One of Houston’s more inventive chefs in past years is closing two equally inventive concepts in the city’s Midtown neighborhood. Pok Pok Po and Bol at 3201 Louisiana St. will shutter after service Aug. 29.
Both restaurants were the brainchild of chef Jassi Bindra—a contestant on season 23 of Bravo’s Top Chef—and the Kahani Social Group, whose portfolio includes Amrina in The Woodlands and Kitchen Rumors in the Washington Avenue Corridor. Pok Pok Po, an Indian fast-casual fried chicken restaurant, opened in 2024. Bol, an Indian fast-casual bowl restaurant in the vein of Cava and Chipotle, opened a year later next door, inside The Mix development.
“We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who embraced Pok Pok Po and Bol and gave us the opportunity to introduce a different, more casual expression of Indian cuisine to Houston,” said Surpreet Singh, co-founder of Kahani Social Group, in a statement.
Pok Pok Po is an unfortunate loss. It still has some of the best executed fried chicken in Houston, and its flavors are exceptionally bold and unapologetically Indian. Even Himalaya’s famous fried chicken doesn’t punch as hard as Bindra’s. Pok Pok Po’s peri peri masala-seasoned balle balle fries also brought plenty of flavor. This all may have been a reason, at least according to Bindra, that the restaurant was a popular destination for South Asians across the Houston area.
In a statement, Singh said Kahani Social Group’s time in Midtown gave them valuable lessons they hope to implement elsewhere. And it may not even be the end of these concepts. In a statement, the group said some of Pok Pok Po’s menu items will be made available in The Woodlands through third-party delivery. There are plans to expand that service in Central Houston in the future.
“This isn’t goodbye to Pok Pok Po or Bol. We have a vision for their future and are looking forward to finding the right opportunities to bring them back in ways that make them even more convenient and accessible,” Singh said. “We hope everyone will come see us one more time in Midtown and stay tuned for what’s next.”
