Rara — Restaurant in Palo Alto

We were in Palo Alto for a day and came across Rara, a Nepalese restaurant with amazing reviews and so we had to try it and it certainly did not disappoint.

We were greeted by Supriya who took our order and explained everything we asked about thoroughly and patiently. Even when she had to go in the kitchen to clarify a few items for us, she kept a smile on her face throughout.

We went for almost everything she recommended which were the cauli 8848 and akbare chicken wings for appetisers. They were a little spicy, nothing we couldn’t handle, but caution for people who do not take spice well. Overall to us, it was well balanced and we could not stop raving about the flavors.

Then came the Momo which we had read in another yelp review claiming that it was the best in the Bay Area, and though I have not tried many, I must say, this was delicious. There were so many types of momo styles to choose from, but we chose the tomato sesame soup in lieu of the cold weather and it felt like a nice warm hug.

To keep the experience super authentic, we ordered the dal bhat khana with meat set which we were told is what the locals would usually eat. It is basically a rice platter that comes with dal (lentil soup), meat curry (we chose fish), spinach, fried okra, pickled radishes, tomato chutney and papad (lentil chips). The flavour combinations were interesting and you definitely get some umami out of this. I would say it’s value for money because you get one spiced tea or buttermilk drink to try and a dessert at the end.

It was paired with shikarni which is a creamy, rich, and decadent dessert made up of hung yoghurt, pistachios, sugar and spices. I believe traditional shikarni does not contain cream cheese from what I’ve read, but this one did and it totally elevated the dish.

We even had the chance to speak to the restaurant manager, Ishav, who shared that this restaurant is only 3 months old but we were surprised to see operations run so smoothly and food tasting like perfection like as if they’d been open for a long time. There is a sense of synergy between everyone who works there, because they come from the same community, everyone is either family or is treated like family in the team and it definitely translates into their food & service.

Their mission is to share their cuisine with others and the large, beautiful pictures of Rara lake & mountains is put up in order to invoke curiosity and interest in Nepal as a tourist destination. With that said, the calm music and ambient lighting could mentally transport one to such a place.

I would totally come back here again for more! Thank you for the warm hospitality Supriya, Anis,...

Rara is a very interesting joint. Because of its exclusivity to Nepali food they use a lot of spices that most people are not familiar with. This was my favorite part of eating here the straight uniqueness. The food was ok, but still tasty. We started off with the Asan Indrachowk Ko Lassi which I just loved so much. It wasn’t super sweet, but it was very refreshing and creamy. It was also a little sour so beware, but I loved the contrast. There was also an insane amount of pistachios in the drink which gave it a lot of texture and nutty flavor! Then we got the cauliflower 8848 which was one of my favorite dishes. That creamy gravy both the chicken and cauliflower were in for the 8848 dish is just sooooo good. It is creamy and a little sweet, but also a lil salty and savory. That gravy definitely carried the dish for both the chicken and cauliflower. Both the cauliflower and chicken tasted very fresh and were both perfect textures for the dish! The cauliflower was a little crispy while the chicken was more tender so the dishes were a tad bit different. Then the Mustang Aalu was interesting. The potatoes were quite spicy and the sauce wasn’t the perfect fit for the potatoes, but it was still a good crispy dish with a lot of flavor. However I am sure there were probably better vegetarian options. Then came the Akbare chicken wings which had lots of flavor and were nice and hot🔥, but they were super moist and had no crispness like wings should which made it definitely lose points with me. The Rara Golden Nest was another dish that was good but still lackluster. There wasn’t much flavor in the dish and I had a different idea for the deep fried Rara noodles. I wouldn’t suggest this dish but the sauce that accompanied the dish was very unique to Nepal so if you want to try a peculiar but tasty sauce from Nepal still give it a try. The ambiance of Rara was very nice with good comfy seating, clean tables, calming music, and a cultural interior. The service was also great with some really kind servers. They were quite kind and funny, but they did make a couple mistakes so make sure to be extra attentive. OVERALL I would definitely recommend Rara to others for the unique experience of eating Nepali food, but I most likely would...

We had a 6:30 reservation for two on Father's Day. The restaurant was very busy.

The service was slow and a bit disorganized. We waited quite a while before our order was taken. It was about one half hour before we received our appetizer and another half hour to get our main dishes.

While waiting, there was ample time to take in the pleasant decor and observe what other diners had ordered. All of it looked very appetizing.

We also noticed that many diners like us had been waiting a long time for their orders---and when food did emerge from the kitchen, the tickets were not complete, or were only partially filled. (For example, with the family of 5 next to us, everyone was almost done with their meals before the mother was finally served. And at the table across from us, 2 guests were finally served, but the remaining 3 in their party had to wait longer for their food to come.)

Whatever the glitch was in the kitchen, the actual food, when we finally got it, was all fantastic.

The Chicken Momos (10 pcs in one order!) were outstanding. My husband and I each ordered a Dal Bhat Khana Set (he had chicken, I had the vegetarian)--next time we would probably split one set and order another curry or chicken lollipops which looked good.

Because of the excellent food, I'm willing to give Rara another try. Hopefully, on a less busy day, the service will...