Draft:Aga's Restaurant

Aga’s Restaurant is a popular Indian and Pakistani restaurant located in Houston, Texas. The restaurant serves both Indian and Pakistani cuisines. The restaurant opened in June 2001. In 2011, brothers Shaukat (Sal) and Karim Maredia purchased the business. It is famous for its grilled goat chops. The restaurant serves 12,000 orders of the dish each month. At five chops per order, that’s around 720,000 individual chops per year.

Cuisine and reviews
Aga’s is fully halal and gets its goat chops from a local distributor. In 2017, Houstonia dining critic Alice Levitt described the goat chops extremely tender. “The flesh gave way, disappearing into nothingness almost immediately, in a spicy, sweet, tangy blast of flavor that made it amply clear why the menu called them ‘the most popular grilled goat chops in Texas,’” she wrote.

In 2020, Houston Chronicle’s restaurant critic Alison Cook said that the takeout at Aga’s, including the goat chops, was “bold and rustic.” In 2023, writer Megha McSwain referred to the dish as “legendary” on Chron.com. Amy Sharp of UpClose Magazine called Aga’s “a household name among the South Asian population.”

The restaurant boasts seven chefs, specializing in Indian and Pakistani specialties. Other popular dishes include chicken lollipops and specialty karahis, including green and white versions. The restaurant also offers made-to-order paan and well-esteemed alchohol-free cocktails.

Combined across Google, Yelp, and other platforms, the restaurant boasts close to 20,000 positive reviews from users.

Charitable donations
In 2023, the Maredias offered $20,000 in scholarships toward college enrollment for community members. More than 250 students applied for the chance to win $2,500 each. There are plans to expand the scholarship program beyond Houston.

That same year, the Houston Chronicle also reported that the family was offering free meals for Ramadan.