Chez Rosa — Restaurant in Kennebunkport

A Forgettable Experience We recently dined at Chez Rosa hoping for a relaxed evening and a good meal for my daughter’s 23rd birthday. Unfortunately, the experience left much to be desired on all fronts. Let’s start with the food: simply put, it was forgettable. We got the cheese fondue appetizer but there wasn’t nearly enough to dip into the cheese and the salmon spread was the same. My wife and daughter ordered the lobster and it was bland and chewy. My pasta was swimming in a watery sauce that was also bland, nothing tasted freshly prepared. Nothing was outright inedible, but there wasn’t a single dish that stood out. Worse than the food, though, was the service. Our server seemed disinterested and inattentive. She didn’t do anything to make a special occasion special. She also refused to serve our 23 year old a beer despite being her parents and with her digital ID’s. We accepted that’s the rule/law but the server couldn’t move on. The manager wasn’t helpful either, but what made matters worse was the server being passive aggressive pretending to be nice on the surface but obviously not happy to serve us and making our entire experience there awkward. My daughter even helped bus the table and told her she was a server too, but that didn’t warrant an acknowledgement or a smile. There was no happy birthday dessert, or even an offering that I saw, just the $200 check to rush us out of there. I usually over-tip at 25-30% and in retrospect probably overtipped at 18%. There was one guy there kind enough to bring us a water refill, but I was never asked if I’d like another glass of wine despite my glass sitting empty for half the meal. There’s only one chance a year for a birthday dinner with our daughter so it was disappointing. We supported Chez Rosa during Covid and since, but perhaps since they moved to the new location taking over the old vines wine bar, it appears this has changed their food level and service. The atmosphere itself was decent — clean enough, not much different than the previous restaurant, but not nearly enough to make up for the overall lackluster experience. I expected something far more competent, if not enjoyable. There are plenty of other restaurants in the area that treat guests with more care and serve food with more pride. Chez Rosa sadly won’t be getting a return...

This is my husband and I’s go to spot for special occasions. We enjoy the steak because chef is the only chef around that can cook a steak to absolute perfection. My son loves the bread and butter as simple as it is it’s so tasty. I swear it must be home made and you can tell they really must put so much into the food they prepare for their guests. The French onion soup is also a favorite of ours. The broth is simply delicious combined with the cheese. It’s just to die for. The staff greet you as you walk in it’s always a warm and friendly inviting environment. You can tell how much the owners put into their restaurant when you see them running it and taking care of their staff. I love the fact we are always greeting with one of the owners at the front of house. This might be a French bistro but it does have that touch of home feeling to it. My favorite part is the server we had from September remember us when came in for Valentine’s Day! Now that’s great memory! She remembered we don’t really need a menu because we always pretty Much get the same thing every time anyways. Anyways if you’re thinking about visiting this lovely little restaurant it’s totally worth it. Oh and I forgot to mention the cute little drinks we got that were for Valentine’s Day . The chocolate ones WOW ! So delicious! They had chocolate and I think the rim had chocolate and must of been cayenne ? I might be wrong but anyways I had to buy some spicy chocolate after haha it was so tasty. They always have the best cocktails. I love trying the different drinks. The menu is always changing with seasonal items and I love that . One year they had a seasonal soup with apple. And all I am saying is please bring it back for the fall because it’s so yummy !!! We got the the soufflé for dessert and crème brûlée. I did not get a chance to snap a pic of the creme brûlée but when I tell you we were over flowing but couldn’t stop eating both these...

Man go to Maine. Man eat. Man amazed. Man writes yelp review. Man gives Chez Rosa 5 stars.

Chez Rosa has provided a restaurant experience I might never ever see again in my lifetime. Chez Rosa gave me a feeling of perfection with the food, in a way where you can't complain about anything- even if you tried to. This place gave me 2 cheese samples that were absolutely stunning. I know this sounds crazy because cheese is cheese, but this cheese was different. The soft cheese was perfect and extremely fresh- and this was properly one of the best cheese samples I have ever had, and trust me I have had A LOT of cheese. Additionally, a family member of mine decided to try the French Onion Soup was cooked to perfection. Usually, when you go to a restaurant you will find this type of soup is too heavy or too salty, but this soup, once again, was perfect. All the ingredients were fresh, the food was hot, and the soup was not too heavy and not too light, making it awesome. My maine course (pun intended) was steak, and I know I am saying it a lot, but it was perfect. The steak was not overcooked or undercooked making this one of the best pieces of steak I have ever had in my lifetime. And yes you know what, I'm going to keep going, I am adding a whole section on their fries- and oh my God, these are by far the world's best fries that I have ever run into. These fries like everything at the restaurant were perfect, and only because they weren't salty, they weren't overcooked, they weren't undercooked, and they weren't soggy. THIS IS HOW GOD MADE FRIES!!! The restaurant and environment also proceeded to be clean, and the waiters here were extremely nice, and gave us our service quickly, and without being rushed. Outstanding timing.

Summary:

5 stars Go here Stop being lazy just read my review because I don't feel like...