LF Review: ★★★★★
In 2007, Rasika, located in Washington D.C.’s high-energy Penn Quarter neighbourhood, won “Best New Restaurant” from the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington, and Zagat named it “Top New Restaurant” for the D.C. and Baltimore region the same year. In 2014, Rasika’s Executive Chef Vikram Sunderam, won the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic. In 2024, after much anticipation, the restaurant was included in The Michelin Guide. Consistently ranked among the capital city’s most celebrated dining destinations, Rasika offers a refined interpretation of Indian cuisine. Its fans are loyal and numerous. When I tried it, I understood why.
Offering both indoor and outdoor seating, the restaurant has an interesting and busy vibe. Stepping in, I noticed that the décor was made up of some lovely pieces of art by well-known Indian artists, including oil and canvas paintings by Arunabha Karmakar and sculptures by Vineet Kacker. I looked around, expecting the crowd to be mostly Indian, but surprisingly there were more people belonging to other nationalities – a testament to the growing popularity of Indian food, especially in a multicultural city like Washington D.C.
The well-lit bar housed a unique selection of boutique beers, single malts, wines and signature cocktails. Getting inspiration from an age-old approach to dining, the food menu blends traditional flavours with modern techniques, featuring signature dishes such as the Black Cod with fresh dill and honey, as well as a variety of vegetarian and vegan-friendly options. With a team that is mostly ex-Taj (an excellent luxury hotel group in India), you can’t explain anything lesser.
I began with the large helpings of appetizers. The Palak Chaat (crispy baby spinach with sweet yogurt, tamarind and date chutney) was a delicious choice to start with, apart from being attractive and colourful. Next came the Cauliflower Bezule, having mustard leaves, green chillies and crunchy curry leaves. Tawa Baingan was sumptuous, where eggplant and spiced potatoes were served with jaggery peanut sauce, as was the Paneer Makai Seekh with cottage cheese, corn and bell pepper. But the most unique of all was the Avocado Banana Chaat with cumin, red chilli powder, tamarind and date chutney.
“India is so diverse in terms of cuisine. At Rasika, we try to keep the menu as regional as possible. The most difficult part is catering to different palettes. So, whichever dish we put out has to be something that most people would like to eat. We do change the menu from time to time, but a lot of the dishes are favourites, like the Cauliflower Bezule, for instance,” explained Chef Sunderam, who hails from Mumbai and has been with Rasika since its opening in 2005.
Indian food tends to always be on the heavier side, but the entrée was yet to arrive. I began first with the Gujarati Lasagne, another out-of-the-box delicacy, where eggplant and zucchini filled khandvi is smothered in yogurt-based chickpea gravy. The dish was, in fact, served to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his first state visit to Washington D.C. in 2014!
Then came a south Indian dish, Carrot Beans Poriyal, having flavours of onion, lentil, mustard seeds and coconut. Another appealing choice was the Khubani ka Kofta, having cottage cheese, potatoes, apricots and cashew nuts. There was also Paneer Mirch ka Salan, where cottage cheese was paired with peanut, desiccated coconut, jalapeno and saffron rice.
Any Indian meal is incomplete without the comforting Dal Makhani, with its rich flavours of lentils, tomato and garlic. This was followed by a cooling Cucumber Raita. Dessert was another story. Each dessert had a fun twist on the original, and I particularly liked the Date Toffee Pudding, Cardamom Ice Cream, Apple Jalebi and Warm Black Rice Payasam.
Apart from these, there were a number of other tempting options on the menu, such as Ragda Pattice, Purple Potato Dosa, Kolkata Lamb Roll, Halibut Goan Curry, Duck Vindaloo and Bengali Shrimp Curry.
In all, a meal at Rasika turned out to be an experience of tasting a ‘mini-India on one’s plate’. With its elegant interior, innovative cocktails and attentive service, the restaurant’s creative yet authentic approach to Indian food offers both a taste of home and a distinctly DC dining experience — a reflection of the city’s diverse and sophisticated culinary scene.
LF Review: ★★★★★
Coordinates: 633 D St NW, Washington, DC 20004
