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Rosita's Place is a Phoenix institution. Everyone who's anyone eats here, from former governor Bruce Babbitt to nobodies like me. My father used to tease me that I was "born with a spoon of Rosita's refried beans in my mouth;" I have been eating here for 40 years, and the waitress I remember from my childhood still works here.
From their humble beginnings on Buckeye road to their "new" (they've been here quite awhile) location on McDowell Rd near 24th street, the owners of this restaurant have won more accolades for delicious home-cooked Mexican food than anywhere else in the Valley of the Sun. The huge portions of food are cheap and consistently delicious, based on family recipes. You're likely to encounter a live mariachi band on weekends.
The red sauce is hotter than the green, but not by much - they'll both smoke your brains out of your skull. Everything is good. Keep returning until you've tried all of it. My favorites: chile relleno with rice, beans & flour tortilla, albondigas soup, carnitas plate, and the refried beans in general.
Maybe it's because I've been dining at Rosita's Place regularly for my whole life, and they know me, but I never get slow service as has been mentioned in other reviews. Also, if you think this place is in the ghetto, and you don't like that you have to park in back where you can't see your car while you eat, you're too sheltered - in case you didn't notice, there is always a paid attendant keeping an eye on the parking lot!
A coworker brought me here about a month ago and I was genuinely surprised when I walked into this place. It was pretty clean and colorful in everything you expect from a traditional Mexican restaurant in the valley. Plus, they had individual La Rosa candy for sale at the register.
They could accommodate our group of 8 pretty easily at lunchtime and although service was pretty slow, it was a decent experience. I think I had red cheese enchiladas and was pleased enough with the flavors that my husband and I returned here this past weekend.
It was early Sunday afternoon and there were a handful of people in the restaurant. We were sat in the booth in the far corner by the server station; where the seat is pretty well worn and the vibration from some nearby machine rattles your back. We asked to be moved to a booth by the window; this time I scored the good seat and my husband got the lumpy one (score).
Chips are hot (charge: $1) and salsa is pretty good. His machaca plate order inspired me to get machaca red enchiladas this time. The machaca was pretty drippy with oil/water and it flooded my plate so I sent it back for some posole- there was really no saving the plate. I understand it's Mexican food and greasy but it was a little more than norm. Our extremely nice server that reminded me of my Tia was gracious and gave me a squinted eye "I agree" when I kindly made the request. The posole was downright tasty- and pretty meaty- a very thick red chile broth that was more stew like, nice texture on the hominy and served with lemon and minced green onion. It had a nice kick to it.
Overall, it was a solid 3-star experience.
I've been going here for 20 years. It's had it's ups and downs but still a great favorite of mine. Nice hot chips and hot salsa at the table. Authentic machaca , great refried beans. and the margaritas........
Wow! every dish I've tried here has made me wiggle in my seat with happiness. Love the sauces. Delicious. Homestyle goodness.
Rosita's Place Rocks! It has the right amount of dive atmosphere with just excellent food. The green & red sauce are both pretty hot and spicy Chips are fresh and fried on premises. All entrees are quite big and enough to feed two. It draws interesting crowd. I was there with some folks from work after a conference and so were in suits. There were some families, retired folks, emo-kids and bubbas. Try the combination burro with enchilada sauce. Can't go wrong with that. Beer and tequila is reasonably price.
Based on previous yelp reviews, I was hoping to find another phoenix gem but alas I was dissapointed.
The one thing about the reviews that was correct: service is not great.
Here's the simple lowdown:
Food is a solid 3
Chips and Salsa were decent - chips were nice a warm
Guac sucks - its the kind that they make every so often and put in refrigerator (try los somberros or bario cafe for real gauc)
Taco - good flavor on the ground beef - but taco was luke warm, like it had been sitting 10-15 minutes
Food Smell - I'm not sure if this was because I read on previus review...But I did notice a wierd smell to the enchilada.
Rosita's is alright. I wouldn't file it under authentic Mexican food, but I certainly wouldn't call it Americanized either. Their beginnings were likely with authentic ingredients and recipes, but over time, things change a bit. I would say the best thing at this restaurant isn't on the menu: chips and salsa.
I was honestly shocked at how absolutely amazing the food was at Rosita's because it is in the Ghetto (which happens to be less than two miles from my place ha ha).... and I was honestly shocked at how bad the service was. Normally Mexican restaurants have the best service, but man... it was literally a 2 hour dinner only because it was 20 minutes in between times where we saw our waitress and it took FOREVER to get the food even though they were not that busy.
I had the Mexican eggs with beans.. DELISH. I was eating slow waiting for my delayed tortilla to arrive and I was over halfway done when it finally got there. I must say, a warm, fresh tortilla makes everything better!
Honestly, the food was really, really good and if it we-rent for the REALLY bad service I would have given this place at least a four... maybe a five.
Great atmosphere, good service. Excellent food. I ordered the taco, enchilada, tostada combo. Very delicious. Loved the beans and rice.
I ate lunch here, and I don't think I am going to be able to eat dinner! I am still full.
I went with 7 other people for lunch today. The place was packed & we had a party of eight people. I thought we would have to wait forever. We didn't have to wait long though. They had a big party room in the back and they put us in there so we didn't have to wait. Thank God for a restaurant that was willing to be helpful! I was freezing because the A/C was cranking, but everyone else thought it was great. I think anything below 74 degrees it too cold, so my perception could be a bit off.
The waitress brought us super hot and delicious chips right away. We had our drinks in a few minutes, and she took our orders right away. I was crabby since I was starving, and I was stoked to be scarfing down those chips!
She took our orders right away and the food was out to us pretty quickly. I had pretty great enchiladas, rice and beans. Everyone else was really happy with their food too. I ate more than I usually do because it was really good, and as a result, I am still full six hours later.
Great food and service, I can't complain. I haven't tried the margaritas here yet, so I can't fully evaluate, but so far so good.
I'll do an update once I've boozed it up here as well!
Tried their take-out the first time, it was great - good food, fresh meat, and big portion.
Went there for lunch at the second time, very good food and it was cheap too. BUT, never order the spicy beef burrito - accidentally ordered it since the waitress spoke Spanish to me and my co-worker(time to study spanish now..), and we both got caught in this spicy dish. Couldn't finish the plate, and stomach did not like it.
But in one word, good Mexican food. If you happen to be in that area, worth to go.
I'm not going to say there are alot of Mexican restaraunts in the valley. I believe that has been mentioned before. I ended up at Rosita's Place because a co-worker was meeting someone there. I doubt I would have dropped in on my own. Upon walking in, I was turned off by their signs about what they will not do. They will not split the check. They charge for the chips. I was prepared for a bad experience.
Rosita's Place is now on my "A" lunch circuit. I agree that the service was not world class, but the portions were generous and the food was delicious. As seen on other reviews for Rosita's, both the green and red salsas packed a heck of a kick. Unfettered, I ordered the Camarones a Diablo (Devil's Shrimp). It came after a longer than average wait, and it was a spicy, tasty meal. The chips came out very hot and fresh, and my lunch partners dishes looked equally appetizing.
Give Rosita's Place a shot, you will not regret it.
I don't know how many Margaritas some of these reviewers HAD becuase these people were ANYTHING but fast!!
The dining room wasn't even full and there were 3 servers and yet it took them nearly 30 minutes to take our drink order! I wanted to leave, but my friend wanted to eat there soooo bad so I decided to give it a try. After our food was ordered, it took ANOTHER 30 minutes for the food to hit the table... Our server then brought a round of refils and the check and we didn't see her for the rest of the night!
I did enjoy my dinner, the food was better than good. I had menudo, which wasn't anything great. I've had much better menudo on the rez! OH! and they didn't have any cilantro!! I was shocked! so my menudo lacked soul. :( I got a side order of beef taco which was good. :) I liked it.
The salsa is KILLER!! I kept trying to eat it so I'd get used to it... no such luck! But it definatly released the endorphans! And cleared my sinuses... and brought a little water to my eyes! And that says a lot, cuz I can handle a lot of hot food!
Over all, I dig the food, the place was very colorful and festive. Which is always a plus. I could do without the mariachi band. oh DUDE! the band almost got into a fight with one of the patrons!! The patron was all drunk and kept requesting songs, and I guess he didn't know it was $3 a song, so they wanted their money, he didn't have any and that's when things got U-G-L-Y!! It was funny cuz the guy was drunk but yeah - it's $3 a song! But yeah, I dig that rough environment.
I honestly think it was an isolated incident, overall it was a nice place. I recommend sitting by the window and just enjoy your self while trying to handle the salsa!!
So there I was, unknowingly scaling the sometimes greasy, sometimes nasty, always treacherous mountain known as the pinnacle of Mexican Food in Phoenix. And when I finally trudged past the swill near the bottom, (you know who you are, Garcia's, Macayo's, etc) Past the others that were"good" but not memorable or noteworthy.
There you were, alone at the apex of my appetite of desire... Hello my jewel Rosita's.
Fresh traditional Mexican prepared fast and warm...
Like the menu claims "Their specialty is good tasting food." I would swap good with great. And have a margarita too.
The food at Rosita's is great, the service fine. Their salsas set the standard for the area. The only issues with Rosita's have to do with the neighborhood and the parking. That aside, Rosita's is hard to beat for a balance of price and overall quality.
This is where it's at! If you are looking for really good, cheap and somewhat late night (I think they are open till 11pm) mexican food, you've got to try Rosita's. I absolutely loooove their mole sauce-- best in the Valley. Try the beans and rice burro, enchilada style with mole. Pair it with a nice cold Pacifico-- Sunday afternoon Heaven! Their salsas are to die for, and both the red and green pack some serious punch! You've got to pay a dollar for chips, but it's so worth it. The tamales are also muy delisioso!
The little old ladies who work here are absolutely adorable in their little matching dresses. They are no nonsense, too. There's a sign posted that says "Please control your children!" I love it. Plus, they have a kick-ass temporary tattoo machine at the front where you can buy "Dogz" tattoos, with realistic looking dogs in gangsta settings. Classic.
One of the better mexican places in central phoenix - and there are no shortage of them.
All the standards are great. The chips are always fresh. The salsa is HOT. Yum. Their guacamole is freshly made. You can't go wrong. So go.
Some of my favorites
Cheese crisp w green chiles
Albondingas (mexican meatball) soup
Shredded beef taco
Green corn tamales
Some of the items on the grill menu are superb!
Pork chops (with fries and beans - ask for cheese on beans!)
Short ribs
You really can't go wrong. It's inexpensive, fresh, home cooked, clean, and delicious.
Only downside - the margaritas are kind of weak. On the other hand, they are cheap, so you can have 3 and it won't hurt you too much. :)
After an online argument with Julia T. about what constitutes Mexican food, I decided to try Rosita's Place, since she gave it such high praise.
Upon walking in, I was actually pleasantly surprised at how clean the restaurant was. I was expecting more of a Carolina's type atmosphere. The lady who brought us our menus and sat us was very friendly. I thought the fish pond, while extremely odd, was a relaxing touch in the center of the dining room.
We ordered a half-pitcher of margarita, some chips (since they were raved about) and it all came pretty much right away. The salsa was good, not great, but good. The red being the more flavorful, though hot, and the green being comparatively mild and bland. Margaritas were tasty, but verrrrrry weak. We went through the pitcher and wondered if they had much booze at all. I like the taste of tequila a lot, especially over margarita mix, but I could not taste any tequila in these. Then came the entrees, Chicken Enchiladas for her and Red Burro Enchilada style for me. I ate my food, as I will never leave something on my plate, but I was telling my girlfriend the whole time that it smelled like canned dog food. I didn't say this because I thought it was bad, or gross, but actually smelled identical to dog food. She agreed. I thought long and hard and today it came to me, it smelled like Pedigree brand.
Overall it is a clean restaurant with great service, but unfortunately somewhat questionable food. I want to know what drugs people are on that makes them think this place has any type of quality. I'll probably go back and try something else, because it had a few things going for it, but the food is NOT one of them.
+1 for cleanliness
+1 for service
-3 for food
Pretty authentic and they have menu items that other restaurants don't. The posole, vegetable soup, and menudo are available on certain days...all pretty good. On weekends, it gets busy, so it's best to get there early. When I'm craving a sit down Mexican meal, Rosita's my first choice when I'm in Central Phoenix.
In my constant search for newer, faster, and more interesting routes on my commute to work from CenPho to Tempe, I've been passing by Rosita's a lot recently, and coerced my husband, who came home the other night and said, "Carolina's?" to try Rosita's instead. Boy, was I sorry.
Let's start with the mariachi musicians who stood so closely behind me that they completely invaded my "stranger bubble" and I was forced to move my seat at the table. Next, there were the chips which were just ok to begin with, and ended with gobs of congealed grease after they had cooled a tad. Then, hubby's machaca chimi was fine, with decent flavor, but my pork carnitas was so dry it was literally inedible. You could look at it and see that the sliced pork was so dry it was like the dessicated flesh at the Body Worlds exhibit. Gross, I know, but so was this meat. It simply should not have been served by a conscientious restaurant.
Next time, I won't contest it when Hubby suggests Carolina's (who serves the best chimis and by far the best tortillas in town).
Rostias Place is some of the better mexican food I have sampled in Phoenix. They have great chorizo which is hard to come by and the salsa is very good. Sometimes it's so hot though that I can't eat much without fear that my stomach might explode. Anyway...if you are going for lunch do NOT go right at noon. It will take forever to get seats and food.
I absolutely love Rosita's Place. This is the definition of real Mexican Food. I have gone here for years i tell everyone i know who loves Mexican food that they must go here. I am still surprised so many people in Phoenix still don't know about it. Also it is one of the best Albondigas i have ever eaten at any restaurant. Since i have moved out of state this is one of the places i miss going to on a regular basis.
Consistently satisfying. You know it's going to be good when the tortilla chips (1st basket comp., nominal charge for add'l.) are delivererd too hot to touch at first, lightly salted, with 2 choices, red or green salsa. The combo plates are generously portioned, flavorful, perfectly-balanced, complex in seasoning, comfort food. STRONG margaritas. Watch out! Never get "adverse side effects" from eating Mexican food here. A little pricey, but worth it. Take relatives visiting from out-of-state here for an authentic Mexican restaurant experience.
I drive by Rosita's all the time-- and have never stopeed to go in... until 2 days ago and I am so glad I did. It looks really tiny from McDowell but actually it is a pretty decent size. I ordered the good ol standby: beef taco and cheese enchilada and rice. I was very pleased with my meal. It was affordable and tasty. I will go back again. The only drawback is the pond inside-- things like that skeeve me out. Service was normal, food came quickly (like most Mexican food places) and the chips were good- warm when delivered and the salsa was great!
Rositas has grown with the city of Phoenix, The first location was originally downtown and the restaurant slowly made its way to just West McDowell and 24th St. Mexican Food is taken a serious art in the Central Phoenix area. Rositas is a dominate location that keeps people excited to return.
Their chips and salsas are excellent and very spicy. I always get the same thing on the menu... it is a combination plate with a beef taco and cheese enchilada. The beef taco is yummy... I think they mix potato in with the beef. I really like this combo although some people do not. Everyone I have brought here absolutely loves it. I told my mom about this place because (she is a local restaurateur) and she loves this place too. That is saying a lot coming from her:)
I've lived in the Phoenix area for eight years and have eaten at dozens of different Mexican places looking for the best food. Rosita's Place has consistently come out on top. Their refried beans are the best I've ever eaten. Let me say that again: their refried beans are the best I've ever eaten. I like their carne asada burrito and their green chili is also good.
The building looks a little worn from the outside, but inside it's very clean and the service is always good. I wish they had other locations because it's a long drive from where I live in Chandler.
i've only been here a few times for take out, so i can't speak for the service. my food was TERRIFIC-- especially the carne asada burros and guacamole-- and ready for me when i arrived. the salsas (i loooooved the green) were good as well. i've eaten a lot of mexican food in my day, and this was top notch.
Good food, great HOT sauce, nice interior, great wait staff, good chips.
I read the reviews on here, so I was excited to try this place especially since it's so close to my house. After eating there once, I doubt that I will ever go again. I always judge a Mexican restaurant by the beans, and theirs didn't taste good. I ordered the machaca (shredded beef with onions, bell peppers and tomatoes) tacos. They came without any cheese. WHAT?!?!? How can you give me a taco without cheese! The meat was OK but the taco itself was very greasy. My husband ordered two enchiladas, one machaca and one chicken. He liked the machaca but took two bites of his chicken and didn't like it. I have to admit their horchata (rice milk drink) was good and a good size. I know there's better Mexican food out there, so I'll keep searching...
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