Everyone has the friend they only meet for lunch. Maybe a quick drink after work. One drink. They’re nice and reliable and pretty much never have other plans. Rose’s Cafe is that friend: always there when you need them, even if you aren’t that excited about it. Rose’s serves predictable Italian-infused brunch dishes, with a few winners—notably the smoked salmon breakfast pizza and green eggs—but it's not the friend you call to hang out late at night or even really for dinner.

One selling point of Rose’s is how serious they are about their bread. It shows. Wood-fired oven anchoring the kitchen? Check. Loaves on loaves piled in the center of the restaurant? Check. The freshness of the bread makes a difference—it brings the breakfast pizzas from fine to good, and the sandwiches from so-so to solid.

The setting, with French bistro booths, cafe tables, and a wood-fired oven burning in the middle of the restaurant, is welcoming. And the outdoor tables are key in a pinch. Keep Rose’s in the casual acquaintance mode, unless you have no other plans and need someone to sit outside with and eat bread and eggs.

Food Rundown

Grilled Chicken-Tarragon Sausage

Pretty decent sausage served over spicy homemade tomato sauce with polenta. A hangover cure in a bowl.

Soft Scrambled Eggs with Spinach & Prosciutto

Fancy green eggs & ham, with the eggs dyed green via a pureed spinach infusion. Pretty damn good.

Granola

The granola is house-baked with honey and salty almonds, and it’s something we’d order again, even if it annoyingly comes in a semi-flat saucer. Cereal should never be served on anything plate-like. We feel extremely strongly about this.

Smoked Salmon Pizza

Holy smokes. Thin, nicely doughy crust topped with scrambled eggs, lox and a creme fraiche drizzle. It’s beautiful. They could up the serving of eggs and lox though, and we wouldn’t complain. This feeds two adults on a non-ravenous day.

Turkey Sandwich

The turkey is nicely roasted, and avocado is always welcome. The downfall of this guy was the half-heartedly melted cheese.