Rosemary Cafe — Restaurant in Joliet

Don't usually slam a place but the memory still lingers and maybe it will spare someone. ~Was ever so hopeful for a niche café experience to be local and reviews supported the possibility. My visit went like this: The entryway smelled horrid. Whoa! What is that sewer gas/the foul odor that fills the front entrance? I pressed on with tolerant compassion, thinking it was a one off issue that was being handled. When i very low-key asked, the server was overtly offended and said that "the only thing anyone smells is the coffee". Which i would learn was a fancy-shmancy deal there. Apparently the sharp pungent 'coffee' aroma traps in the foyer as something much more dank. Ok, oddly caustic coffee then. Lets try and move past this error. The decor came across lightly urban-trendy but forced. Unfortunately once seated the absolute cheapness and superficiality of it all was very apparent. Thinly furnished, wobbly & faux. The atmosphere was all attitude but no authenticity. You know the energy of basic boujee. Still I wanted to support the effort maybe fake it till you make it bourgeoisie would rise up. Nope. I'll give 'em a nice cup of coffee. Something fancy chocolate etc. but it took forever, very high priced and the scant portion was refilled with the basic brew. Moving on, because all of this was trivial, excusable, work in progress maybe? The menu. Everything on it smacked of an owner (or chef) desperate to come off cutting edge but failing. Pointlessly weird combos that missed the epicurean goal. My misadventure was a take on Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon instead of the standard breakfast meat. I love a good N.Y. lox & bagel. Benedict is one of my favorites. THEY RUINED BOTH. The poorly toasted muffin was loaded with cream cheese and absolutely macerated in capers (I love capers but this was absurd, no exaggeration, the cream cheese was so deeply coated in the picked buds it couldn't be seen or tasted) the salmon was too thickly sliced and tough so it had to gnawed through. Can it get worse? Because to much of things doesn't make a bad review right? Well they sunk the boat this way; My nicely poached eggs atop all this crazy were densely slathered in hollandaise sauce that was REFRIGERATOR TEMP COLD!!! I went with it folks. I tried to get my head around it but it was an assault to the senses. Everything I loved about those foods was at chaos. I waited forever for the server, who I had seen solely for the order and drop off of food, (someone else brought the costly coffee) to check back. Discreetly inquiring about the temp of the sauce which Must Have Been an Oversight...Nope, It was intentionally cold¿¿ because of the salmon!!! And I accepted her condecending delivery of this information for I clearly had no understanding of this fine cuisine. B.S. Google it my dear diners. This Is An Abomination and No Chef worth their salt would ever do such a disgusting thing. It ruined hollandaise for me, it killed my love of capers, of smoked salmon, of poached eggs. It was a chilled mayonnaise slurry over what was a warm muffin and eggs. They are a very overpriced snobfest of a restaurant that have zero culinary sense....

Edit to add new pictures. Iced london fog is excellent. Steak sliders need a little something extra like an over easy egg. Chicken and waffles are good. The chicken fingers seem frozen and not freshly battered which is a bit disappointing. The waffles are perfect.

This breakfast spot is excellent. The menu options are unique and delicious. We tried the steak and eggs and the Portuguese breakfast. 10/10, they nailed both. The Portuguese is 2 sandwiches and I feel like they could do one and give a side of potatoes and fruit or something. Both dishes were A LOT of food and erything was perfectly cooked. My steak was a perfect med rare as ordered. I ordered a latte and it was perfect. My husband had the Drip coffee. He liked it. It's lavazza which is the kind we make at home. It's great quality so a higher price point is expected. I feel like that's the overall theme here. Yeah it's more expensive than a typical breakfast, but filet mignon isn't "typical" breakfast. This place is more special (maybe a bit bougie) but I feel like the quality and price point match. You can get a stack of pancakes and scrambled eggs for $10 at any run of the mill place, this isn't that place and they definitely aren't trying to be. Our server was Terri and she was sweet and attentive. If I had any gripe it would be the signage. We drove right by this place at first and we were actively looking for it. If you were just driving down the road until you hit a place to eat, you'd never see this place. I think they are missing an opportunity there. Don't sleep on this place. Treat...

My family and I procrastinated heavily in making Eid plans, but I heard wonderful things about this breakfast joint and wanted to see if I could make a last-minute reservation as breakfast places are usually very overpacked on this holiday. I called the café as soon as they opened and the woman was so accommodating and kind over the phone. We were a very large group of over 20 people and the restaurant was very spacious and it didn’t feel crowded at all. I definitely think that they are not used to groups of that size but they carried on seamlessly! We were all a little bummed that they were out of espresso because their coffee bar options looked delicious! Most of us ordered something completely different off the menu and nearly every single person was blown away by their breakfast choice! The prices are a little high but the portions are pretty fair. If I had to be very critical, the Nutella crêpe was average, they were a little heavy handed on the hollandaise sauce on the eggs Benedict, and the steaks we ordered medium came very very well done (but still deliciously seasoned). Their eggs are made perfectly and the POTATOES!!! Definitely steal the show. The staff there are so kind and even patiently took group photos for us when we finished. We left in agreement that this would be our new breakfast spot, so...