Rosa’s Spitalfields

Probably the best Pad Thai I’ve had in this city, sweet and moreish and so yummy. We also shared a tofu red curry, which was also lush.
Lovely teas, lemongrass was light and subtly flavoured, as was the ginger.
Service was very speedy if a little harried, but then there were many hungry customers. Price point was averagely expensive.
Overall, thumbs up. Nice one, Rosa.

A delicious meal. We shared lemongrass chicken, the texture was so soft and the taste was wow wow wow. The Thai green curry was the other dish we split. The sauce was so tasty that we were lapping it up like soup long after our rice was finished. The starters were OK but perhaps we ordered boringly. I liked the staff, they were friendly, didn’t hurry us at all. Perhaps they were too busy as we had to ask twice for the bill and one of us was in a rush. Will keep coming back again and again. Xx

I do love Rosa’s and this outpost is particularly adorably sized with lots of cosy tables for two and stool seating. There were a few things that made this just an ‘ok’ visit though. Firstly, the place was like a sauna. I thought it was just the effect of coming in from the cold outside, but the initial gratitude I felt for the cosiness soon turned into mildly sweaty discomfort, particularly given you’re sitting in close proximity to the table next to you. Secondly, they could do with a few more clothes pegs on the walls, though I realise this is only an issue during this time of year when I walked in wearing 4 layers. I gradually peeled them off (well 3 of them anyway) to deal with the sauna style heat but had nowhere to put them except on the floor or to sit on top of them on my stool. Finally, I found the chicken in my pad thai a little dry and tough this visit; it had clearly been overcooked. Hopefully this was a one-​off as I would hate to have to change my staple order here! The noodles remained nicely spiced however and I always appreciate the kick of their crazy strong chilli flakes. The staff looked after us well too so I would return if I was in the area, and hope for better next time.

Good quality Thai food. I believe this is the original restaurant in what is now a 7 restaurant chain. The food is tasty, good value, and the staff are generally friendly. The place looks tiny, and always appears full, but there are more seats downstairs, so it’s easier to get a table than you would think.

Cute little joint with great service and décor. The food is excellent, probably the most authentic Thai I’ve had in London. We had the pad thai, crispy squid and soft shell crab. Banging. And to finish, Monmouth coffee! Yeahhhh

Tried this place on a Thursday evening with a few colleagues. We visited this place at 6:25 pm and were seated immediately. There was no wait, although the place was busy.
We ordered their only beer on menu, Chang? First time for me with that beer and it was quite horrible! Did not enjoy it at all.
For my main course, I got their grilled sea bass. Everything about that dish is perfect, except the big, un-​chewable pieces of lemon grass. The taste of lemon grass overpowers the fish taste and spoils the dish completely!
It also comes with vegetables. 2 pieces of Cauliflower, 2 pieces of cucumber and something else. It’s disappointing that they serve these vegetables raw! The least they could’ve done is at least grilled those a little bit!
Service was OK. We felt they are understaffed because our waitress was running around, did not have a smiling face and definitely wasn’t that attentive…

My favourite Thai restaurant in London, Rosa’s is where I go when I think I deserve a treat.
I’ve been here enough times to know that you should always try and get seated downstairs, and that there’s usually a bit of a wait. But I’m fine with that.
My picks:
Soft-​shell crab to start
Duck red curry/​Pad talay for main, sometimes both
Perfect for dates or groups of friends, they also deliver locally, which is great when you’re working late.

I’ve never had a bad meal at Rosa’s. If you’re looking for your standard Thai meal then this is a great place. It has all the usual suspects plus a few more dishes for people wanting to try something new. Calamari, the duck stir fry and coconut rice are always my faves.
Only thing that left me confused was the use of cucumber in their green curry. Hot cucumber ain’t my thing. I don’t think it should be anyone’s thing.
Shared starter, main, rice and drink for £20. Not bad!

The Thai food are not as good as Busaba and not genuine enough. The serving was fast (under 2 mins) however the server brought the wrong food. Price is acceptable but there is better choice in Spitalfield market than this.

Little restaurant around Brick Lane. We pop in on Saturday around 1:30 and it wasnt really busy.
I got the lamb satay for starter. It was really good. The prawn pad thai was okay, nothing specially. Price is reasonable.

This place is a little cramped seating wise and cafeteria-​esque, but the food is excellent. We had a plethora of appetizers and entrees, all delicious.

Adorable looking Thai restaurant on Hanbury Street with red frontage, thought it seemed cute and cosy on a warm winters day. I dined by myself and had some soup followed by mango sticky rice which was incredible. Two girls next to me had fried rice which gave me food envy.
The food came quickly but it took ages for the girl to come over so I could ask for the bill, so I stood up in the end. The older lady (perhaps owner?) though when I went to the till was lovely and hurried everything up. All in all a good experience on a cold day and not too pricey.

I love Thai food and Rosa’s do good and reasonably priced Thai food.
They seem to be popping up everywhere now so but this is the one I remember being around the longest. We went for lunch so didn’t splurge out on starters galore and the rest. We just had the green curry and a damn fine green curry it was too.
Service was fine apart from them not knowing which green curry was which (chicken, prawns or sea food) but I’ll forgive them for that.
A warning though, I ordered a lemongrass water from the menu. You may want to ask for a taste before you splash out £3 on this as it’s not that pleasant although it did taste a lot better after I started eating.

I was in the neighborhood and passed by this gem of a restaurant and decided to try it. The menu was diverse and sounded great. As a frequent visitor of Thailand and one who has studied Thai cooking extensively I found this place to have authentic cuisine with a bit of local fusion as well! I had the Thai Calamari, Red curry salmon and black pepper venison!
The Thai calamari was crispy yet tender with a relish of onions, green peppers and tomatoes on top served with a tangy plum sauce!
The Red curry salmon was lightly battered and fried crispy served in a thick red curry sauce! The salmon was moist and flaky with just enough crispiness to it! The red curry sauce was thick (as it is in Thailand) with just enough coconut milk to give it a great flavor but allow all the flavors of the curry to shine. Not soupy like most Thai restaurants.
The black pepper venison came out and looked and smelled delicious. It didn’t disappoint. The meat was tender and succulent, the veggies tender crisp and the sauce was full of complex flavors.
All in all I was impressed with the freshness of each dish and the authentic flavors presented. I’ll definitely be back as I frequent London on a regular basis!

NOTE: I only dropped in for coffee, I did not eat off the menu.
On a recent bone chilling London day, I stopped in this place to grab something to warm up. They had placed a cute sign outside which said something like «Come on in! [List of delicious sounded hot beverages]». I was blinded by cold so probably should have looked more closely as it’s clearly not a café. We realized that when we sat down but… it was cold. And they said they had coffee.
We ended up just ordering a hot chocolate and a green tea. Weirdly, we watched several couples walk in and ask if they could sit for coffee and tea and were refused. It was that odd time between lunch and dinner services (4pm) and it was pretty quiet, there were free tables all around. But, they turned person after person away, who probably also saw the sign outside and thought «hurray, warmth and hot drinks».
It seems if you grabbed a seat and *then* asked (as everyone sitting had) you were served coffee/​teas, otherwise it was take away only for hot beverages.
The place advertised Monmouth coffee, which is excellent, but I had already caffeinated so I ordered a hot chocolate thinking the quality would be pretty good.
I was served something akin to hot chocolate in a mug. It was hot, but I think it was water, and it was filled with a small scoop of the fake powdered stuff out of a can. They didn’t even wipe the chocolate dust off the lip of the mug. None of the fancy extras that might have been served at a café (mallows, foam, etc.). My boyfriend was served loose leaf tea with no strainer :/​.
Looks like it might be a great Thai joint, but with a slight identity crisis. I think the lesson here is stick with what you know (and their menu looks like it could be good!).

Me and my girlfriend took a break here on a rainy Sunday in London. We only had some tea and got chocolate so I can’t say anything about the food.
The atmosphere is good and the service is friendly and pretty far. Their menu is pretty varied but most of what they serve looks kind of pedestrian or unoriginal. The hot chocolate we got seemed like the kind of powder you pour into hot water that you can have at any sainsburys or Tesco, and the Green tea was a bit anonymous. Maybe other parts of their menu is better, but what we got does not get them further than 3 stars.

An average place. Heartless.
A good place, especially for 8 – 10 people (they have another room downstairs) looking for cheap almost thai food. Almost as yeah this is thai, but it’s a bit flavorless, missing the fundamental qualities that makes thailand one of the best food countries in the world. And decoration, thai cuisine is decorated, it has that fine oriental touch, independently from the cost of the food, coming from a restaurant or a street vendor. This is more like a vietnamese person preparing thai food.
There is nothing more to say, I still have to find good thai food in London, and that’s surely not.
But it’s a good place for a group of friends willing to have a cheap oriental dinner.

Rosa’s is okay in the realm of Thai food, probably on the better end of all the places in London.
Something I found lacking in Rosa’s food was flavor. The Pad See Ew which is rice noodles with egg and sweet soy sauce (8 quid with tofu) was good. Summer rolls (6.25 for 4) were okay, the chilli sauce it came with was too syrupy. Tom Yum soup was also okay. However the pineapple fried rice (12 quid) which I had the highest hopes for lacked a good dose of pineapple and flavor. Think it needed a bit more salt and curry spice.
What I did like was takeaway boxes come tightly sealed with a plastic wrap. Bit of a pain to get off, but it does deter your food from wafting into people’s noses on the tube.

I would not say service was rude per some of the reviews but they are also not super friendly. Generally I go in with low expectations for most asian restaurants when it comes to service.
The food was decent and reasonably priced. The fish cakes were a bit rubbery but overall had good flavor. It seems like not all Thai places in London serve Pad See Ewe so definitely a plus that they have it. The seafood hotplate was cooked well but I could have gone with a bit more kick.
fish cakes thod mun pla Lightly spiced fish cakes, with crushed peanuts & sweet chilli sauce
stir fried flat noodles pad see ewe Rice noodles with sweet soya sauce & vegetables, chicken
spicy seafood hotplate ta lae pad cha Squid, tiger prawns, mussels & scallops stir-​fried with mixed spices, chilli, black pepper & galangal

Finally got a chance to try Rosa’s yesterday since I was in the neighborhood. I’m now on a mission to find the best Thai in London since I miss food from my homeland oh so much. Rosa’s is a casual eatery and the three of us got seated right away. I opted for Pad Thai Chicken, because let’s be honest, any Thai restaurant worth going to better have some damn good Pad Thai. If they fail at this dish (like Busaba did), then I’m never going there ever again (at least not by choice).
Thankfully, Rosa’s Pad Thai was great and tasted just like it does back home. I really want to try their Tom Yum Noodle Soup, but I’ll just have to wait until next time. My friend got the lamb curry and he loved it. Overall, Rosa’s has quick & friendly service and is a winner in my book.