Rose Café, Saidulajab, Review

For almost a year now, RD has been constantly bugging me to visit Rose Café and while we talked about going there, it wasn’t until this Sunday, that we finally made it there.

Finding it was a little difficult since this was the first time either of us was visiting Westend Marg and we drove past the cafe. Eventually, we left our Uber behind and started searching for it on foot and easily found it due to its quirky exteriors.

Once we stepped inside, we were happy to see the quirkiness continue, though, on the inside, it was a lot more beautiful and European looking, while on the outside, it sort of looked like something out of a Western or Mexican movie.

A big thumbs up for the ambiance to Rose Café, and in a way, it is worth visiting for that itself.

Having said that, it was awfully noisy there. I am not sure whether it was due to it being packed and everyone talking loudly, open kitchen and light music playing in the background or due to lack of sound dampening material. Whatever be the case, this isn’t a café where you can spend some time with a book in your hand. At least not around the lunch time and at least not inside.

On the outside though, it was much better, with just one foreigner couple sitting outside. I guess that would change in the evening and when it isn’t so hot.

Another thing RD didn’t like were the fake flowers on the table. Considering the café’s name is Rose Café, she felt, they should have used real roses at least.

Of course, ambiance is only a small part of the equation. What matters more is the food and drinks.

We ordered Rose Café Iced Coffee and Pink Lemonade.

Rose Café Iced Coffee was made in front of me in the sense, that the server poured hot coffee in a glass full of ice. Even though it was bitter, it felt good and refreshing.

Pink Lemonade looked really yum, though taste-wise, it was alright.

Since neither of us had eaten pasta in green sauce, we decided to order their Creamy Pesto Penne with grilled vegetables.

It tasted better than it looked! And that is saying a lot, since it looked absolutely delicious and both of us really enjoyed it!

Next up, we decided to order vegetarian shepherd’s pie, another first for us. As per the menu, it was Rose Cafe’s “take on the classic English dish. Minced Soya topped with Mashed Potatoes”.

In reality, it was just nutrela granules cooked in tomato (sauce?) and topped with mashed potatoes, served with a side of garlic bread. While it is fairly healthy, the taste left a lot to be desired and both of us felt, a little bit of flavoring and addition of some vegetables would have done wonders for this dish.

Service, on the whole, was nice and courteous, though a little on the slower side, which is understandable, considering they were completely packed.

On the whole, our experience at Rose Café was great and it is one place, both of us would love to visit again. Having said that, our bill for the whole meal came out to be Rs. 1,434, which felt a little expensive, considering we had ordered a pasta, shepherd’s pie, iced coffee and pink lemonade.

Though we did love the fact that the bill came in this format, along with a feedback form and pen.

All photographs shot with Honor 6x and food styling done by RD.

Rose Cafe Menu