RASA — Restaurant in Toronto

Rasa is a tapas style restaurant located near Baldwin and Spadina. There are lots of trendy restaurants in this area and Rasa is no exception; from the darkly painted and canvassed patio to the dim but cozy interior, this restaurant stands out and gives off a great first impression.

The server assigned to our table was exceptional from the beginning to the end of our dining experience. She asked if this was our first time dining there and gave us helpful tips in terms of the portion sizes and how many dishes to order, as well as a detailed walk-through of their menu. We ordered Brussel sprouts, octopus and duck breast, plus a bottle of pinot grigio, all to share. She gave us sharing plates and even asked during the dinner if we wanted to get new sharing plates, which I thought was a very thoughtful touch.

The brussels sprouts and the octopus came first, and they were spectacular. The brussels sprouts were well roasted and served with deep fried onions and this spicy, but sweet sauce that just worked so well together. It was packed with so much flavour and had the perfect mix of different texture profile, it was definitely our favourite dish of the night. The octopus was similarly great - it was perfectly cooked so that it had nice char on the outside and very tender on the inside. It had this great subtle flavour profile and I liked how it worked so well with the other elements of the dish (i.e. the hummus and thin slices of rutabaga).

The last dish to be served was the duck breast, which I felt a bit let down by. The cook was inconsistent throughout - overall, I wish the duck breast had been slightly less cooked, as there were some tough parts. The seasoning was also not consistent, but the fat on the breast was well-rendered and crispy. Definitely the worst part was the bakchoy, which was overcooked and flavorless; it said on the menu that it is served with nuoc cham vinaigrette but I didn't get any of the tangy, sweet flavour you'd expect from nuoc cham. I'm wondering if they put nuoc cham while bakchoky was being stir-fried? That would make nuoc cham lose all the flavour, it's supposed to be served on top of something that's already been cooked. Due to the flavourlessness and the wilted state of bakchoy, it was just not really pleasant to eat. As such, I felt the duck breast dish was one dimensional with very little sauce provided and nothing with some acidity and/or sweetness to offset the heaviness of the duck breast.

Aside from the duck breast dish, I really enjoyed my dining experience at Rasa. It has a great vibe, and the music is kept at just the right volume to allow for easy conversations, so it's a great place to go for any occasion really. I wouldn't say it's an affordable dining place, but that's not what it sells itself to be; the prices are in the medium-high range, and they are totally reasonable given the quantity and the quality of food you are getting. Few things to keep in mind are that this place has 2-hour dining limit and it is VERY popular. While I was there, essentially all visitors who came without reservations were turned away. As such, make sure to book in advance and also decide on all the dishes you want in the first go, so that they can all be served within the 2-hour time limit. Overall, I'd happily recommend this place to anyone. I can't wait to introduce this place to my friends and family, it's truly a gem in...

OUR FIRST TIME HERE AS A LARGE GROUP (15 PEOPLE) ON A SATURDAY EVENING, & WE WERE DOING A SURPRISE DINNER FOR OUR FRIEND. THEY ALLOW YOU TO BYOB ($35 CORKAGE). THERE WAS A LITTLE MIX UP W.THE MENU FOR US BUT IT WAS PROMPTLY RECTIFIED & THE STAFF WERE SO GENUINELY APOLOGETIC ABOUT IT. OVER ALL, OUR VISIT THAT NIGHT WAS A SOLID 5/5.

SERVICE 5/5 ITS RARE THESE DAYS TO VISIT SUCH A HIGH VOLUME ESTABLISHMENT & NOT COME ACROSS AT LEAST 1 CRANKY EMPLOYEE. AT RASA, EVERYONE WORKED TOGETHER LIKE A WELL OILED MACHINE, TO KEEP THINGS RUNNING SMOOTH. GREAT TEAM WORK & ATMOSPHERE! CLAP CLAP XINFINITY!

ATMOSPHERE 5/5 SPACE IS A BIT TIGHT & THE PLACE DIMLY LIT, BUT THEY SET UP 2 TABLES, 1 BEHIND THE OTHER TO ACCOMMODATE US IN THE CORNER. THE BIRTHDAY GIRL WAS ABLE TO HOP BETWEEN TABLES TO MINGLE W.US ALL.

OVERALL FOOD 5/5 WE DID A SET TASTING MENU CONSISTING OF LIKE, I DONT KNOW, A BUNCH OF TASTY NEVER ENDING DISHES!! EVERYTHING WAS SO WELL COOKED, WE ALL ENJOYED A VERY TASTY DINNER.

OH, DID I MENTION THERE WAS LIKE 15 OF US AND HER PARENTS WERE THERE?!?!? ASIAN PARENTS, EATING OUT, AT A NON ASIAN RESTAURANT, & ENJOYING THE FOOD!!! MINDBLOWN I TELL YA.

CHOPPED SALAD 5/5 CRUNCHY CHICK PEAS, CUCUMBERS, FETA CHEESE, CHOPPED KALE, CHERRY TOMATOES, QUINOA & WHATEVER OTHER MAGICAL INGREDIENTS THEY TOSSED IN THERE, IT WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I CAN SEE WHY THIS IS ONE OF THEIR SIGNATURE DISHES. ITS A SALAD! HOW CAN A SALAD BE FAMOUS!? IM A FIRM BELIEVER IN "YOU DONT MAKE FRIENDS W.SALAD" BUT, I FOUND MY BEST FRIEND LAST NIGHT AT RASA! I LOVE YOU FOREVER!

SEA BREAM CEVICHE 5/5 + SHRIMP TOAST 5/5 + SEARED SCALLOP & GRITS 5/5 I USUALLY FIND SEAFOOD VERY 'FISHY'. NOT HERE AT RASA. THEY COMBINE ALL THESE INGREDIENTS SO WELL, IT BRINGS OUT THE NATURAL OCEAN TASTE WITHOUT THAT 'FISHINESS'. DELICIOUS!

DUCK BREAST 5/5 A LOT OF PLACES WILL OVER COOK THESE BABIES, MAKING THEM CHEWY AND JUST, BLAH. THESE GUYS HERE, COOKED PERFECTLY. ITS TENDER, JUICY, AND PLATED WITH A HOISIN SZECHUAN SAUCE & A SUNCHOKE PUREE. *SUNCHOKES ARE A ROOT VEGGIE OF THE SUNFLOWER PLANT FAMILY (THX GOOGLE!)

CRISPY LAMB RIBS 5/5 I NORMALLY PASS ON LAMB BC OF ITS GAMEYNESS. IF DONE RIGHT, YOU WONT GET THAT MALODOROUS BITE. THE CHEFS MASKED THAT AND PAIRED IT WITH A SPICY YOGURT SAUCE AND FERMENTED BLUEBERRIES (WHICH WAS GREAT)!

SLICED WAGYU BEEF 5/5 JUICY SMOKED TOMATOES, POBLANO CHILLI CHIMICHURRI, A CREAMY HOLLANDAISE SAUCE & PICKLED CELERY ROOT. THIS COMBINATION LEFT OUR BELLIES YEARNING FOR MORE!

TRUFFLE GNUDI 5/5 THESE BAD BOYS ARE SUPER CRISPY OUTSIDE & DELICIOUSLY FLUFFY INSIDE. TOSSED WITH SOME ASSORTED MUSHROOMS AND A WALNUT PESTO SAUCE. THIS WAS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE LAST NIGHT!

STICKY BUN DESSERT 5/5 TASTED LIKE A CINNAMON BUN W.MAPLE BACON AND ICING. I THINK THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT IT WAS! SO GOOD! AND IM GLAD IT WASNT OVERLY SWEET.

THANK YOU RASA FOR AN AMAZING DINNER!

WE WILL BE...

I think my review of RASA might be different if we had the tasting menu available as an option, but unfortunately, in the summer months when the patio is open, there IS NO TASTING MENU OPTION. Instead, you can ask for half orders of many of the appetizers. We opted for this choice and got to try many of the dishes that RASA had to offer. We came to RASA upon our friend’s recommendation, and our thoughts are below:

Apps - we got half orders of the chopped salad, the spicy ceviche, and the gnudi. Half portions for the salad and ceviche were large and the value was great. We LOVED the salad and the ceviche. Flavors, textures were great and they were very fresh dishes. The truffle gnudi was a disappointment, considering this was a highly recommended dish. The dough was kind of dry and flavorless, and this is coming from someone who loves gnocchi and truffles. Kind of a bland dish. Get the ceviche and chopped salad.

Entrees - the octopus was a massive letdown. For $44CAD, I was shocked by how small the dish looked, especially when the HALF orders of the salad and the ceviche looked like whole orders. I had to ask the server and specify if we got a half order of the octopus or if this was indeed the full order. Also, the presentation was different from what we saw online (they switched it up to this chopped chorizo octopus). We were not fans of this dish - the chorizo was heavy and overpowering and just felt like we were eating bbq’d sausage. Skip this dish - again, very surprised because the octopus was so highly recommended.

Branzino - branzino was delicious. Tender and crispy at the same time. Flavorful. Paired very well with the tomatoes, which were ripe and juicy. A little confused about the little potato chips, because we thought that was not necessary and detracted from what was otherwise an elegant dish.

Bone Marrow - good, but for $25CAD, overpriced, especially when the burger is only $21CAD.

Sticky Bun - overhyped, sticky, cinnamon bun with lots of walnuts on type and a couple pieces of candied bacon. The bacon was great, but the bun itself was kind of hard (like when you microwave bread and then let it settle a bit). Not as soft as I expected, and I really didn’t understand the hype on this one. I think I prefer Cinnabon more.

Honestly, the food would have been a good value if we had the $65 tasting menu, but for what we paid, I felt like we had a middle of the pack experience. Service was great and attentive. Patio was very nice in the summer weather. Cocktails did not even have clear ice, even though you paid almost cocktail-bar prices...