Rasa - Burlingame

Outstanding experience dining at (finally) Rasa that we had missed previously. We ordered several items, all exceptionally good. The sliders, a take on the Mumbai wada pav, is undoubtedly the best you can get in the Bay Area. They seemed to have corrected the tad bit of extra sweetness in their earlier recipe. I'd return just to eat those! Railway Peppers were a hit. We got the halibut in banana leaf and lotus root kofta for the main course, and again those did not disappoint. Dessert was delicious and gorgeous all at once. One of the cocktails we got was bourbon-based, it was great, I'd give the other espresso martini an 8/10.This place understands Indian cuisine and the balance of flavor without overdoing anything. Ambiance is cosy and beautiful, service impeccable. Can't wait to return, highly recommend!

We ordered 4 appetizers and 1 dessert for 2 people:- rasa slider: spice and clarified butter come on the side for you to adjust to taste. The sliders have good flavors but a bit greasy for my taste.- anhdra fried chicken: come with some battered fried leafy green. The spice is good ( I prefer the leaf over chicken) but again pretty greasy (esp the chicken)- shrimp uthappan: the marinate in the shrimp is good. But the pancake tastes a little bitter and is not crispy. Would totally not recommend this.- white elephant dosa: crispy and a little bit of chewiness in some part. The orange chutney is very gingery (which I like) and the white chutney has strong coconut taste which is also very good. Overall a solid dosa but nothing too crazy.- the chocolate dessert: the star of the meal. The whiskey jelly is interesting. Both the mousse and brownie are well done and have perfect sweetness level. The vanilla ice cream is too hard though, would be better if a little more soft. Would recommend this.This place has won Michellin guide several times so I expected the food to be better than this. Price is high and portion is small (except the dosa and dessert). Service is slow and we waited pretty long for each dishes.

Updated review. Food is great. Bombay sliders are still amazing. The dosas are gorgeous and two feet long. My issues are pacing. We were held hostage by a slow kitchen. Appetizers took forever. Entrees took forever and dessert another half hour. Overall the waiting was uncomfortable long, needless and was never addressed by the staff (server who didn't seem to notice or ask, or check back or was absent and manager with head elsewhere)They require a credit card deposit to take reservations which in my mind is pushing it, but is an opportunity to come clean on the fees that will be lopped on the already expensive check. A "health fee"/junk fee of 3.5 percent was added over the top which was a total surprise and i thought illegal now. They added a 20 percent mandatory tip bc we had a party of six. Never mentioned during the reservation process. They never mentioned this and almost tricked us into adding more tip on top of all this nonsense. This for a tedious experience. We will not be back.

We reserved a lunch spot on Resy after reading some really positive comments about this place (we were heading to the city anyway so it's a nice stop midway). There's plenty of street parking nearby.We were actually pleasantly surprised to learn that this place had won a Michelin star for a couple years previously. It seems though they change their menu quite frequently so some of the comments we read here that are a couple months old no long apply.We ordered the mussels and fried chicken for appetizers and butter chicken and duck for entrees. Both chicken dishes were really good, particularly the butter chicken which is very very tender. Probably the best Indian chicken dish we have had. The duck was also quite good though not as impressive. The mussels were ok, nothing particular to remember (the only thing we regret ordering).One thing to note is that we came here for a birthday celebration and the owner served us a complementary dessert. Very nice of them. Overall I would still give this place a five star for its service and some quite impressive items. Five star means we will revisit next time we are around the area.

Get this dish, Andhra fried chicken. You will not be disappointed. Flavor is crazy. Other items on the menu is delicious and unique. Service is amazing, waiter took time to explain the menu. It is a cozy place to meet up and eat.

I came here with a group of colleagues, so the company was already excellent. We began downstairs at the bar where I started with their thyme me up cocktail. This is a greyhound with more ingredients and I like it.We then went upstairs to our table. I like the wallpaper you pass with its birds and palm trees.We started with the vegetarian sliders with their mild flavor. Our next course was what they described as a type of idli, but really it seem to be more along the lines of a mound of green ponggulu (sp?) balls. Idli are usually larger, fluffier and shaped more like disks. The green color likely came from the chutney they had been dipped in. Because they were described to me as idli, I was first put off by the texture, but once I took them for what they were, they were fine. I wouldn't go out of my way to order them, however. Then came some calamari rings. The texture was a little tougher than I would prefer, but it didn't stop me from eating my share. Then were brought uthappam. These are little onion pancakes with very mild flavor. A little bit rubbery texture. The accompanying chutneys gave the flavor. Then came my main course. I already know they do a good butter, chicken, so this time I went with the duck biryani. The rice in the biryani was well prepared with each grain being separate. The flavor and aroma was very appetizing and there was plenty of duck in the dish. Some parts crispy and some tender for a good variety. I would definitely order this again and I left no leftovers :-)For dessert, we had the mango ice cream, Yum! And also the kulfi which arrived at the table looking like two frozen donuts. I believe one is flavored with rosewater and the other with cardamom.For my wine, I had a glass of the pessimist, which I suggest to let sit a little bit after it arrives at table, so that it opens up more. A member of our party fumbled her wine and the staff was there immediately to clean it up. And they were very good also about clearing dishes as they were finished without interrupting our conversations.Since we were more than a party of six, the add tip was 20%, to which I added a little more. The service here is very good with a number of people looking after the tables.

I came here last night to celebrate my would have been grandfathers 87th birthday. Indian was his favorite food so I really wanted to go out for a special dinner. To start, the food was SO expensive and the portions were so small. We ordered the butter chicken and it was like a child's portion. There was only two pieces of chicken, it was cold, not spicy, and lacked flavor. We also ordered the white elephant butter paper dosa, which highly recommended by our waiter. The gun powder dust was like crunched up Cheetos and it was quite thick and soggy. We told the waiter and they replaced it with the Genovese Basil Dosa and honestly we were still unimpressed, it lacked flavor and wasn't anything special. Overall a very expensive Indian spot and I don't know what the hype is all about. I've had way better Indian food in the Bay Area and will not be coming back anytime soon.

Definitely over priced but you're paying for the environment. The food was good and delicately flavored. I really enjoyed the butter chicken. They had a new dish on the menu that I tried it was a mushroom soup. Flavor was good but I felt like I needed more texture in the dish. They were very receptive to criticismFor this new dish which I really appreciate. Would definitely Come back here.

Came here for the first time on Sunday during dinner and the food was delicious! We sat at the bar since other tables were taken or booked, but we didn't mind. Between 2 people, we got their Andhra Fried Chicken, Genovese Basil Dosa, and Butter Chicken. My favorite dish we got was the Genovese Basil Dosa. It was fun to eat and packed with tons of flavor, I also loved all sauces for this dish! The Butter Chicken was also really good, the curry was rich in flavor. I also liked how it came with butter naan. The staff was friendly and also provided us recommendations on what to get next time we're here. I would say this is a high end modern Indian restaurant. I definitely would come back again!

Came for a nice work lunch and was absolutely blown away. The decor is beautiful and it really feels like they've paid attention to every detail. The service was quick and attentive and the food was fantastic. Got the Shepard's Dosa with spiced minced lamb. It was a perfect size for lunch with many dipping sauces. You could really taste the complexity of the spices and it is no surprise that this place has a Michelin star. This is a great gem in Burlingame!