Restaurant Spotlight: The Rosa

The Rosa; a State Street main-stay

Welcome to our newest feature! Here and there we will be covering a local restaurant, giving a peek in to what they offer and what we loved about our community eateries and their cuisine. It only seemed right to kick off the Restaurant Spotlight feature with our next door neighbor, The Rosa.

I'm all about the mood lighting

Totally loved all of the classic, sweet wall art

The Rosa has been a mainstay in the Portsmouth community since 1927. My own parents have been coming here for dates for a decade. They advertise affordable Italian cuisine and a lovely atmosphere which is both perfect for family or a sweet date- on those fronts they definitely delivered.

Rocking the Prince & Bowery bracelets...
See more of this in tomorrow's post!

We started off with the Garlic Knots, which were a phenomenal way to start a meal, so buttery, soft, and perfectly seasoned. For our entrees, I ordered a Caprese Salad, seeing as I get weak in the knees over tomatoes and mozzarella, any day, and the gentleman ordered a Gnocchi Bolognese. Chris is the tough critic when it comes to Italian food, seeing as he gets it homemade whenever he's with family, but both of our dishes got a thumbs up despite some pretty high standards. For my dish in particular, it was nice to have such good tomatoes even when the vegetable is out of season. I was tempted to ask where the chef got them!

If you have kids, or are just more of a simple eater, all of us at Pickwick's have to recommend the pizzas from The Rosa's menu. They are light and completely delicious. I've had them a dozen times, probably, and never get sick of them. It's wonderful that they offer a pizza option, because it gives their menu a lot of depth. They offer everything from classic Bruschetta to homey Garlic knots and then back up the elegance scale to Veal Milanese (Breaded veal with arugula, capers, red onions, and a lemon sauce). 

We really had a lovely evening and you should make a stop by. It will be the perfect place for a Christmas season meal, because Pickwick's Mercantile and Edgehill's Common Threads are situated right next door and you can come and hang out with us while you wait for your table! Stay tuned for our style follow-up from our evening out, to be posted tomorrow!

The Rosa's Website