Rosie's Red-Hot Cantina - Takapuna — Restaurant in Devonport-Takapuna

Enjoy a Flavorful Taco Tuesday at Rosie's: Our Recommended Restaurant in Takapuna

Rosie’s for “Taco Tuesday” was on my to-eat list after an afternoon trail run, and it certainly lived up to the expectations. Located right next to the beautiful coastline of Takapuna Beach, the restaurant has a wonderful modern but nostalgic vibe with 90s and early 2000s pop culture music legends along the walls. The staff were smiling and happy, and while there was a relaxed flow of guests around the place, Leiana, Izzy, and Dylan were providing excellent service while also ensuring that everything remained immaculate. Not to mention the ambiance itself being lively and welcoming across Rosie’s.

A Flavor Journey: The Tacos

Included in every order of artisan tacos at Rosie’s are corn tortillas which they serve on sturdy white ones. Luckily for me, none of them broke—and if you have ever eaten tacos, you know this is always a plus. However, I wouldn't mind additional heat as I do love spice—but even without it, each of them enjoyed savoring a good blend of exquisite flavors. Here's what I found:

Pork Belly Taco – Juicy pork complemented with pibil sauce, alongside jalapeño crema, and pickled pineapple and chicharron sprinkles that topped each dish sparingly—The richly infused spices created magic, maybe too much would serve splendidly too

Lamb Taco – Steps ahead of the others with mole-seasoned lamb, labneh, aji verde , and pickled carrots. Cheese was not too bad as the meat's savory-ness paired well. It was flavorful and refreshing.

Baja Fish Taco – A real winner! Fish was battered wonderfully (not flaky!), seasoned throughout, and moist to get through. Chipotle herb crema as well as pico de gallo complimented every other ingredient.

Cauliflower Taco (Vegan) – Enjoyable! The salsa verde combined with coconut romesco and hazelnut dukkah created vivid tastes though difficult to bite to put in your mouth.

Cheeto Chicken Taco – Shredded cabbage paired nicely with the crispy fried chicken slathered in Calexicvan mayo, topped with Flamin' Hot Cheetos crumbs. Although tasty, I found myself wishing for more heat from the Cheetos.

Birria Tacos (Beef & Chicken) – Accompanied by dip broth which enhanced flavor significantly for each bite taken. Great stretch on cheese as well as acceptable fry on tortillas made for good texture together. Being Filipino, I thought there would be stronger hints of adobo flavors but all in all very good tacos.

Concluding Remarks

Rosie’s provided an incredible tasting experience for me through their wonderfully tasty tacos. I can recommends everyone to go and try their $7 taco deal as well! Whether you enjoy fish, tacos, or are a vegetarian there is definitely something at rosies for everyone. Would 100% recommend this place to anyone looking for...

As per another review last week highlighting the same issue - what's up with the service? It was honestly like a Takapuna version of Faulty Towers. From the moment we sat down (quiet evening, restaurant was about 25% full), the waitress seemed determined to ruin our evening with incessant interruptions: "What would you like to drink?"(I don't know, we literally just sat down), "how about something to share to start?" (can we look at the menu first) "Are you ready to order now?"(can we have a minute please?) (*60 seconds later)" How about now? " (some more time please *Another 60 seconds later "How about now? " (Ok, you win). This carried on for our whole meal. "Would you like to order dessert?" (we were still eating our mains). What really annoyed me was when she tried to clear our glasses which were obviously not empty leading to an awkward stand off. Total time from sitting down to leaving was 45 mins.

Some food was fine: guacamole and burger. Other food was average (the most tasteless ceviche salad I've ever had). Some was downright awful (chips cooked in dirty oil served with burger, chili con queso that tasted of neither of those things). Everything felt "pre" preprepared and with the exception of the guac, everything was weirdly bland. Not exactly the "vibrant street food" which it promises.

The kitchen staff (I didnt see much genuine cooking happening, just plating up, so I am reluctant to call them chefs) spent most of the time lounging bored at the pass, crassly flirting with the waitresses in view and earshot of customers: "unreviled attitude" indeed.

Not a pleasant experience and certainly not one that would encourage a...

Rosie's red hot cantina, went there tonight for a Birthday. I was pleasantly surprised, how good the place was, spacious & warm, It was my Daughters birthday & she chose Rosies. we were shown to a table, sat down and chatted among ourselves for a few moments, A lovely young lady (I would say a top ten model) came over to me & said "Good evening sir, Welcome to Rosies Red hot Cantina" (I thought Wow), she said "My name is Skye" and I am your host for this evening, would you like some drinks to start the evening off. She was so polite, so well spoken, I was amazed how she remembered all the drinks, & gave them to the right person, what a bright star she was for our evening. Thank you "Skye" you really made the...