Rosa's Canteen

First floor Italian restaurant located in the law district.
Not a huge menu however the staff explained all the options that weren't obvious really well.
We really enjoyed our dinner and the wine was lovely. Thanks for a good night!

Awesome food and service!

Edit: visited this restaurant again 2 years later and while the service and atmosphere remains good. The food left me alittle disappointed. Perhaps it's the change of menu? But I didn't really like the chicken as it was alittle dry in my opinion. The raveoli was good in a sense that it does not get too heavy towards the last few bites. The squid ink Pasta was good though I preferred the other Pasta dish which wasn't in the menu anymore (it's exactly like the squid ink Pasta dish just that it doesn't use any squid ink Pasta)

Home style Italian with a Sicilian focus. A lot of menus claim to have a seasonal focus but here, Rosa, Clair and team are out there weekly foraging and sourcing the best of what's on offer. A beautiful, light and airy space invites a longer lunch. Always some thoughtful and solid options by the glass to pair.

Nice atmosphere and the waiter (guy) was attentive. The food was ok. My friend's spaghetti was better than mine. I ordered a tagletelli with prawns and it was a bit bland. And we ordered a few sides to share. Apparently they change their menu seasonally.
The only thing that annoyed me was an older lady. Right after we finished our meal, I felt like she was trying to rush us to leave. The restaurant is not that busy and it wasn't too late either where there were still other patrons there. She came twice to our table. The first time she came was to clear our table and was murmuring something then just took away the plates and second time running to our table and said are you finish? Coz we had our glasses there. When my friend said no, she looked annoyed and left.

The food was great venue and the service was great too, until I noticed, next morning, an added cost of a glass of Chary, that I neither order nor got.
I don't check my bill at the time of payment, as I would like to think that the charger is as honest as I am.

Had our team lunch here today. Amazing ambience and food. Stellar customer service. You’re absolutely transported to Nona’s kitchen from the food to the crockery and cutlery. We will be back soon!

Disgusting Service! It was on Tuesday 13th Dec, we came in at 12pm and were immediately ridiculed out of the venue. A middle-age male at the door "demanded" a reservation and when we did not have any, on top of "we are booked out" he also added "you can't just come in without a reservation", and it wasn't even in monotone that you get at a fast food chain, he was impatient and condescending. Is hostility in his job description? I hope he is proficient in carrying dishes and pouring alcohol, because his basic people skill is non-existent. Mind you we are a group of two mums and two second-grade girls, this pathetic-being was more than happy to act aggressively. I guess he didn't have to hold back since there were no other customers yet. I wonder how many people have been treated this way, at least now his disgraceful act has been uncovered and even earned a star, manager/owner ought to do something about it. Afterwards we went next-door Movida, they offered us a "standard" service, they "welcomed" us and greeted us with a "smile". They were also booked out but they were nice and apologetic, then they problem solved and offered us the bar. In the end, we had a blast while some guy next door is hating his job, his life and himself.

We went to Rosa's for the first time last night as a small group of 5 after hearing about it for a long time on Foodie Tuesday with Raf on 774 ABC. From start to finish food was perfect - my Linguine with prawns & pistachio pesto was full of flavour, and excellent texture. Everyone on our table loved their food - and the Pear tart cooked in red wine with custard, sublime. Our waitress knew her stuff, and the service she provided and her personality topped the evening off. Highly recommend.

Great food. Bit tricky to find hidden away upstairs. My only gripe is the menu should be in english. For dumb ppl like me. I'd go again.

Myself and 9 other family members came all the way from Sydney to dine here. Upon entry they refused to accommodate for a group of 10 unless we paid $70 each. We said that we would happily split up into 2 groups and sit separately, however they refused to allow us to do that with no reason at all.

Felt very unwelcome and horrible customer service.

Would not recommend.

One of the best tasting and authentic pastas in Melbourne - certainly affordable comfort in this modern setting. Rosa’s canteen offers simple Italian classics with a Sicilian focus.

Loved all the pasta dishes we ordered, particularly their ragu pastas. So much depth of flavour, very aromatic and pasta has the perfect bounciness and texture. We ordered:
- Maccheroni w oxtail ragu (5/5)
- Seafood linguine (4.75/5)
- Lemon ricotta ravioli (4.75/5)

Add an antipasti dish to share. Heard their Wagyu bresaola is good, but we got their buffalo mozzarella entree which was okay. Very interesting and the elements harmonised. Wine selection is amazing, loved our bottle of Pinot Noir and white wine from Sicily.

Food: 4.75/5
Value: 4.5/5
Ambience: 5/5
Service: 5/5

My favourite restaurant in Victoria, staff are so friendly and food is delicious! Best comfort food! Definitely recommend!

Great service! Nice ambience, very much like fine dining. They take pride in their food from Italy.

Rosa’s Canteen
- Baked ricotta w heirloom tomato, red onion & oregano $24
- Casarecce w beef shin ragu $29
- Special: Pappardelle w pesto, basil & nuts

Found a hearty Italian restaurant with Sicilian influences in the city. Every single dish we had was exceptional. The baked ricotta was light and well-seasoned. Best to pair it with a good glass of wine. Their pasta was textbook perfect, so al dente. The special pappardelle is definitely something to die for! The freshness from the pesto and basil complimented so well with the earthy and crunchiness from the nuts! It was a mouthful of joy! The ragu was equally flavourful and that beef was super tender. Absolutely worth revisiting!

Simple authentic Italian food, cooked beautifully. Stellar service too, such a great breakdown of the menu by Johnny. Thank you!

I would rate it 6 star if there is an option so goood! From food to service! PERFECTTTTTT! Keep up with the good work, will come back again!

If there were a way to give this place more stars I would! This is a wonderful little place, big enough to be welcoming but not so big its overwhelming. The staff are incredible, friendly and helpful and happy to have a laugh with the table. The food is quite simply outstanding. Our starters were a trip to flavor town that has to be experienced to be believed. The mains were of similarly high standard, a decent sized portion that filled you and the flavor of the food is just incredible! Good, locally sourced ingredients and then turned into awesome food. Loved it and will be back!

I booked lunch at Rosa’s for my wife’s birthday. The food, ambience and service was amazing, and made for a very memorable experience.

Rosa was friendly and very personable, and her passion for food and life was most refreshing. She took us through the menu and made great recommendations. We even learned a few things about the various dishes, about Sicilian cuisine and even it’s history.

We started with fish in saor and baked ricotta with heirloom tomatoes. Each bite of both dishes was sensational.

For mains we had Sicilian style rabbit with paccheri tubed pasta, and chicken salmorigio with marinated zucchini. Both were delicious. The rabbit, was light and the aromatic herbs from the chicken tantalised our senses as it was being lowered onto our table. To complement our mains we had a celery, radish and pecorino salad.

For dessert we had cannoli and a fig tart. Both were exceptional.

Every dish was presented beautifully.

The menu is seasonal and as such will change. Given that every dish we had was a 10 out of 10, I don’t think you could go wrong selecting anything on Rosa’s menu.

We left completely satisfied and are looking forward to returning again.

Great food, the chicken was delicious and the casarecci was perfect. Also customer service's was fantastic.
Thank you!

Fabulous food beautifully presented very attentive service without being intrusive, excellent knowledge of wine. Pasta handmade.