State Highway 121 past Nebraska Furniture Mart, where the retail sprawl gives way to suite numbers and a parking lot you have to circle twice. Anybody hunting for the best restaurant in The Colony TX has driven this stretch more than once, usually while somebody in the passenger seat scrolls through photos of food they haven't decided on.
This guide is about how that search actually works, what separates a place you return to from a place you tried once, and where the current answers sit around here.
Quick Summary
Tabla restaurant The Colony sits at 4940 State Hwy 121, Ste 120, open 11 AM to 3 PM and 5 PM to 10 PM daily, until 11 PM Fridays and Saturdays. Chicken Dum Biryani runs $15.99 and the Goat Ghee Roast $18.99. The weekday buffet is $14.99. Olive Roots and Xiao Ling's are the other strong options within a few minutes.
The Reason Nobody Stops Looking
A favorite restaurant is not a permanent appointment. Menus change, chefs leave, the Tuesday special gets quietly discontinued, and a place that was perfect for eighteen months becomes somewhere you used to go.
That is the actual reason people keep searching. Not restlessness, just maintenance. The list needs refreshing because the restaurants themselves keep moving.
Anyone working out how to choose a good restaurant usually starts with reviews, which tells you whether a place is competent. It rarely tells you whether it fits the specific night you are planning.
What Actually Separates a Keeper
Reviews average out everybody's different night. A four-star rating built on business lunches tells you nothing about a birthday dinner for nine.
The questions that actually predict a repeat visit:
- Does the menu cover a table where people want different things?
- Is there a version of this meal that works on a weeknight and a version that works for an occasion?
- Can you order it to go without the food falling apart?
- Is there something here you cannot get at four other places within a mile?
That last one matters most. Tabla restaurant The Colony leans South Indian and Andhra rather than the North Indian default, which is why the menu reads differently from most Indian food around here.
The Night You Want Something Specific
Some cravings are vague. Some are exact, and nothing else will do.
The Andhra and South Indian side of the menu is where the specific cravings land:
| Dish | Price | |
| Goat Ghee Roast | $18.99 | |
| Chicken Lollipop | $16.99 | |
| Thotakura Liver Fry | $15.99 | |
| Gutthi Vankai Masala | $14.99 | |
| Taste Of Andhra | $15.99 |
Gutthi Vankai is stuffed baby eggplant in a tangy gravy, a Telugu dish that does not appear on most Indian menus in the area at all. Thotakura Liver Fry is amaranth leaves cooked to a texture that gives the dish its name, and it is entirely vegetarian despite how that reads.
Biryani, and the Argument About Bone-In
Biryani is where people get particular. Bone-in or boneless is a genuine disagreement, and both camps think the other is wrong.
The Colony location covers both:
- Vegetable Biryani, $13.99
- Paneer Biryani, $14.99
- Chicken Dum Biryani, $15.99, bone-in and cooked dum style
- Boneless Chicken Biryani, $16.99
- Goat Biryani, $17.99, bone-in
- Mixed Biryani, $21.99, chicken, goat, and shrimp together
There is also a full Pulao section, which is a different preparation entirely rather than a biryani by another name. Chicken Lollipop Pulao at $16.99 and Chitti Royyalu Pulao with prawns at $16.99 are the two nobody expects.
When the Whole Table Needs Feeding
Group dinners are where restaurants get exposed. Eight people, four preferences, and one person who will not eat anything with a bone in it.
Family Packs run $50.00 each and cover Chicken Dum Biryani, Paneer Biryani, and Mughlai Chicken. For a group ordering in, that is the shortcut past building an order dish by dish.
The Weekend Specials add thalis, which solve the opposite problem. Veg Thali is $15.99, Chicken Thali $17.99, Goat Thali $21.99, each arriving as a full composed plate rather than something to share.
Tabla's Mix Grill at $21.99 lets you pick any three tandoor items, which is the closest thing to a tasting menu for a table that cannot agree.
Lunch, and the $14.99 Question
The buffet at Tabla restaurant The Colony is $14.99, with a kids buffet at $12.49. Lunch service runs 11 AM to 3 PM every day of the week.
The gap between lunch and dinner service is real. The kitchen closes at 3 PM and reopens at 5 PM, which catches out anyone arriving at 4 PM expecting to eat.
Dinner runs to 10 PM Sunday through Thursday and 11 PM Fridays and Saturdays.
The Other Places Worth Knowing
Any honest guide to the best places to eat in The Colony TX has to name the competition, because a reader deciding tonight needs actual options.
Olive Roots Mediterranean, 5701 State Hwy 121 Ste 110, is the closest thing to a direct alternative in terms of who it serves. Open 11 AM to 10 PM most days, noon on Sundays, and it runs takeout heavily.
Xiao Ling's Noodles & Dumplings, 4900 Main St, does hand-made dumplings and noodles. Closed Tuesdays, which is worth knowing before you drive over.
Jollof Haus, 4940 State Hwy 121 Suite 135, shares the same building as Tabla. West African, jollof rice and suya bowls. Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and closes at 7 PM most nights.
54th Street Restaurant & Drafthouse, 5201 State Hwy 121, is the American bar-and-grill option, open until midnight on weekends.
Seven Doors Kitchen & Cocktails and Thirsty Lion both sit in Grandscape, five minutes east, if the evening is more about the setting than the specific food.
Truck Yard, 5959 Grove Ln, is food trucks and fire pits, open until midnight, and closed until 4 PM Monday through Wednesday.
Six different answers, and none of them cancel out the others. That range is the reason the search never really finishes.
Restaurants With Online Ordering, and Why It Matters
The order-ahead question decides more dinners than most people admit. A restaurant with online food ordering gets chosen on nights when a phone call feels like too much.
| Method | Details | |
| Phone | (214) 813-1883 | |
| Online ordering | Direct through the Toast page | |
| Pickup | Available | |
| Delivery | Available | |
| Hours | 11 AM to 3 PM and 5 PM to 10 PM daily, until 11 PM Fri and Sat |
Ordering direct keeps the price at menu rate. On a $50.00 Family Pack, aggregator markup adds up faster than the convenience justifies.
FAQ
1. What is the best restaurant in The Colony TX for Indian food?
Tabla Indian Restaurant at 4940 State Hwy 121, Ste 120 serves South Indian, Andhra, and North Indian dishes, with a 4.1 rating across 276 Google reviews.
2. What are Tabla's hours in The Colony?
Tabla is open 11 AM to 3 PM and 5 PM to 10 PM daily, extending to 11 PM on Fridays and Saturdays.
3. How much is the buffet at Tabla The Colony?
The buffet is $14.99, with a kids buffet at $12.49.
4. How much is chicken biryani at Tabla The Colony?
Chicken Dum Biryani is $15.99 bone-in, and Boneless Chicken Biryani is $16.99.
5. Does Tabla The Colony have online ordering?
Yes, Tabla offers direct online ordering with both pickup and delivery.
6. Are there family-sized orders available?
Yes, Family Packs are $50.00 each and include Chicken Dum Biryani, Paneer Biryani, and Mughlai Chicken.
7. What vegetarian dishes does Tabla The Colony serve?
Vegetarian options include Gutthi Vankai Masala at $14.99, Malai Kofta at $14.99, Methi Chaman at $15.99, and Channa Masala at $13.99.
8. What other restaurants near The Colony TX are worth trying?
Olive Roots Mediterranean on State Hwy 121, Xiao Ling's Noodles on Main St, and Jollof Haus in the same building as Tabla all have strong local followings.
9. Does Tabla The Colony serve South Indian food?
Yes, the menu includes Andhra and South Indian dishes such as Goat Ghee Roast at $18.99, Andhra Fish Fry at $16.99, and Gutthi Vankai Masala.
10. Is there a weekend menu at Tabla The Colony?
Yes, Weekend Specials include Veg Thali at $15.99, Chicken Thali at $17.99, and Goat Thali at $21.99.
Order the Goat Ghee Roast, get a Bullet Naan alongside it, and find out whether the search is over for a while or whether you are back on 121 next month looking again. Tabla is at 4940 State Hwy 121, Ste 120, and the kitchen reopens at 5 PM.
Order the Goat Ghee Roast, get a Bullet Naan alongside it, and find out whether the search is over for a while or whether you are back on 121 next month looking again. Tabla is at 4940 State Hwy 121, Ste 120, and the kitchen reopens at 5 PM.
