RASA

Rasa Indian Bowl Restaurant offers a unique dining experience with its blend of traditional Indian flavors and modern bowl presentation. Located in the vibrant heart of Arlington, it attracts both locals and visitors seeking a taste of India in a contemporary setting. The menu boasts a variety of bowls, each promising a rich and aromatic culinary journey. One of the standout dishes is the Butter Chicken Bowl, which delivers on its promise with creamy, buttery sauce enveloping tender chicken pieces. This dish was particularly satisfying and left us eager to explore more of the restaurant’s offerings. However, the Spicy Chilli Chicken Bowl did not quite meet expectations, as the flavor profile leaned more towards Achari Chicken rather than the expected chilli kick. While the portions at Rasa Indian Bowl are generous, they may not match the larger servings found at Mezeh or Chipotle. Despite this, the quality and taste of the food make it a worthwhile visit for those who appreciate authentic Indian cuisine. The restaurant’s ambiance is inviting, with a cozy atmosphere that enhances the dining experience. Overall, Rasa Indian Bowl Restaurant is a commendable addition to Arlington’s culinary scene, offering a delightful blend of flavors and a unique dining concept. Whether you’re a fan of spicy dishes or creamy comfort food, there’s something on the menu to satisfy your cravings.

Nice location, 10 min walk from the Capital. Service was super fast, you can build your own bowl, salad or Indian burrito. Their chicken tikka bowl was delicious!

Fresh, flavorful curries in large portion sizes! I’ve tried their paneer masala with a side of potatoes and cauliflower and roti - which is essentially a full-sized Indian meal, for under twenty. Their samosas and mango lassi were also quite filling and delicious.

Enjoyed Rasa in DC! The Indian wraps were packed with flavor, and the sauces? Chef’s kiss! Service was quick and friendly, and the outdoor seating made it even better. Plus, the area has other food options, so our whole group was happy. Can’t wait to go back next time I’m in the area.

Came here multiple times in the past but always had a custom bowl. Today I ordered one of their pre-built bowls. 16.08$ for little bit of rice with califlower and potatoes. Totally overpriced., no toppins, dry. I asked, what about the toppings? Where I was told they can’t add them to pre-build bowls. I should have just walked out. Not even a kidsbowl worth of food.

Update: I appreciate RASA’s quick responses to my review and follow up email. I will update this review in the near future. I usually enjoy the food here, but my online order was COLD and missing items (they made it when I arrived). My main was cauliflower and potatoes (very small portions- 2 cauliflower and 2 or 3 small potatoes), lots of cold spinach, no mango salsa, no lentil chips, plenty of cold corn and sexy greens. I live in the neighborhood, this will be my last visit to Rasa.

I loved this place! I found it on a whim when my flight was delayed and it was 5 minutes from the airport. It’s basically an Indian version of Cava. The chicken tikka + avocado salad was phenomenal!! The flavors were delicious and complex. But honestly everything on the menu looked soooo good. And the decor is so aesthetic; the whole vibe is very curated. I would be thrilled if this became a nationwide chain. I’ll be back if the opportunity arises!!

Great Chipotle approach to Indian. Food was- delicious. Got the Saag Paneer. Thai Fire sauce was... Well, FIRE!

Absolutely loved this place and everything about it. Excellent lunch spot in Crystal City. The food was so flavorful and so good. "Aloo need is love" bowl was great. Healthy fast food...yes! Line was pretty efficient. Mango lassi was great. Eating on the sidewalk spot outdoors. Priceless. Got me out of the windowless stuffy conference room where I was at.

While the Paneer wrap was quite filling, the service put a sour taste in my mouth. The hearty Paneer wrap with a spicy kick was stuffed to the brim with rice, paneer, tomato sauce, chick peas, and chutney. The ingredients didn't blend that well together and don't resemble the photos. I wish the wrap could be customized with more mild sauces and lentils instead of rice. I'll have to ask ahead of time - next time! When I asked for substitutions on the spot, the grumpy female worker annoyingly said no. I understand the wrap can't be fully customized, I expect a better attitude from the staff member. I noticed a similar apathetic attitude at the Mount Vernon in D.C. and Mosaic District in VA. Service seems to be a pervasive problem at all of the locations. While I'm rooting for Rasa with good food and the founding brothers seem nice, I don't visit often due to the lack of customer service.

Ambiance: (5/5) There is great indoor and outdoor seating. I loved the decor as well. Price: (3/5) I think it is a bit expensive. This is an Indian take on Chipotle, but I feel like I got less food for a higher price. Food: (4/5) For a fast food type of restaurant I did enjoy the chicken tikka bowl. They had a variety of sauces and toppings that you can use to customize, but keep in mind they don't put a lot of each topping. Service: (5/5) Very nice staff!

Loved the food here. Indian taste, style of cooking but style of serving is Mexican. We had a Chicken tikka burrito (called wrap in restaurant) and the taste was truly flavourful. The staff was kind enough to add more of the curry

Came back again for Rasa at this location. It was the first place I've tried it and I'm happy to say they've kept their standards high. Food is absolutely delicious. Ingredients are fresh, and portion sizes are generous in my opinion. I ended up customizing my bowl as I had a $5 reward to redeem. Did a mixture of grains and super greens with chicken. I have to say though, it was the eggplant that I thoroughly enjoyed. Placed the order through the mobile app and was immediately greeted and handed my food on arrival. It's a decently sized restaurant. Not a lot of space because it's in crystal city but enough for a casual quick bite with friends, co-workers or alone.

Have came here in the past and enjoyed the foods got an open sesame bowl and tikka chance on me (chicken). The server did a beautiful job spreading the sauces. However, it feels like the base and protein has gotten smaller since the last time I've had it. The place us super colorful but ended up eating outside with the warm weather

Many years later and the food is still good BUT the customer service which was fantastic... is even better! I wish I got the woman's name who was working, I believe that she might be the manager. For years she has been kind and goes above and beyond. I bought tons of beverages and was unable to carry them out and she happily voluntarily helped me. She's rare and sets the bar HIGH!

I don't need to say much. It was delicious! I loved everything I tasted, from the naan to the bowl I had, to the drinks, to the ambience! Great food, friendly service. Definitely a go back to spot.

One of the things I love about DC is the ability to get any type of cuisine you're craving. Rasa is an Indian fast food place. I tried it a long time ago when they catered an work event but for some reason I never went to their restaurant. They now have several locations. This location was closest to where I was staying when I recently visited. There's a ton of construction going on and it took forever to find a garage to park in. Terrible! Ordered the Eat Your Veggies entree and it was yummy! The portion size was enough for lunch and dinner. Price was good. If you're ever in the DC area and want to try Indian food in a fast casual spot, this is worth a try!

I honestly can't say anything negative about this spot. Food was good. I particularly really liked the cookies. The customer service was amazing. Very polite staff. I loved the ambiance as well, because I really enjoyed their playlist. It was a nice place to get away and have a little peace and good food for lunch. In my opinion, the pricing was also adequate.

I am always worried when a restaurant tries too hard to be cool. I feel like restaurants try to overcompensate with decorating to make up for their food. However, this place was delicious. I had a vegetarian tandoori bowl. The flavors were excellent, and the portions were just right. I also had a spiced tea, again excellent. I could do without the obnoxious music. Service was also slow. Seems like on a Saturday, they don't expect anyone, so they hang out in the back. Please don't give up; they will come out and help you. I definitely would come back.

We were looking for a place to have dinner and came upon this fast-casual place. It's on a block with a few other restaurant options. This is the restaurant with the giant door! We opted for this to accommodate a few dietary restrictions. Someone described this to us as "Indian Chipotle" -- you can create your own bowl. However, there are also some pre-made bowl combinations, and I opted for one of those. I like that their combo options all have cute/clever names! I love lamb, so I opted for their lamb kebab bowl option. Lamb was tender, flavorful and not gamey and I appreciate that it came with a vegetable too. However, there were bits of eggplant that were a bit too burnt. Little bit over charred... That said, I liked the flavor combo with the lamb and the chutney/sauces. Generous with the servings. I also ordered a side of garlic naan. I'd skip the naan next time. Wasn't that good. The restaurant decor is very cute! We ended up dining in because it was too cold to walk back to the hotel. Colorful and kitschy.

Went here this past weekend with some friends from the NationStates Sports community. We write roleplays about fictional nations and the national sports teams of those nations. Anyway, many of us from US/Canada IRL got together in the DC area this past weekend. On Sunday, we hung out at Crystal City playing board games then went to RASA for lunch. The create your own food was delicious, I got some chicken with rice because the spiced beef was cooking and I didn't want to wait. And it was so good. I haven't eaten much Indian food before but this was good. It was spicy and amazing. Lots of different spices, lots of different tastes, so good. But you can get non-spicy stuff too if you want. Incredibly flavorful food, much better than I'd have thought fast-casual would be. It is delicious and I would highly recommend, especially if you're hanging out in the area to begin with.

Every time I am in DC make a point to stop here! The food, the atmosphere, the service... It is absolutely worth your time to try this place out! And they have a hilarious sign in the bathroom

We've been looking forward to trying this cute little place for some time. We stood at the counter for nearly 10 minutes, waiting for an employee to greet us. It was not a big deal initially because we were looking over the menu. However, that became old, and I had to yell into the kitchen to get somebody's attention. We were not super impressed with the service, but we thought we should give it a chance. We started by ordering drinks and some naan bread. Another mistake! They were out of all their beers, the naan bread was cardboard, and we had to empty the chips out of our bag to get to the dipping sauces. One of which was not even filled.

Well worth the $17.24!! RASA definitely has me hooked....extremely tasty and fresh. I shall return!

Food for veg is extremely bad. Perhaps veg people should avoid this place unless you want to eat some rice, a spoon of gravy, a spoon of spinach/ side, few toppings ... lassi is 5 USD for a average size cup. Taste was below normal. Do not go here if you think this is a modified Indian restaurant or Indian cuisine. It is more like boiled everything on top of rice ... no salt or any sort of spices. May be it is targeted for people who are on bland diet. Service is OK. Ambiance is above average for this locality. Disappointed with veg choices and taste.

Affordable build your own bowl style Indian restaurant with a huge variety for everyone! The open sesame was great, especially the eggplant pieces. Beautiful presentation and fast service with a great balance overall. The garlic naan was decent, probably wouldn't go for it again.

Super good. I ordered the vegetarian and I did not expect it to be that delicious. It was very refreshing and healthy. I would definitely recommend!

I would describe this place as the Chipotle-version of contemporary Indian-fusion. They have a few specific bowls you can order but otherwise it's a free for all selecting items off their menu. I ordered only vegan items and topped everything off with the unlimited sauces and crispy toppings. Everything tasted fresh and vibrant. I guess how your bowl turns out depends on how you blend the flavors! P.s. the young man at the front kindly answered all of my questions and then did a repeat for the lady who came in after me.

I tried RASA for the first time a couple days ago and I was truly impressed. I'm a huge fan of Indian food but was hesitant to try RASA because I didn't know how authentic it would be. After the fact I was ashamed to even question their cuisine. I tried the "Goa Your Own Way". My team did carry out so we did not eat at the restaurant but the decor was nice. Look forward to going back again.

A younger person in my party really wanted to try this out. The energy was great - Decor was a lot of fun to look at. I admitted I had no idea what I was ordering. The gentleman was very kind and service oriented and did not judge at all. He made some recommendations. I ended up with Tikka Chance on Me. I also picked up a Mango Lassi to drink. The combination was great. While the food had a lot of flavor, and my mouth was a bit warm, it was not super spicy and my eyes were not watering. The combination of the various vegetables and yogurt sauce rounded out the flavor profile and tempered the spice considerably. It was a great meal and encouraging experience.

It is crazy how good the food is. As well as the people who work there. And the interior design is super cool. Would recommend to everyone who deserves this royal food.

Ordered online and picked up at the location. Very fast and convenient way to get your food with COVID going on. I ordered the Tikka Chance On Me dish. Its a very delicious meal! If you're looking for traditional Indian food, this may not be the spot for you. Its more of a fusion with American. There are slight Indian spices and has a slight kick to it. Not my favorite, but I would have their food once and a while.

Excellent and will be back. The service was friendly and food was tasty. You don't need reservations and will enjoy it.

First there was Chipotle, and then CAVA emerged. Do we have a pattern? RASA may be in a city near you before we know it! When I usually step into a Chipotle style concept, I usually default of a pre-made menu item as I get overwhelmed with the create your own selections, especially when there's a queue. The name of the food items are quite clever if I may add. I ordered Goa You Own Way ($13) on my visit, which consisted of spiced beef, coconut ginger sauce, basmati rice, tossed green beans, pickled onions, mint cilantro chutney, and roasted lentils. Lots and lots of varying flavor profiles depending on what you pick at in your bowl. Overall super filling and would love to try the other items on the menu. Maybe even build up the confidence to build my own eventually.

Looking for a samosa snack or a full, fast meal? Go here! I don't know what took us so long, but this is now a go-to when we are around Crystal City (tourists, you may know the area as National Landing). Build your bowl and enjoy the food. Don't skimp on your sauce choices!

Tried their Tikka Chance on Me bowl to go for a quick dinner. 5/5 recommend. So good!

I wish I could give Rasa a higher rating but the problem is you get much less food than at similar buffet-style salad bowl lunch places like Cava and Mezeh. They force you to choose only one ingredient from several categories, and within those categories they are super super careful about portion size, so you only get a small portion of everything. With Cava and Mezeh they're a lot more flexible and accommodating, they'll let you get extra meat or something and tell you "it's $1 extra" or something like that. At Rasa they rush you through the whole process and what you have is usually a bowl with greens, a few tiny servings of some veggies and a few sauces on top. The skimpy portions are much less of a deal than at Mezeh and Cava.

Tried two things hear. The decor pretty good BUT the food is definitely below average. We ordered samosa chaat which was just the right quantity but just v mediocre. The second meal was bowls with chicken tikka - nothing great. I would avoid second time visit

First time trying a place like this. The lamb was really good! They had a lot of gluten free options and easy to customize your bowl.

Me and my girlfriend were excited that we finally got a chance to grab dinner at the first Virginia location. We liked what we had at the First St location and hoped that they were consistent between locations. We placed an order online for the Tikka Chance on Me bowl, the Goa Your Own Way bowl, 2 garlic naans, a samosa chaat, 2 mango lassis, and 2 masala chai cookies. We ordered each thing separately because it looked cheaper than the doing the meal for 2. Pickup was pretty tough because everything along Crystal Drive is packed with cars picking up and dropping off so make sure you park or it's in walking distance to make it easy. The food traveled ok not much to complain about there. The Tikka Chance bowl was ok, good amount of chicken tikka, lots of veggies, and a decent amount of basmati rice. I was a little soupy at the bottom, not sure where the liquid came from. My girlfriend liked the Goa Your Own Way bowl but it was a little spicier than she expected. The garlic naans were solid but not too much garlic on them. I liked the samosa chaat, good amount of toppings on top of the two samosas. Pretty hefty bowl, could make for a hearty snack. The mango lassis were nice and creamy, good mango and yogurt flavors. The chai masala cookies were really good, they were soft and chewy with strong a chai flavor. Not sure if they were soft from being heated in the bag but I don't remember them being soft last time. Overall pretty good dinner, I was full and we had plenty of leftovers. Pricing between separate items and the meal for two were weird but it's pretty decent prices for a fast casual place like this.

Food tasted good. Employees were friendly and helpful. Ambiance was cute with carefully and intentionally chosen decorations and design elements. Overall very good experience.

I was so so so disappointed with my dinner tonight. The last time I ate at Rasa, they were fairly new and the food was good and fresh. When I went at 6:30 pm this evening, most of the food was cold and dry. I don't eat meat so I wanted shrimp but the 4 pieces of shrimp left looked so dehydrated and sad. I asked for extra green beans (as a side) but when I took a bite, they were so stringy and dry The guy working there didn't help the matter either because he was not friendly ( even with a bit of an attitude) and not so helpful. $15 of dinner in the trash bin. I will never go back.

Came here for lunch on a weekend, got a built-my-own bowl with half rice noodles, a quarter spinach, and a quarter lettuce for my base, half chicken tikka and half tofu & cauliflower for protein, tomato garlic sauce, pickled onion, beets, carrot slaw, cucumber, corn, mango, mint chutney, jalapeno chips, and lentil chips. The food was fresh, quite a good portion for $11.83 including tax. Flavors were good, but the chicken was dry and not very flavorful. Inside was clean and had quite a few tables, some outdoor seating as well.

Rasa is a feast for the senses. Beautifully decorated inside, with a welcoming vibe. Rasa brings fast casual Indian food to the area. Think Cava or Chipotle but way more complex in flavors. They have create your own bowls or you can choose one of their listed bowls. I chose the open sesame which had lamb; husband chose the chicken tikka bowl. The bowls were delicious! The lamb was flavorful and I loved the curry and chutney that were used. We also ordered garlic naan which was perfect for sopping up the delicious sauce. Great option for lunch or dinner. So glad they opened up a spot outside of DC!

Going to the place I thought it would be a CAVA rip off with a Indian twist. But honestly it definitely manages to stand out on its own! The food was Indian enough where I was am happy enough but modern enough where anyone can enjoy. The interior and exterior are solid and definitely a fun place to go to. Price per bowl was alittle expensive but being that it's crystal city I can't complain much on it. And small things like there plastic up coming from plants, all gender inclusive bathrooms and just vibes were very fun! Highly recommend

Really great option for vegetarians!! Flavorful without overpowering! It is saucy but you can also ask for sauces on the side! The atmosphere is also so cute! Highly recommend!

I ordered the Caul Me Maybe (cute name!) which was a vegetarian option. There are tons of great ingredients packed with flavor. This bowl in particular was a BIT spicy (not too spicy tho!) I love how they have a location so close to me. The interior is so cutely decorated. There's indoor (~3 tables) and outdoor seating. They also offer the option to customize your bowl. Be sure to check out the menu before ordering so you see the array of options available. The mini samosas are also very tasty, although I wish they were heated more before being served.

If you go here, knowing what good Indian food taste, like you will be disappointed. Possibly if you do not know what Indian food is supposed to taste like you will be satisfied.

A fast casual restaurant that doesn't disappoint. The bowls are filling and the food is packed with flavor. There are a lot of spices used, so your taste buds will thank you...unless you're basic and like bland food. You have a lot of options to choose from on the menu. I'm a huge fan of the "tikka chance on me" bowl. From the chicken and garlic sauce to the rice and sautéed spinach, everything blends well in every bite. If you're feeling thirsty, the cocktails are excellent. You can't go wrong with the spiked lassi. It's sweet with the smooth texture of typical lassi and awesomeness of rum. The atmosphere is clean and casual. The staff members are nice and quick to serve.

This is such a cool concept, it's like an Indian style chipotle! The price is good for the quantity, fast service, and the flavor was great! Highly highly recommend the build your own bowls, though I didn't like the masala chai soft serve. Definitely coming back!

Excellent Indian fast casual lunch spot, the best I've had to date. Better than Merzi. Tasty and healthy. Very few seats inside (two tables with six chairs each and three seats by window, then four small tables outside). I was happy with my rice noodle and rice bowls (rice is a little over cooked, rice is essentially thin rice vermicelli, you can mix two grains or green bases) with chicken, tamarind chili or peanut or coconut sauces, spinach (like palak paneer's spinach), with crispy lentils, chickpea crackers, yogurt sauce, masala beet (crispy, nicely spiced), and fried noodles. I'd avoid the dried green chili leaves which was unnecessarily salty and lost its crisp once mixed in the bowl.

Thank you hypefoodies for featuring this on your page! Once I saw this I knew I had to go, especially after getting comment of the day on this place's video on Instagram. The food was delicious and I honestly liked it better than cava or chipotle. I'm biased since I'm Indian and this place caters to my taste palette, but the idea behind it is so cool. I built my own bowl, and really liked the cauliflower and paneer. I will have to try the sweet potato tikki next time and the tamarind sauce. The best was the young coconut (it comes in an actual coconut too, it's like I'm sipping on the roadside in India) and the vegan mango lassi soft serve. I want a pint of that stuff! Only downsides I believe the AC was leaking because water kept dripping on me, limited seating since this location is quite small, and paid/limited parking. I won't let these things stop me! Will definitely be back.

Delicious food and fast! I added fried eggplant to a bowl of "Home Cooking " and got a 22oz bottle of Taj Mahal beer. So flavorful! Highly recommend!

I ordered delivery from RASA for my sister who just moved to the Arlington area a few months ago. They were great at communicating with her when some of the things I ordered required substitutions (the chai soft serve must be really popular because she had to sub it for mango soft serve). She loved her Home Cooking bowl with garlic naan, the tumeric ginger lemonade, and the mango soft serve. Definitely check it out if you're in the DMV and would like some yummy fast-casual food!

good food,and plenty of it. you can have a full meal for $11.00.

Ambiance: Beautiful decor, the smell is amazing, and the facility is clean. Food: Tasty, colorful, and fairly priced. I ordered the chicken bowl (Tikki Chance On Me). I probably could have done without a few of the toppings, but next time I will make my own bowl. Overall the food was very good. It tasted like a home cooked meal. Staff: It was my first time coming to this restaurant. The girl who made my bowl was not very friendly, and did not seem to want to assist me with my order. She sort of dumped everything on and did not see if I actually wanted less or extra of the sauce. I had a lot of questions, but she's sort of rushed through my bowl and left it with the cashier. The cashier seemed to be in a good mood though so that was nice. Conclusion: I had an overall positive experience and would return.

I wish we had something like Rasa in Milwaukee, WI to enjoy their tasty vegetarian options. Diners get their choice of a base, protein, sauce, vegetables and other add ins and crunchy toppers. There were so many options it was hard to make sure I got it all in the bowl! First time diners would benefit from ordering off the "we got you" menu to avoid being overwhelmed with decisions.

Don't judge me, but I drove from Maryland to come here two nights in a row! I love Rasa. I'd have to say my favorite things are the exciting flavor profiles and the number of vegan options. I'm a nursing mom, with a baby who is allergic to dairy--coming here saves me from having to make a ton of adjustments to the meal. Service is always fast and the meals are hearty. I love the super grain option--I feel full and satisfied but not sluggish! I certainly recommend Rasa!