"Curry Pizza House?" What is that about, I wondered, when I learned that this pizzeria had opened in the Austin suburb of Bee Cave.
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| Chicken Curry Masala |
Well, it's a chain pizza restaurant founded in San Francisco in 2015 that was created "to share our love for craft pizza, delicious curry flavors, and wholesome ingredients," according to their website. There are locations in California, Texas, Nevada, Washington, and Oregon.
A deeper dive into the website tells more about its inception:
"As first-generation Indian Americans, we have been immersed in authentic, Indian cooking ... growing up in California, pizza became a favorite dish which united family, friends, and special occasions ... we started adding some of mom’s curry and spices over the pizza to change up the flavor. What started as a kitchen experiment would fuel our fascination to create something new, something different."
Takeout only
Meanwhile, the Austin Chronicle says that "Curry Pizza House is a great way to ease Americans into the world of Indian cuisine, while offering people who are already familiar with South Asian food an interesting new way to experience their favorite dishes presented in a different format."
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| Garden Veggie, Butter Chicken, Desi Garlic Sticks, Indian Gourmet Veggie, Chicken Curry Masala |
Three of us ventured there for lunch on a Monday, drawn in by the "craft curry pizzas" such as Chicken Tikka, Curry Veggie Delight, Chicken Curry Masala, Chilli Paneer, and Tandoori Chicken. The menu also features some less adventurous "Classic Pizza" options like Meat Lovers, BBQ Chicken and Bacon, or Margherita.
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| Garden Veggie |
We ordered three "small plate" appetizers - mozzarella sticks, Desi Garlic Sticks, and Tandoori chicken wings, as well as four craft pizzas and one classic pizza : Butter Chicken, Chicken Curry Masala, Indian Gourmet Veggie, and Garden Veggie (with added sausage).
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| Butter Chicken |
We discovered that this Bee Cave location was takeout only - no seating available, Also, surprisingly, we were advised of a 35 minute wait!
Appetizers: The "Desi Garlic Sticks" were essentially a small pizza topped with cheese, green chili, and red onion. They were pretty forgettable. The Mozzarella sticks were not good. Nicely bread and fried, but still hard inside and nearly flavorless. The Tandoori chicken wings ($9 for 5 wings) were juicy, tender, and tasty.
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| Desi Garlic Sticks |
Going in, I knew that Curry Pizza House is a chain, and I set my expectations accordingly. I expected some zesty and tasty toppings riding on a middling crust, because it's rare for any chain pizza place to craft an excellent crust (notable exceptions include Bertucci's, Anthony's Coal-Fired Pizza, and the Italian purveyor of Roman style pizza, Alice).
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| Indian Gourmet Veggie |
In fact, that was exactly our experience. The flavors of Indian food were fun as pizza toppings. The Butter Chicken pie was very tasty and mild; the Chicken Curry Masala was a better choice, bursting with great flavors. The Indian Gourmet Veggie had better vegetable toppings - in terms of textures and flavors - than any typical pizza might have.
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| Chicken Curry Masala |
To my surprise, our consensus favorite was the Garden Veggie pie from the tame "Classic Pizza" menu. Perhaps because it was the only one with cheese and red sauce? Perhaps because the sausage was more flavorful than chicken can ever be?
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| Tandoori chicken wings |
The crust had a very nicely crisped underside. There was no sag or soggy spots, but it was quite pedestrian, about equivalent to a top-notch frozen pizza. It is surely a limiting factor on these pizzas.
There is a real opportunity to lift this pizza up, if the owners or franchisees would offer a naan-based crust. I swoon over the naan and other breads I find in Indian restaurants; it would serve far better than these generic discs.
Curry Pizza House was expensive for chain pie: a 10" small pizza is $18; 12" medium is $23; large 14" is $30, and extra large 18" is $40. I'm glad I tried it, and it's a great option for getting big Indian flavors and lots of fun vegetarian topping choices, but the mediocre crust and high prices tell me that I have better choices in Bee Cave, especially with Via 313 so close by.
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