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Rasa

Restaurants, Indian Stoke Newington
Recommended
4 out of 5 stars
(20user reviews)
rasa.jpg
© Francesca Yorke Das Sreedharan at Rasa in 1998

Time Out says

The bright pink walls of Rasa in Stoke Newington are almost as bold as the flavours in their south Indian dishes. Opened in 1997, the vegetarian Keralan joint was the first of the Rasa chain that's now spread as far as Birmingham. Their basics - lentil daals and chewy coiled paratha - are always wholesome and moreish, but try more unusual dishes like moru kachiathu, a turmeric-infused, sweet-sour runny yoghurt dish made with mango and green banana for authentic Keralan flavour. Almost everything on the menu is priced at less than a fiver. 

Details
Static map showing venue location
Address: 55 Stoke Newington Church Street
London
N16 0AR
Transport: Tube: Stoke Newington rail or bus 73, 393, 476
Price: Main courses £4-£6.50. Set meal £16 4 courses.
Contact:
www.rasarestaurants.com Call Venue 020 7249 0344
Opening hours: Lunch served noon-2.30pm Sat, Sun. Dinner served 6-10.30pm Mon-Thur, Sun; 6-11pm Fri, Sat.
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Users say (20)

4 out of 5 stars

Average User Rating

4 / 5

Rating Breakdown

  • 5 star:12
  • 4 star:4
  • 3 star:1
  • 2 star:0
  • 1 star:4
LiveReviews|20
2 people listening
1 of 1 found helpful

Seems like people posting feedback are getting the two Rasa restaurants mixed up. This page is for the vegetarian Rasa in Stoke Newington, which I agree serves great food and is well worth visiting. The other Rasa which is not a vegetarian restaurant is poor on food and price.

1 of 1 found helpful

Don't know what the below poster did wrong to receive such a poor experience. I've been here at least ten times and taken various friends and family along, all of whom were impressed. If you order the right combo it soooo cheap and I've always been crammed full when I left. Nice staff, cosy atmosphere, highly recommended.

tastemaker

What a delightful place! Stoke Newington's Rasa has a vegetarian restaurant on one side of the road and a meat and fish restaurant on the other. When I went we went to the meat restaurant and I was over the moon with the food we ate. There was a really interesting menu and the staff were super knowledgeable about what was gluten free and what wasn't so i was a really easy dining experience for me as a coeliac. 

We were given a range of chutneys and poppadoms to begin (some of which packed a real punch) and then ordered starters and mains. I had a fish curry as my main dish and it is probably the best fish curry I have had. Full of coconut and heat the flavor of the fish was not lost and it got my nose streaming in a good way. I got to try other peoples dishes too and would probably order the fish curry again as everyone at the table agreed it was particularly good. 

I will definitely be heading back to this delicious restaurant and am in love with the pink decor as it is as punchy as the food.

Tastemaker

I arrived here last Sunday night and was very pleased with the array of veg options, especially veg options I don't find on other Indian menus. I opted for the nair dosa full of veggies and was quite pleased with the heft and types of veggies inside: beetroot, onion, potatoes, carrots (I think), etc. Really tasty and filling.

However, the rasa idli was very bland and I tossed two of them away at home. The uznunappam was also blander than I would have liked.

I would still return for the dosa and some other selections if in the area.

Tastemaker

I've walked by the bright pink walls of Rasa several times before finally visiting the restaurant for a friend's birthday dinner. 


First-off, let me admit I'm not a huge fan of Indian food and I am not a vegetarian. If you fall into either of these characteristics, you may not enjoy Rasa as much as everyone else does. 


However, if you love Indian food and/or a vegetarian, this is definitely an excellent place for you to visit. Well-priced, good portions and a fun, lively atmosphere. 

tastemaker

The veggie branch of Rasa is a nice find in Stoke Newington. With its pink exterior and friendly interior design, the atmosphere is authentic and as it should be - loud, full of delicious smells and excited chit-chat. As well as waiters yelling left and right. 


There is a no-fuss atmosphere which is perfect when you're sampling delicious vegetarian treats, from deep-fried chickpea fritters to deliciously creamy saag paneer. Order a beer, drink it down halfway and get it topped up with a different beer - all part of the fun.


Food comes quickly and efficiently and is high in quality every time. This place is great for a quick meal - they'll probably be needing the table back quite soon - but not a rushed one. Highly recommended, especially if you're looking for a quick, pre-gig meal before heading down to the Waiting Room (right around the corner).

Staff Writertastemaker

There are two Rasa restaurants opposite one another, one is completely veggie and thats where we went with a table of 16. I was super impressed with the service and how accommodating the staff were- anyone whos ever served tables that size knows how much of a pain it can be (even if they are nice folk, which we are).

The food itself was delicious, we had a set menu and it was unbelievably good value (I think we each paid £20 including plenty of wine). I cant wait to try the meaty sibling across the street!

Other good news is the restaurant is painted a spot-on milkshake pink, I mean instagram gold!


Highly recommended from little old me!

tastemaker

This is a worthy find and you don't even have to be a vegetarian to enjoy it. So excellent that is worth traveling to Stokey for non-locals. If you take the trip, make sure you call ahead and reserve the spot, because you aren't the only one that heard about how ace this place is. Admittedly, the restaurant is quite small and therefore very crowded, especially second room in the back, but value for food is good, so you will quickly forget about that.
Dishes are full of flavors, with right amount of spiciness and they come at cheap price. It is a perfect place to go with friends, order few dishes to share between each other and ....enjoy! Have I mentioned that wine is also very cheap?!


One of my favourite cuisine ever. Love the food and hospitality. Very friendly and fast service even if it's really packed. Well, not really surprised that it 'll get busy easily. Hope it 'll continue like this and really looking forward to go there again!


Rasa is one of my veggie/vegan spots in the city. Expect incense-scented, mood-lit and slightly rough-round-the-edges vibes inside - plus amazing, amazing curries. My faves are the Nadan Paripu, which is a cream and rich lentil curry made of washed mung beans and split yellow lentils, and Rasa Vangi, which is made out of aubergine. Both are just £4.50. (Rice is an additional £2.75.) Even if I’m on a health kick, I can’t leave without an oily Keralan paratha bread. And, the best thing of all is that even though they don’t deliver they do their entire menu to takeaway. Although their dosas do get soggy before you get them home.


The vegetarian food is very good but if you leave anything behind don't expect to get it back.  Today l stupidly left an unopened birthday card on the table at lunchtime.  l got suspicious when the staff denied finding it.  Apparently it contained £50 being a present from my children for my 65th birthday.  


We had an excellent meal here (the vegetarian Rasa) last night, with a fine selection of starters and masala dosa for me and Cheere curry for my partner. The place was full at 7:15 and we only had the table from 7 - 830 due to their busyness (not a problem as we were done by then). The service was good and the prices (£38 for two with drink) very reasonable indeed. We'll be back.


Although the food was great, seems like the staff need sensitivity training with people from different races dining together. Me and my friend were constantly stared down by the waiters. Also the waiter serving our table was extremely rude and did not respect personal space. Horrible service. Will definitely not be going back.


I am a regular at both of the Rasas in Stoke Newington. I've tried many other Indian restaurants but Rasa is still one of the top 5 I've experienced in the UK. I was also surprised to read the first commentator's review (below). The last time I went to Rasa the waiter actually mentioned that we were possibly over ordering on the rice and bread. We really appreciated this as he was right. The portions were generous and delicious. I've never ordered a set menu though so maybe the first commentator just made a bad choice. Like the poster below II take friends and family to Rasa because the food is so good.

0 of 1 found helpful

I was really looking forward to visiting Rasa having read and heard the positive reviews. However, I was really disappointed by the food, service and value. The selection of dishes is very poor, but nonetheless, I ordered a fish curry and my partner ordered the lamb. My fish was about as fresh as a teenager's sock and the sauce was indescribable. The lamb was very dry and overcooked. Keralan cooking should all be about the spices, the flavours and the smell, none of these were apparent in the curries that we chose. Not only was the food not up to scratch, the service was ridiculous. We had to ask for water four or five times., with our glasses never being refilled. The man who introduced himself to my partner as, 'the manager', was rude and uninviting - he didn't even bother speaking to me. I think he has a serious issue/problem with females. We'd only just put our spoons down on the plates and our bill was thrown at us and we were being ushered out of the door. I can safely say, I won't be coming back here ever again. There are some really beautiful places to eat in the area. Please don't waste your money by going here!

0 of 1 found helpful

We were really looking forward to our visit to Rasa having read the positive reviews. However we were really disappointed by the food, service and value. We were 3 adults with two children. We ordered the 3 set meals as we wanted to sample the various dishes. However, the selection was very poor and in addition we were told we had to order a main meal as we could not share the set meal with the children. We were given 3 deserts (rice pudding!) two of which we gave to the children. At the end of the bill arrived with a 12.5% service charge. There are many good places to eat in the area. Based on our experience this isn't one of them!

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