Rasa Samudra

We had heard a lot about Rasa and decided to check it out. We happen to be from the Kerala and Rasa specialises in food from the region. However, we were quite disappointed to see that their claims of "most authentic Malayalee/Kerala food" was just that - a claim and nothing more.

The food has been highly modified to suite the Wetsren palate. Some of the dishes have been altered to the extent that they niether look nor taste anything like original. For example, the kappa and meen curry is cooked more like the north India kichdi or the middle eastern ali's soup, with the kappa (tapioca) floating in an almost bland fish curry and this is served with rice! The morkachiathu is not tangy at all and has diced tomatoes in it, cabbage thoran had chopped coconut pieces as opposed to grated cocunut.

To be fair, I must add that the owners have done a great job in popularising the Kerala food an culture. In fact Das has created a market for a cuisine which was not that poular in the UK, but any Malayalee looking for a nadan fare should just steer clear of this joint, they might get a more authentic fare in one of the Tamilian joints in East London or Wembley!
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M
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 1
Wednesday, October 01, 2008

I've been here twice now and so far have not been disappointed. I love fish and as a south Indian, thought Rasa offered great south indian fish dishes at reasonable prices for central london (though charging £7 for chutneys was a bit excessive). Service was good too and it was nice to see the owner interacting with diners. I will certainly be going back and trying more dishes from the menu.
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Abbie
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Saturday, September 20, 2008

I was taken here on 12th April 2008 and had very high hopes of a great meal. But I have to say I was very disappointed. The starter (Lamb Puff) was nice but the Chicken Masala and Coconut Rice was very bland indeed and small portions. The staff were friendly enough but service was slow. Overall it came to £35 a head which was about £10-15 higher than the food warranted.
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Nick Pollins
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 3
Monday, April 14, 2008

Just had a dinner at Rasa Samudra and the first thing i do after this is write a review about my experience. Disaster in all sense. I was robbed of around 25 quids per head and dont even feel like filled.

If you know any bit about Kerala food, you will be disappointed to eat here. None of the dish was near to being a kerala dish. Let alone the famous fish curry or popaddum.

When i order a salted lemonade, i get a sweet lemonade with some bowl of salt. How can the waiter be so dumb?

The service is very slow. Had to wait for 15 mins for starters, then a break of 30 mins for main course and then 15 mins for the bills.

Does 4 tiny spoons of pickle cost 3.5 quids ? Either they cheat or they have brought some very rare species mangoes to make it....

Anybody sensible enough should not try this lousy restaurant. Better places to find better kerala or indian cuisine.

If i give any stars to this restaurant, then the stars are meaningless.
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Sushant
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Saturday, April 12, 2008

Went to this restaurant with a couple of friends last night and was a bit disappointed , to be honest.

First off - portion of popadoms - £2.95 ! Most places these come for free or are 50p . Blatantly ripping off people and mean to charge for this item.

We then chose two starters to begin with and out came 2 of the tiniest samosas you have ever seen, all pastry and no filling, followed by a pancake like onion bhaji - solid, not fluffy. poor value and not suitable for sharing as in some places you expect.

Mains - very small portions of lamb curry, tandoor chicken and a biryani rice dish.

Quality - acceptable, not brilliant. very small portions of rice.

couple of tiger beers at £5 each.

i am used to going to curry houses and being full after i leave but i feel the restaurant management here have got brick lane syndrome, which is basically small portions + everything in the menu priced £something .95 to con you into thinking you're spending less = bitter taste in mouth when receiving bill.

I'm a bit of a traditionalist and don't like the charging extra for rice but will let that pass , but £3 for a very small portion of rice when it costs £1 per kilo is too much.

It was £60 for 3, it was worth about £30. When did curry get expensive or subject to mean portion control?

won't be going back.
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James
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Wednesday, February 20, 2008

As my fiancé is fond of South Indian food, I decided to treat her to a South Indian restaurant for Valentines Day. However, I am very sorry to say our experience at Rasa Samudra in Charlotte street was pretty abysmal. They were taking all the customers on 14/02/2008 for a ride that night and we would thoroughly recommend everybody to stay well clear of this restaurant. And this is coming from a Brit whose origins are from the south of India and is very aware of the food that originates from the place.

However, if you do want to experience Rasa, please stay clear of their branch in Charlotte street and try their branch in Stoke Newington instead.

I maintain this because when I made the reservation with Rasa Samudra (Charlotte Street) on the 11/02/2008, I specifically asked them what exactly will I get in their highly recommended ‘SEAFOOD FARE’. To which the person on the other end replied that we would get bits of ‘ALL’ their seafood dishes that they offer. I’m not a fan of preset menus but I decided to give it a try.

This was my experience for my reservation at 07:00 PM 14/02/2008.

Welcome – OK

Starters – Must admit was good but not great

Main Course – This put my mood off mainly because of the quantity they were serving. For £30.00 per head, you would expect a fairly decent amount of food for your money. Instead we got served the following –

One small portion of rice – To be split into two

One warmish ‘Paratha’ bread – To be split into two

2 fish dishes

One yoghurt concoction (with pineapples in it) ????

Dessert – One plate which had the following –

Two 2 inch heart shaped balls made with plantain (if Im right) served with an awful rose milk syrup.

For the above, along with a bottle of Chablis I paid £97.00 which included 12.5% of a pathetic low standard service. We left in a huff because we expected better.
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Jay Serrao
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Friday, February 15, 2008

We found this restaurant by accident and were so impressed we are making a return trip with friends. I am amazed by the reviews about the pushy waiter and poor service -we found the staff were brilliant,very helpful and keen to explain what we were eating. We ordered two taster menus -one fish and one vegetarian and everything was superb. This is very different from standard Indian food (which I also love) -lighter and full of unexpected flavours with a lot of coconut and fruit dishes -we will definitely be back!
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, January 29, 2008

A knowledgeable friend took us here, claiming it was the "best South Indian" in central London. We're converts now. She particularly recommended an unusual item featured here -- the uppum, a light "pancake" they make on a burner in the main dining room. Start with an order of "snacks" to dip into a quartet of chutneys. Then sop your uppum in the shrimp curry or eggplant with creamy yogurt sauce, swill a cold beer and enjoy life. Service was fine; they never rushed us as we chatted all evening. My mouth is stilll thinking about those uppums...
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Bagan
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Thursday, October 25, 2007

Food OK but attracts a strange crowd. Nearby diners (2 Chaps) were talking very loudly about their recent conquests in the most vulgar fashion. Revolting.
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samantha
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, October 10, 2007

This review is short but the wait between courses wasn't. Being in a table of eight I think they just wanted to see if we'd drink more (bad luck to them we didn't, we just got hungrier). When the food eventually arrived, the plates were cold and the food barely warm. Witholding part of the service, the waiter demanded to know why, and then had the audacity to 'check with the manager' when given the reason. Not cheap and not a not a terribly nice dining experience.
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Ivor
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, September 26, 2007