9 East 18th Steet, New York, NY | Directions 10003
40.738141 -73.990777 View WebsiteView More
View Less
“The atmosphere is amazing, the service was great, the drinks are fun (not to mention well priced!)”
“Warm chocolate cake was good but have had better.”
“Decent Guacamole and happy hour drinks”
“service great, food awesome”
“Good brunch menu - it was hard to make a decision between the breakfast tacos, huevos rancheros, and salads on the menu although our waiter was happy to rank menu items upon our request.”
“Bring friends or a date, great place!”
“will probably return for a quick bite to eat but would never consider this restaurant for an impressive dining "experience.”
“Slightly overpriced -- but the service and food are great”
“would highly recommend this to anyone who is interested in Mexican food with some class/elegance, but without an overwhelming price tag($50 for the two of us-not including drinks) Plus the added bonus is that there are multiple locations in New York and”
“Went in during restaurant week for what we thought would be a fast lunch, but it took 90 minutes.”
If you're a serious student of Mexican food, or even if you are from California, you would be advised to turn back at the threshold, but if you're a youngish New Yorker looking for a causal date place, somewhere to have a few margaritas and some small, unmessy tacos, and maybe a shot of tequila afterwards, it will server you well. And what more can you really ask from a Manhattan Mexican restaurant?
My tip? Eat before you go. The food here is admittedly great but everything else can be terrible. I've been to RM many times and tried the seder menu for the first time last night. HUGE MISTAKE. Despite having a reservation we were kept waiting for our table for 45 minutes (for a party of 2!). Took us about 15 minutes to even get water after being seated. We ordered immediately as we were starving and hoped to get food quickly. After a full 2 hours of sitting we still hadn't received our entrees. This was clearly a kitchen problem and not our waiter's fault but we'd had enough. We asked for the check and requested everything else be packed to go. Miserable night. Never going back.
Not impressed. Granted, I'm not from NYC, but certainly not even remotely close to the best Mexican food I've had. And for the price ($60 a person for family style!!!!) it should have been 100x better. Definitely would not go again when I'm back in the area. Very noisy and hard to hear other people at the table, but for a weekend night that's not unheard of.
Staff are rediculous.
I didn't even have to go in to this restaurant to
know that it would have been a bad night. I called to make reservations I gave a specifc date and time and the lady on the phone kept changing my date without any explantion; mean while I am trying to tell her that I would've liked to come in for restaurants week, she was not understanding me and I spoke both in english and spanish. This is an over the phone conversation imagine in person when I am trying to order, I'll get the wrong thing.
Best Mexican in NYC - Great spot for ANY occasion...
I randomly found this gem while walking through union square and instantly fell in love.
The decor is gorgeous - very bright and rich.
Though I was eating alone, I observed that this was a great date spot, lunch with the girls spot, dine alone spot...and with the gorgeous skylit room tucked away - it would even be a fabulous spot for an event such as a bridal shower, baby shower or birthday.
The staff was extremely nice - on a busy friday afternoon - and after speaking to a few people I instantly knew that they were all great at recommending.
I started with LaRumba - it was an absolutely amazing drink.
Then for appetizers had the outstanding Tuna and Shrimp ceviche...packed with flavor and welcome on a hot day.
To follow I had the fish tacos - which to my surprise didn't come with all of the fatty sides that you would expect but came with beans, corn, peppers and lettuce (sour cream, guacamole, or cheese were NOT missed).
I ended the meal with 1 scoop of ice cream (mexican chocolate is amazing) and 1 scoop of sorbet (prickly pear and blue berry - not so good, very tart).
Overall, the decor, ambience, service and food get five stars all around :)
Huge disappointment. Food was mediocre, a best. Guacamole was good, nothing special, tortillas thick and stale, but before we were finished with it, plates were swept away to serve our main courses. My carnitas were just ok, lacking salt, my friend's pork was extraordinarily fatty. They give rice and beans for the table, but don't provide anywhere to serve yourself any, nor any handy way to assemble your tacos. The menu had some interesting ice cream selections, sadly they turned out to be better on paper than on the tongue. The ice cream arrived at the table partially melted and proceeded to melt and flow right off of the inappropriate dishes they were served in. Wish I had something positive to report, but business was booming regardless!!!
WOW! I had such a bad time!. My friend and I sat in the back, upper part , of the restaurant at a table for two. The entire time we were there, the noise level just continued to get louder and louder. We COULD NOT hear each other talk. We both eat out a lot yet in all the restaurants I have been in here, I have never left a restaurant with a sore throat from screaming at the person across from me just to be heard. We came to Rosa because we both love Mexican food and we wanted to catch up after not having seen one another for a couple of months. So having a conversation was important to us. David Rockwell, brilliant fountain; if you were also responsible for the acoustics, BAD JOB!
Decent Guacamole and Happy hour drinks.
I walked by Rosa several times thinking this place must be so really trendy high-end overpriced Mexican Restaurant. I was probably right.
My friends and I came here on a Sunday afternoon for their happy hour. It was actually a steal. $3 beer special, $6 personal pitcher of sangria and $5.5 margarita. All the drinks were great. I was really buzzed after one glass of sangria.
We also ordered a big pot of Guacamole which costs $28 but it is enough to feed like 8 people and more. We had a good time but the whole time we were there, the place was kind of empty. AND the worst part is the AC was broken!
I don't think I will come back here when there is no happy hour and certainly when the AC is not working!
??????. where to begin? First off, this is my first post. I made a I mean citysearch account just to review this place. I have passed by many times, but never stopped as it doesn't look like much. I normally skip the sole 1 star reviews, as the people normally seem to be snobs. Take this review to heart, seriously. This place is Chinese owned. Mexicans work in every restaurant in all of New York, except a Mexican restaurant? I ignored that. I also ignored the fact that one of the guys was eating while cooking. Main objections: flour tortilla for soft tacos, iceberg lettuce in everything, meat tastes like soy sauce, salsa tastes like stewed tomatoes without any spice, no cilantro, sour cream/creme fresce tastes off... the place just sucks. Chipotle is way better, I'd even eat Taco Bell before I'd go back to this place.
OH #$()*)#, WHAT?.
is spaghetti made by americans still "italian food"? is a taco made by a chinese man still "mexican food"? and who else thinks a general tso's chicken burrito would a good idea?
these questions and more can be pondered at any number of chinese operated mexican restaurants around the city. apparently the original one started with a chinese lady who learned the recipes while working at a mexican restaurant. or maybe a mexican working at a chinese restaurant shared their secrets with her. either way, these places are an interesting kind of fusion food for the budget set.
i usually get a vegetable quesadilla or enchilada. both items are tortillas with a filling, and are actually oddly similar (diy enchilada sauce in the form of, you put your little side cups of salsa all over your styrofoam container of tacos). the vegetables are celery, carrots, and something else- the blend has a serious chinese take out quality to it, but not in a bad way. at one chinese/mexican place, i think it was out in the rockaways, i actually got BABY CORN on my quesadilla!
whenever i am alone, hungry and only have a few bucks (which is usually), i look around for one of these places. this one, taco bandito, is one of the best ones imho because they give you so many sauce cups- some of the other places charge you for sour cream, but not bandito. if i'm with a friend, i sort of test the waters first before i suggest eating here. a lot of people are skeptical at first. but soon they're all converts. not because it's good mexican food, but because it is interesting and cheap. even my vegan friend enjoys it.
EDIT:
went from 4 to one star after the past two times i got sick from eating their nachos. one of the
Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Facebook to see what your friends are up to!
Get the Citysearch Mobile app so you can spend less time searching for great places, and more time enjoying them.
