The Rosa is an Italian restaurant that has been in downtown Portsmouth since 1927. The restaurant closed in 2013, and the owners retired after this restaurant had been in their family name for nearly 85 years. 

BUT…

The restaurant was opened again by the owners of Martingale Wharf and after five years, closed again in 2018 to become Armando’s. Covid resulted in Armando’s having to sell their restaurant as there was a lack of customers. The Rosa reopened under the Martingale Wharf franchise, as people wanted this restaurant to come back in 2020; it is now a successful restaurant.

On March 11th, 2023,  I went to the restaurant for a celebratory dinner with my family. The delicious aroma of the Rosa comes right to you when the door opens. 

If you want to come for dinner on a special night, make sure to have a reservation in order to get seated when you arrive, as it is popular. My family did not make a reservation and had to wait for an hour, but the food was definitely worth the wait. 

In the restaurant there are a variety of table settings where you can sit. These include eating in the dining room as well as low or high top seating.  The dining room has vintage photographs on the wall to add to the ambiance. 

The food here is for a flexible budget that can fit in any wallet. For example, you can buy the Minestrone Soup for just $5, but if feeling luxurious, you can order Veal Parmigiana for $24. 

The first thing I tried was the deluxe Italian bread with their specialty oil. The bread was as soft as a pillow inside yet held the crunchiness of a cracker on the outside. The garlic oil made the perfect finishing touch. 

Then, I tried a pizza with Green peppers and mushrooms. The cheese on the pizza was perfectly Golden-Brown and the taste was exquisite. I noticed that the Rosa had changed their menu because there was not the flavor of Provolone cheese I remembered before.  The subtle hint of sausage in the meatballs gave them a bit of a kick, but not too much that the spice was overwhelming.

The service here was excellent because the waitress ordered and brought the food in an efficient manner. She also made sure that we were satisfied with the meal. 

Going to this restaurant was an amazing experience!  With the exceptional hospitality and quality of the food, you should try The Rosa. I absolutely recommend it to anyone who loves Italian food!

References

(n.d.). The Rosa Restaurant | Portsmouth, NH. Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://www.therosa.com/

Home. (n.d.). YouTube. Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://resy.com/cities/psm/rosa-restaurant?date=2023-03-18&seats=2

‘Nod to nostalgia’: Rosa Restaurant reopening for third time. (2020, October 1). Seacoastonline.com. Retrieved March 20, 2023, from https://www.seacoastonline.com/story/news/2020/10/01/rsquonod-to-nostalgiarsquo-rosa-restaurant-reopening-for-third-time/42712741/