Rasika’s flagship debuted in Penn Quarter in 2005. | Rasika D.C.-based Knightsbridge Restaurant Group is under fire for various workplace ethics issues A local restaurant workers’ union submitted a scathing complaint to the James Beard Foundation Awards’ ethics committee on Wednesday, January 22, that calls for an investigation into the decorated D.C. hospitality group behind Penn Quarter’s prestigious Indian restaurant Rasika. Unite Here Local 25’s report, sent on the same day of the foundation’s annual chef and restaurant semifinalist announcements, alleges Knightsbridge violated various code of ethics policies as “inhumane, exploitative, or unlawful workplace practices”; “retaliation against workers who raise legitimate concerns”; “stealing of wages or tips”; and “bullying through conduct,” as well as starting an “aggressive anti-union campaign” at one of its most popular D.C. restaurants. Per JBF’s code of ethics, a “credible allegation” may result in the disqualification of an entrant, nominee, or (semi)finalist, as well as prohibit them from “using the seal, logo, or image” tied to its 35-year-old awards program. Knightsbridge did not make any appearances on this year’s newly released crop of local and national JBA contenders. The foundation, which declined to comment on the filing itself, does say its ethics committee only investigates complaints against current candidates up for awards; today’s semifinalists list came out hours after the union announced the complaint. Citing interviews with current and past bussers by name at Rasika Penn Quarter, the union alleges Knightsbridge “illegally fired multiple union supporters, as well as interrogated, bullied, and threatened them.” A union rep calls these alleged union-busting attempts “one of several reasons we filed the ethics complaint with the JBF.” Local 25 also says it filed unfair labor practice charges against Knightsbridge with the National Labor Relations Board. And prior to this month’s unionization push, multiple Knightsbridge workers reported possible violations of wage and hour laws to D.C.’s Office of the Attorney General (OAG). In a statement sent to Eater DC late this afternoon, owner Ashok Bajaj categorizes the union’s claims as “inaccurate and unsubstantiated.” He continued: “The majority of our employees have not expressed any desire to be represented by the union. Instead of recognizing that choice, the union has resorted to incessant harassment of our associates and engaged in an unlawful smear campaign to tarnish the reputation we have built over 36 years. We will not give into the union’s tactics at the expense of our employees’ democratic right to choose whether they want to be represented by a union. We will always treat our employees with respect, dignity, and appreciation.” Bajaj’s decades-old Knightsbridge Restaurant Group is a regularly nominated name on JBF lists dating back to 2008. Rasika’s executive chef Vikram Sunderam won the national title of Best Chef in 2014, and more recently, Bajaj was a James Beard semifinalist in the Outstanding Restaurateur category in 2022 and again in 2024. The bombshell allegations come following employees from Rasika Penn Quarter and its downtown Italian sibling Modena calling on ownership to voluntarily recognize a union last week. There would be about 100 workers total in the unit, says a Local 25 rep, and a majority at each restaurant have signed the union authorization cards. Bajaj’s well-known D.C. dining empire also includes other Indian hot spots like Rasika West End, Bindaas, and Bombay Club; Dupont’s modern American eatery Annabelle; White House-adjacent bistro La Bise; Cleveland Park’s Little Blackbird and Sababa; and Van Ness’ rotisserie-fueled newcomer Rosedale. Local 25 Union 25 put its blow-up rat “Scabby” outside of Knightsbridge’s Cleveland Park siblings Sababa and Little Blackbird last Friday. The 75-year-old union that currently represents 500 restaurant workers around the DMV tells Eater this is the first complaint it has filed with the JBF, which announces 2025 winners at a glitzy Chicago ceremony this June. The union, which plans to picket outside Rasika Penn Quarter on Thursday, January 23, at 5:30 p.m., also leafleted customers outside of Knightsbridge’s sibling spots Sababa, Little Blackbird, and Rasika West End. The same union is also representing workers from another huge hospitality group in town; hundreds of employees at three of Stephen Starr’s most iconic D.C. restaurants — Le Diplomate, Pastis, and St. Anselm — simultaneously announced plans to unionize last week. (Only Knightsbridge and its Rasika Penn Quarter location are part of today’s complaint to JBF.) The union says it has not yet received a response from Starr on voluntary recognition, and workers at his sleek St. Anselm steakhouse in the Union Market district filed for a union election on Friday, January 17. “We are still hopeful that the company will recognize them,” per a union rep.