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Five Points (North-South, Northeast-South, East-West, Proctor Creek)
Mon-Fri. 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
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Great value for the working folk in the area. Two slices and a coke for $6, as many people have mentioned. My experience would have been better except for the two girls behind me droning on about how much it felt like new york inside and giggling when they were holding up the line while ordering. Pick it up and yell your order, no need to be overly polite here.
The sausage is not very impressive and I wish I had ordered the hot italian variety instead. Other than that the meal was great, and filling. Next time I would like to get a whole pizza instead of the par-baked slices they have for lunchtime.
Ahhh....came here with some officemates to get a taste of the closest thing to NY pizza and it didn't disappoint!
There's usually a long line when you get there but it usually moves pretty quick! Before you even get in line, look at the menu board and know what you want to order. Once you get to the middle of the line, you are going to be yelled at for your order. At first, I was shell-shocked as I haven't taken the time to analyze the assortment of toppings and just blurted out cheese!
Looking for tables? Don't worry, go downstairs and it will lead you to a dining area that has a lot of available tables!
This is some really good pizza. Something about it's taste reminds me of Fellini's though. I'm naturally a fan of NY style pizza since I was raised on that style and I prefer it to any other!
The first time I came here I didn't know about the "yelling" thing": You get yelled at and you yell back...your order. Luckily our smalll lunch group travelled in one car and had parking karma in the lot by the restaurant....aahhh! Otherwise...parking woulda been a beyatch!
I have read the reviews for this place for over a year and today I finally tried it out and I am definitely a fan. Originally from St. Louis, I am stuck on a certain chain which is only located there, so I have been looking for a pizza to make my tongue say oooh la la! And Rosa's did just that. Love the taste, toppings and even the grease. Yea, I got greedy and went twice today. YUM
Rosa's serves up New York style pizza, calzones, and lasagna on the cheap. This is a popular lunch spot with the Georgia State University crowd and the downtown workers. Although I've had better pizza, the spinach lasagna is loaded with garlic and keeps me coming back.
For value and efficiency, Rosa's is sure to please. If you think people should smile at you while you hold up the line, you'll probably think this place is rude. If you're one of these people, do us all a favor and stay home.
I've eaten here because it is walking distance from Georgia State. Otherwise it would be pretty difficult to drive here. Pizza is, as the rating goes, A-OK. A little more greasy than I like, but cheap and good all the same.
Quick, cheap, delicious. Love this place.
Space is very small and can get crowded fast. Last time I went, debit cards weren't accepted so I had to go to an ATM machine, what a pain. Parking can be a bitch. But I like it how it's very close to the Peachtree Center and Five Points MARTA stations.
However, the food is what's most important and boy, every time I ate here, my mouth was smiling. And the aroma of this place is to die for.
Screw Chicago's deep-dish pizzas. NY pizza all the way! for me, at least. One of the best pizzerias serving NY-like pizza in Atlanta. Along with calzones, hot sandwiches, Italian ice, etc.
I've heard great things about Rosa's so I headed on over to downtown Atlanta (who knew ATL had a downtown?) and eventually found a parking spot and walked on over to Rosa's, which is located in what looks to be a popular area to eat if you work downtown or attend GSU.
I was actually quite surprised to see such a quantity of people walking around the streets, and even at 1PM there was a line out the door at Rosa's...definitely a good sign. My dining cohort and I got in line and had a few moments to scope out the scene. Most people were ordering individual slices, which come from precooked pies that they throw in the oven to warm up.
Pies sitting in racks for all to see was a bit of a turnoff, but in their defense, with the amount of turnover during the busy lunch hour the pizzas couldn't be sitting there very long by the time you get your slice. I was glad to find out that when ordering a whole pie they don't just warm up an already made pizza, so we placed our order and enjoyed a cannoli and large salad (plenty for two people) while our large plain cheese order was prepared.
I wasn't disappointed in Rosa's pizza, but after all the hype I was ready for a pizza "destination" and Rosa's doesn't earn that type of billing from me. When I first saw their pizzas, they clearly looked like a straight forward New York style pizza, and I looked forward to eating it. Modern New York style has its appeal - thin with large foldable slices, lots of cheese, zippy sauce, and one to two slices is a meal.
When the pizza arrived, we had to wait a solid 5 minutes to eat as it was so hot the copious amounts of cheese would have easily slid off with the help of the large amount of sauce. We also noticed how thick the endcrust was for New York style. It's much thicker than any pizza I've eaten in New York.
I loved the cheese, I loved the sauce, but I just can't get away from the crust miscues in this pie. As it was so thick, it couldn't cook properly and when looking at a slice from the side you could easily see the gummy uncooked portion of the dough in the center of the crust. It's kind of like when you are looking at pasta that has been cooked al dente. Dough like this is going to blow up in your stomach; a couple of my good friends call it the "dough blow".
The fact that both me and my pizza tasting partner pretty much left the entire endcrust of the first slice uneaten when we moved on to the second slice can summarize my experience at Rosa's. BUT, it's a good price, a quick spot for a slice, and it is NOT pizza garbage like some I've had during this series. The staff was also extremely friendly. I would eat this any day over Mellow Mushroom.
Good filling cheesy goodness if you are in the area = YES!!!. Pizza destination worth the trip alone = Not so much, especially when I have to pay $5 to park.
part of my ATL pizza series: http://www.eatitatlant...
We finally got a chance to try pizza from the famous Rosas. I thought it was average on the good side but nothing to totally go nuts over. I would give it a strong comparison to Savage Pizza.
Don't let my 3 stars turn you away as other yelpers absolutely love this place. Check it out and see for yourself, maybe we got a pie that had been premade or something.
I don't think ill rush back, mainly because of the pain in the ass it is to pick up a pizza for dinner from this place, but I wont turn it away if its put in front of me :)
With all the pictures of the Sopranos -does this make Rosa's Jersey pizza?
Now, I love the small cramped busy atmosphere that reminded me of so many pizza joints in NYC, but I believe Rosa's would be an average neighborhood joint in Manhattan and not a 30 min park and drive or a 5 subway stop kinda of place. I know some great ZA' joints in Nyc like Luzzo's, Di Faria's, and Grimaldi's. The difference is the cheese to sauce to crust ratio. Rosa's has got a great pizza don't get me wrong, but they over cheese and use inferior ingredients compared to great Nyc joints.
The crust is the best representation that I have found in the south so far, but I was looking at the other ingredients and thought that "man he does load up the toppings" but that is because they are of cheaper quality. So for everyone looking for the best in -town ny slice go here, but we need a joint with their crust(sauce is good) the right ingredients and the balance of the force that encompasses great NYC pizza joints.But 2 slices and a drink for six bucks---- come on that is great and the pizza it doesn't suck!
WNMPLT(we need more places like this)
Probably the best pizza I've had in town. Unfortunately, I've never been to NYC so I can't compare, but apparently this comes pretty close to being authentic.
Great crust, the sauce is pretty good and not too sweet, good cheese. It's just a well constructed pizza using good ingredients. The toppings are good - I'll usually get a slice with hot sausage or pepperoni and one with ricotta and sun-dried tomatoes. Gotta give it a healthy shake of parmesan and red pepper as well. Fantastic. I've also had the meatball parm which was delicious. It was the messiest sandwich I've ever had, but it was really fun to eat. Also have had a cherry Italian ice which had a surprisingly nice texture and tasted pretty good too. I wish it had more of a natural, tart cherry taste rather than a simple, incredibly sweet artificial taste to it though.
The line can get very long, but it does move quickly like people have said. There is additional seating downstairs. One thing I do find funny though is one of their prints of all the Italian mafia guys from pop culture - Sopranos, Goodfellas, Godfather...Tony Montana? Uhh, ok, Al Pacino is of Italian descent, sure, but Tony Montana is Cuban! Not sure what that's about, but that's not their mistake. I laugh to myself whenever I walk in and see it. /tangent
Anyway, the staff is efficient and very nice. It would be amazing if this place was open later than 6/on weekends and had parking, but there's something to be said about their current lunch crowd setup too.
5
Cheap.
Well above average slices (for Atlanta).
You're screwed if you don't live/work in the area as parking is a b*tch to find.
Should've known better than to crave a slice at 4 pm, for the cold, unloved runt of the community pie awaited me. Still trying to be fair, the cheese mixture is heavily mozzarella and not so tangy. They overdo the toppings so you have practically give it the poor flaccid thing Viagra. Maybe it was the time of day, but Traditions (a haul, i know) is still my spot for slices. I'll be back when the pies are more fresh for a second opinion
Yeah, it's that good. The aesthetics and staff are "colorful," but the pies are phenomenal -- right out of NY. If you want a good, cheap lunch downtown, this is where you want to go.
Credit cards now accepted! $4 min. Otherwise, same good stuff. I'm sticking to my 4 stars, 5 stars if you're in the area.
One thing I noticed is that if you order a mushroom slice, they let the pizza sit a while longer while the mushrooms kinda cook. This causes a few problems:
1. longer wait - zzzzz
2. hot as sh!t pizza that burns your damn mouth when you finally eat
3. extra crispy crust from too much heat
Other thing is if you're a vegetarian, they man handle the meats for the people in front of you, then put your veggies on, so you get a nice helping of pork grease. bleh.
Otherwise, this place stimulates me in ways that most pizza places do not. Yes, roxoring does occur here. Blamo.
If you are in the area 5 stars - if not, 4 stars - Chris F. said it best.
I've eaten here twice now,…
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I give this place four instead of five stars for the exact same reason as many other reviewers: location and hours. If you work 9-5 and don't work right in downtown, there's practically no way to eat at Rosa's except on a day off.
The absolutely delicious pizzas defy my careful inspection--I actually have a hard time figuring out why it's so good. Is it the crust, the sauce, the toppings, the way it's baked, or what? Usually this is very easy to figure out at most restaurants. Before I can decide I've already wolfed down half a slice and still mystified. The crust is thin but not charred, stays pliable and chewy; toppings are many and good quality, but no gourmet type stuff is offered, the pizza does not get soggy at all even when loaded. Above all, it seems impossibly simple. And they do it all in a tiny area, with slice (rarely pie) orders coming at sonic speed. This is some magical stuff that myriad pizzerias try to duplicate and fall short. Which as I enjoy my pizza frustrates me even more because I can only eat at this magical place about three times a year.
Favorite topping is the garlic by far. Several other places in Atlanta offer real garlic toppings as well, but here they put a lot and the intense flavor drive me out of my mind! I forgot to mention, you are expected to select all your toppings--all slices come with just cheese by default. Because of their operation style and how busy it gets, you might want to keep an eye on your pizza as they add the toppings--they got my toppings wrong a couple times.
I promise, score will be promptly raised to 5 stars if and as soon as I live or work closer to Rosa's.
I very much anticipated my visit to Rosa's since it was my NYC brethren that convinced me to give it a try. I knew my people wouldn't let me down and they didn't! The pizza was just like home which made my belly very happy and the roof of my mouth very burnt. This leads us to a mystery - everyone outside of NY says it is the water that makes the pizza yet here is NY pizza right smack in the middle of Atlanta which last I checked isn't in NY. Are they having water piped in from Jamaica Bay? I guess it really doesn't matter but no other pizza joint has any excuse for the crap they are serving. After going to Rosa's once, I immediately starting jonesin and was ready to go back the next day but they aren't open on the weekends! Help me.
Dear Proprietor: Please open in Midtown and I guarantee you can will make a killing. I promise! Not only would you turn the world onto real NY pizza, but you would do the area a service because it is severely lacking in good, cheap lunch places within walking distance.
One night I'll give in and bring a pie on my way home or I'll have to make a lunchtime pizza pilgrimage from midtown to downtown. Thank you Rosa's for doing what I thought was the impossible - real NY pizza.
Great cheap lunch downtown!
This place always has a line from 12 - 1:30 or so. The line moves fast - as the pizza n@zi keeps it moving. Know what you want when he says next and it gets to you - and pay attention or he'll yell out NEEEEXT and everyone will know you're a newbie!!!
They have a two slice one drink combo for $5.50. I usually get the spinach and a pepperoni slice with a cola beverage. Yum! I also get the lasagna which comes with a side salad and drink for I think $7 It's a lot to eat and you'll enjoy!
Seating is sparse - I am usually good about snagging a seat outside. Next time you're downtown check this place out!
Best pizza I've had since living in New York, bar none.
I was disappointed... had better.
This is one of the only places i've found in Atlanta that serves authentic style NY pizza. While I was at GSU, i'd visit Rosa's atleast twice a week with my friends, but now that I am no longer around campus very often, I miss it.
I suppose it's worth going down there and finding a spot to park for Rosa's pizza!
Best pizza place in the city. I am a pizza fan & I like to eat it once a week. Twice or three times is also magical to me, but not so much to the hubs.
Rosa's is the best pizza in the city because:
1. You can fold it (without the crust breaking in half).
2. The toppings to sauce ratio is spot on--( there is nothing sadder than a too liberal saucing & then the crust disintegrates or all you taste is marinara. *shudder*)
3. You can get 2 1 topping slices + coke for 6 bucks.
I've only had the pizza once, and it didn't "wow" me...I'd rather go to Camelli's for thin crust. However, the LASAGNA!!!! OMG!!!! Large portion, very good salad and bread! That is all I will EVER get from Rosa's. I'm hooked on their lasagna and won't eat anyone elses!!! Long lines, you have to yell your order and find more seating downstairs! ENJOY!
Not being the biggest pizza fan on the planet, it's hard for me to say on this one. Blame it on the fact that cheese and I don't get along. However, I had to try a place that Kit F. will give five stars.
I work on the north end of downtown so after convincing my peeps that MARTA won't be that bad and no we don't have time to walk, we find ourselves on Broad street Friday at noon.
Tiffany and I brave the line (Seriously, a lady in a wheelchair ran over my foot!) and wind up with two slices and a soda each for $6. I opted for one spinach one mushroom. Damn! These slices is huge! The spinach was soooooo good. Next I feel like throwing caution to the wind (wind I may, unfortunately, be producing after eating all that cheese :P), I'm getting two slices of spinach.
I'd have to say, based on my limited knowledge of da pizza pies, that Rosa's was mighty tasty. Really nice to be outside on a Friday afternoon, too. Broad street is always full of characters. Tiff couldn't finish hers and gave it to a very appreciative man on the street. And, I saw Leah there!
Oh yeah, I'll do it again.
This place is a bit nostalgic for me. Back in the proverbial day, I would occasionally stop by Rosa's between classes at GSU. It was in my regular rotation with Ali Baba's and, I am ashamed to admit, Taco Bell.
This place was probably my first taste of NY style pizza and it took a trip to NYC to make me realize how authentic Rosa's actually is. I think the huge lunch line is intentional in order to give you the full NY experience.
My only gripe is that this place shuts down early during the week and never even opens on weekends. How NYC is that crap?
Why would anyone defile this deliciousness with mints? Mysteriously, enough customers prefer to overwrite the taste of great pizza by snarfing chocolate-covered mints afterward that the store goes through two bowls of the stuff every day.
I'm still savoring the aftertaste of my calzone, which was stuffed with generous heaps of spinach and fresh garlic, for a total price of $6 before tax. ($4.50 for the calzone, 75 cents per topping.) Since the toppings were vegetarian, the guy behind the counter sagely asked if I was vegetarian. I said yes, and he gave me a vegetarian tomato sauce instead of the usual meat-infused sauce. That's a thoughtful touch for which I'm grateful.
Even outside of lunch hours (at 3pm, say), you may find the line so long that it doubles back upon itself. Don't fret; these folks are pros and will efficiently guide great food onto your plate with celerity. (Can I have some blue cheese with my celerity?)
Wheelchair accessibility is the same as much of downtown: you don't have to go up or down stairs, but the door is heavy and not automatic or button-activated. Fortunately, the place is usually busy enough that there'll be someone right inside who will notice you and grab the door.
For downtown and midtown workers, there's even a delivery option--sort of. Call in your order and tell them you'll be driving up. Since parking on Broad Street is illegal from 4pm to 6pm, they'll meet you at your car, curbside, so you can take home some love from Rosa's and show your family why your dress shirts keep coming home with pizza stains. They'll understand.
I finally made it to Rosa's! I'm not much of a yeller, but i quickly found out that was the only option I had if i wanted to eat some pizza. The line was out the door when we arrived, but it moved quickly. The pizza guy just yells down the line, "what would you like to order" and you have to yell back...ugh! Luckily there were a few seats so we quickly grabbed them. However there was an annoying fly buzzing around. That made my experience less enjoyable since i hate insects! Overrall the pizza was good. I like the thin crust with lots of toppings piled on. I would definitely suggest taking marta since its one block away. We had to go pay to park in the lot near by. Good experience....lady at the cash register was really funny.
Seriously, this is the best pizza in Atlanta by miles. Mellow Mushroom is alright, and Fellini's is pretty good (although the Decatur location has hit the skids hard lately), but Rosa's is the real deal.
Stand in line and get served by two big sweaty italian dudes who couldn't be more awesomely cliche if they were named Tony and Sal. Go ahead and get the combo, if you can't finish the first slice, save the second for later. Add your own oregano and such and get out, or eat in the back.
The one downside to Rosa's is also an upside - its proximity to Georgia State. I've spent a bit of time wishing bloody hungry murder on the bastards that brought a couple slices of pepperoni into a long lecture. We're all trying to concentrate on Foucauldian power dynamics and this asshole in the back is shoving the best slice in the area down his fat ass gullet and IT SMELLS SO GOOD STOP IT NOWWWWWW
sorry, got carried away there.
This place is located downtown on a one way so have fun getting to it by car unless you have a GPS. Once we found Rosa's we were pleased to find a "normal" pizza place. I highly recommend their calzones and if you get pizza, get a small pizza which is still huge, instead of buying it by the slice. There seems to be a difference in quality between the pizza they sell by the slice and the pizza they sell by the pie.
The owners are brooklyn natives and the pizza leans to the New York side of the spectrum but isn't the stereotypical New York style. This isn't really a place for a fine lunch like a Fritti. It's more of a I feel like a pizza or calzone for a football game kind of place. They do, what they do well.
I ate as this place multiple times each week for 4 years when I attended Georgia State University. It is the best pizza in town. When you enter around lunch time you will see a huge line, but no worries, it moves very fast.
I consider Rosa's Pizza to be one of the best hole-in-the-wall treasures of Atlanta. They should really consider opening on weekend now that there are more people in the city during the weekends.
I finally made the trek down to downtown during a lunch break to check this place out. I work up at 285 and 400, so its a long way down and back in 1 hour. Oh, it was WORTH it.
It's in an awesome little location in the middle of downtown, nestled between a lot of other restaurants. I went around 1:30 - 1:45 to avoid the line, and it worked! I got there and parked on the street. Upon getting inside there were 3 or 4 people in front of me in line, and about 5-10 trickled in after me. I ordered a slice of cheese and a slice of pepperoni, added the drink to make the $5.80 special.
The entire time in line, the two guys who own the place were cracking jokes and talking with the woman behind me. Normally the lack of personal attention in a restaurant would get on my nerves, but this conversion was too funny to get upset about. I really enjoyed just being in line and waiting for the pizza.
I got mine to go and went outside to one of their tables to eat. It was piping hot and huge. I mean perfectly huge sized slices. The pepperoni slice was a little greasy, but what can you expect?
It wasn't perfect, I mean, there was still too much cheese. I like to see the sauce between the cheese in places. The crust was very good, the sauce tasted great, and the cheese, while shredded, was pretty good too. The crust at the end was great, and all in all, reminded me of NY pizza, but not the best NY pizza.
Needless to say I thoroughly enjoyed my lunch, and I'll be back again real soon.
Oh, and as everyone said, BRING CASH, NO CARDS.
There wasn't the "wow" factor I would expect from a place I'm giving 5 stars, but it was still great. Two large slices and a drink for $6 flat is difficult to beat. I couldn't really think of anything to penalize them for, other than their location. On the other hand, I fear the land whale I would become if they threw one of these in Atlantic Station.
The long lines are expected lunchtime during the week, but even as you're within 5 minutes of getting into the queue of people that (quite literally) takes up the entire space of the store you're already being asked for your order. I'll have to stop in a few times to find out whether it's always the same guy taking orders while making fun of the people calling them out. Not in that mean-spirited kind of way, but in that everyone-around-me-thought-that-was-amusing-too kind of way.
Anyways, we were able to grab a six dollar lunch between the two of us, tax included, in like 15 minutes. It's, you know - you're typical 10 minute slice of pizza (grease included), but you can't really beat that 2-slice-and a-drink-special. I'll for sure be back.
The last couple times I went there the pizza was not as good. It was still good, but not the excellent quality I'm used to from Rosa's. I was went back yesterday ready to downgrade them to 4 stars if it wasn't amazing. The pizza was as good as ever. Rosa's is still the best pizza in Atlanta. The two times when it was not quite as good was right before closing. Every time I went there for lunch it's been top notch.
Rosa's has the best pizza in Atlanta. I like New York-style and they have the best around. The… Read more »
Boy how I miss New York, and the simple staples that it offers like a great slice. Today was a great day though as we went to Rosa's for lunch.
This place is no joke. The line is wrapped around it's small counter where orders are being taken 10-20 people ahead of time. I opted to try a couple of slices, just plain, to get the true taste of what I have been hearing as the best pizza in Atlanta. Shelli ordered a meatball parm, and my business partner ordered a slice of pepperoni and a slice of onion/mushroom.
We all sat down at a small table in the back and looked in amazement at the meal in front of us. We all took our first bites, chewed, swallowed, and looked up at each other, nodding our heads in agreement. This was it! the sauce and cheese had great flavor, and the crust was nice and crisp on the outside, and just chewy and airy enough on the inside.
Downtown Atlanta isn't a place I frequent for a few reasons... The first being the utter confusion that it brings when driving around. I guess I need to get used to it more... In New York, I was walking everywhere, so it wasn't a problem. Of course with driving comes parking, my second gripe about downtown. It's no wonder it's taken me so long to sample this great pizzeria.
Words of caution... Bring lots of quarters (for the meters), cash (this place doesn't take credit cards), and be ready to wait (so time this one out right...)
This pizza joint has a convenient downtown location. When you open the front door you will see a long line of people but don't let that scare you away. The line moves quickly and they ask for your order before you get to the counter, so you'd better know what you want by the time they ask for your order. By the time you get to the register to pay, your order is ready. A few weeks ago I went there for lunch with co-workers and one of them didn't know what they wanted and they actually sent him to the back of the line. It was really funny and we enjoy teasing him for it!
The staff is funny and friendly and I've never had bad service. I usually get the combo - 2 HUGE slices of pizza and a soda. (You can always save one and eat it later!) I've only tried their pizza other they serve other Italian dishes. They have NY style pizza: a thin crust, fold-able slice of pizza with lots of cheese! I believe they close at 6pm like most restaurants downtown, which can be one of the downfalls if you aren't downtown during the weekday.
It had been a few years since I last walked into Rosa's. I liked it, but nothing really drew me back.
Today I got in just before the rush. Ordered at the glass, shuffled down the counter, grabbed my slices, sat down and ate.
Two slices of good, but not spectacular cheese pizza.
The experience and vibe is unique to Atlanta, and this is the best pizza downtown, but I would opt for several other NY style pizza joints before making a special trip to Rosa's.
Pretty good. I'd eat it again.
This was the first time I had NY-style pizza.
I was so nervous the first time I ordered.
What if they couldn't hear me through the chatter of the customers?
What if I got kicked out Soup Nazi style?
No worries.
So greasy and delicious.
Each bite was a mouthful of artery-clogging heaven.
Don't worry if the line is out the door or down the stairs, it goes pretty fast.
FYI - The alley/street Rosa's is located on used to be really seedy. The woman who I thought might be Rosa told me there used to be hookers and drug user types all around. This was many years ago.
Went there for lunch today. I had a spinach and hot sausage calzone. My friends had slices of pizza which looked really good with lots of toppings. I was really impressed with my calzone. It was actually open-faced, and thought the ingredients and cheese were excellent. I enjoyed it a lot. Yea, the seating is very bad, but you can go downstairs to more seating.
Atlanta, GA
Category: Pizza
East Point, GA
Category: Pizza
Atlanta, GA
Category: Pizza
Neighborhood: Midtown
Category: Pizza
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Pizza
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