Some people believe seven is a lucky number, restaurateur Ashok Bajaj is hoping they are right. The successful owner and operator of six upscale restaurants in the DC area (including Bombay Club, 701, Oval Room, Ardeo + Bardeo) has announced his plans to open up another fine dining establishment, this time in the West End area. “I want to grow the company and I wanted to open another restaurant. I have been looking at different opportunities there and this is the best to come up,” Bajaj tells Yeas & Nays. He says he was deciding between opening a second Bibiana Osteria & Enoteca, his Italian style restaurant or Rasika, his critically acclaimed Indian restaurant in Penn Quarter. And after much consideration, he chose Rasika West End. “There are a lot of American restaurants and taverns, but there is nothing like Rasika in the West End. For me, it just fitted the niche there,” says Bajaj.
While the space for his new spot, Rasika West End (1177 22nd St., NW) is a bit larger than the original Rasika, Bajaj tells us it too will seat 140 guests. “I don’t like to open huge restaurants. It has a bigger kitchen, which we could use at Rasika, so this will give us a chance to experiment with new dishes and our cuisine.”
Bajaj is looking all over the world for dedicated chefs for his new restaurant, especially in London and India. And “if we have a mild winter,” he plans to open Rasika West End in February of 2012. We can’t wait.
