Cafe Rosa

As a native Puerto Rican I was excited to go here. It wasnt super happy w my visit. Upon getting there parking was challenging and it was not a busy time of the day. Then we get there and there are tons of signs on the door of “we don’t do this or that, etc.” which I found to be tacky. 1 sign I get, but so many. Not a good first impression. Then service was not the best. The waiter although nice didn’t know much about the menu. We had to constantly ask for things multiple times to finally get them (salt, napkins, silverware, etc). I asked the waiter if he certain things had pork bc I dont eat pork or raw onions (allergic)and was told no and both pork and raw onions were on one of my dish. I ordered a sampler and it didnt have all the items described on the menu. Ordered a few other appetizers, he completely forgot to bring them to us. Then the main dish I ordered was chicken pinchos which are always made w chicken breast, well these were made with drum sticks which I was disappointed bc it should of said that on the menu. My friend had shrimp and the Shrimp had an odd taste like if they were old Shrimp and they were rubbery. Was the food flavorful? Yes. Was service good? Nope. There was a collection of too many little issues that just made my visit unpleasant. These dishes felt like a non-Puerto Rican that has no clue of what authentic PR food is like, trying to sell PR food. Waiter was polite and decor was nice but Would I return here? Absolutely not.

LOVE THIS AUTHENTIC PUERTO RICAN SPOT ON THE SOUTHWEST SIDE! Must get the Jibbarito con arroz y gandules with xtra garlic sauce made with bistek. Although the portion and the amount of meat has gotten smaller BUT there was still plenty to share for two people!! Haven’t been inside as we usually get it delivered via Grubhub….and love the way they remodeled. Roomier and more decorative! The bistek encebollado is awesome as well! Super tastey! MUST TRY!!!

The service was great, but the prices for the food should be a little cheaper if paying for burnt or overcooked food. My friend ordered the bacalaitos and they arrived like burnt orange tortilla chips. What happened to the fish? The food I ordered was ok not like how my Puerto Rican mom cooks. Maybe that's what they need is an old school Puerto Rican mom to cook their food. We also ordered a few mojitos. I had the coconut mojito and it was a blah😝. I couldn't taste any of the coconut in my mojito. Probably 🤔 should use some coconut milk to actually taste the coconut in a coconut mojito? I'll probably go back if their is a different cook on schedule.

It was my first time here with my fiancé, and we thought the food was delicious and the service was good. We ordered tostones and empanadas for appetizers and they were a great start to our meal. They were crispy,fresh and NOT stale ( like some places). We also ordered a lechon dinner and a pork jibarito. The food was seasoned perfectly, arrived hot,and tasted like it was prepared with love in the kitchen. The portions were perfect too. Sometimes it's hit or miss with new places I try, but I was pleasantly surprised with Cafe Rosa. I'm always looking for good Puerto Rican food.