Karma Asian was the setting for another first date. I seem to have a lot of those lately, which…read moremeans I am becoming unintentionally qualified to judge restaurants not only by the food, but by the mood. Can you talk here? Does the decor help? Does the service make things easy? Do you suddenly regret needing the restroom halfway through the conversation?
That's where Karma gets complicated.
It's right on Broadway, in the middle of everything, and it clearly has a loyal following. The room is dark, funky, and full of objects, screens, carved wood, fish tanks, statues, gongs, and a general kitschy style. There is a version of that I usually like. Older restaurants can have character. A little weirdness can be charming. But dated and cared for is one thing. Dated and not especially clean is another.
The service was genuinely friendly, and that deserves credit. Everything came out quickly and hot, which is always a big plus.
The food itself was fine. The edamame was predictable and perfectly acceptable. The gyoza were not especially exciting and were rather bland, though apparently not bland enough to stop me from eating more than my share because, well, carbs. The pad Thai with tofu was decent, a little sweet, and a curious color. Not offensive. Not memorable.
The bigger issue was the condition of the space. Some of the photos show it better than I can describe it. The vents were giving off some serious ick, and a few areas felt like they had not been updated, cleaned, or loved in a while. I do not need every restaurant to be shiny and new. I usually prefer places with a little history. But cleanliness matters. A lot.
And then there are the bathrooms.
To get there, you pass through a doorway with beads, which feels like it should lead you towards your destination. Instead, you enter what may or may not be a storage closet, and it is quite dark, there are chairs stacked everywhere, and suddenly you are on a questionable journey. You zig. You zag. Eventually, you find the toilet area, and the sink is shared outside the two bathrooms, which adds another little layer of "what is happening here?" It was not quite portable-toilet-in-a-Denver-public-park bad, but it was close enough that I thought about the comparison, and that is not where you want your mind to go.
So yes, Karma has personality. Yes, the staff was kind. Yes, the food arrived hot and fast. And yes, plenty of people clearly love this place.
For me, though, cleanliness is a big deal. A restaurant can be dated and still feel taken care of. Sadly, that was not my first impression here. Friendly service helped. The food was okay. But the overall condition of the physical space made it hard for me to imagine coming back.
As for the first date? Stay tuned...
