Rasika serves the occasional holiday brunch, but as of this weekend, guests can make Sunday afternoon dining a regular habit at restaurateur Ashok Bajaj‘s much-lauded Indian. Chef Vikram Sunderam will introduce brunch on April 12, exclusively at the West End location.
While sibling Bombay Club serves a brunch buffet, Rasika will serve an à la carte menu (sample) of appetizers, entrees, fresh-made breads, and brunch cocktails like a chili-spiced bloody Mary. A few regular favorites are present—what’s a meal at Rasika without crispy spinach palak chaat?—but the majority of dishes are new. Many are versions of those traditionally eaten in India for breakfast and lunch, such as poha, flattened rice, here sautéed with crab and curry leaves, or smoked salmon kedgeree with green chilies and eggs.
Main courses—shareable, but designed to be individual—come in the form of kati rolls (stuffed flatbreads), a rotating selection of Sunday-style curries, and plates such as the “Wellington Club special,” chili-cheese toast topped with fried eggs and served with masala-spiced potatoes. Most dishes are savory, though a few sweets are served, such as coconut pancakes with cardamom and caramel. In true Washington brunch style, bottomless mimosas are an option for $15.
The restaurant recommends reservations for brunch service, similar to lunch and dinner. Service will run on Sundays from 11 to 2:30.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
