Monday, May 12, 2008

afternoon tea/western: ROSE HOUSE



ROSE HOUSE
No. 15, Lane 233, Dun Hua S. Rd, Sec 1
(02) 8773-2519

website: rosehouse.com Chinese only

hours: Weekdays 11 AM - 10 PM ; Fri-Sat 11AM- 12AM

kid friendliness: Not recommended. Quiet, delicate atmosphere and friend with nursing baby was asked by servers to take baby outside if he started to cry. Have heard that others were refused entry when with babies at other locations.

$$

Visit reviewed: 5/15/2007



If you're looking for a quiet place for a cup of tea with your friends or business associate or your significant other, then Rose House is a pretty good choice. If you are looking for a place to have lunch with your friends and their babies/kids or have boisterous conversation, then you should probably go somewhere else.

Rose House is a chain tea shop/cafe that you might have spotted around town. With its frilly logo on the sign to its equally frilly interior with bone china in cabinets and along the walls- it's a ultimate setting for afternoon tea, English style in Taipei.



With a wide offering of teas, coffees and drinks, Rose House's signature rose tea and fruit teas are a refreshing and tasty accompaniment to conversation at the table. However, they want to maintain that atmosphere for all their guests, so it's not the most kid friendly place.



While having lunch with a friend with a relatively new baby, the server actually asked my friend to take her baby outside if he started crying when he started quietly fussing at the end of our meal. We were quite surprised because the baby had not made any noises past our table and also a squirmy toddler at our table that we thought that they would have complained about first. I think if the baby actually did start to cry, my friend would have automatically walked him around outside, but to have the server approach us first was definitely a surprise, especially when there only a few scattered guests inside. I guess I could understand that they would want maintain their quieter setting for those who came to sip their teas in silence, but it was still the first time it's ever happened to me at any restaurant around the world.

While you should go to Rose House for their teas, they also offer various sandwiches, meat dishes and curries for lunch which seem more Taiwanese than English. But then again, I've never been to England.



My friend said his pig knuckle dish was just okay, as was my steak. My other friend's baked risotto was made with white Jasmine rice rather than Arborio, but she said the cheese and sauce made it tasty enough.





There are quite a few locations and I tried to find an English source for the addresses, but you will have to check the website.




OTHER LOCATIONS (thanks to Google Translator and some elbow grease!)

No. 95, Nanjing East Road, Sec 2
TEL: (02) 25603112
Sunday - Thursday Hours: 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM
Friday - Saturday Hours: 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM

No. 5, Nanjing West Road
TEL: (02) 25235170
Hours: 11 :00 AM - 11: 00 PM

No. 3, Zhengzhou Road (at Chengde Lu Avenue intersection)
TEL: (02) 25585399
Hours: 11 :00 AM - 11: 00 PM

Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Mall (Xin Yi), B2
No. 12, Songgao Road
TEL: (02) 87809932
Hours: 11 :00 AM - 9: 30 PM (weekdays)
11 :00 AM- 10: 00 PM (Friday and Saturday holidays)

No. 9, Lane 450, Xinyi Road
TEL: (02) 87896606
Hours: 11 :00 AM - 10: 00 PM

No. 11, Chongqing South Road, Sec 1
TEL: (02) 23121282
Hours: 11 :00 AM -11: 00 PM

Shihlin shop
No. 604, Zhongshan North Road, Sec 5
TEL: (02) 28338464
Sunday - Thursday Hours: 11:00AM to 10:00 PM
Friday - Saturday Hours: 11:00AM to 11:00 PM

Yongkang shop
No. 3-1, Lishui Street
TEL: (02) 23948202
Sunday - Thursday Hours: 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM
Friday - Saturday Hours: 11:00AM to 11 PM

NTU/Shida shop
No. 1, Lane 86, Shida Road
TEL: (02) 33651977
Hours: 11 :00AM-11: 00PM

Tienmu shop
Dayeh Takeshimaya Mall
No. 55, Zhongcheng Road, Sec 2, 4th Floor
TEL: (02) 28345848
Hours: 11: 00AM - 9: 30PM (Mon-Thur, Sun); 11: 00AM- 10: 00 PM (Fri, Sat)

No. 218, Ruiguang Road
TEL: (02) 77202070
Hours: 11 AM - 10PM

No. 19, Jinhu Road
TEL: (02) 27927205
Hours: 11 :00AM -11: 00PM

Taipei Tienmu shop
No. 15, Lane 14, Chungshan North Road, Sec 7
TEL: (02) 2872-3630
Hours: 8 :30 AM - 10: 00 PM

TEAROOM
at Miramar Mall
No. 20, Jingye 3rd Road, B1F
TEL: (02) 2175-3023
Hours: 11: 00 AM - 10: 00 PM

TEAPUB
at Miramar Mall
No. 20, Jingye 3rd Road, 1F
TEL : (02) 8501-1360
Hours: 11: 00 AM - 12: 00AM (M-Th, Sat); 11: 00AM -1: 00AM (Fri, Sat)

8 comments:

Scott said...

my wife *loves* the Rose House. The branches she has been to don't allow *any* kids under a certain age... maybe 10?

She usually gets desserts and drinks, not the heavier food but she raves about the things she has had there.

I appreciate your blog.

joanh said...

sqjtaipei: thanks for reading and commenting!! i guess that IS the policy, but they should make it more known on their door or something.. like when you have the "no smoking, no dogs" etc, a picture of kids/babies with a slash through it. j/k hope to hear more from you.

Anonymous said...

i totally appreciate their no kids policy. my friends and i have had too many meals ruined by screaming/crying kids and parents that turn a deaf ear, and this is one of the few places that seem to share our sentiment...

their food is just ok, but their desserts are excellent.

joanh said...

rayna: thanks for your comment. i will have to try their dessert next time!! i guess i'm lucky to not have experienced a lot of crying baby/kids meals out..

Anonymous said...

I really like the rose house. I've been there on a few different locations and found them all great.

Do they have those in Tainan? or elsewhere in Taiwan?

Anonymous said...

Haven't tried their more meal like food items, but the afternoon tea set is just okay. I would totally go back there just for the tea and atmosphere though. It's so relaxing there. :)

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know if Rose House has English on their menus? I can speak Chinese but I can't read it (I left Taiwan when I was quite young) so English became my strongest language. I'm very interested in going there this summer but I need to know first if they have comprehensible English on their menus ^^'

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know if Rose House has English on their menus? I can speak Chinese but I can't read it (I left Taiwan when I was quite young) so English became my strongest language. I'm very interested in going there this summer but I need to know first if they have comprehensible English on their menus ^^'

:)