Amrina — Restaurant in The Woodlands

OUTSTANDING! GO NOW! What a way to start Father's Day weekend! We lucked out with one of the last reservations in the main dining room for the first day of service at Amrina The Woodlands. After having gotten to go to the soft opening earlier in the week, I really wanted to experience a full service meal here on opening night, and it did not disappoint.

I started with the most interesting take in a margarita I have ever had. The pure perfection of the Garden Glory Margarita with Don Julio Blanco Tequila | Lime Juice Golden Turmeric Syrup | Bell Peppers Cucumber | Green Chili Bitters | Cardamom Bitters is my new favorite cocktail!

My wife had the Clouds Of Alya - Butterfly Pea Flower Infused Absolut Elyx St Germain Elder Flower Liqueur | Lemon Juice | Simple Syrup

We wanted to try so much, so we ordered a bunch of menu items between the three of us.

We started with a Holy Moly Bread (Quintessential breads from India, made chic.) we chose the butter chicken kulucha. Beautiful naan like bread stuffed with a thin layer of butter chicken. These are delicious gourmet stuffed flatbreads. We all approved!

From the Chutney and Dips section of the menu, we got Channa Masala Hummus. Texture was incredibly smooth and the taste was very good. We ordered a butter naan to accompany it.

Next up from the small plates section of the menu, we chose a Tartare - yellow fin tuna, quinoa tabboileh, avocado granny smith chokha, salmon roe. What a tremendous dish.

Our second small plates selection was the Ostrich Seekh Kebab - pickled kohlrabi, spiced parsnip mousse. I had sample portions at the soft opening party, and had to bring the family back to try it. Chef Jassi has elevated Indian cuisine and the presentation of this dish was fantastic. The flavors packed into this ground ostrich was outstanding.

Our Entrée was the Red Wine Braised Lamb Shank - truffle upma, cilantro gremolata, chilli rogan. Every restaurant has a star dish, and I believe this should be one of them. Our amazing Captain (what Amrina calls their head server for each section) recommended it highly. The chili rogan gravy was addictive, sopped up with any and all the breads we ordered. Paratha, tandoori roti and butter naan. I would have taken shots of this stuff, but I was a fancier restaurant and Claudia would have been horrified... Lol

We chose three sides to go with our entrée. Dal Makhani, which was so buttery smooth and flavorful, Garbanzo Bean Curry which was another highlight for me, and Tandoori Mac and Cheese. Everyone pretty much loves mac and cheese, but Chef Jassi decided to put the traditional flavors of tandoori chicken and spices all baked into a casserole of goodness.

A second round of drinks was definitely in order, and Claudia found a lovely rose by Chateau Peyrassol. I had another stellar cocktail Desi Chana Sour - Elijah Craig Bourbon | Amaro Montenegro Tamarind Syrup |Amrina Spiced Syrup Lemon Juice | Aquafaba. Served with a paper clipped cone of seasoned channa chips.

I wish we had room for dessert, but the fact that we didn't just gives us an excuse to go back and try the Tapas bar menu and the Lemon Curd - chili mango cream, sugar cookie I really wanted to try. I did have the crazy good sample the other night of the Cardamom Chocolate Mousse w/ jaggery caramel, 24 carat gold kiss. Definitely don't miss out on this if you have room.

Congratulations to Supreet Singh and PreetPaul Singh on the official opening of Amrina The Woodlands. They were both kind enough to take time out of their busy night to stop by the table to say hello and check on everything. What an amazing meal from start to finish, with phenomenal and mind blowing food from Michelin recognized Chef Jaspratap “Jassi” Bindra. Service was second to none from our Captain, Nikki Rock Quinones. General manager Giorgio Ferrero who has an extensive knowledge of Wine, who has put together an extensive wine list of 900 bottles, also checked in us several times. I have to say for the first night of service to the public, the place ran like a well...

My family was celebrating a special event this weekend. We decided to try Amrina.

We called two weeks ahead for reservations. Requested and received confirmation of our request for a semi private room. Called back two days later to verify the reservations were made. Reservations for 7pm on August 13 were verified.

When we arrived we were informed that the reservation was for 6:30 not 7 and that they had replaced our reservation with a group that was not there and didn't show up for another hour.

At no time were we informed that our reservations were replaced by another group. No phone call, no text message, no email.

The response by management at the front desk was indifference. That should have been a warning. They did find a table and we decided to put that experience behind us and enjoy our families special event.

At no time during our time there did anyone come to our table to acknowledge their mistake or apologize. They wouldn't even make eye contact.

We ordered a round of drinks and three hor d'oeuvres. The drinks and hor d'oeuvres were very good. The octopus and poblano pepper were excellent.

At that point the music started. Let me preface my next comments with my background as a musician who writes and records music. I also played bass in a couple of very loud bands. So, I enjoy loud music...this was something else. The subwoofer was so loud that we could all feel the bass vibrate through our bodies.

We would have loved to hear our waitress tell us about the dishes and help us make selections but the bass was so loud that that was impossible. We probably should have left at that point but, we decided to stick it out.

We ordered our entrees and another round of drinks. The entrees were very good. The sea bass was wonderful. It reminded me of a dish I had in Goa. The braised lamb was delicious. We all agreed the food was exceptional.

During our entrees, around eight o'clock the volume of the "music" dramatically increased.

We decided to order desserts and they were also very good.

At 8:45 they started clearing the table while we were eating. A new experience for us as we enjoy dining out and are prepared to pay for good food and service. It was very clear they wanted our table for bar crowd that was arriving.

The DJ, who also played alto sax, is a talented musician who feels he must show his speed and volume at every opportunity. This destroyed the dining experience. It felt like we were sitting in the front row of a loud rock concert rather than having an enjoyable dining experience with my family.

Overall the Amrina was a very schizophrenic experience. The food was fantastic. The experience from the front desk to management to the service to the "music" was abysmal.

If we were just rating the food Amrina would rate 5 stars. But the front desk, service and horrible environment make that impossible.

We paid the $600+ bill plus a 20% tip and left.

We all believed the chef and his creations were nothing short of exceptional. However, the venue is not worthy of this chefs talents. Amrina is a very loud bar that serves food. I hope this talented chef can free himself from this disaster.

I'm sure the owners of Amrina are making a tidy profit from the large bar crowd, many of whom traveled from Houston. Based upon this reality, I'm sure the revue of our little party was of little concern for them. However, when Amrina is no longer the new cool party place, i fear they will have burned bridges with locals who can and will support great local restaurants.

Our experience was not unique last night. While waiting for the valet to retrieve our car, we were approached by several other patrons who all shared our opinion.

We will...

A phenomenal experience. We've heard excellent things about Amrina for months, so we were excited for the meal. We took advantage of the Houston Restaurant Weeks Menu and I'm so happy we made sure to do so, as the price point is higher than we typically like to spend. Now that we know it's absolutely worth it, we'll be sure to keep it in mind for special occasions. The Chaat was so deeply flavored with surprising punches from the potatoes and a perfect crisp to the kale. The Tiger Prawns were HUGE and the two sauces they were served with were powerful in their own right. My husband preferred the pepper jam and I preferred the moilee espuma. We ordered the butter chicken and prawn curry for our main course. The prawn curry was rich and so smooth. The butter chicken was the star of the two. What stood out was its punch of heat that really awakened our taste buds. The garlic naan was crisp with a soft center and if I'd had more of it, I would've scooped up every last drop the of the curry sauces with it. The dal Makhani was thick and full of flavor, too. We shared the Panna Cotta, a liquory flavored cool dessert that was a nice ending to a rich meal, and the Marsala Chai Marble Cake, an earthy and textured cake that I would've liked to let sit with the ice cream on top of to allow it to soak into the cake some. Alas, I had not the patience. Our server, Raj, was a delight, ready to make suggestions based on our preferences and dietary requirements, and explained the chef's vision as we were served each course. His team was also a pleasure. Our neighbors were celebrating a birthday and the sparkler celebration at dessert was truly beautiful and unique. Another huge plus for us, as non-drinkers, is that they offer 2 mocktails. The mango lemonade was thicker than I expected, more mango than lemonade, but fit the flavor level of the experience and I'd order it again. My husband ordered the Shinkaji Mule : very light and spicy with a Fall flavor to it, as is right with a Mule. A wonderful experience in a beautiful location. Note: we parked in the hotel garage closest to the restaurant. Our server asked for our ticket and the validation covered our time in the garage. (ie....