Rosie's Cafe — Restaurant in La Crosse

5 Stars for Rosie’s Café – A Hidden Gem Worth the Detour!

While driving home from Rochester, Minnesota to West Michigan, we were on the hunt for a great local breakfast spot — something with character, not just another national chain. That’s when we found Rosie’s Café, and let me tell you, it was worth every mile of the detour.

Located just outside of town in a quiet neighborhood, Rosie’s is small, charming, and absolutely packed — a sure sign that locals know what’s up. We actually missed our exit and had to backtrack through town about five miles, but it gave us a chance to see the area and build anticipation.

When we arrived, the place was buzzing. It's not a huge space, so there isn’t much room to wait inside, and the communication on whether to seat ourselves or wait could have been clearer. That said, the staff was friendly and handled the crowd like pros. We were seated within 10–15 minutes, which flew by.

Once seated, we were greeted quickly and warmly. The menu had tons of great options — everything from classic breakfasts to local favorites. We had a few questions and custom requests, and our server was super accommodating. Despite how busy it was, the service was attentive and upbeat.

The food? Hot, hearty, and absolutely delicious. Generous portions, great presentation, and flavors that made it clear everything was made with care. We left full and happy, no question about that.

One highlight? Their homemade cinnamon rolls with house-made icing — you can take a half dozen to go for under $17. Of course, I grabbed six… and asked for one extra with icing on top for the road. No regrets.

Rosie’s Café is a small-town treasure with big flavor and genuine hospitality. If you’re ever passing through this stretch of Wisconsin, make the stop — it’s worth it.

Thanks, Rosie’s! We’ll...

I have been here many times and enjoyed it, but today was different. We waited well over a half hour for our food and the older Waitress was really rude when my friend brought it to her attention. She asked how my omelet was and I told her it was burnt on the outside (which she could clearly see) and runny on the inside. She said "that's the cheese", I said no it's snotty and I know the difference between cheese and egg snot. She said I can have her cook it more as she rolled her eyes and walked away. I'm like, really? It's burnt already. Wish I'd taken a picture. Toast was cold and hard. Hashbrowns were dark, but okay. Glad I ordered a pancake, at least I ate half of that even though it was cold too. The coffee was bad and the creamer was sour, but at least the young girl pouring it was nice and apologized. As we were getting ready to leave another nice young lady came to collect our plates. Of course our original Waitress never did come back. Anyway, the younger one at the end asked why I hadn't eaten my food. When I told her she said "I'm so sorry I can have a new one made". I told her thank you, but it's a little late. I still got charged my $18.00. Poor, poor service from our initial Waitress. Older person. The 2 younger girls were very kind & friendly. We could definitely tell who the regulars were, our Waitress was very attentive to them and we could see as she went by with their plates that the food was how we all wish to have ours. Very disappointed! Nothing like throwing...

Stopped at Rosie's Cafe on a Sunday around 9:30 while traveling. There was a line, but our wait was only ten minutes. The wait staff at Rosie's really hustles! And, they meticulously clean every table and high chair. The decorations are nostalgic and fit the time period of this old restaurant, late 1920s/early 1930s. Our food was delicious. I had the Wisconsin cheese omelette and requested they add bacon to it. It came stuffed to the brim with chopped bacon. My husband had the steak and eggs. We ordered a cinnamon roll for the road and love that they did not ice it and we just dipped it in the icing instead. Our server was Trent and he never let my husband's coffee cup get empty. Not only is this a very clean restaurant with great food, but it is the most efficiently run restaurant we have ever been to. But, the very best part of this restaurant is that they are handicapped accessible. They have a ramp suitable for a walker or wheelchair and, despite the small size of the restaurant, they have a path clear so I could move easily through the restaurant with my walker. They even had a rail in...