Rosie's Cafe — Restaurant in Atlanta

Short version for my fellow ADHD folk; only enjoyed the eggs (which was my side) the grits and my latte. The fish was bland and unseasoned—shocked because hello, ATL. Service and management was disappointing & my friend didn’t like her chicken and waffles.

The long: Honestly, I’m astounded that there were so many good reviews about this place, because our experience was soooo subpar, I almost feel like I got punked. This was our first and LAST time here sadly.

First, limited parking, but I won’t blame the establishment on that. Next, service was slow and not really the most attentive; it took too long for our order to get taken (On a Tuesday) & too long to get drinks. He didn’t really check on us & then he had an attitude when checking us out.

Finally received the food (again it was NOT busy) and this is where more disappointment ensued;

I ordered catfish and cheese grits with a side of cheese eggs. My friend ordered the chicken and waffles with a side of cheese eggs as well.

The catfish was terribly bland. Not a speck of seasoning was used & this was disappointing because the reviews made it sound so good and the waiter even recommended it.

That’s okay, sometimes you have an off day/off meal—but what disappointed me most was the manager didn't even want to discuss my dissatisfaction with me. Instead, he/she/they sent the waiter back to our table and recommended a different fish. I legit told him, we ain’t gonna blame the damn fish. Like catfish is a legit staple—it’s not the fish 😭. At this point we waited so long there was no way I was waiting for anything else. So I paid for something I didn’t like.

My roommates chicken and waffles was also nasty in my opinion. Her chicken was “decent” in her words, but she reported it was nearly over cooked (it looked burnt as hell to me). The “red velvet” was really dark and spongey. It didn’t really taste good; I couldn’t finish the bite she gave me.

So the positives: the grits, the eggs, the bread (cause you can’t f up toast), her chicken was at least seasoned just almost over fried & the caramel oat milk latte. Inside the bathroom was spacious and clean-so that’s nice. The place was cute inside overall; nothing special but not an eyesore either.

Downsides: everything the hell else.

Sincerely wish I could’ve given this place a higher rating but I value good customer service—it’s almost just as important as the meal— & I didn’t feel valued.

Happy other people had a good experience,...

The food, service and establishment was only ok. For the gratuity to be included, I expect more than ok. It says gratuity included in small print on the receipt, this needs to be bigger and bolder.*

They do QR code for the menu instead of handing them out to guests so if you’re looking to see that, just go to their website. It’s possible that they offer paper menus but I’m unsure because we weren’t offered one.

We ordered chicken and waffles, speciality pancake meal, and 2 kids meals (pictured). The wings were small but it was fine. The potatoes were room temperature and tasted old. Like they were potatoes from a few days ago that were warmed in the microwave. I had to get up and get my own hot sauce for my chicken from a different table because our server wasn’t near when my food arrived. The server just wasn’t attentive enough, I feel like when someone orders chicken and waffles, hot sauce should be provided right then and there or at least offered. The waffle was soft but a little dry, the pancakes weren’t very sweet. Neither compare to huddle house waffles/pancakes. And the sausage were very very thin, kinda reminded me of scrapple.

Additionally we got 2 kid meals when we only really wanted one to be split between the two. Our kids are small, like super small. One still in diapers and the other eat like a bird. I thought we were clear when we ordered but I guess not and that’s fine. When I was a server, I would’ve certainly asked for clarification when people came in with 2 small children of this size.

The bathroom was completely out of soap and the sanitizer dispenser outside of the bathroom was also completely out of sanitizer. I asked for soap and they told me someone was notified but no soap was put in before we left.

It wasn’t busy when we arrived, although things started to pick up as we neared the end of our meal. And because of this I feel like service should’ve been better and SOAP should’ve definitely been in the soap dispenser with new viruses being created in labs and people carrying germs.

Nonetheless, I still provided a tip on top of the gratuity to support black people and black owned businesses. I wanted to leave a 5 star review but this wasn’t a 5 star visit. Last year when we came for the first time, we had a MUCH better experience. But...

Extremely rude bartender. Dry burritos. The chicken had no taste. They left out the cheese and salsa the first try. The bartender said I could order a new burrito but it would take a very long time. She ended up charging me for both. I was deep in conversation with a person next to me and the servers took my plate away with half the food on it. Outrageous. A new plate arrived and it was not much better. At that point it seemed like the bartender was doing everything she could to get me to leave the bar area. I told her I was waiting on friends and there was also a football game starting. It seemed the color of my skin (white male) had something to do with my mistreatment. It would get worse. I finished my meal. I got one bill and was forced to pay a 20 percent tip automatically. Unknown to me she had also charged me for the first meal without telling me. The automatic tip is 20 percent. After I paid my bill the bartender said I must give my seat to someone else. I said no I am waiting on my friends like I told her before. She kept on insisting that I give up my seat to someone else. She did not do this to any of the black customers. The entire staff was black. I asked for the manager. She came over, apologized, and offered me a refund. That is when I found I was charged for both meals. I asked to be moved while the refund was being sorted out. The restaurant was half empty! Plenty of seats right behind me in the dining area. I do believe my skin color had something to do with my mistreatment. My friends arrived soon after I spoke with the manager. I told them not to come in the restaurant as I would never go back to Rosie's again in my life. They said no problem as they immediately did not like the vibe and were not going in anyway because of that. My friends are black. When I was leaving a black couple blocked me from leaving my parking spot. They were in their car chatting on their cell phone so I sat in my car and waited ten minutes. Finally got to leave that place. Worst experience I have ever had in...