Painted in the Rasa chain’s customary pastel pink and located at the Oxford Street end of Charlotte Street, Rasa stands out from the crowd – no mean feat on a street populated almost entirely by restaurants from every corner of the globe.

The Venue
Inside, the restaurant is made up of a series of small, intimate dining rooms, some available for private hire. The decor is simple and tasteful, with Indian wooden ornaments dotted throughout. It’s not flash, but nor is it plain and it’s certainly comfortable.

The Atmosphere
The series of small dining rooms makes for an intimate atmosphere, equally suitable for a romantic night, family celebration or business dinner but it’s not somewhere you go to see and be seen. Here the food takes centre stage.

The Food
A celebration of Keralan cuisine, Rasa’s menu is entirely composed seafood, fish and vegetarian dishes – carnivores will be disappointed. A pre-dinner snack of Rasa’s crispy bites (£4) is the perfect start to the meal. Achappam (a flower shaped snack of rice flour and coconut flavoured by black sesame and cumin seeds), pappadavadai (a variation on the pappadom), banana chips and murukku served with a selection of homemade pickles (£3.50) and chutneys made an interesting alternative to the traditional pappadom and mango chutney combination.

A starter of crab thoran (£7.50) (fresh crab stir fried with coconut, mustard seeds and ginger) is tangy and redolent of the sea, if a little dry in texture. Konju varuthathu (£7.50) (deep fried king prawns) served with a light mango mayonnaise is delicious, crisp and flavoursome with the dipping sauce providing the perfect foil to the prawn’s chilli and garlic marinade.

A main course of konju manga curry (£12.95) (king prawns cooked with turmeric, chillies, green mango and coconut) is mild and creamy. Koyilandi konju masala (£12.95) (prawns cooked with ginger, curry leaves and onions) is perfect, with the rich tomato sauce and meaty, succulent prawns holding their own. A nair dosa (£6.50) (a rice and black gram flour pancake filled with potatoes, beetroot, carrot and onion) is a delicious, if rather greedy accompaniment, to augment the rice (£3.75) and paratha (£2.50) shared between the table, but slightly more filling would be appreciated – if only because the rich earthiness of the beetroot and spices is moorish in the extreme. Puddings of mango kulfi (£3.00) and banana ice cream (£2.75) rounds off the meal nicely, cleansing the palate with sweet tropical flavours.

The Drink
Whilst Cobra, Budweiser and Becks are on offer for £4.35, the restaurant does stock a wide selection of reasonably priced wines (white and red) from £12.95 per bottle. Cocktails are also available as well as lassi and juices for the more sober.

The Last Word
A visit to Rasa serves as a welcome reminder that there’s more to Indian cuisine that chicken tikka masala. Well worth a visit.

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