Rosa’s

Rosas has some of the best chicken tacos in town. It also has a great atmosphere with mosaic tables and murals on the wall. An excellent place to take a date or to come to from out of town, it can be a little bit pricier than other Mexican food establishments in town because it’s an actual sit down style restaurant. The place only looses a star because it often gets so busy that wait times can get a little ridiculous. If it’s the weekend, definitely call ahead or make a reservation before you drive down there.

Good solid place I have come to off and on for years. I was always vegetarian but now mostly eat vegan. They were able to modify menu items to make them vegan friendly. I liked the avocado enchilada. They have good beer and margaritas also.

I loved the décor in here and had a great time with my Bro. The food was good but I felt like it could have had a «fresher» look to lettuce and salsa to make me say 4 star. The wait staff were quick and excellent. It was busy but staff seemed unstressed due to having an appropriate number of them to handle it. I’d go again for there were other menu items I’d like to try. Excellent soutwest/​mexican music overhead.

Soooooooo overpriced for what you get. $ 9 bean burrito?! $ 12 cheese crisp?! The food is decent but certainly not worth the money. Go to your neighborhood taco shop and pay half the price for the same/​better food.

The Margaritas were great, the service wonderful, the calendars spectacular, but the food has gone downhill during the past couple of years. The chile rillenos were stuffed with something like cream cheese and covered with a horrible sauce. The refritos were a bean paste soup.
My wife’s Gary platter only slightly resembled the food of yesteryear.
We will only return to buy the calendars!

The margaritas on the rocks with salt were AMAZING!!!
The carne seca was not my favorite. I have never had it mixed with green peppers and onions and I just wasn’t a fan. Got it in the chimichanga which wasn’t as crisp as I like them. Did like it Ortega style though with green sauce and cheese.
This place was packed and we had to wait about 15 minutes for a table when other places in town were empty.

What has happen to the Mexican restaurants in Tucson? Catering to the «white» crowd and not honoring their heritage. Such a disappointment. Overpriced and no quality. The best thing was the tea. Will not be returning.

Rosa’s has been around for a long time. Their tenure not like some of the others, but they have a loyal following. After talking to some people who are their loyal customers, it was time to check out Rosa’s.
First off, it is in the back corner on the southwest side of the shopping center at Campbell and Ft. Lowell. Head to the back of the center to find the building. Second, it was not possible to find the menu online prior to coming to Rosa’s. There was one on Menupix but it was outdated. They do not have a functioning website or a operating Facebook page.
That being said, let me talk about why I am giving this place four stars. First, the food. The moment you walk in you can smell magic being made in the kitchen. The chips were warm and crispy and the salsa was fresh and chunky. On the visit I tried a bean chimichanga ortega style (cheese, onions, and green sauce) and the bean chimichanga enchilada style (cheese and red sauce). All I can say is, WOW! The refried beans were very flavorful. Portions are huge and they gladly use canola oil instead of lard!
I also found very little problems with the service. The waiters, busses, and managers my party and I interacted with were very friendly, funny, and attentive. There is a challenge in the restaurant in one of their paintings: to find the turtle. Just ask the manager there for details. The ‘little’ problem would be the slow start it took for the waiter to get the order. That did not take away from how enjoyable it seemed that the people wanted to work for the restaurant.
The prices are pricer than the average full service Mexican restaurant. Just keep in mind these things: (1) The burritos and chimichangas is what this place is known for. (2) They are more expensive, but you can get ortega or enchilada style at no extra cost. (3) I’m sure their other food is good.
4 stars for Rosa’s!

Great family restaurant, loved the cheese crisp with guacamole appetizer, the #5 combo and the Sopapillas! We’ll be back for sure!

I have to say not my best restaurant experience – My friends and I wanted to dine at a new place and so we decided on this one overall the food was great but service could be a little better.

Main Points:
–Their salsa is spicy and addicting
–Good portions, some unique dishes
Review:
If you’re planning to eat dinner at Rosa’s you can expect the place to be crowded, because it is a popular restaurant.
I’ve been going there since my college days, and I’ve seen the same familiar faces amongst the staff– it’s family owned. Though sometimes the service can be a bit slow depending on the crowd, you can expect your food to be tasty and hot when you get it. They have a great variety of items to order, and this is the only place I’ve enjoyed sour cream enchiladas (there’s more to them than sour cream!) I also am a big fan of their salsa, you just have to keep eating it!
Give Rosa’s a try, tell ‘em Puja C. sent ya! (They’ll have no idea who I am, but hey why not?!)

Delightful experience with delicious food. The caldo con queso (cheese/​green chili/​potato)) soup was served up super fast in a big bowl. It was very good! The broth wasn’t as hot as I think it should be and cooled off pretty fast but otherwise, so good. Came with a big fat tortilla, and the chips and salsa were so good I had to have an extra bowl. Big glass of strong good ice tea. I will look forward to coming back and trying other menu items out!

Not sure what I could say that others haven’t already. Classic Tucson location that serves classic Mexican food. the kind with too much cheese, too much sauce, that all swirls around the food and makes it amazingly tasty! the chicken chimichanga/​Ortega style is my favorite. I don’t even want to know the calorie count. the sauce has a nice garlicy underscore and blends really nicely with the burro.
and if you want a really decadent treat, try their guac quesadilla. it’s dripping with grease and guac — to die for!
their salsa is another standout. it’s almost too spicy for me but everyone I go with loves it.

This place is one of my favorite mexican restaurants to eat at. Their salsa is so good since it’s so full of garlic. I think they use some scallions in it too, but I’m not sure. It always has a little bit of kick to it. The chips are typically made fresh and hot.
For an appetizer, their cheese crisp «the works» is the way to go if you have a big group. With an appetizer ordered, I will definitely have leftovers.
Their enchiladas are my favorite, especially the sour cream ones. Don’t get me wrong, their other enchiladas are on par, too.

Rosas is a place I have come to for years and had a number of mixed experiences. I saw the highs and the lows. The exceptional and the mundane. 3 stars it’s the exact appropriate rating because on any given day here you may get a 5 star experience or a 1 star disaster. It’s that kind of inconsistency that I have come to realize about Rosas, but I still find myself showing up on occasion.
Let’s start with the salsa: everyone’s got an opinion and theirs has been rated best in Tucson several times… several years ago. What has changed? Honestly not much except that inconsistency thing has found its way in. While the base recipe is the same from day to day, the spice level and cilantro content are not. Some days it’s blazing hot, and other days it’s more mild but with a consistent smooth warmth. I prefer the latter, and today when I visited it was pretty on point.
I had a chicken chimi which was decent but boring. Enchilada style comes drenched in sauce and cheese which was good. The chimi was a decent size, and had good crispiness. The problem was on the interior. The filling is shredded white meat chicken. That’s it. No real seasoning, no veggies or sauce or anything. Just bland, albeit well cooked and moist, chicken. I can’t tell you what even a little onion would do for this chimi. Alas, no; and I still have to regrettably say that El Molinito still has the best chicken chimi in town.
There are no sides to this dish apart from that lettuce that nobody eats, so rice was extra. A side of sour cream and iced tea brought my total to $ 17.85…at lunch. Pretty steap. It’s hard to justify that.
Many have complained about the service, but my server was a young man who was excellent. Mostly the service complains have been in reference to the family who owns the place and has a tendency to hire out of nepotism. The only remnant of the family during my business was the son (a man of 40 or so) who wandered around the place with a confused look on his face. I have seen him in years past fighting with family members and being a generally angry person, but today the demeanor was more of an angry person who had been labotomized. Ultimately harmless, and if this method of improving customer service by not having more than one family member working at a time is working, then I say stick with it guys!
Anyway, I’ll be back I’m sure because most of the time the gringo mex fare is pretty good to my taste and I’ve had more good than bad experiences here (although most are long in the past).

I love Rosa’s. The food, with the exception of the guacamole, is amazing. Nobody, and I mean nobody (I’ve lived and traveled all over this country, from LA to NYC), does salsa as well as Rosa’s. The chile relleno is perfect as are many of the other authentic Sonoran Mexican dishes they make.
I only have two gripes about Rosa’s. One is so big I’d almost give them 3 instead of 4 stars but for their amazing salsa and relleno. It’s the service. It’s horrible. Some of the time they’re friendly and some of the time not. Your server will likely be friendly, but will still neglect your party, not bring you something you’ve asked for, or there will be complete confusion among the staff as to who is working your table.
The other is the guacamole. It’s bad. Tasteless. Not worth the plastic bowl it’s served in. I’ve managed my need for guacamole at Rosa’s by asking for lemon and adding the juice and salt to their guac. That made it work. But I recommend just avoiding it.
But the food is awesome. So as long as you don’t go there expecting your experience to be warm and cuddly, you’ll be satisfied.

I went into Rosa’s for lunch today because I wanted local Mexican food and I was in the area. The food I was served wasn’t edible. What a disappointment.
I ordered the red chile con carne burrito. Chile con carne is one of my all-​time favorite Mexican flavors, and I have eaten it a lot of places. This one, though, tasted like it had cleaning fluid or soap in it. I’ve never had anything like it. Ultimately I sent it back after just two bites, because it was nauseating.
Two other issues also contribute to this low review:
There’s no lunch menu. You can expect to spend more than $ 10 on a plate even during lunch, and the portions are not very big. The prices are way out of sync with the atmosphere, the service, and the chile con clorox.
The service was terrible. After dropping off my food, the waitress didn’t check back for more than 15 minutes and any time I tried to get her attention, I failed (although I suppose I could have shouted across the restaurant). This was especially frustrating since my food had to be sent back.
We also waiting 15 minutes for the bill after the plates had been cleared. Again, this is during the lunch hour, when people have a limited time to eat.
The only thing I liked about the restaurant was a really beautiful southwestern mural covering the interior of the front dining room.

If you are looking for delicious comfort food, then this is the place to go! We were in the area and saw the sign. As we needed to eat and saw a steady stream of people entering, we decided to go without even checking any reviews.
When we first walked in, we had no idea where to go and if we needed to wait for a hostess. The man behind the register (left of the door) waved us to take any table we wanted. After we picked a table, a server promptly came over and asked of we wanted anything to drink. We both ordered ice water and we had our drinks delivered in less than 2 minutes. The chips and salsa had beaten our drinks to the table by less than a minute!
We told our server that we needed a moment to consider the menu and he left us to our own devices as we discussed what we wanted. The menu looks fantastic and is well described. We both had a difficult time choosing our desired dinner, but we finally decided on a shredded beef Chimichanga for me and a Combo 5 (beef tamale, beef taco and a cheese enchilada) for my friend. We also agreed to get a side of sour cream and a side of guacamole.
The sever was back quickly and we placed our orders with him. We sat back after ordering and talked for a while (not long). Our food was quickly brought to the table and I was surprised and pleased to discover that our food was still so hot that we could not dig in without having to blow on each bite to cool it! The sour cream and guacamole also came in large bowls, about ¹⁄₃ to ½ cup each! At other places, I get a tablespoon and it doesn’t even meet the amount I desire.
The servers kept our water glasses topped off and were very nice and took care of us. The food was delicious and filling. The décor was super cute.
If we get another chance to come here while in the Tucson area, you can bet we will be jumping at the chance!

Rosa’s is tucked away in a tiny 4 store strip center just off North Campbell, and very easy to miss. But, it is worth finding.
The family run enterprise is a staple of Tucson, dishing out very good South of the Border plates at reasonable prices. It is one of those few shops I always return to when in town for the gem show extravaganza in late January/​early February. There is usually a short wait for a table, as the space is small and a tight squeeze.
The food is decent, if not haute cuisine, and quite tasty and filling. A couple of margaritas or cervesas after a long day looking at hot rocks is the best way to begin the chill down. The service can be erratic, but they make up for it with attitude and good humor.
One of the best things they have is a wall full of calendars for purchase with classic Mexican art the prime selling attraction. I love hanging one on my office wall as a recollection of my time in Tucson, and Rosa’s colorful hospitality.

A girlfriend and I stopped in before Supper Club last week to find this hidden gem. I can’t quite comment on the food because we just had a drinks, but I’d like to say the service was tops!
When we first walked in, we were warmly greeted and told we could sit anywhere. We found a spot in the back, and a server quickly came to ask what we wanted. Told him we were just there for drinks, so he gave us a minute and came back with some salsa and chips. The salsa was actually quite good! (We had a couple of servings) I ordered a mango margarita on the rocks and my friend just had a beer. When he brought my drink back, I took a sip. I looked at my girlfriend, and joked with her and said «I don’t taste any alcohol». The guy must’ve heard me and came back and asked if I wanted more alcohol in it. Lol. I laughed and said «ya, why not?», thinking he was going to take my drink and remake it, he left and brought the bottle of tequila back to the table and poured more into my drink. He said «ok tell me when». 10 seconds later… No, just kidding. Haha, I only had him pour just a bit. After that it was perfect! =)
It seemed like this was a popular place, cause as soon as we got there, the place started to fill up. I liked that the servers were very attentive on checking on us, even though they knew we were just there for drinks and the place was getting pretty busy. Next time we’ll definitely come by to get some food! They have a huge menu! Loved the décor in there too! Very colorful and inviting!