Austin to Jal the Grill.
Thank you to my dad for recommending it.

I give this place extra stars for having an extremely nice owner who came by ten times on a Friday night and then sent us free dessert. He was very sharply dressed and friendly.
The waitresses are friendly and honest, too.
Beef Short ribs 5
Sweet potato fries 5
Mashed potatoes 4
Spiced wings 4
Adana kebab 3
Lychee Mojito 5
Barfili dessert 5
Everything was delicious ⁴⁄₅
The short ribs were the best hands down. What a rare dish done so perfectly.
All in all, I am glad to see a Desi restaurant with very fancy décor, atmosphere, staff, and menu items. That is super rare. I hope they maintain the quality and people continue to support them.

Went to this place for the first time to try their weekend brunch buffet. The ambiance was great and waitstaff were very efficient and courteous.
The items in the buffet looked fresh, clean and they had a lot of variety from pancake, waffles to Nihari and Paya, the whole nine yards.
We tried all the items and can’t make less of any one item! Loved the halwa puri, keema and nihari. They bring out fresh puris and naan to the table as needed. Service is prompt and to the point.
We haven’t tried their regular menu items so looking forward to going back and trying some of those.

My actual rating of this establishment would be a 3.5.
I like the ambiance and décor that they are trying to create because there are very few «nice» zabiha Southasian restaurants in Houston. Unfortunately the clientele here are the same as at any other South Asian resulting in a loud hectic environment. Obviously this can’t be helped, but it undermines the ambiance being set up. Babies screaming/​crying, uncles having loud conversations that can be heard on opposite ends of the restaurant.
Some of the food is hit or miss. For me, when trying a new South Asian restaurant, I get bihari kebab cause that’s usually a safe choice. However, I didn’t like Jal’s bihari kebab at all. It had an unusual taste which I did not like. However, during Ramadan I had a chance to sample many other dishes, and most were good/​acceptable. Some of their dishes are a little more spicy than you would expect or maybe it was just because it was Ramadan. I also tried the adana kebab and although it’s nothing like the adana kebabs at Turkish restaurants it was pretty good if you aren’t actually craving the Turkish kebab taste.
I want to like this place because of the atmosphere, but nothing really stood out to me. The servers are nice, but you can tell they are inexperienced. This didn’t really bother me since they didn’t mess up anything for me. Some people LOVE the food so if you’re in the area I think it’s worth a try. Portions aren’t as large as most desi restaurants; it’s only big enough for one person.