roseangel inhabits a space that has seen its share of restaurants come and go...LA Boca, Crazy Mac's/Cheddars, Snickers...all great restaurants, none of which were here to stay. roseangel is the latest restaurant to make a success of the busy corner on Detroit and W. 58th in the budding Gordon Square Arts District.
As we walked in the door, we were greeted with the sound of a lively atmosphere, the restaurant and bar area full of patrons. roseangel has done a fantastic job with the decor. The walls are burnt orange, inviting and relaxing. There is a minimalistic approach that works well, the space feels like it flows relatively well. The bathrooms are clean and consistent with the dark ambiance. All in all, it's an ideal environment for friends, family or a date.
The hostesses did not share in the liveliness of the venue and created a few tense moments due to lack of experience, or possibly, critical thinking skills. The first hostess to greet us did not seem very comfortable with her job duties. Upon indicating we did not want to experience the patio seating on a very hot and humid night, she needed to 'check on seating'. This caused her to disappear into the back for multiple minutes. Our party of three sat around looking at each other waiting for the hostess to come back. Another woman looked at us but did not assist as a party of two came in behind us. Upon seating them at a four-top table, she finally got back around to us asking if we needed help. We indicated someone had possibly been helping us but she disappeared. We were then seated at a high top small table in the bar area with a great view of all the happenings on Detroit Ave. The hostess finally returned stating she was not ignoring us but had to first seat another table. Confusing to say the least but at least we were seated.Despite the confusion and wait there may have been too many hostesses, muddling duties. After we were seated it took a while for our waters to be filled, as the hostesses stood around that station idly chatting. It took a waiter walking by and alerting our hostess that we needed water. As she filled our waters she also tried to take our drink orders, at this point, her demeanor, lack of critical thinking and vocal tone were enough and we elected to just wait for our server.
From there, everything went pretty smoothly. roseangel is a taquería and the menu, while concise, has ample offerings for the carnivore, vegetarian or pescitarian. We elected to begin with red wine sangria, $27/pitcher. The sangria was relatively tasty, but not expertly made. For dinner, our table elected to go with the Chef's Whim, a 4-course meal for $18/person. We debated on an appetizer, and our server was not of much help, instead of guiding us through the AMPLE food we were to receive she just let us mull through it. While I appreciate a server not pushing options down diners throats, I also ask for advise because I want an honest opinion or feedback and if you are not up to speed on your restaurants offerings, training should be done before being let loose on the floor. However, having said that, our server was very nice and relatively attentive to us through our meal.
Like most chef dinners the table has to agree on the meat, or lack thereof, and the chef goes from there. The first course was chips and salsa. The chips, while I could not tell if they were homemade, were crisp and delicious. We received guacamole, pineapple and roasted chile, and tomatillo. All three were delicious. From there we had a basic salad which was good but nothing overtly eye or taste bud popping. The next course was veggie tacos with the same salsas (slighly disappointing as I would have liked to try others), fresh, thick corn tortillas, fresh cilantro and picked onions. There was a lot of food, enough for us each to have multiple tacos. From there were were stuffed and still had not received our desserts. We had them hold off on the deserts for about 30 minutes. The restaurant and staff was not pushy with us to get out the door and let us digest with our cocktails, all of which were delicious. When we did get our desserts there was Caramel Custard and two slices of Mango Cheesecake. The desserts were fantastic. The custard was just the right consistency, the cheesecake perfect. Although we only made it through a few bites of each, the desserts are worth it. If you elect to do the Chef's whim bring your appetite and a willingness to meet the chef. He came out a few times through our meal to ensure we liked what we were eating and enjoying the meal - it was a welcome personal touch.
Overall, roseangel was a great experience. As I pass by the restaurant on my bike there appears to be a constant flow of patrons. The food is great, the drinks pretty solid and as this restaurant gets comfortable in its neighborhood I am sure the hostess issues will be tweaked and refined.
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