DCReview
photo credit: Nina Palazzolo
Rose's Luxury
Included In
It’s been a while since kindergarten. So you might be out of practice when it comes to obligatory sharing. But fork fights are the only option at this casual Barracks Row restaurant, thanks to their five-course menu of playful American food designed to share. Even though most of the dishes hit, the real reason we never turn down an invitation to Rose's Luxury is that it's fun to be forced into splitting their dishes.
Ordering goes like this: everyone chooses their own appetizer and pasta courses, and then you agree on a large-format main and dessert to share. So if you and your dinner partner have different tastes, you'll at least start the meal as friends. When the time comes, convince them to get Seth’s Fancy Fish Camp, a fried dover sole served with a caviar tartar sauce that we'd happily eat alone if Rose's Luxury allowed solo diner reservations.
photo credit: Nina Palazzolo
photo credit: Nina Palazzolo
photo credit: Nina Palazzolo
photo credit: Nina Palazzolo
photo credit: Nina Palazzolo
If there's one crown jewel of Rose’s Luxury, though, it's the pork and lychee salad that's been on the menu since the restaurant opened in 2013. The tiny bowl layers salty peanuts, crunchy bacon, sweet lychee, and mint that you swirl together. It's creamy and messy, and everyone should order one as their appetizer even if it means you get to try less of the menu.
Each of the dining rooms at Rose's Luxury has a slightly different energy. In the main area downstairs, there's a rowhouse living room with simple tables and groups laughing over spicy-sweet and sometimes too-chewy calamarata alla vodka. Upstairs, in the smaller, more intimate room, couples gaze at each other over challah bread service while lotus-shaped candles cast a hazy glow over their faces. But our favorite place to sit is in the back of the ground floor, which feels like an outdoor cafe with string lights and plants, even though you're still inside.
Whether it's for a date or a group dinner with friends, come to Rose’s with people who know your heart and your stomach. That way, when you fake offer them the last bite of baklava sundae during dinner, they’ll know better than to move within an inch of the flaky phyllo and ice cream. You can make it up to them later.
Food Rundown
The menu at Rose’s Luxury rotates, but here are the sorts of dishes you might see on the menu.
photo credit: Aphra Adkins
Ice Cream Caviar
This was the worst thing we had at Rose’s Luxury, which is hard to believe because it’s ice cream and caviar. Unfortunately, the scoops of creamy coconut ice cream taste a little artificial and overpower the caviar.
photo credit: Aphra Adkins
Pork & Lychee Salad
You’ll dream about this dish as you’re making yourself instant noodles for dinner. It lights up every part of your tongue, and the layered textures keep you locked in during every bite. Plan on getting two orders.
photo credit: Aphra Adkins
Calamarata Alla Vodka
The vodka sauce here is sweet yet subtly spicy. Even if the calamari is a little overcooked sometimes, the well-made sauce makes up for it.
photo credit: Aphra Adkins
Seth’s Dover Sole
They filet this buttery, flaky dover sole right at the table (if you want). It’s served with a briny caviar tartar that will make you never look at the seafood sauce the same way.
photo credit: Aphra Adkins
Miso Short Rib
You don’t even need a knife to cut into this dish. It comes with a creamy potato puree, bright green chive oil, and fresh wasabi that'll have you discreetly blowing your nose into your cloth napkin.
photo credit: Aphra Adkins
Baklava Sundae
The baklava sundae is more of an experience than a straight dessert. It’s deconstructed, so you can decide how much ice cream to have with the flaky phyllo, pistachios, and honey. There’s also some complexitity thanks to rose and thyme. You could happily finish this dish alone. But sharing is caring, or whatever they say.