Rosa's Restaurant

I would not recommend. The bar service was terrible. It was a Monday night, hardly anyone there. I was ignored for 15 minutes. The bartender never said that she'd be right with me or any eye contact. She started making drinks for people who came in after me! Finally a guy at the bar intervened and got someone from out back to get me wine. This guy turns out was the owners brother in law. The wine was terrible. It came in a whiskey glass. I told him it didn't taste good... Oh well. I made a face after tasting it and his comment was, want it in a wine glass? $9.00 for a glass of wine! The bread was terrible, no butter just terrible looking oil. The food oily. Wasn't warned about how hot lasagna plate was, burnt finger moving plate closer. Others food oily. The salad bowls so deep, hard to get at the tiny salad. Nobody working was smiling. There were hardly any people eating , but lots of staff running around not smiling and doing a lot of nothing. Even the owner or manager. Won't go back, won't recommend. more

Went to Rosa, as our first choice of restaurants had a 1 hour wait on a Thursday night at 7:30pm. Walked into Rosa and waited without acknowledgment by the front desk with another party for 10 minutes. We had to go find someone to greet and seat both parties. We were told 12 minutes. We waited in the bar, while the male host/manager/owner??? treated us almost too casually in attitude (curt, sarcastic and rude). We were kind and pleasant, yet the staff felt rather abrupt and pushy in attitude. Not one person was friendly or had any personality. We felt as though we were doing them a favor by dining in their establishment. Upon being seated, we waited another 5 minutes to be greeted by a server. She seemed okay, but rushed, under staffed, under prepared??? Who knows! Three of our ""lukewarm"" meals came first while our 4th diner had to wait 10 minutes for a cold antipasto plate! By the time his plate arrived all of our meals were cold. They reheated $14 dollar meals while our guest eating the antipasto plate ate his meal. We received our meals back hot from the microwave/broiler, but there was no flavor left in the meal. We asked for cappuccinos and canolis, hoping they could get that right, yet the cappuccino machine had been broken for 3 weeks. We politely expressed our discontent of the entire experience to our server and she gave us dessert ""on the house"", as she put it...""it's the least I can do, as know one else around here will do anything for you"". She proceeded to recommend a better time to dine there where we might get a better experience. I should be able to pick and choose any time I want to go and get an outstanding dining experience, regardless of time of day or day of the week...it's called consistency! Overall the staff attitudes were very poor, the meal was cold, we felt rushed and we felt like we were not welcome there. We had wanted to try Rosa and did, but would never go back again. more

My husband and I heard this was a wonderful place and traveled from Cape Cod for an anniversary week end to Portsmouth. Upon our arrival we were greeting in a friendly manner and seated in a nice booth. Our wonderful waitress (Ann, we just loved her) never missed a beat. We did not have to ask for one thing. The food was the best I believe I have ever had. When we got our bill we were very pleased that all of that wonderful experience was very reasonable. We talked with the owner on the way out and let him know how impressed we were. Would highly recommend this to anyone and request Ann for your waitress. Pros: Best service and food ever Cons: couldn't find one more

I have been working at restaurants in the area for 15 years while earning myself a doctorate degree, and therefore have a healthy respect for those who work in the restaurant business. However, I have never come across such disrespectful wait staff as I have at the Rosa. A group of 10-12 friends gathered at the Rosa for mediocre food and poor service. At the end of the evening with a bill of over $300.00 we pitched in an $82.00 tip (well over 20%) since we lingered after diner to enjoy our small gathering. HERE'S THE KICKER - the wait person had the audacity to approach us at the end of the evening with: ""I don't mean to be rude, but gratuity wasn't included"" ! We were stunned. The cowardly wait person had the manager come apologize when he realized the mistake while he made an escape to go home with our generous tip anyway. NEVER WILL I SPEND ANOTHER PENNY AT THE ROSA!!! Cons: Unbelievably rude staff more

I had one of the worst dining experience of my life at the Rose on Friday, July 31. After a long wait for attention from a server, our drink order was taken and after a longer wait, it still had not arrived. We finally received drinks, but no water or bread. My salad had disgusting slimy greens that should have been cleaned and removed prior to service. The salad came without any dressing. I had to send it back. My pasta entree arrived at the table tepid while my companion's was piping hot. I had to send it back for reheating. The waitperson had no proper training, tried to remove items before we were finished, stopped grating parmesan cheese before I indicated I was done, and in general made absolutely no attemp to rectify the miserable experience. This was one of the worst dining experiences I have ever had. No wonder the restaurant was practically empty on a Friday night. Had a manager been anywhere to be seen, I would have made a strenuous complaint but, unhappily there was not a soul to be seen at the host station. Stay away. Pros: Absolutely nothing Cons: Poor training of staff, slimy salad greens, tepid pasta more

I have heard many good things about Rosa's Restaurant in Portsmouth, NH. So, naturally, my wife and I decided to try it last week. Major mistake!! I had , without a doubt , the worst Lazagna dish I ever had. Tasteless, and, mealy, it appeared to be a block of pre frozen something...that tasted nothing like any I've had before. My wife had Veal Parmigan...It too, to quote her, was barely adequate. Neither of us finished our meals. I sent an E mail to Rosa's the next day.. So far.. no reply. That was our first and last visit to Rosa""s. I am just assuming that they, like every one else, are being affected by the economy. But, I don't believe serving sub standard food will help Pros: reasonably good servicd Cons: our meals, lasagna and Veal Parmesan were very poor quality more

I've eaten at just about every place in Portsmouth and was eager to try the Rosa. That being said, if you've ever eaten Italian in the North End, Federal Hill, NYC or anything prepared by anyone's Italian grandmother, you will be horribly disappointed. Service was incredibly slow (met friends there at 6.30, did not leave until after 9). The flavors in the food were BITTERLY disappointing. The ""herbs"" were all dried (nothing fresh) and tasted like McCormick's ""Italian Seasoning."" The red ""sauce"" tasted like straight canned tomato paste. My ""stuffed clam"" arrived without a shell because they, ""wash and reuse the shells and the new busser threw them away."" This shouldn't be an issue if you're actually using the clam formerly inhabiting the shell to make, the stuffed CLAM. Ironically, the stuffed 'clam' was the best thing I had there. \r \r Again, if you're accustomed to NH or ME ""Italian"" and have never had anything else, you might think this is okay. Trust me, however, it's not. I was SO turned off by the taste of the food, I am now writing my first review. Paying the bill was an exercise in self-control. ""La Familgia"" on Rt. 33 in Stratham is far superior flavor-wise. If you want calamari only, try Poco's in Portsmouth., unless of course, you happen to like slightly soggy calamari served with flavored mayonnaise. Don't be fooled by their valet parking, this was the worst food I've ever eaten in Portsmouth. Pros: Parking Cons: Food, flavor, service, dark/gloomy atmosphere more

March 2012 Business is now closed. Pros: Chef Doug's Skills, Food Quality & valet, Strict Management Cons: , Make reservation more

I love their calamari & dipping sauce. The pizzas and seafood are delicious. It has the New England feel that I associate with great food and curteous service. I've always had a great time at Rosas. Thanks for the valet parking. I didn't know that they also did catering...hmm? Pros: great food, prompt service, valet parking Cons: none to mention more