Rassa | Featured Indian Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Waltham

Let’s start with the greatness: The food is absolutely delicious and I find myself craving more. Our waiter supported our experience by pointing out some recommendations and we followed his guidance to decide which dishes to try. He was spot on. The flavor profile was exquisite. Even when it came to the deserts. If you’re looking for great food you found an incredible treasure tucked into Waltham’s Moody Street Stretch.

It is also best to set up expectations for some areas where this establishment should invest time and consideration to raise the service standard to the food standard.

We waited about 20 min be acknowledged by anyone. The place was busy and I requested to sit at a different area than the host was walking towards. That could have thrown off the server to table ratio and thus that wait is not on them. Then we ordered a few drinks from the bar. It was Valentine’s day after all and in true Hallmark style my guest and I were making the most of our night out without the kids. We didn’t see those drinks for some time. We waited… and waited. Our server was able to review the menu, then give us time deciding, upon we took his input and makes a few selections. Our dishes were presented to us and still we waited for our drinks from the bar. They did eventually arrive but missed the mark in execution. Didn’t stop of from ordering a second round but even those took an eternity to materialize. For the owner of such an establishment financially this is going to make an impact. We could have consumed 3-4 bar cocktails in the span of the time it took to indulge in such exquisite food. Please hire someone behind the bar that can make a dirty martini. Do your homework here….. Put the love of the food behind the bar if you intend to offer.

Indian restaurants can also have various smells given the variety of spices used. Know that this is part of the experience. Most of which are pleasant and for those not familiar get ready to transport yourself into an establishment that transports all your senses.

Other than a somewhat unsatisfied host accommodating a table change, a delay in service ( that might not have been all their fault), and an inexcusable lack in bar service the food component for us makes up for the human errors that can be easily rectified.

It was a busy night, We look forward to return this Moody Street addition and want to encourage others to support them.

Until next time....

Just not good enough - will not go back.

We went here on a whim ( after shopping for Indian groceries nearby) as it looked pretty good from the outside, the menu felt like someone had put in some thought into what this was meant to be as an experience and anyway almost all Indian food is so mediocre in Boston that the need to find a place that is authentic was overwhelming…but we were deeply disappointed. We got seating pretty quickly and spent 15 mins seated before someone took an order and then another 60 mins before we received the final piece of what we ordered.

However we did figure quickly that this was not going well as two different sets of 4 people on 2 table next to us left without ordering after 30 mins (as they claimed) and so we ordered everything at one go when we managed to snag a minute with the waitress ( who was quite sweet and apologetic). Food itself was underwhelming. Masala dosa for example had too much rice and not enough lentil which made it taste rather bad…and the sambar was a sad story of its own. Lamb chops however was decent and the dahi Puri was ok. Guntur podi idli was just cut up idli.

The cocktail menu also looked interesting but what came out was pretty poor - the coconut drink definitely had potential but was not flavourful enough to be worth another attempt at drinking it.

We did ask for some desserts but when informed by staff that it would take 30 mins more, we decided to leave.

While I do understand that starting up a restaurant can be challenging but if you cannot provide a reasonable experience then it’s better not subject people to these sorts of poor experiences

For less than this price and similar quality there are other places within a few hundred metres where you can get Indian food.

Went back as i wanted it to be good - but was disappointed again - the fried rice and chicken manchurian was poor quality…mutton chukka was ok and meen pollichathu was nothing like the original though it tasted ok if you could dissociate the name from the dish. Falooda tasted ok but uses ice cream - which would be a no-go if one wants the real thing. That closes the chapter on this place for us - it’s a shame as they got a good place and could have been...

My husband and I dined here last week on our wedding anniversary. It’s a new Indian fine dine and we loved our time there.

We ordered the smoked kokkum drink 🍷 and a glass of white wine🍹loved the wine, it was sweeter than I thought, but nice.

We then got Dahi ke kebab for appetizer. The kebab had an amazing soft hung curd texture on the inside, and crisp on the outside. They were rich in flavor and very filling. The portion size was good (4 big kebabs) and the sweet and sour dip was yum.

We then asked our server (Abdul) for vegetarian entree recommendations, he suggested paneer kadhai🥘adding that it’s the ‘chefs special’ dish. We ordered paneer kadhai with chili garlic naan. 🫓

The food arrived pretty quickly, the paneer kadhai was unlike any other kadhai I’ve had before. The spices used in the dish and the preparation was delicious. It’s more on the dry side, and doesn’t have any dairy. The portion size of the sabzi was enough for 2 people. The naan was big and it tasted so good with the paneer kadhai. I cannot wait to try their other entrees.

The chef came to meet us and ask about his special kadhai recipe, and to our surprise, we knew him from another restaurant that we used to visit in Boston. He said he saw us and immediately recognized us. He mentioned that the spices he used to make the paneer kadhai is not store bought, but it’s his personal blend that he prepares at home. 🤤 we were really impressed. No wonder it tasted so authentic and different. 🤌🏼

Shoutout to Jay (the chef) and Abdul (our server) for making our dinner so special. They even bought us brownie with icecream for our anniversary. It was really thoughtful of them. ❤️

Just a side note- the entrees do not come with a side of rice, you will have to order it separately. Also, there is a 7% tax on the dish you order which is not reflected in the prices on the menu.

Having said that, since it’s an upscale restaurant with a full bar, the prices are definitely justified for the taste, authenticity and the quality of food and service. I will definitely go back another time.

This restaurant is in the heart of the moody street at Waltham, parking can be difficult to find. So be prepared to...