sanamargaret's Reviews

okay food, inconsistent service

Two friends and I went to Rosa Mexicano based on someone else's recommendation. When we arrived, we were not greeted by anyone - not the person making guacamole, not a server passing by, not a host. It was a bit unclear as to whether or not we were supposed to go inside or wait outside for outside seating, since there was a waiters' station outside. We ended up going inside, where one hostess told us that there was a 30 minute wait for outside seating, while another hostess told us there was outside seating available and took us to a table.

Our server started off well - he seemed very attentive and answered our questions in the beginning, but slowly stopped giving us any attention. We had to ask for water refills, he didn't ask if we were interested in dessert, and he never brought the bill after we requested it. It was ridiculous - he went to 3 other tables to take their orders, but couldn't see fit to print off a piece of a paper and drop it off. After 15 minutes, I finally ended up taking my credit card to the waiters' station and requested to pay the bill immediately.

The guacamole is made fresh and to specifications, which was nice, so we requested no cilantro (none of us like it) and no jalapenos. The guacamole was plain, but we ordered it that way, and what was good was the freshness of it.

My main dish was the Arrachera con Camarones - the skirt steak was tough, the shrimp was good, and the sauce was pleasantly hot, but not as flavorful as I thought a roasted tomato-chipotle sauce would be. It tasted like a tomato suace with heat, but no spice. I did eat it all, but not necessarily because it was tasty, more because I was hungry and it wasn't bad. I did enjoy the rice side dish which accompanied all of our meals.

One friend ordered the Tacos Cabrito and she was unhappy with her dish. The goat meat was stringy and dry. It was also spicy, which the server had assured her it was not. The other friend had the Mole de Xico, which was also spicy, but she thought it was good.

This restaurant is close to the Washington Convention Center, but aside from the guacamole and the outside seating, it's not high on the fun and yummy scale. Might be worth the walk if you want to get away from the WCC, but otherwise, not entirely worth the effort.

Reviewed on: July 04, 2007