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Rose International Market
(Middle Eastern cuisine)
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7.67
JaT Rating |
650-960-1900
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| Middle Eastern market & restaurant. |
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1040
Reviewed: 3/23/2004
Rating: 8.5
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Let me start out by saying the entire ordering process at Rose Market is confusing. The restaurant/kitchen/whatever you want to call it is located in 2 places; deli case and the top secret window in the back of the parking lot.
We ordered at the register, he announced it over the pa system, and we were given 2 yellow tickets with numbers on them. I guess they call our numbers? About 10 mins pass and I ask the guy where do we pick up the food. He mumbled rice/fallafel at deli..blah blah blah.. Now where do I get my kababs at?
I exited the market and headed towards the back of the parking lot where all the smoke is exiting the top of the roof. I walk up to the window and hand my yellow ticket she returns the favor with a tray of kababs.
So heres the deal. Grab a menu, order at the register, if its to go, pick up your deli food at the counter and your kababs in the parking lot, if its to eat in..pick a table outside and they'll deliver it to you...I think?
Great value for good food. Get the Kubideh Kabab with sides of rice and hummus. The side of rice is only 1.99 and can be shared with another person. Be sure to ask for herb mix and onion with your Kabab. You can walk out with a full stomach for $6-7. I love this place and will be back.
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RETURN VISIT for Jason! 9/22/2004 - 7.5 Rating: I ordered the falafel sandwich today and was mildly impressed. The sandwich was only $3.99 and a good size but the taste was lacking in the falafel balls. Maybe it had something to do with them nuking the balls. I prefer them deep fried. |
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Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 739
Reviewed: 3/23/2004
Rating: 7
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This place is quite the enigma to the uninitiated. They recently expanded their market to be a restaurant as well, apparently, because they haven't quite figured this all out yet. We enter the store, which smells wonderful, all of the Middle Eastern spices, foods, etc. We walk up to a counter with a menu behind it but are ignored. Hmmm. 'Oh, here's a sign at this other table that says "Order here"'. So we fumble around for a menu and take a quick look. You basically need to order everything separate (ie: meat, rice, grilled tomato, hummus etc). They really need to offer combo plates to make it easier for the uninitiated. Anyway, we place our order and pay and then just stand around dumbly. We are given no instructions on how to get our food. Turns out we have to go back to the original counter to get the rice and sandwiches. Great. So we now have that. What about the meat? We are instructed we need to GO OUTSIDE and walk to the end of the parking lot behind the store (near the dumpsters) to the grill. So laughing, we walk back there and sure enough there's a guy grilling away back there. So my main gripe is they need to fix their system. How about the food? Its pretty darn good. I myself had the Falafal sandwich. It was a little small, but at $3.99 wasn't a bad deal. I think next time I will supplemnt it with tabouleh or hummus. I think their specialty is the meat off that grill in the back. If you can get a few people to split a few kabobs you will be satisfied.
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Reviewer: Vikram
Total Reviews: 19
Reviewed: 10/22/2004
Rating: 8.5
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Like Terry said, this place is an enigma. I decided to check this place out when I saw smoke out of a chimney while driving on El Camino.
Once you get the protocol at this place, you can relax and enjoy great tasting kababs.
I have tried almost all the kababs they have on their menu.
1) Kubideh - Mix of different meats, beef and lamb mostly. It tastes great and is the cheapest kabab
2) Chicken Kabab - Very tasty!
3) Steak kabab (dont remember exact name): Excellent!
4) Lamb chops: These are pretty good too, but I am not a fan of lamb chops in general.
The kababs are served on this bread called Lavash which tastes great with the spice sprinkled on it. They sprinkle a particular spice, Sumac on all the kababs and it is just yummy.
They dont sell alcohol, but they have some great middle eastern yoghurt drinks.
This is a quaint little place and if you are willing to deal with the protocol, you will have great tasting food.
I normally get it to go, so I can enjoy it with a beer at home.
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Reviewer: Julie
Total Reviews: 46
Reviewed: 11/8/2004
Rating: 7.5
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Rose International Market is a grocery store and restaurant combination serving up solid Middle Eastern food near downtown Mountain View. I had been meaning to eat here for quite some time and finally had the opportunity last week.
Having been warned about the confusing ordering process, I expected to know just what to do when I got there. I was wrong. I would try and list the steps to follow here, but you'll still mess it up. My advice to you is don't be afraid to ask those around you what to do - it will connect you with your lunch much more quickly then stumbling around on your own.
Once you figure it all out though, you will discover a pretty good little restaurant. The menu offers a wide variety of choices and I selected the Barg - chunks of serloin with middle eastern spices. I ordered rice as well, got a drink (from the other side of the market), and with order ticket in hand, headed around to the back of the building to pick up my food.
It only took about 5 minutes for our number to be called and the guy made sure our order was correct before handing it to us. We also received a bag of salad (mixed greens and onions) to go with our lunch. My meat was tender and extremely flavorful, if a bit dry. The rice was also lacking in moisture, but was tasty and plentiful. We easily could have split one order between the two of us.
Rose International Market makes for a very unique dining experience. If nothing else, you'll bond with your lunch partners over trying to figure out how to successfully end up at a table with silverware, drinks and food. There were many more items on the menu I'd like to try and I will definitely return to give them a taste. |
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Reviewer: MikeKT
Total Reviews: 4
Reviewed: 6/19/2005
Rating: 8
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First off, let's get the bad news out of the way: the main reason the score is not higher is that the seating situation is somewhat lacking. We had dinner at RIM with sister, brother-in-law, and the 'child'. The only available seating is either by the sidewalk with the traffic zooming by, or next to the parking lot. Either way, not super comfortable, quiet, or relaxing. Highly suggest getting the meal to go, or try to find a quiet patch of grass nearby to dine.
I will avoid going into the bizarre order/pickup technique that has been mentioned in all the reviews. Just give into the weirdness, and be happy with the end result: the meal.
For the five of us, we ordered 2 Kubideh (ground meat), 2 chicken kabob, 2 Barg kabob (steak), and 2 veggie kabob. We also ordered some baghali polo (herbed rice), some yogurt with dill, and some tomato-cucumber salad. All the food was ready within 10 minutes - which seemed decent since they were pretty busy for a Saturday evening.
The kabobs were all served on lavash/flatbread, with a side of herbs (fresh parsley, cilantro, and mint). No real need for silverware. Just rip apart some of the bread, grab the filling you want, and roll your own little Persian 'burrito'. I was a fan of mixing the meat with a bit of rice, some yogurt, and herbs. Out of the meats that were ordered, the Kubideh was the most flavorful and well prepared, and conveniently was also the least expensive. The 8 kabobs with sides was more than enough to fill the 4 adult bellies. We all left enough room for a piece of baklava... make sure to ask for one from behind the counter - the freshest of the bunch.
We will definitely be returning to Rose International Market. Next time we plan to try the Koresh - different meaty stews served over rice. |
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Reviewer: Dan
Total Reviews: 84
Reviewed: 5/13/2008
Rating: 8
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This has go to be one of the most user-unfriendly places I've ever been to for lunch. For instance, would you like to have some kababs? Grab a menu at the deli, but then order over at the cashier, pay, then go around back and wait a while for your meal by the open kitchen window. Keep your number handy, but they may not check it, depending on their mood. Do you want some extras with that like hummus, yogurt sauce or baklava? Ooops, you should've got that back at the deli and then paid when you were at the cashier. (So yes, the trick is to get your deli and side dishes first). Do you want just water with your meal? Sorry, no tap water offered, only bottled water and sodas/juices, near the cashier. Need a fork? Plasticware is over by the deli, prominently featured on the very bottom shelf of the pickles and yogurt cart (where else would it be?). Napkins, however, aren't anywhere inside. These are only found out on the tables (but only some tables). If it's cold outside you better be prepared to eat elsewhere ( there is only outside seating). Oh, and I hope you don't need to use the restroom. There doesn't appear to be any for customer use. Got all that?
You might think this means I don't like Rose's, but actually I have a soft spot for this unique place. The food is pretty good, and as long as you go with certain expectations and know the drill, its not a bad spot to grab lunch. Plus they have some interesting choices that I don't see at a lot of places. But sometime Rose's gets so busy for lunch that there are no tables left. So you need to be flexible. You also need to recognize this is primarily a Persian market that is working part-time as a restaurant. Pampering customers is not part of Rose's DNA.
SERVICE: Varies from "slightly friendly" to "busy and annoyed"
PLATES/CUTLERY: Rose's uses a lot of plastic and styrofoam. And it's a struggle to get them to combine different items in one container or to not put your meal in a plastic bag. Also, they only sell bottled drinks, but they have no recycling bins/containers. I usually end up taking bottles with me to recycle elsewhere.
FOOD:
Here is a sampling of items I've tried at Rose's
-- Ghormeh Sabzi: a fragrant stew of beef, spinach, beans, with lime. This is served over delicious bi-color basmati rice; Ordered at the deli counter; Total cost for a small container of the sabzi plus rice is around $5, a great price. This has become my standard order at Rose's when they don't have fesenjan. For something different, ask for them to add a piece of tadig, which is a piece of semi-burnt lavash embedded with crispy, dried-out rice from the bottom of the pan. No really. It doesn't suck.
-- Kabobs: Ordered one koubideh kabab (mixed lamb/beef) and one mixed vegi kabab over rice. (it normally comes with a completely underwhelming lavash,). There was a long wait at the kabab window, even though the place wasn't crowded. In the end, the koubideh meat was very good and tender. The veggies were not overcooked and nearly perfect. The meal seemed kind of spare though. I would've really enjoyed some kind of sauce, but had no idea how to go about getting some. I wish they offered hot sauce or tahini at the tables like some places.
-- Fesenjan: Chicken cooked in a pomegranate/walnut sauce. Ordered at the deli counter. Like the sabzi above, this is served with wonderful basmati rice. Fesenjan is my favorite dish of all time, though Rose's version is not the best I've had. It's OK for fesenjan (which means it's still tasty IMHO). It's texture is also less chunky than other versions I've sampled. But I don't really remember all that well because I scarfed it down so fast. Unfortunately, Mr. Deli Guy only filled the container 2/3 of the way, so it ended up not being quite enough food for me. Kind of disappointing. Next time I'll splurge and buy a larger amount.
-- Falafel sandwich: Ordered and prepared at the deli counter. Like many places, the falafel balls have been pre-made and are nuked to warm them up. These were combined with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, onions and yogurt sauce before being wrapped in lavash bread. The falafel ball texture was moist enough and had decent flavor. They still paled in comparison to freshly-made falafel balls, like the ones at Falafel Drive Inn. The price was damn good: less than 4 bucks! A great deal, if not the best falafel I've had by a stretch.
Pros: Good food in a unique setting; plentiful parking; good prices
Cons: Confusing logistics; lots of plastic use; no bathrooms; sometimes too crowded |
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Reviewer: wchane
Total Reviews: 148
Reviewed: 9/7/2006
Rating: 7
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I was first dragged to this 'market' by a friend of mine before a road trip. I was starving and was in no mood to experiment, he somehow twisted my arm into going to this persian market for kabobs. I figured if this fails in and out is in walking distance.
We arrive and it's been awhile since he's been there so we had to figure out how to order the food. I go straight to the buffet set up they have in the back corner and was told I needed to go to the back window. I exit and go to the back, 'holy cow this place is LITERALLY a hole in the wall' I thought to myself, I try to order and was told some gibberish. We stand there confused for a minute and then stare at the delicious looking kabobs. My stomach is in knots at this point and I'm about to crawl through the window and serve myself. A patron at this point informs us we had to visit the register to place an order. Wow...so confusing, but we follow suit and I laughed at how ancient the ordering system is. I buy an apple to calm my hunger pains.
I ordered a couple koobideh kabobs, grilled veggies, and saffron rice. this turns out to be enough to feed a family of 3. I'm absolutely stuffed and satisfied, I congraulate my friend on a job well done and we head off to tahoe.
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I return a couple months later, this time with new friends and a hunger not so intense. I must of missed it the first time because the koobideh is dry and tough, the chicken kabobs are also dry and cooked all the way through...if there was a 'well-done' for chicken breast this was it. Everything was still edible and a bargain at what they charge, but having to deal with the entire ordering process, standing by the 'hole in the wall' finding seating in white plastic walgreen's lawn furniture and busing our own tables wasn't my idea of a good time. I also only order the grilled veggies because that's the only way I could get a grilled tomato, I could care less for all the other stuff especially the chili pepper that almost spelled the end of me.
It would be much better if they would have 'combos' a kabob, a grille tomato, a quarter of a raw white onion, some lavash bread all served on a bed of saffron rice. I'd order that in a heart beat, by ordering it all a la carte...you'd have lunch and dinner for the next day.
I'd definitely go back if I was in the area and felt like cheap persian food, but in all honesty there are better kabob joints around town.
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