Masala Hut — Restaurant in Texas

The service was absolutely horrible and discriminatory.

My wife and I were excited and curious to try some South Indian food. The owner quickly turned our excitement and curiosity into anger and disgust.

The owner said that he could only make a tenth of what was on the menu and told us that we could not dine in. When I asked for a chutney to go with our order he arrogantly said, “You don’t know what it is,” and refused to prepare it.

Nevertheless, we were hungry and after denying us several dishes, the majority of the menu, the owner agreed to prepare some Goat Curry, Chicken Tikka Masala, 2 pieces of Garlic Naan, and a side of white rice.

An Indian man and his wife came in as our food was being prepared, and I spoke with him. He was excited to try the food as well. I mentioned that not much was available.

When the owner came back he treated him very differently, telling him in another language that he and his wife could indeed dine in. She was already seated at a table. The owner smiled and shook his head at me as he nodded to the other man. I have never expected to be discriminated in an Indian restaurant for not being Indian.

After about 20 minutes of waiting, our food arrived. According to the menu, the cost should have been around $20: $2 for the rice + $2 for two pieces of naan + $7 for Goat Curry + $7 for Chicken Tikka Masala, and tax. The owner attempted to charge us $32.40.

When I examined the receipt and the charge seemed very far off, my wife and I went back inside to speak with the owner. We asked to see the menu and indeed, he overcharged us by over 50%. The owner told us: "Prices have changed. COVID Prices."

This was an absolutely disgusting interaction. The owner said he could give us our money back. He gave me the wrong amount back twice, before giving us the correct amount.

We tried some excellent food at Chettinad a few weeks ago. The service there was hospitable and heaven compared to the hell at Kerala. Save yourself the time and energy and go...

MEH. I came here back in 2009 (during my first visit to TX) and I wasn't impressed. However, I decided to try it again as they were offering Onam sadhya. Big mistake! I'm giving two stars only because the servers were nice, otherwise, I'd give one star.

I'm guessing this is their first time offering Onam sadhya. They made everyone sit near each other to make it easy to serve the food (I guess...). Normally this meal is served on a banana leaf, but that is not easy to obtain. We had green paper/plastic sheets that looked like a banana leaf. At the time I went, there were only four tables to serve (including mine). They were taking a long time to bring the food out, and once they finally did, there was no continuous flow of food. They weren't very organized in general, but also when placing the food, which is normally placed in the same section/side for everyone. We had to keep asking for certain items. For example, out of four of us (at my table), two of us got bananas, three of us got the sharkara upperi; the other three tables got mango pickle, but we had to keep asking for it.

I won't talk about the flavors of the curries, as it was almost non-existent. The banana chips, sharkara upperi and banana were good. I only tried the Ada Pradhaman payasam for dessert; same issue as above, we had to keep asking for spoons.

I think that if they continue offering the Onam sadhya, they should have it buffet style so customers can just get up and get whatever curries they want without having to wait or continuously ask. Also, it seems like most customers carry out (vs. dining in), so they are juggling those customers in between serving the sadhya, between three servers. I've definitely had better Onam sadhya in India, with multiple servers and quick service. When I had it in Virginia, it was served buffet style, as there were hundreds of people waiting for food, so it was more...

I have reviewed this place earlier, but I visited again after the management change—and I must say, they have maintained their standards and even gone above and beyond. The food is just as delicious as before, if not better, and the service was excellent.

The place is neat and well-maintained. The new management has done an excellent job preserving the taste of homely Kerala food.

This is a great Kerala restaurant. The service is very quick, and the food is delicious—it truly reminds you of home. We had their non-veg meals, which were served in generous portions, and the fish fry was great. They offer both veg and non-veg meals.

Next time I’m here, I’ll definitely try their porotta. The prices are reasonable, and the beef was good too. They also offer takeout.

We visited for the second time, and even though their dine-in closes at 4:30 PM, they were kind enough to let us in, knowing we had driven from Austin just to enjoy Kerala food. Really appreciate their hospitality!

Update: The porotta was very soft—just like how you get it back in Kerala. We also tried their cutlet, and it was good. Definitely...