Rasa Samudra

Jay Serrao (15 February 2008)

As my fiancé is fond of South Indian food, I decided to treat her at a South Indian restaurant for Valentines Day. However, our experience was disappointing. If you do want to experience Rasa, please try their branch in Stoke Newington instead.

When I made the reservation, I specifically asked them what exactly will I get in their highly recommended seafood fare. The person said that we would get bits of all their seafood dishes. I am not a fan of preset menus but decided to give it a try. The starters were good.

The mains were very little in quantity. For £30.00 per head, you would expect a decent amount of food for your money. Instead, we were served a small portion of rice for two, a paratha bread, to be split into two, two fish dishes and a yoghurt and pineapple concoction. For dessert a plate with two inch heart shaped balls made with plantain, if I’m right, served with rose milk syrup. For the above, along with a bottle of Chablis I paid £97.00, which included 12.5% for low standard service. We felt we should’ve gone to Chez Gerard or Bombay Palace for the money we spent where the service and food is well worth it.

Kali (22 January 2007)

I was very disappointed by my visit to Rasa Samudra. I booked online and received an email confirmation but when we arrived they had no record of our booking. Despite being a busy Saturday night they did manage to find us (three people) a table. We were shown to a table in a small upstairs room and didn’t have the attention of the waiter again for the next 20 minutes. We eventually attracted his attention and ordered drinks. Another long wait before the drinks arrived and we could order food. The food was as disappointing as the service. After hugely over-priced poppadoms and chutneys to start, our mains finally arrived and were at best average. I had a masala dosa which came with lovely sambar but not very nice filling. My friends had a plantain and mango dish which tasted lovely but was lukewarm. By the time we’d had dessert we had been in the restaurant for three hours. We were having a leisurely meal but I’d say an hour of our time was spent just waiting for service. From my experience here and at the Rasa in Stoke Newington I’d say their restaurants are over-rated and massively over-priced. I will not be returning to any Rasa restaurant after two very disappointing visits.