Rara

We came here on a weekday night for dinner. There was little wait and we were seated immediately. The ambiance was a bit on the emptier side, but still lively and our server was friendly and attentive! Our food also came out relatively quickly.We ordered:- Akbare Chicken Wings - Chicken was tender and the sauce was tasty, but very, very spicy! - Momo Sizzler (with Chicken Momos) - The momos were very flavorful and delicious. The filling was soft and a tasted great with the sauce that was on top. The noodles and veggies at the bottom were fresh and slight crispy (as it was cooking on the sizzling plate) and also tasted good.- Shikarni - Our dessert was delicious! The yogurt had hints of saffron and was coated with pistachios. It was subtly sweet and more tangy and the flavors were delicious and a great combination!Overall, I had a great time eating here and will be back in the future to try other items on the menu!

Went to Rara for a work friend dinner in the Fall (and forgot to finish writing my review). Can't say the last time I had Nepalese food so can't compare it to other experiences but we all thought Rara was good.Chicken momos with dry spicy rub - 5/5 Vegetable pan fried momos - 4/5Now, here's the test. I cannot remember what I ordered or what my tablemates ordered. I do remember liking my dish but the fact that i can't remember what it was (and I most often do remember what i ate months later) is telling. And i do remember one of my friends ordered something with chicken and he did not like it, and another friend ordered the vegetarian noodles and did not care for it either. Given this, I would not go back as there are other interesting places to eat in Palo Alto but if you have never tried Nepalese food, at least try the momos!

We made a reservation for dinner but didn't have to since there were many empty tables on a Saturday evening. The food was good and my toddler loved the kids menu items. We ordered lamb shank, chicken chowmein, kids chicken wings, cheese roti and Chhoila. We enjoyed everything except Chhoila which had a very strong taste of ginger. The food was good and flavorful. However, the service was biased to say the least. Despite ordering same dishes prior to another table that came in after us, our dishes were served to them first and when asked why we hadn't received appetizers even after 20 minutes of ordering, they said they "mistakenly" gave the order to the next table. There were multiple waiters hovering over next table whereas we repeatedly had to flag waiters down for basic requests. I would advise prospective patrons, particularly those from diverse backgrounds and neighboring countries of whose cuisine the restaurant purportedly celebrates, to exercise caution when considering a visit. It's a shame we won't be returning to try other items from the menu.

I had a lovely meal here. Restaurant is set up nicely and servers were all very friendly and attentive. Paratha - good portion, good flavor. Probably didn't need this in addition to all the rice/noodles we ordered though. Non veg set w chicken curry - I loved this. It was so fun to try a bit of everything, and it all tasted amazing. Lentil soup is especially delicious. Huge portion, can feed 1.5 people in my opinion. Lamb chop sizzler - the lamb is phenomenal. It's cooked well done but somehow still very tender and the flavor is very tasty. I thought the noodles were quite salty though, and the veggies were not too creative. But this dish is worth it just for the lamb!

My friends and I wanted to try a new type of cuisine and we stumble upon Rara in Palo Alto. This small restaurant serves Nepalese food and to our surprise everything was delicious and the customer service was really good. The restaurant was a little dim with accent lighting on walls.I really enjoyed the akabare wings (spicy!), gorkhali lamb shank (fall off the bone tender), and buffalo mono (juicy). It's a little hard for me to describe the flavors since a lot of the dishes we ordered was something we've never had before. It was like unlocking new flavors to my taste profile. I can tell that a lot of different spices were used so all the dishes were yummy. Overall, I would recommend Rara to anyone that is looking to try Nepalese/Himalayan food!

Rara and the service was good. The ambience is a little darker lighting and it feels like a finer dining experience. Food is Nepalese style so it's a fusion of Asian and South Asian flavors.Food ordered:1. Bhatmas Sadheko (4/5)This is a spiced roasted soy beans dish and had a little kick, but was mostly crunchy and savory with a sprinkle of zest freshness. A good sharing and veggie friendly appetizer.2. Chicken 8848 (5/5)The dish is fried chicken topped with a nice creamy house, almost tikka masala like, sauce was maybe the highlight of the meal. There's also a cauliflower version two for veggie people. 3. Skewer Lamb Kebab (3/5)The lamb kebab plate came with cut up cubed Lam that was cooked very nicely on top of a bed of yellow rice, and with sides of vegetables and salad.Chicken Momo (4/5)The chicken momo had a really good outside dough as it wS was not too thick and chewy, and there was plenty of delicious filling. It came with a side of two dips which were good but not anything too special imo.Tawa Roti (2/5), Paratha (3/5)The roti and paratha were very similar, but with the Paratha being a little tastier because it had more butter and more layers when you pulled it apart.Lamb Chop Sizzler (4/5)Lamb chops were beautiful and tender. Egg noodles were stir fried and yummy but similar to garlic noodles, but with some vegetables.Overall, all the dishes were good, but none of them really stood out tremendously. This is a nice place if you are looking for something more fine dining esque.

My wife and I stumbled upon Rara a few months ago, and we've been back several times, most recently to celebrate a milestone occasion with my extended family. Over the last 5-7 years, the South Bay has seen a rapid influx of Indo-Nepalese cuisine. Many of these spots, like Namaste Nepal, Everest Momo, and Himalayan Kitchen, are good hole-in-the-wall eateries or food trucks. However, Rara takes it up a notch.This cozy Palo Alto eatery offers a more refined dining experience with unique dishes that set it apart. From the appetizer menu, I've tried the 8848 Chicken, Akbare Wings, Goat Taas, Chicken Lollipop, Chicken Choila, Bhatmas Sadheko, and Chicken Momos. The Chicken Choila and Momos are definite standouts. The Choila, in particular, is exceptional with its bold Nepali peppercorn flavor - truly unique.From the mains, my favorite is the lamb chops sizzler, served on a bed of chow mein. The meat is tender, perfectly seasoned, and pairs beautifully with the flavorful noodles. While I found the Goat and Lamb curries slightly underwhelming - they were a bit watered down for my taste - the overall experience had far more hits than misses.The service has always been warm and friendly. A special shoutout to Keshav and Pratik, who've taken great care of us on multiple occasions. The head chef and owner, Binoj, has curated a unique cultural and culinary experience right in the heart of Palo Alto.I highly recommend Rara if you're looking to explore the broader, less familiar yet delicious aspects of Nepali cuisine.

The service is horrible here and the food is average. When we first arrived for our reservations, the guy in charge tried to seat us at a table between two other tables of people eating. We asked to move to a quieter area and he was annoyed by this request. The front of the restaurant was not busy so we sat by the manager's station. Clearly, sitting there should've meant that the guy running the show would see our empty water glasses without us flagging him down or he would see our dirty empty dishes piling up on the table but unfortunately, that was not the case. As dishes came out, we asked him to take our empty dishes and he replied to "just leave it." Since our table was full and he didn't oblige, we decided to put the empties on the table next to us where they continued sitting all evening.Given his apathy, I won't be back for their Tofu Chili, Grilled Paneer Sizzler, Chicken Chhoila, and Pulao which were the only items I somewhat enjoyed. The spicy level is on point. My friends said the Momos were not good and were really disappointing. We thought about trying their Mushroom Soup since it was cold outside but the manager recommended their Kwati Soup Bean Soup. He said it would be like a lentil soup and he was wrong. The Kwati Soup was green watery broth containing a few beans. The only good thing about the soup was that it was hot in temp.Before we left, we asked someone to take a picture for us and that person was really friendly. Too bad we didn't have this person serving us and instead we got stuck with the guy in charge who clearly didn't give a hoot.

First time having Nepalese food. They have some really delicious things on the menu here! Unfortunately I have to give them a low score due to an allergy issue which was the restaurant's fault.Superb:Cauli 8848 - breaded and fried cauliflower served in a creamy curry sauce. Delicious and cooked perfectly.Rara Special Fries - Not sure what I expected from this. It's a basket of fries served with a Thousand Island style special sauce. I will say, the fries were cooked perfectly, and the lightly battered surface gives a pleasing crisp. Not to mention it is a prodigious sum of fries.Lamb Chop Sizzler - grilled lamb chops served with a heap of chow mein and some vegetables. These were succulent and had a lovely charred flavor from the grilling on the exterior. Incredible.Good:Buffalo Momos - my first time trying momos. The filling is a little greasy but good flavor on the filling and the 2 sauces are good as well.Nepali Fried Wings - Crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. I think the spices they put on the wings was a little light, and it needed the sauce accompaniment. Overall solid option.Nepali Roti - these are fresh and have a good homemade flavor to them.The item I had an issue with is the Nepali Jeera Pulau. On the menu it states that the item contains "cashew nuts". This dish was served to our party with peanuts, which I am allergic to. Now I don't have a particularly severe allergy to them, but this could have caused a more serious situation for someone who could have an anaphylactic reaction. I did feel my mild allergic reaction (itchy throat, stomachache) after eating a little bit, but I was otherwise fine. After visually confirming there were peanuts in the dish, we notified the staff of the incident, and they checked with us to make sure I was OK. They pointed out to me that I did not mention my allergy before ordering, but I did not think it necessary since peanuts were not even mentioned in the description of the menu item.For that reason alone, I have to give this place a significantly lower rating. The restaurant needs to be more careful with their menu items. Mixing up cashews and peanuts could be a potentially fatal mistake.

Great food great ambience ,Service great If you want some authentic Nepalese food this is the one.