Meet Namita Asthana | Chef Owned Wine Tasting Room

We had the good fortune of connecting with Namita Asthana and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Namita, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?

I am my best when I can present my creative nature as a solution. In 2011, there was a need in the family to regroup and focus on health and well being. The dietary path to wellbeing was something I could nurture and I did. I came up with easy simmer starter sauces that helped us get back on track to healthy eating. Showcasing them in the newly started Sugar Land Farmers Market, taught me that the community needed that support too.. Being next to many organic and natural produce vendors, led to the next step of a brick and mortar location and Off the Vine Bistro was born in 2015!

By then both our kids were in College and the timing of self development and nurturing and giving back to the community that helped me grow was perfect.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

I started the journey as a much needed home grown chef and got to travel the fulfilling path of community support, friendship, travel and the true journey of discovery. The Bistro created an environment of discovery and learning as interested minds came together to experience curated meal and wine pairings. Today, at Off the Vine, at its new location has become an almost ‘adult playgroup’ of like minded community finding friendship and kinship. We easily band together to travel and taste and eat and laugh and grow!

We have learned to put our happiness on our sleeve and others enjoyed that glow of contentment and joined in. I am most proud of the fact that putting myself first, something that does not come easy and is a learned process, is a beacon of strength to many. This knowledge gives you confidence and blazes a trail of adventure. This new avatar of Off the Vine as a tasting room will create camaraderie and kinship with all wine lovers in our community!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
As Flat as Houston is, in comparison to the region all around it, It has many unique features too. Visiting the Brazos Bend Park for its nature trails in the daylight hours and the George Observatory on a clear night.
Spend a quiet evening in the outdoors with Theatre Under The Stars after a juicy burger at HubCap Grill or Langkford’s Market.

The Houston BBQ offers a unique taste and experience, there are so many to choose from and then head out to Skyline Cinema, the rooftop Cinema Club. Its amazing how simple acts bring great joy, I have taken friends out to pick berries, flowers and vegetables from local farms and the head out to the Memorial Park Landbridge and watch the city skyline over sunset as we eat the delicious fruits!
Agora Coffee, Simone at Sunset, La Carafe offer a perfect glimpse into the Houston Gastronomy scene.

With an extra full day a trip to the Antique Rose Museum, Blue Bell Ice cream Factory, the Texas wildflower trail makes Houston very appealing and picturesque!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Kalika Sinha – Owner of Code Ninja’s Franchise in Sugar Land Texas! Kalika is a young mother of two, has repeatedly shown me the strength and resilience and the art of balancing a full time job at work and home and running a passionate business.

Website: https://www.offthevineexperiences.com/about

Other: www.offthevinebistro.com started in 2015 has taken us to www.offthevineexperiences.com in 2023

Image Credits
All photos included are clicked by taken by me – Namita Asthana on my iphone!