Harden's survey result
Summary
Fans of the “unbeatable, unpretentious, delicious Keralan cuisine” at the three Rasas say it’s “not your standard Indian fare” – “the spicing is second to none, giving a unique, delicate and surprising balance of flavours”. They also say that the Stokie original, “established over 20 years ago”, is “still the best veggie curry in north London” (with meat an option at its younger Travancore spin-off across the road); and that its popular Oxford Circus offshoot is a handy – and good-value – option in the West End. All locations, though, suffer accusations that they are “not as good as they were”, and – though solid – ratings in each case no longer ‘smash the ball out of the park’ as once they did.
Summary
Fans of the “unbeatable, unpretentious, delicious Keralan cuisine” at the three Rasas say it’s “not your standard Indian fare” – “the spicing is second to none, giving a unique, delicate and surprising balance of flavours”. They also say that the Stokie original, “established over 20 years ago”, is “still the best veggie curry in north London” (with meat an option at its younger Travancore spin-off across the road); and that its popular Oxford Circus offshoot is a handy – and good-value – option in the West End. All locations, though, suffer accusations that they are “not as good as they were”, and – though solid – ratings in each case no longer ‘smash the ball out of the park’ as once they did.
Summary
“It’s easy to over-eat” at these basic cafés, whose still-quite-unusual Keralan menu is “still good after all these years” (“at the price it can seem quite amazing!”) and “much better than ‘normal’ north Indians for veggies”. The Stokie original is nowadays less popular than its “handy-to-know-about” offshoot “in the little patch near Oxford Circus bereft of decent options”.
Summary
“Enough to make a believer of the most ardent meat-eater”: these “rather basic” and primarily veggie Keralans are so good, especially the Stoke Newington original, that “it’s hard not to overeat”. But while they remain “great value” there’s a feeling amongst long-term fans that “a little extra would be needed to regain full marks” – “it’s still good, but the menu never changes, and doesn’t excite me like it did”.
For 30 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Rasa?
Restaurant details
55 Stoke Newington Church St, London, N16 0AR
Opening hours
lunch noon - 3 pm, dinner 6 pm - 10.30 pm
Last orders: 10.45 pm, Fri & Sat 11.30 pm
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