Rosemary Rocksalt — Restaurant in North Vancouver

During a recent visit to Rosemary Rocksalt, I decided to try out their renowned bagel sandwiches. I opted for their popular Whistler bagel, which boasted an enticing combination of flavors. However, my experience left me with mixed feelings. Let's dive into the details and explore my thoughts on this particular dish.

Presentation and Missing Pickle: Upon arrival, I was pleased with the visually appealing presentation of the Whistler bagel sandwich. The ingredients were neatly stacked between a Rosemary Rocksalt bagel, giving it an appetizing appearance. However, one disappointment was the absence of a complimentary pickle that other patrons seemed to receive. It's unfortunate that this seemingly minor detail was overlooked in my order, as it could have enhanced the overall experience.

Texture and Temperature: One aspect that detracted from my enjoyment of the Whistler bagel was the texture. The bagel itself was noticeably cold and extremely tough, making it difficult to bite into and even causing discomfort for my teeth. Ideally, a bagel should strike a balance between a satisfying chewiness and a softer interior, which unfortunately was lacking in this case.

Flavor Combination: While the bagel's texture was disappointing, the Whistler bagel did offer an interesting array of flavors. The smoked meat was tasty, though it erred on the side of being overly salty. The inclusion of fresh vegetables, such as green pepper, tomato, lettuce, and red onion, brought a welcome crunch and freshness to the sandwich. The tomatoes, in particular, were juicy and added a delightful burst of flavor. However, the combination of both cheddar and cream cheese resulted in an excess of cheesiness, which slightly overwhelmed the other ingredients. A more balanced proportion of cheese would have allowed the other flavors to shine through more effectively.

Overall Experience: In conclusion, my experience with the Whistler bagel sandwich at Rosemary Rocksalt was a mixed one. While the presentation was appealing and the inclusion of fresh vegetables was commendable, the cold and tough texture of the bagel was a significant drawback. The meat, although flavorful, was overly salty, and the dual presence of cheddar and cream cheese made the sandwich a bit too cheesy. Additionally, the absence of the complimentary pickle, which other diners received, was a small but disappointing oversight. Overall, the Whistler bagel fell short of my expectations based on previous visits to Rosemary Rocksalt.

Despite my slightly underwhelming experience, I believe it's worth noting that taste preferences can vary, and other menu items at Rosemary Rocksalt might be more enjoyable. I encourage readers to explore the diverse selection offered by the establishment to form their...

Same flavor just way less meat and I think there prices have gone slightly up also!! We used to come here weekly for our weekly treat but took a break. Decided to treat myself to my usual morning bagel, I was very disappointed to say the least to see the price increase and the meat on the bagel has from,what I remember dropped to about half the amount!! Don't think I will be coming here again anytime soon!! Used to love this place so sad.

What a shame!!

Update

Thought I would give this one more chance. This visit I ordered a Mount pleasant bagel and a Hastings sunrise, I proceeded to ask for a tiny bit of butter on the sunrise and they proceeded to charge me another 25 cents on top of the 8.50 (i believe) I asked if they were charging me for the wee bit of butter and his reply was yes so I said forget it on principal!! When I sat down and unwrapped my sandwich to eat it I was completely unhappy and surprised to see 2 small strips of smoked meat. Like I mentioned in my last review, this place has to be the biggest rip off on Lonsdale. We used to eat at this place on a weekly basis on our dog walk, I should have known better and not given this a second chance. I remember when this place originally opened its doors, it was always super busy on weekends, you used to have to wait in the 5+ people line just to place your order then a 5-10 minute wait for their awesome bagel with a good amount of smoked meat and didn't charge me for the little bit of butter they put on my sandwich. As I sit here across the street at Starbucks and drink my coffee and type a review, it makes me think that what a shame it is that me of all people would way rather support local businesses now have to resort to not giving this place my hard earned money ever again!! I will be posting this on other food review sites so that people are aware of how grossly overpriced this place is. Greed will get you nowhere, but less customers. Its pretty obvious by sitting here and watching the lack of customers in this store that it's only a matter of time before this place will be forced to close its doors. Bad business model guys!! So in closing, if you care what you spend your hard earned money on, try crossing the street to the JJ Bean( another fine local business) and grab yourself some of their fairly priced coffees and food, and NO I don't work for or have any other reason to promote JJ Bean other than it being a...

My first five-star rating goes to ROSEMARY ROCKSALT!

I've had bagels. Sweet bagels, savory bagels, bagels from Russ & Daughters in NYC, bagels rock hard from the Starbucks display case.

I've also had amaaaazing meat in sandwiches in NYC, San Francisco, Seattle and here in Vancouver.

I'm not saying this to brag about my travels (okay maybe just a little) but to give credibility to this statement: Rosemary Rocksalt has some gooood bagel sandwiches.

The bagels: Juuust a little on the soft side of chewy, just the right density. I mean we like a solid bagel but we don't wanna feel like we've just eaten a latex sandwich, right? I had the namesake bagel and the Everything bagel.

The fillings: I went for the Montreal smoked meat. AUGH. I'm coming back here again and even though I'll want to try something new I KNOW I'll be ordering this again. So moist and tender and juicy and meaty. Best two inches I've ever had in my life. (The meat. I mean, the Montreal smoked meat. They piled it in the bagel to a height of about two inches. What were you thinking?)

I also had the Breakfast Bagel: cream cheese, onions, capsicums, cheddar cheese, egg, meat in one exTREMEly satisfying sandwich.

On a non-food-related note: there is a wall at the end of the counter with frames photos and write ups on each employee and their dreams/goals. I'm guessing the company takes an active interest in their employees' growth. That's probably why the servers were cheery and efficient.

Come here, get the sandwich you need, sit by the bar facing the road and watch the world go by. You won't be...