Roses' Taproom — Restaurant in Oakland

As someone who has worked in hospitality for most of my adult life, I am not usually inclined to write bad reviews. This place is an exception. The bar closes at 10pm on Friday night. The server came over and did last call at 935pm right after me and my party got a fresh round of drinks (over $100 in alcohol). Then right at 10pm the server told us to finish up our last sips of drinks even though we all still had relatively full drinks. At 1030pm the server said "sorry but it's WAY past closing and I need you all to leave". This is completely over the line. Most bars would do last call 20-30 mins past close. And no bar, or restaurant should EVER, under ANY circumstance ask guests to finish their drinks and leave unless the guests were unruly or it was past the time they can legally sell alcohol. The servers were rude, turning on lights, pulling heat lamps, and even taking the trash out of the bathroom, so when I had to use the bathroom at 1010pm or so, I had to carry my wet paper towels after washing my hands back to my table. This place should not have a...

I was back in town visiting so I grabbed some drinks with a friend. Now that I’m older, hangovers are horrible even with a sip of beer so I made sure to take my OHCap pills before drinking to avoid one.

They offer a variety of beers here ranging from porters to sour. They’re either tapped from a keg or it comes in a cool, colorful can. Outdoor seating is available with heat lamps in case it gets cold (which it did lol). We ended up moving inside anyways. Not a whole lot of seating but it was enough space for the three of us amigos to chill in the back.

Bonus! They also offer small bites so we ordered a combo-type plate. Basically a charcuterie board with cured meats, cheeses, and spread.

We ended up drinking a few more beers than we thought but thankfully I brought the OHCap with me. I’ll skip the hangover, thanks. I’d come here again in a heartbeat next...

The service was spectacular and so friendly. I was excited to try their potted meats as I have been craving rillette so it was perfect to order! Unfortunately I was let down at what was served, very oily poached pork chunks and didn’t even taste the duck confit. Definitely was not a traditional rillette and it was unappetizing from the oil and the bread that was served with it was ok, the crust was chewy (wish it was grilled/toasted to give the dish a different texture) and it made it difficult to “spread” the rillette on it.

i don’t suggest sitting outside either as there is absolutely no shade during our sunny summertime season now. The cider I tried was delicious and service was friendly...