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- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Music:
- Background
- Best Nights:
- Wed
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
14 reviews for Rose Bowl Rouge Lounge
14 reviews in English
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Review from Matthew L.
Edmonton, AB
3/13/2012
The Rose Bowl Pizza and Rouge Lounge combination is an odd one.
The room itself looks and feels like the lobby of a W hotel circa 2000. All of the tables are bar-style, high off the ground. The room is dark, but the tables and chairs are all white (and thankfully very clean). Or at least they were in the room in which we sat - Judging by the photos here on Yelp, there must be a less trendy-looking room with lower tables.
In the high table section, music is generally pretty loud, but not so loud that you can't have a conversation. The music is generally upbeat and electronically based, but thankfully without too much bass. I don't think bass and pizza go particularly well together.
Rose Bowl serves pizza on two different types of crust: a "classic crust," and a "New York Style Crust." The "Classic Crust" other dense Edmonton pizza crusts, such as those served at Royal Pizza or a number of other pubs in town. And the New York-style Pizza Crust is as good of an approximation of a New York Pizza Crust as you can get without a coal oven or New York City water (which many people seem to think is the key to a great New York-style pizza crust).
While I enjoyed the "classic crust" pizza that we ordered, it's not worth going out of the way for - especially if you have a Royal Pizza nearby. But the New York Style-pies are worth going out of the way for - the crust is thin and stiff enough to not completely fall apart when you eat it, but it still has a nice amount of spongy texture. It is also well seasoned. Our "Broadway" pizza, which included tomato sauce, spinach, spanish onions, garlic, bocconcini, mozzarella, fresh tomatoes, and basil was delicious. The flavour profile was perfectly balanced and reminded me of the best Pizza place I tried in New York, DiFara (http://www.yelp.com/bi...).
While service was friendly, our server did not set proper expectations for our wait for our pizza - she claimed we would only need to wait 20-30 minutes, when we actually waited 45 minutes for our pizzas to be ready. RoseBowl is not a place to go when there's any sort of time pressure. -
Review from Laini G.
3/9/2012
The nice thing about Yelp is getting you out of your routine to try new places you might not have considered. This is one of those places we didn't even know existed.
So when Matthew L. organized a pre-Prohibition Party dinner at Rose Bowl, Mr. G and I decided to join the gang. Finally got to meet the stupendous Sarah (Mrs. Matthew), get to know Addie a little better, get reacquainted with Matthew, and meet the lovely Laurel.
I ordered a Moulin Rouge cocktail (with raspberry vodka, raspberry liqueur, cranberry juice, muddled strawberries, and mint). Yummy!
We had a great time gabbing, and athough the pizzas took quite a while to make it to the table, the end result was completely worth it. Matthew, Sarah, Addie and Laurel shared their two vegetarian types, and Mr. G and I got one of our own, a Times Square, with marinara sauce, italian sausage, kalamata olives, mozzarella and fresh basil. TO. DIE. FOR. The crust is super thin, almost like a flatbread (thinner, even!), and although we were originally going to save some for him to take for lunch the next day, we inhaled every bite right there.
I'm assuming it was the manager who came by to see how we were liking everything (nice touch!), and we were enthusiastic (except maybe for the wait time), but our waitress was friendly and doing her best. It took a little while for Mr. G and I to get our drinks, but we did manage to get our bills wrapped up and get over to Suede just as things were starting to get lively with the Elites showing up.
All in all, a great experience. We'll definitely be back! -
Review from Aditya R.
3/8/2012 1 Check-in Here
Rose Bowl certainly lives up to the hype of being a well established pizza place in town. I mean, old fashioned American pizzas here. Their New York style pizza (thin crust) is pretty remarkable as well. Generally, great crust, lots of taste in the sauce and interesting toppings options.
We basically ordered two pizzas and decided to go with one classic crust and one thin crust. The classic vegetarian large pizza (16") was delicious with olives, mushrooms, onions, green peppers (maybe more?) etc. Very simple, old school, done perfectly.
The Broadway Pizza, which was a thin crust, was my favorite. It's been a while since I've had a thin-crust American pizza. I've been off on an Italian style pizza bender for a while, giving patronage to places like Famoso, Leva and Da Capo. I love their pizzas, but it was good to have the American thin crust pizza. Again vegetarian, with chopped basil to finish.
Now the negative(s). It wasn't crowded, as is expected on a Wednesday night. While the space is pretty and has a great lounge like feel, I was quite disappointed that they took a bit over 45 mins with our pizza order. Okay, the waitress did mention that the pizza woild take 20-30 minutes, but 45 minutes is a lot! It's quite remarkable, especially since pizza delivery places often guarantee 30 mins for pizza delivery, which includes making, packing and shipping the pizza! I cannot fathom why they would take so long. It's not a slow cooked meal, so that argument doesn't work.
I would certainly come here again. I enjoy the pizzas but feel like I'd have to schedule 3 hours of my evening here, if I came. I'm not sure if they deliver to my area, but if they do - that might be my preferred choice. -
Review from Gord R.
Edmonton, AB
2/24/2012
Prepare your testbuds for an overdose in delicious. It doesnt matter what you like on your pizza, you will be blown away.
ROSE BOWL HAS THE BEST PIZZA IN EDMONTON if you are eating out. Dont bother with delivery - it loses something along the way (too much humidity in the closed box) -
Review from Adam R.
9/6/2011 1 Check-in Here
Oh sure, it doesn't hurt that Rose Bowl is about a block away from where I live... but so are a few other pizza joints. And in spite of the competition, Rose Bowl - long a standard or pizza quality in Edmonton - is still among the best.
And what they lack in speed -- a pizza pick-up on a business day means a 45-minute wait -- they make up for in taste, quality and customer service.
Yes, that's right their pizzas are tremendous. And for what you pay, you get a lot of delicious pizza. When I went to pick up my last order, the guys at the pick-up window were super friendly, and even chatted with me briefly about the Oliver neighbourhood, plans for the restaurant and their new website.
I'm looking forward to having a meal here inside, but always glad to know that in a pinch, I can grab a delicious, inexpensive and huge pizza for a bunch of friends to eat at my place. -
Review from Rachel F.
8/1/2011
I know many people who have raved about this place, calling it the best pizza in town. As it's right in my neighbourhood, I thought I'd try it out.
We started with the Artichoke, Spinach, and Cucumber Dip as an appetizer, and it was really great. We had high hopes for the rest of the meal.
For dinner we ordered the Mediterranean pizza, one of the deep-dish pizzas Rosebowl is supposedly known for. We knew the deep-dish pizzas took a long time to cook (hence the ordering of the appetizer), but we didn't mind. A long wait for a great pizza is worth it. But this wasn't a great pizza. It was mediocre at best. The sauce tasted like a jarred pasta sauce I could pick up at Save-On. And the pizza itself was doughy and mushy. Now, I admit, I much prefer a thin crust pizza to the thick crust variety. But I have had my share of excellent deep-dish pizzas; I lived in Chicago, after all. And my partner actually prefers a thicker crust on his pizza. And after eating at Rosebowl, he said he'd rather go back to the thin crusts at Famoso's or Tony's than come back for the bland deep-dish we'd just eaten.
The pizza at Rosebowl takes an hour to prepare. I suggest that instead of waiting there, you walk a block down the street to Famoso's and use that hour to wait for a table You'll have a much better meal if you do. -
Review from Liv V.
Edmonton, AB
8/19/2011
I went for the pizza and I must admit I wasn't disappointed, though I've only tried one item on their menu so far. Consequently, I am not sure if other items are similarly delicious. That notwithstanding, we tried a pizza that had lots of cheese topped by fresh tomatoes and cukes (all diced up like salsa). It was surprisingly refreshing, if indeed pizza can be refreshing. The rest of the room was neither here nor there for me. The place was dead, which didn't exactly lend energy to the place, which seemed like a nightclub without patrons. The room was ridiculously cold too; it wasn't hot outside and yet the air conditioning was cranked. It's hard to enjoy your meal when you're practically shivering!
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Review from Jenn C.
8/25/2011
Came here on a recent warm Friday evening to use up my Groupon. We arrive around 7:30 (was told that reservations wouldn't be needed) and we managed to snag a spot on the busy patio right away. The waitress was very friendly and attentive. They had a $20 bottle of white wine on special (can't remember the varietal, but I think it was by Bullfrog) that wasn't too bad actually.
We ordered one of their new NY-style pizzas, Pepperoni Cure ($14, about a medium-sized ultra-thin dough pizza with double smoked pepperoni, sautéed mushrooms, button mushrooms, mozzarella and parmesan), and a 10" Rose Bowl special ($16.95 regular crust pizza with onion, pepperoni, mozzarella, ham, green pepper, mushrooms, black olives, shrimp and bacon). I was worried that a 10" pizza wasn't going to be enough, but it was so loaded with toppings that it was actually quite filling. I didn't like the idea of shrimp on it (I love shrimp but it seems like an out-of-place topping) but they were actually these tiny little cooked shrimp and added a nice crunch and taste to the pizza. The Pepperoni Cure was pretty good too - decent dough, and I liked the mix of sautéed and fresh mushrooms.
The pizza took the perfect amount of time to arrive - enough time for us to relax and chat and have a drink. Unfortunately it got really quiet shortly after we arrived - we are used to eating a late, leisurely dinner, while it seems that people in Edmonton eat really early, and so it kind of kills the joie de vivre atmosphere. However, for this particular night, it could have been that people were eating early and then going out somewhere else - it was a Friday night after all.
They accept Visa, and while it is a little on the expensive side, I'd most likely come back for their pizza again. -
Review from Jack G.
Edmonton, AB
12/9/2009
I expected great pizza from here and it was exactly that. The crust is thick but not too thick, you could say it is just right. The pizza takes about 30 minutes to be prepared, which seems long, but they make it so well that you forget about the wait.
The way they cook the pizza here is for a longer time but lower temperature and the end result is delicious. The toppings are all fresh and the sauce is amazing!
The price is a bit more than your everyday pizza places but when you taste it you'll know why. -
Review from Robin S.
Edmonton, AB
11/3/2008
I can't say I'm a fan of the updated, sleek, sophisticated look of Rose Bowl Pizza, but no one can argue with flavour. They could turn into a dance club and I'd probably still drop by for a pie now and again. The pizza here gets an A+; it's easily the best I've had in town.
This August, I discovered Rose Bowl makes the perfect summer pizza: the crust is brushed with sort of a garlic butter, and the toppings were cool: cucumber, fresh tomato and lots of feta cheese. Super tasty, and light enough to be refreshing on a 30-degree afternoon.
Now to discover their perfect winter pizza... -
Review from Tim R.
Edmonton, AB
2/1/2010
This place makes themselves look nice on their website, yet I was really disappointed when I got there. The interior was quite dingy and almost grungy...at least in the Rouge lounge. It was hard to get our servers attention, even though there were only 2 other tables.
The food we ordered was nothing spectacular. The bruscetta was good with generous portions of chopped tomato, the shrimp and calamari were fresh, but the hummus was nothing special...it tasted bland compared to other places in the city.Si
Since I was with a group, we decided to order the Chicken de Rouge pizza, but again we were left disappointed. The chicken, mushroom, tomato, green pepper and pineapple was a very weird combination on the pizza and was really not that great. I would go to Famoso instead for a proper pizza.
In the end, my friends and I were not very impressed with the service and the lackluster food.
Also, I asked for a dirty martini, but it didn't come with the olives, and did not taste like anything spectacular -
Review from Jennifer P.
Edmonton, AB
10/9/2008 1 photo
This place has long been a fixture in town. It's known for it's amazing slow-cooked pizza. I've had it several times and it's always made me want to come back for more. I liked this place when it was a no-frills dive with fabulous food. It used to have a bar and lounge attached to it, with thin walls, a loud stereo system, pool tables and a few seats. They completely revamped it, a campaign they called from "Rose to Rouge." Now the Rosebowl still has the same fantastic pizza, to stay or to go, but it's look has been updated to a modern, hip place to be, with a slightly more upscale menu and decor. I don't know how busy this place gets yet, but as Jasper Ave. continues to grow as a weekend hot spot, this place will inevitably start to draw more of a crowd. Just writing about their luscious, slow-cook pizza is making me crave a visit.
Listed in: Top Restaurants, The Places I Go Out
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Review from Maria F.
12/23/2009 3 photos
The décor of this place may have changed but the quality of pizzas hasn't, and may I say thank God! Rose Bowl is my second favorite place (after Famoso) to come to for pizza. The place has been renovated and redecorated, and even though it feels a bit more upscale now, the atmosphere is relaxed and still feels casual. Rose Bowl gets rather busy during lunch hours and on the weekends but it doesn't make the place less charming.
The pizza menu at this restaurant is great. You can either create your own pizza from the list of available toppings, or go for Gourmet Pizzas. Some of the pizzas I have tried and recommend without any hesitation are: Mediterranean Vegetarian, Chef's Mistake, Island Special and Chicken La Rouge (you can really taste the spicy sauce that adds a bit of kick). Since chefs take pizza preparation extremely seriously, prepare to wait for your order to come in 15-20 minutes. The wait is worth it.
Rose Bowl's menu also includes salads, sandwiches and pasta, but pizzas are real stars of the show. If you prefer to savor a good pizza in the comfort of your own home, Rose Bowl does deliveries which start after 4:30 pm. -
Review from Foodie K.
Edmonton, AB
7/3/2011
Food tastes good, that's about it. Horrible service, never get an order right. It also takes too long between ordering and being served. Been there a few times and won't be going back.
