Dominique S.
Yelp
This place has been on my list since moving to Denver almost a year ago. I finally made it in and I am really torn between giving Rosales 3 or 4 stars. I finally landed on 3 because while you really can't beat the price- not everything was fresh and the customer service was seriously lacking. In short- if you have a sweet tooth and want some cheap treats - go here and expect to get what you pay for.
One note before I get into my lengthy review: a lot of folks who left bad reviews complained that the pastries were dry. My limited experience with Mexican pastry is that it's more like a sweet bread than European style pastries we find in most bakeries. So yes- these are kind of dry and cake like, but I'm pretty sure that's just the style of pastry.
The Price:
You'll pay about $1 a pastry and $2 for a slice of tres leches or flan. The pastries are huge so you feel like you're getting a great deal when you walk out.
Customer Service:
Maybe I came in at the wrong time, there was a group of 4-5 people taking up the store who were obviously incredibly high tourists. From reading reviews knew to grab a tray and help myself, good thing since no one working there acknowledged my presence. I couldn't find things despite signs saying to use them. I ended up using my hands bc I could t get assistance. kinda gross and no one said anything.
The group was still paying by the time I finished picking my stuff out. I was waiting patiently, and just as the group walked out a group of men who obviously knew the women working there walked in and walked right in front of me. The woman behind the counter just went on helping them! I put my heavy tray down on the counter to show I was done and a woman came out of the back looking very irritated. She spoke to me in Spanish, unfortunately those 2 college semesters of language didn't stick so I had no idea what she said. I replied, 'just these and a slice of tres leches please' with a big smile feeling insecure about my inability to speak Spanish. She rolled her eyes, dished out the cake and told me my total in Spanish. I had to ask, 'what' and she unhappily told me the total in English.
I was super patient here and said nothing, but this was some terrible customer service. Maybe it was the tourists who were there ahead of me, maybe it was bc it was the end of the day (7pm but they close at 10pm) but I felt really unwelcome.
Access:
Finding it is easy- large signage. It's on the little strip on 32nd by the burger place and menchies. Parking is a pain here and the biggest deterrent.
Taste:
The only really bad thing was the elephant ear. It tasted about a week old- you could use it as a weapon it was so hard. As others noted, hardly anything is labeled and unless you speak Spanish, good luck getting an answer. I got 10 different items- everything was just okay. The only thing that I really enjoyed was the giant white ball shaped cookie thing. The tres leches was terrible. The cake was okay, the frosting was gross. Maybe it's just my taste and they make it classic? I don't know. The frosting tasted like sweet lard to me and the cake needed waaayy more milk mixture soaked into it. I'd never order that again.
Since others have mentioned it- I'll agree that it didn't feel like the cleanest place in the world, but I think it's honestly just the system. I've been in a few other Mexican/Latin bakeries and they use a similar help your self system with trays or bags that feels off since we are used to counters being off limits to customers.
Its pretty close to me so I would maybe go back here if I was really craving cookies or something sweet and everything else was closed.