Rosa Garden City — Restaurant in Garden City

Ate here for lunch Thursday around noon, it was very busy and the line almost went out the door. Ordered the taco plate and the Al pastor Rosa burrito. For the three tacos we tried the skirt steak, chicken, and an Al pastor. The Al pastor taco was the best out of the three - the meat had the most flavor, the chicken and skirt steak were just ok at best. The skirt steak cost extra and was the most disappointing, the meat was bland other than a strong char taste from the grill, and was lacking a citrus/garlic/cilantro marinade of some sort. The toppings on the three tacos were extremely skimpy (onions, cilantro, pineapple), maybe they were running low and needed to conserve? Who knows but we got the lightest sprinkling on each taco, the amount of meat was acceptable though. The house made flour tortillas were fresh and delicious. The two salsas available for self serve on the side were not good. The green tomatillo salsa was oddly sweet in a bad way, and the red salsa could benefit from more spices and some heat. Adding some jalapeño and serrano pepper would make it better in my opinion. The rice and beans served with the three tacos needed more salt, they were just ok pretty bland. The beans had a lot of lard in them. The burrito could have been put together better because the top was entirely beans, the middle was meat, and the bottom was all rice. Would have been nice to get a little of each in every bite. That’s an easy fix though. Portion sizes are not big enough to share, and if you are a really hungry adult the burrito alone, or the three taco plate with rice and beans likely wouldn’t be enough to satisfy you. All in all this is a nice addition to the Wylder hospitality group’s restaurants and with some improvements would be a 5 star place in my book, however I’d give it a 3.5 star today if that was an option. Quality food, friendly customer service, and with some improvements in flavor (more spices, better meat marinades, and better salsas) this place could be so much better. If you’re looking for Southern California tasting Mexican food this is definitely not the place, but for what Idaho has to offer this is better than most taco shops in the area...

Rosa will do well, but not because the food is good (it's just okay, more below). There are at least three legit Mexican restaurants within 5 minutes of Rosa that are MUCH better quality and a lot less money. But they're not "a scene" and don't have a vibe. Rosa will thrive because of walkability (parking is a total shiyatshow, be careful not to get towed parking in front of a trailer home), the water park and greenbelt, and because, well, HIPSTERS. It's a nice meeting place to see and be seen. Lots of selfies being taken here! Probably a good date place. We counted 18 employees early Friday night. It's great to see people employed! Line out the door. Flannel shirts, trucker hats, tattoos and piercings everywhere. I liked it. I'm sure the old school Garden City toothless residents absolutely hate it. FYI, my dad and uncle are OG GC toothless white trash so I can say these mean things. We ordered two taco plates and one drink. See picture. It came to about $34 before they spin the register screen around for you to tip. Yep, tipping before you eat, tipping for counter service, tipping just for the privilege of paying $34. As for the food... Our chicken taco was SO DRY AND SALTY. An hour after leaving Rosa we were thirstier than a Western States 100 racer. Everyone had a chicken taco, and we all grimaced at the same time. The other tacos were "hearty" and filling. Oh, Rosa tacos are $4 ala carte. Tacos at nearby Mexican shops are $2 (I ate tacos nearby the day before at a non-hipster place). Our side of rice and beans were just okay. I'd go back to Rosa to meet friends. I wouldn't order the $5 soft serve ice cream dessert. I'd get a taco plate and water. I'd park at my secret spot a few blocks away. But when craving Mexican food in GC there are so many better options. *I've attached photo of 6 tacos from Campos. Cost me less than $13 and they have drinks in the store freezer. And they were not...

We live in the neighborhood and were excited to have a new spot we could visit regularly, but after our experience, this feels more like a place you try once and maybe revisit every couple of months at best.

I don’t mind paying premium prices for high-quality food, but the portions here are small, the value isn’t quite there, and nothing was craveable enough to make me want to return frequently.

The steak burrito, priced at $15, was disappointingly small and lacked depth. No guac, no pico, and nothing that really made it stand out. If you’re going to charge that much, it should be worth it, either in size or flavor. Consider offering more than just refried beans. Whole or black beans, corn salsa, crushed-up tortilla chips, and pico de gallo are all options that could add some much-needed texture and excitement. Also, skip putting the salsa inside and serve it on the side.

We tried every taco option and they all had good flavor, and the tortillas were delicious, but street tacos are meant to be both small and affordable. At $4 each before tax, and $5.49 if you want steak, the cost adds up quickly. There are more authentic and satisfying taco spots nearby that offer better value.

That being said, the staff was really friendly, the frozen margarita was awesome, and the soft-serve horchata was delicious. The ambiance is super cool and the overall concept is great, but the execution misses the mark. We love seeing new restaurants in the neighborhood and truly hope this one succeeds. It will need some adjustments, though, because once the novelty wears off, I worry people won’t make it a regular stop. The ownership group has some great restaurants under their belt, but they need to step up their game on this one and work out the kinks.

We will try again in a few months and update the...