Rasa

The latest fast casual spot to open in Mosaic is Indian restaurant Rasa. Like it's neighbors on the same block, Cava, Chipolte, and sweetgreen it brings the same style and setup to a specific cuisine. As Cava is Mediterranean, Chipolte is Mexican, sweetgreen is salad, Rasa is Indian. With the same concept. With popular options on the menu or the ability to customize your order. Build your base, pick a main, choose a sauce, add veggies, top it off with a dressing. Walk down the counter telling them what you'd like. They offer some other traditional sides like naan and samosas. Obviously it's a familiar process we're all pretty much use to by now. It's not the best Indian food you'll ever have. It's not bad either. I say you don't go to Chipolte to eat Mexican, you go to Chipolte to eat Chipolte. You know what to expect and what it tastes like. I did enjoy the food at Rasa. Not as much as a good sit-down place like Bansari. It does have a couple aspects that gives it a nice step up from the rest I've mentioned. One is the dining area itself. On a good weather day there is a large garage door style wall to the street. When it's opened it makes for a nice flow to the outside. Some unique comfortable chairs hanging from the ceiling. Plenty of places to sit both inside and on the sidewalk. When the weather is really bad it has another feature that might convince you it's time to Rasa. Being the only restaurant in Mosaic that can protect you from the rain to and from your car. Rasa has a side entrance located on the first floor of the Target lobby. If you park in the Target parking garage you're able to get into Rasa without getting wet from rain. Other than their Fairfax location they have 2 in DC, one in Rockville, MD and another Virginia location in Crystal City. Mosaic has a lot of food options to choose from. If you're looking for something fast and easy, before you decide it's Chipolte again, you might want to give Rasa a try.