The English Rose

We had a small surprise-​party-​lunch for one of our friends, party of 8, and it was such a great place for an intimate gathering over tea! While I’m no expert on English food, the service was excellent, the ambiance was different and cozy, and the menu offered something different than anywhere I’ve been in a long time. We all agreed that the food was fantastic.
I’d go back again for sure and have suggested it several times to friends looking for «something different» to do for lunch. I’d give it four stars for having a good experience, but the warm welcome, good service, great food and special ambiance add a little something extra. Maybe a 4.5 would be most accurate rating. Either way, loved it!

Delicious scones, good breakfast, and good service. The scones are not greasy or overly sweet– just like real English scones. They come out warm, which is heavenly. The omelette is a little on the dry side. Not the best. Prices are reasonable. I wish they would do afternoon tea!

Very English interior but unfortunately authentically bad food.

The Brits may have ruled the world at once upon a time, but they certainly have not ruled their culinary. I’m sorry we snotty Yankee Americans who visit your homeland, and come back with horrible food tales. And places like this that bring these tales true to life. The place was filled with little old grannies, not being ageist here but it was what it was. Our hostess/​waitress asked if we had reservations… really now, the place was about half empty and looked far from the hipster-​happening brunch spot of the town, but we were promptly seated up front. She placed our egg yolk crusty silverware down on top of the dingy, dusty oxidized flowery table linen, we should have ran away screaming but we were polite enough to stick it out and give this place a fair trial.
The eggs Benedict was ghastly looking, the eggs looked to have been poached in a microwave, the ham if you want to call it that was a thin single ply of Oscar Myer-​ish lunch meat, and the holindaise sauce… um, what holindaise sauce, it was so sparse that it looked like a tiny tinge of yellow was just airbrushed onto the eggs. The crumpet might have been good, but it was all soggy from soaking up the watery runoff from the bubbles and squeak, (the potatoes, onions and cabbage). I kept thinking I was tasting white wine… from the holindaise… wait what holindaise sauce, but then realized it was rancid cabbage giving it that fermented wine taste. We did order a few mimosas which were probably the only saving grace of the meal. Condiments like ketchup were served in a jelly like container with a dainty spoon, it did not feel or make it look elegant at all. And what on earth was that yellow custardy stuff for? The scones I guess?
Sweetie dahling, sweetie dahling please avoid this ghastly retirement dive, Queen mum would take her white gloves off and backhand you into the river Thames, Kate Middleton would proudly flash her boobies other than be represented by this rubbish, and Gordon Ramsay would probably commit a murder in your kitchen.
You may have hosted a wonderful memorable Olymipic games this year in 2012, but in this arena you fell way off the podium.

I took my mum — we’re both from England, and upon first glance we were definitely overwhelmed by the floral wallpaper, frilly tea cozy on each table, and large quantities of English China decorating the place. It seemed like an American idea of what an «English tea party» looked like.
Then I saw the menu. We’ve been to enough British pubs to know that usually the menu has one or two English items mixed in with burgers and fries. This place had a whole menu! Real sausage rolls, Cornish pasties, bangers and Mash, bubble and squeak, crumpets, trifle, and of course, some great selections of English tea. I honestly couldn’t decide what to get. We even took a sausage roll home! I will be back to try everything on the menu and enjoy their delicious tea!

What a place! Feels like you walked in your grandma’s house and were welcomed by the smell of home cooked meal. Tea, scones and all… The décor is one of a kind :) For 21^st century this is a rate find.
Don’t be turned off by all the elderly patrons and their walkers, this place serves good food and its no surprise they’d kept their customers over the decades!
The lunch hours present variety of foods for fraction of price.
Parking on Laurel street gets a bit busy around lunch hour, but there are plenty of free parking lots on the side streets!
While children may appreciate the yummy strawberry scones, their energy levels might just not mesh well with the crowd. So do ‘em both a favor and take kids someplace they can play between a meal and dessert :)

Came here a couple months ago and had a great time. It was a rainy April afternoon and the tea and sandwiches were a delight.
So, came in today again fully expecting a nice time. Overall not so much. The place wasn’t very busy (was early afternoon) and the service was so s-​l-​o-​w… Not to mention the server forgot our TEA. Yes folks, we went to a TEA room and the server forgot out TEA. Everything else we ordered had been served. We asked not one, not two, but THREE times for our tea. Is there some magic code word we weren’t aware of? Finally the server (oh and it was a different girl just about every time) came with the TEACUPS (progress) but another five minutes or so went by and still no tea. Well by this time we were about finished anyway so what’s the point. So as one of the girls walked by, I told her to forget it.
So two stars. I suppose one cause Unilocal makes you and the other because they DID get my daughter’s order correct and she was quite happy during our visit. She didn’t order tea so there you go.
I must say the scones were quite good and I think I will give this place ONE more shot at some point.

I just moved to San Carlos and tried some breakfast places around and only very recently I went to The English Rose. What a great find !!!
The delicious scones baked fresh by the owners wife are the traditional British scones, so do not expect the sugary hard Starbucks crap. Delicious and fluffy, slightly savory.
Crumpets are awesome, slightly crispy, you can still taste the pancake-​ness but you also get the slightly sour taste of leaven. Just like it should be.
The lemon curd was delicious — not too sweet, very creamy.
Great English feel — including tea cozies :)
The staff was really lovely, we were seated by the owner and talked to him a bit and since it was our first visit, before we left, he gave us 3 scones for free so that we can munch on something at home. Lovely touch.
It was one of the best breakfast places I have visited in a while.

I love this little tea room. the new owner is very accomodating and I was greeted at the door. The tea sandwiches are very yummy and filling, the scones are warm and soft inside and the lemon curd and clotted cream are just divine. I will definately come again, with some friends next time. Good job English Rose!

First time here. Was with a friend that has been coming here for over 20 years. She asked the staff who looked new and we found out that the restaurant was just bought by new owners.
I love the new owners!!! Very gracious hosts. You would think we were guests in their own home. I definitely will think of this place to frequent in the future.

This was my first time here. The owner greeted us upon our arrival and told us he had just took over ownership that week. He was very polite and attentive. The place is very cute with lots of decorations around and set up very Victorian English. It’s a very relaxing setting.
We had cranberry apple tea, buttermilk scones and apricot scones. The tea was very good and flavorful. The scones were amazing! It was my first time having scones and I’m definitely a fan. They offer lemon curd, strawberry, and raspberry jams that were super tasty. I didn’t have anything else, but I heard another customer commenting on how good her quiche was.
Overall great service, tea, and scones! The owner even gave us a couple scones to take home. Great place and I will be returning again for sure! Thanks English Rose.

Cute little English tearoom with wide variety of teas.
Great breakfast and quiche dishes.
Love the bangers and potato dishes
Knick knack decorations throughout
Friendly food service
Great for an afternoon break or tea time?

Entre: the «Manor» Breakfast
I had two eggs benedict, rumbledethumps, and a banger, a pumpkin scone, a crumpet, and tea.
I was impressed by the eggs benedict-​are they normally like that? The waitress wouldn’t accept my request for omelette-​style. I didn’t know omelette-​style could be rejected. Holler if you like your eggs boiled!!!
The rumbledethumps were good, I personally would have liked more cabbage.
Scone was okay. Do people eat it without sugar? I’m used to sugary, Starbucks scones, so I lathered mine in jam and butter.
I thoroughly enjoyed the crumpet, but was confused on how to eat it, so I lathered that with the lemon curd.
Tea: Something black?
Me and my cousin ordered tea, but we were never asked what kind of tea we wanted and I assumed that we would get a basket of teas, but the pot came with its own tea bags. Breakfast tea? PG tips? I have no idea. Definitely not Earl Grey.
A little disappointed, since we really came for some tea. The tea came in a tea bag, which was a let down for me. I guess British people like tea bags.

Came here 2 weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon with a few friends. The reason for the two stars is because of the lack of tea choices, the food is just ok and the lack of staff.
There is basically 2 people serving the whole place and since its full, service is a little slow.
Upon walking into this quaint place, I noticed the walls are covered with of course rose wall papers, and majority of the people were not in my age group but a lot older.
Definitely didn’t like having to walk through the entire kitchen in order to use their restroom.
Clotted Cream and the Crumpet was good. But that was basically it.

I went here with a friend using a coupon, and we both had the Manor Breakfast. I had the chai tea and she had the orange pekoe. I had the English sausage and the potatoes with cabbage and onions, and she had the potatoes and bacon– and we both had scrambled eggs. I have an allergy, so I could not eat the scones, but my friend said the strawberry ones were delicious– and the restaurant very kindly let my friend have mine to take home. I thought breakfast was amazing. I ate ever bite, and our server was the nicest lady. I loved the rose covered china and the tea cozies, and the decorations– and the parking was easy at 10am. It wasn’t terribly crowded, so 10 was a good time to go. It’s a small storefront, so I imagine it can get pretty packed at lunch. I can’t wait to go back.

the décor makes the place looks like a boutique. Very floral…
we had the manor breakfast, which includes 2 eggs, 2 sides (I got a banger and potatoes with cabbage & onions) and one crumpet and one scone…
not bad, the scone was buttery, crumpet was interesting (in a good way)…but the rest were just kinda your regular breakfast food… i prefer american sausages… though i did like the cabbage & onion with the potatoes…
not very likely to re-visit…but good place for food if you’re into the tea room feel

I’m English so I’m going to be hyper-​critical. In that case, it’s only fair for me to say up front that The English Rose is about to become my go-​to Sunday breakfast place when I’m in the area. It was a pleasure
The tea rooms is unlike any tea room I’ve ever been to in England in any of the five decades I’ve been filling my face. It’s a hotchpotch of mismatched eras which ends up being slightly kitsch. All the same, right down to the Sunday morning music playing in the background, there was something comforting and nostalgic for the child in me that grew up in the tea-​room ridden Cotswolds countryside in the 1960s and I can’t think of anywhere round here that I’d prefer to go for Sunday breakfast.
The English Rose’s first win was tea in a teapot with a cup and saucer. After four weeks bouncing around the USA slurping Joe from polystyrene mugs this was an indulgent treat. Second win, HP sauce. Nobody can explain the English love affair with HP sauce and a fried breakfast without it is unthinkable. If they hadn’t had it, this would have been my first and last visit. Top marks!
Now I’m going to get hypercritical in my comparison to a traditional English breakfast so, remember, I said this is a pretty darned good breakfast. Loved the crumpets, they had a home-​made feel. If they were, a tad more salt would be good. I was surprised the banger was so acceptable, big, juicy and perfectly cooked. Unfortunately, it was a dinner sausage and I’d have loved a traditional, herby Cumberland sausage. Tomatoes and mushrooms should be halved and broiled not sliced and fried and it would be good if small portions were included rather than having to buy large side portions of them to complete the full breakfast (not that I didn’t still eat every scrap :-)
More importantly though, thin, crispy bacon? Yikes! Not ever, never, ever will you see this anywhere in England except an American chain restaurant! Bacon should be thick-​cut, juicy soft and grilled with the rind on. That’s the lost star. I can’t get it in France either but it’s so important a part of our food culture that I butcher, cure and slice my own.
The restaurant was relaxing, food good, service nice and friendly. It was a real Sunday morning treat and, given it’s an easy hit from the office, I will most certainly be back some time soon to try lunch and will no doubt raid their stall for Cornish Pasties and other goodies at the Thursday night market.

I enjoy a relaxing late morning breakfast, and the English Rose provided a wonderful cottage atmosphere with country style food.
What stood out for me, was the pot of Earl Grey tea and fresh made blueberry scone. Most people might expect this, but there is something extraordinarily magical about the perfect tea with the perfect scone at a nice relaxing place.
What I ordered:
The Manor Breakfast (Two Eggs, English Banger, Rumbledethumps, blueberry scone, and crumpet) with Earl Grey Tea.

Have to update my review with a very disappointed single star. I’m not sure it deserved the glowing 4-​stars I gave it the first time, but those scones and clotted cream were so delightful. And frankly I was enamored with my company and the black currant tea. I was blinded by pastry-​twinnings love, I guess.
So first off, the waitstaff was not excited about our party of 10. Understandable, but to be rude to patrons just because you’ve had a long day? Orders came back odd, and were fixed eventually. Those tea sandwiches are just okay, and frankly my mom and I think we got sick from them later in the day. Spoiled cheese? Spoiled butter? It’s the only thing we both ate in the last week and the only time we’ve spent together.
Fine. Witchy waitstaff? Complete with eyerolls. Clearly the first time was not a fluke. That knocks it down a full star. Food poisoning another. So we’re down to 2 stars… add an unpalatable glass of champagne and we’re down to 1.5 stars. Thank goodness my elderly aunt knocked hers over and I didn’t have to drink mine.
The place is still darling. The scones and clotted cream are still dreamy. The tea is still wonderful — though how do you screw up hot water? Sad! Must try the new San Mateo tea place… maybe they will have clotted cream, too. Disappointed. I’ll give you one last chance, English Rose, but only if someone else invites me.

This tea room is more like a casual British tea room than any other place I’ve tried in the Bay Area.
First of all, the décor screams «I’m English!» Chintz everywhere, hand-​knitted tea cozies, and little knick-​knacks hanging from the walls that you can actually purchase. It’s seasonal, too (ornaments for Christmas, heart-​shaped doilies for Valentine’s, etc.).
Next, the food is very English lunch-​in-​a-​tearoom. They have your standard scones, clotted cream, jams, sandwiches and tea, but they also have a selection of British gems: cornish pasties, bubble & squeak, bangers and mash, and ploughmans lunch. They also serve breakfast (at least a few egg dishes) all day.
I have to tell you that despite what you may have heard about British fare, the food is very, very good. Well-​seasoned and freshly-​made, I’ve never had a bad dish here. Do note that teas (at least the ones I’ve tried) are not loose-​leaf, so if you are a purist, you will be disappointed.
Service is always fine. It’s a small place, and the ladies bustle around as best they can. A few times dishes have been forgotten, but are always quickly remedied. The staff is also quite friendly.
Prices are reasonable, and parking is never a problem in downtown San Carlos. The only negative is that this place fills up fast for lunch (like I said, it is tiny), so either make a reservation or get here early.