Rosa's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Pismo Beach

I'm reposting this as the owners deleted it. Shame on you!

We came as a group of 20 couples on October 7, 2019. The organizer of our group was in contact with the general manager and they set us up in a banquet room and had a set menu of 5 items to choose from. The menu was very nicely typed up welcoming our group and had the 5 menu items listed with a description of each pasta dish. It also said the dinner INCLUDED a salad, homemade bread and a soft drink. BUT, there were no prices! One of our members questioned our server and asked what OUR price was for each item and could he please write it down for us to share with everyone in our group. The prices that were given back to our group were $17 to $19. Everyone in our group was under the assumption that the prices written down included everything.

What a SHOCK it was when we all got our Bill's. They were roughly $30 more than it should have been. When we all questioned our bills, the general manager came back and said the server misunderstood what we requested when we wanted to know the price of the dinners. The General Manager called the owner and he was NOT accommodating at all! The owner said because we were in the "Banquet Room" and ordering off special menu, that the pricing was different. Most of us wouldn't have ordered a salad or a soft drink, but because we all thought it was included in our dinner, we did! Only to find out that each salad was $9, sodas $3. The owner said if he deducted the salads and soft drinks from each if our Bill's, then he would charge us for using the Banquet Room! Can you believe this? We didn't ask for the Banquet Room and we could have easily just ordered off the regular menu, ordering only what we wanted. Several people wanted to "split" dinners and they came back and said NO.

Needless to say, nobody got a reduced bill and the owner got VERY NASTY with our group, cussing at us in Italian as he stomped out the door. Very unprofessional!

Will any if us be back? Not in...

Two words--Squash Blossoms. I was talking to Chef Doug the other night at soccer (we play CCSoccer, a recreational Co-ed soccer league) and he said that he had just gotten in some squash blossoms. That was it--when I got home, I let Hayley know that Friday night we were heading to Rosa's! Treat yourself and make your way to Rosa's while they are still in season. Doug stuffs them with crab, sausage, and all sorts of love, then cooks them up--I mean they are heaven!

If you have never been to Rosa's it is a old school Italian restaurant in Pismo Beach. For starters they serve these mini-loves of bread, fresh out of the oven that are excellent. Last night the guy sitting next to us had something wonderful looking on his plate. I asked our waitress (who delivered outstanding service) what it was, turns out Chicken Cacciatore. I'd never had it, but I know that whatever Doug makes, I'll like, so why not try something new?

Good decision! Half a chicken, fresh onions, mushrooms, and bell peppers all smothered in a red sauce with a nice little kick. It was AWESOME.

One of the things I love about dining at Rosa's is the excellent service. Even on a busy summer night, we were seated quickly, by a pleasant hostess--delivered water by a smiling bus boy, and taken care of by a very friendly and talented waitress. She knew the menu and really seemed to care about making our dining experience a good time.

If you are new in town, visiting from the Valley or beyond, or a local looking for a solid meal that won't put your Master Card over the limit, check out Rosa's, and if you hurry you just might be able to get some...

Out of towner review: Great local Italian restaurant with made-from-scratch options. So many delicious entrees to choose from, it was hard making a final call but we were happy with our meal choices.

Here’s what we ordered: Caesar Salad (great house made dressing, though the croutons were very stale) Potato Gnocchj (very delicious and quite spicy, which we loved, but could be intense for some sensitive to some heat in their food) Chicken Parm (perfectly cooked, came with green beans, which was a nice touch as well) Fresh bread (of course bread is amazing but this was on another level, yum!)

So why the four stars? I had ordered their house wine so assumed a cheaper option. I was given a delicious Cabernet, don’t get me wrong, but the waiter brings out the bill and charges me $18 which was absurd. When we asked about the price, instead of making any change to the mistake he made, he basically told us he picked any option on the screen and charged us. He said to “not tip him”. That’s very unprofessional, not to mention very dismissive of us altogether.

Overall, we had a good time at Rosa’s. The meal was great, the house staff and food was excellent, and the experience was awesome, but right at the end there we just got a really sour taste. Hopefully more honesty and communications in the menu options and pricing could be done for people...