Rose Mary Review

By Sarah Tong

As with most restaurants in Chicago, and especially in the West Loop neighborhood, I was intrigued by Rose Mary, even more so because I’ve heard excellent reviews from friends. Now having finally dined there, I can partake and share what I thought.

The outside is bright and inviting. The combination of the bright, delicate lights, the hanging greenery, and the large windows spanning the corner of the block offers a comforting sight, especially as I approached in the dark, cold fall evening. For dinner, I typically prefer a dimly lit, cozy atmosphere, and Rose Mary’s bright interior was a deviation from that. To me, it resembled a brunch atmosphere, light and airy. But that is not to say that it is not a cozy spot. It is comforting in a way that I did not expect. It is a stark contrast to the dark, breezy night; it feels like you are enveloped in a safe, warm bubble. Though the restaurant is fairly large and busy with people, the table arrangements did not feel cramped or cumbersome to navigate around in any way.

As a party of three, we ordered five dishes plus a dessert, which was roughly what our waitress suggested, and it turned out to be a perfect amount. We ordered the zucchini fritters, baby octopus, scampi na buzzara, cacio e pepe, lamb saddle, and toffee zelten.

The dishes were paced appropriately. We received the zucchini fritters first. They are among the most popular menu item at Rose Mary, and they honestly exceeded my expectations. They arrived warm, crispy, and coated in breadcrumbs. I was worried that the coating would act like a packet of grease, but I was pleasantly surprised by experiencing none of that. The fritters on their own are delicious–zucchini bits mixed into a creamy batter with a crispy, golden crust surrounding them. The sauce, though, is the star of the show. The flavor itself resembles the fresh, herby taste of pesto without the oiliness of it. While the sauce — a beautiful lush green color — may look heavy and creamy, it is actually remarkably light. It has a tinge of lime, and the creaminess seems to be more so from how smoothly the ingredients were emulsified rather than copious amounts of heavy cream. The texture resembles an avocado blended with light yogurt. If there is one dish that you cannot forgo at Rose Mary, it is the zucchini fritters.

Next, we got the baby octopus. The texture of the octopus was great–it was the perfect balance of chewiness and tenderness. The flavor, however, felt a bit one-sided and flat. The octopus and the veggies all came across as quite smoky, and it was a nice surprise at first, but it soon became a bit too smoky, as it was hard to pick up on other flavors. This one was good, but not great.

We also ordered the scampi na buzzara. It looked delicious at first sight, but it was not exactly what I was expecting and took a bit of time to adjust to the flavor of the sauce. I was expecting the sauce to be slightly sweet, garlicky, oniony, and tomatoey, but it tasted like blended parmesan cheese. That sharp cheesiness, to me, did not pair well with the shrimp, which was cooked to a perfect texture. If I were to go back, I would skip this one.

The cacio e pepe is another one of the popular dishes at Rose Mary, but I found it to be a bit underwhelming. The pasta itself was a fun, chewy texture that I enjoyed, but the sauce was very rich, and the pepper was too faint for my taste.

The lamb saddle was one of the more impressive dishes. The lamb itself was soft, juicy, and tender. The lamb fat is not too greasy and the lamb flavor is not overwhelmingly strong. There is an orange sauce under the meat that pairs perfectly with the veggies and lamb. Impressive and delicious to say the least.

For dessert, we had the toffee zelten, as recommended by our waitress. The sticky date cake is caramelly and warm. The vanilla gelato on top, with the pile of roasted nuts, pairs wonderfully with the soft, gooey cake. I was excited and curious to see oranges with the cake, but I honestly did not feel that they added much to the bite. The bourbon-whipped panna cotta, however, is what made this dessert stand out from other sticky date cakes I have tried. It adds depth to the bite, cutting through the sweetness of the syrup by bringing out the earthiness of the dates and nuts.

I found everything here to be good, but none except the zucchini fritters and sauce were as memorable as I had hoped. Maybe my expectations were set too high by the overwhelmingly positive reviews, but most of the dishes were rather monotonous. The zucchini fritters and toffee zelten are worth trying, but the other dishes did not make a strong case for Rose Mary.