Scott S.
Yelp
Food: 3 out of 5
Service: 0 out of 5
Ambiance: 5 out of 5
Vibe: 2 out of 5
Value: 2 out of 5
This was one of the most disappointing dining experiences I can remember, and it actually bordered on humiliating.
We were excited to try RosaNegra as we are well aware of the restaurant group's offerings in CDMX & Cancun. Further, we generally are super impressed with a couple other Mexican restaurant groups that operate in CDMX, MTY, and CUN. We have always loved the experiences (La Buena Barra in MTY & CUN is a favorite), the food, service, vibe and entertainment. It's so much different than what we have in the states, and I absolutely love it. That being said, I also know that it's hard to replicate that experience in the states but was willing to give it a try.
So, I will start off with the positive attributes. The restaurant is stunningly beautiful and fits the vibe of the Tulum/Cancun spots (and Nomade in ATX). Think of that neutral color palate, the big heavy double wooden doors you see in Mexico. Like the Quintana Roo Restoration Hardware catalog (if they had one). Also, even nicer than the restaurant is the tableware - probably the nicest I've ever seen - plates, cutlery, serving dishes. Just amazing....However, the napkins were a little dirty...ew.
Now, for the experience:
We had a reservation for an outdoor table but we were told upon checking in that someone had reserved the entire outdoor area ( I tried my best Seinfeld reference, but it was lost on them..."You know how to take the reservation, but you don't know how to hold the reservation...")...Look, I get it, big client with a yacht wants the outdoor space in South Beach, the guy with 200 points on his OpenTable account gets shafted. Not the end of the world. A little weird since the restaurant and outdoor area had pretty moderate occupancy at the time.
The server was pretty nice at first (even if not the most attentive) but once it became clear we weren't really drinking much or going for an all out dinner, the service went from aloof to downright non-existent. We ordered dessert and waited an extra 20 min with no sign of it coming, so we flagged some folks down and asked to cancel as we had to go. So the manager (bald guy other folks wrote back) came over with a check, dropped it on the table and said in a rude manner, "you want to cancel your dessert". Actually thought they were going to comp it and apologize, but not so much.
We told him we had to split the check and holy smokes he took a pen and said circle what you want, and walked away. The type of service we have always gotten in Mexico is so much different - it's so welcoming, gracious, polite and friendly..I'm not sure if it's hard to replicate in the states, or it's intentional to try to create an air of exclusivity. We really felt uncomfortable and not welcome there the whole time.
Okay, so now for the food - mixed bag. Very nice presentation, but the menu is a little weird, and you'll notice it's a *very* different menu from Mexico.
Most of the food was plated beautifully and looked it! The tuna tostada was very good (maybe a bit salty) as was the ceviche. We asked for tortillas for the ceviche which took a very long time to get, which kinda messed with the dish. That said, the tortillas and salsas were amazing!
Tacos - so the tacos should have been listed more as appetizers as the plate was two almost street tacos (MX the order is 3) and they were like $28ish...I mean, $14/piece for tacos is insane. The short rib tacos were like barbacoa and were very good though - The beef tenderloin w/chicharron was pretty good, and the pulpo was ehhh, just drowned in sauce.
The jalapeno mash was great; the asparagus was fine ($16 is silly).
We opted not to go for steak since it looked pretty pedestrian - (at LBB MTY/CUN) they bring it out, light it on fire ha and cut it and it was amazing...Here, I figured I'd wait to go home and hit up H-E-B for some rib eyes and grill em!
Lastly, as far as the entertainment - I dunno..it was just very loud music that didn't have like a theme to it..couple good tunes, but didn't really create a fun vibrant atmosphere.
So, overall, there is a ton of potential, but you have to crack the code on bringing the Mexican experience to the states - and I get it, Miami seems like a good place to do it, but maybe give Austin, Dallas, or Houston a try. We have La Popular from CDMX which from what I understand isn't great there or here. So there's a huge market here for it!
Again, beautiful restaurant, but really misses on everything else except for making your customers feel bad. For steak, the Argentinean steakhouse Baires is pretty solid, and Calle Ocho has some great Cuban spots....but I wouldn't return here (but still would go to the group's restaurants in Mexico).