A shopping mall may be an unexpected setting for a Michelin-starred restaurant, but Musaafer—located inside the Houston Galleria—is anything but conventional. Stepping inside feels like traveling across the world and back in time.
Musaafer—derived from the Hindi and Urdu word for “traveler”—has a rare origin story. It opened in May 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, yet quickly found critical and commercial success. In 2021, Time named Musaafer one of the “World’s 100 Greatest Places,” and in 2024, the restaurant earned a Michelin star.
Including the patio and balcony, Musaafer features seven elaborately adorned dining areas, designed by architect Abhigyan Neogi of the New Delhi–based Chromed Design Studio. Every element—from the floor tiles to the cascading drop lights to the bar panels—was sourced from India. The most striking space, the Shish Mahal (Palace of Mirrors), is constructed entirely from hand-cut mirrors from Jaipur, paying homage to a 17th-century palace in Lahore known for its intricate mirrored interiors.
The plating at Musaafer mirrors the opulence of its surroundings—masala “poppers,” for example, arrive nestled on beds of stone. One of the most visually striking dishes features octopus on purple potato purée, presented on a gold-rimmed plate where every element, including the octopus itself, is arranged in a perfect circle.
Guests can choose between an à la carte menu and a multi-course tasting experience, with each course delivered with a sense of theater—servers share the origin stories, pour sauces tableside, and assemble chaat before the diners’ eyes. Istwal’s recipes throughout are grounded in Ayurvedic principles.
Before Musaafer opened, Istwal embarked on a 100-day culinary journey across the Indian subcontinent, studying regional traditions—from saffron harvesting in Kashmir to fishing along the Arabian Sea. His menu evolves with the seasons, but each dish traces its roots to that trip. The Malvani Fish Curry, for instance, features a spice blend created by his mother-in-law and reflects his time spent along India’s western coast. His beef vindaloo, a signature dish that never leaves the menu, was inspired by a dinner with a local host in Goa—half Portuguese—who introduced him to the true origins of the dish. “Indian restaurants in the United States serve vindaloo with potato,” Istwal explains. “But it’s not supposed to have potato. People think that because ‘aloo’ means potato in Hindi, but vindaloo isn’t even from India—it’s from Portugal.”
