Open Mon–Thu 6pm–11pm, Fri–Sat 6pm–11.30pm, Sun 5.30pm–10.30pm
With its long, thin, cream room and minimalist design, Rara doesn’t look like ‘a curry house’. Owner Baz let this description slip when he popped by our table to check if everything was alright, even though it says ‘Nepalese Dining’ on the sign outside. It certainly feels a bit different to your typical Brick Lane joint. There is no Bollywood soundtrack playing and the waiters circle in pink ties and shirts. Both upstairs and downstairs rooms were full on a Wednesday night; some locals who stuck their heads in hopefully were told there was no room at the inn.
Crudites and the Papad Basket (£2.95) turned up without us ordering them, which felt a little annoying but, given the poppadoms were so light and ungreasy, instantly forgivable. The starter menu is good for those with curious tongues, being atypical. The Nepalese dish Pahari Peero Lamb (£4.95) was tender and delightfully fiery; a perfect counterbalance was the prawn puri (£4.25), all cooling coconut sensations on my spiced up gob. Chicken Chilli (£4.50) was interestingly citrussy and though lacking the kick of the lamb, was still good.
The starters proved more interesting than the mains we chose. We swerved the more traditional curries to eat from the ‘chef’s specialties’ section of the menu. Royal Rara (£12.95) is a chicken breast stuffed with a king prawn, then cooked with fenugreek, herbs and spices, none of which we could really taste. The flavour was so subtle as to be lacking and certainly undeserving of being the signature dish the menu flagged it up as. Shahazadi masala (£10.95) was better – a satisfying marriage of white wine and spices with more flavour than the Rara. Both dishes turned up on long oblong white dishes with lots of masala, which we happily scooped up with the sweet peshawari naan (£2.90) and lemon rice (£3.40) which had just the right degree of sourness.
Some small complaints about the service; water was a little slow in turning up and when it did, the glasses were stingy. A carafe or jug would have been a nicer touch. The waiters were slow in clearing plates away from the table too (and forgot one altogether) and we were not offered a dessert menu, weirdly. If I was being kind I would say it was a busy night; Baz explained that he had friends in at a table out back and would have otherwise been on the floor to help out. This hints at some complacency after seven years here, which could be addressed. Despite that, Kew locals should feel good about having an interesting Asian restaurant like Rara on their doorstep.
