There may not have been any dancers this night, but the food seemed to lift me up like I was in Dirty Dancing. Without a doubt, I did have the time of my life at this restaurant.
La Sala Rosa, not to be confused with La Sala Rossa, is a small restaurant that sits happily above La Sala Rossa which is a larger venue that opens it’s doors to various different bands and dancers. Being only a restaurant to visit between shows, La Sala Rosa has smaller dishes for people to snack on quickly before they run off to find their seat again. The beautiful venue and restaurant sits in a historic Montreal building built by the left-wing Jewish community in 1932. Previously, the building was a cultural, recreational, and political center that once hosted Paul Robeson, Eleanor Roosevelt as well as a workmen’s circle during the 1940’s and 1950’s. For the past thirty years the Centro Social Español has occupied the building and continues to use it as a cultural center for people of Spanish decent. They do this by hosting various dancing groups and bands within the Spanish community, including the famous flamenco-dancing group that visits the restaurant once a month. While the history of La Sala Rosa had me dancing with joy, the walk to get there had me dragging my heels. It all started with a long walk in the cold and the ever-lingering regret of forgetting my hat at home. Then a hallway between two restaurants that lead the group up to the room that we searched for. This time around it was only three of us: Myself, Riley Morissey, and my review partner in crime Leanna Russell.
We were escorted into the long white room onto the stage where three tables had been set. As we sat down, we took a moment to sigh. Unless we were somehow in on the dance, there wasn't going to be any dancers that night. However, we weren’t going to let that ruin our night as my friends ordered a couple of drinks. Leanna settled on ordering the Palmer Fizz, and the Orange Wine intrigued Riley. I decided to not order anything to drink but my friends were kind enough to let me have a few sips of theirs. I’ll admit that wine is not one of my favorite drinks, so I wasn’t the biggest fan. However, according to my fellow reviewers, who love wine, the orange wine seemed to be a interesting middle ground between white wine and red wine. Riley explained that, “You get the mouth feel of red wine but the taste of white. It’s dry, tart, and acidic. Flavor is pretty simple, but explodes in your mouth. It Really makes your mouth water."
Leanna’s drink was a complete opposite to the wine, resembling a sweeter cocktail. As we observed the rose petals floating on the top of the drink, I had to admit that it peaked my interest. With one sip I found myself baffled. It tasted exactly like what you imagine the smell of a rose would taste. A sweet uplifting taste with the slightest tart after taste to balance the flavors of the drink. As we sipped our drinks, myself drinking the finest selection of water, we skimmed through the menu. I say skimmed because the whole menu was in french but, we tried our best to translate as much as we knew and came to the conclusion of three dishes from the Tapas section of the menu.
A Goat Cheese with Caramelized Onions and Honey for Leanna, Pork with Peach Salsa for Riley, and Chicken with Paprika for myself. With the food ordered, I was able to take a moment to look around. The restaurant was fairly interesting in that it didn’t have too much character to it. While the front had an interesting bar with a more rustic look to it, the rest of the place was pretty bland. It was merely white walls with one of two shelves on them holding a potted plant or two, and a rustic old wood floor that has definitely had quite a few dances on it. What interested me was the people that were within the restaurant. There were people with suits and vests, people in sweat shirts and sweat pants, A couple going on what seemed like their first date. There was a large variety of people that all seemed to be having an amazing time. People were laughing and smiling through out the room as they munch at their food and told the stories of their days. Ironically, the people dressed in suits were the loudest and seemed to be having the greatest time! It brought a whole new level of character to the place that made it quite charming.
With a couple of drinks in us, and my glass of water happily drank, the food finally arrived. First a basket of bread arrived. Assuming this was for before the meal the group happily ate a few slices and we were delightfully surprised by the how moist the bread was. It was remarkable that it was fully cooked and still this moist and intricate. Little did we know that they bread we were snacking on was for Leanna’s main dish. Though we quickly realized as the dishes were placed on our table. At first glance the group was a bit disappointed at the portions. For a pretty high price I got only three generally small sized pieces of chicken, Riley got a decent amount of pork with and a bit smaller side of salsa, and Leanna got four scoops of goat cheese and a remarkably small seeming pile of caramelized onions in comparison to the scoops of cheese. Despite our first impression of the meal, we shrugged on and tried the dishes. It was an explosion of different flavors within our mouths. For meals so small they sure have a lot of flavor! The Chicken with Paprika seemed like a fairly simple dish in theory but the execution was incredible! The chicken was cooked perfectly kept a juicy inside while having the paprika bring an extra kick to your mouth. With the addition of lemon, the food seemed to dance with flavor on your taste buds. The pork was also cook perfectly and sizzled with a savory spice that wasn’t hot enough to make your mouth water, but just enough to bring flavor to the piece. The peach salsa was fairly sweat and surprising to the taste. Both piece of the dish were alright on their own, but the combination of both sweat and savory brought a new level of excitement and flavor. The best dish upon the table was the one that sat before Leanna. I never would have expected me to love this dish, as much as I did. The goat cheese was warm and creamy and practically melted in your mouth. It brought a savory flavor that was excellently combined with the honey. You combine those two with perfectly caramelized onions and pop that on a piece of bread and you have a masterpiece that will rock your taste buds.
While I did love the food and the character of La Sala Rosa, I found that the price for the amount of food given was a bit much. If you get just one dish you wont be spending a lot, but to get enough food to fill you, you will need at least two dishes. In all sense of the matter, this is the only draw back I saw to the restaurant. If it didn't give such little food, I would have given La Sala Rosa the rating of “All-Might”. Though, I just couldn’t over look the dent it made in my wallet.
That being said, our group laughed and joked as we munched away at our food and it made me realize what made this place so great. Good food can bring people together no matter where they are from or where they are, and this food is not only spectacular, but also meant to be shared. You order these dishes with a group of friends and split the bill, they chat about your woes and joys of the day. Nothing brightens a day better than food with friends, and La Sala Rosa captures the essence of that expertly. You don’t need fancy tables or posters on your wall to have a good time. Just a group a friends, and a good meal.
I may not have seen any dancers that night, but I’m sure that my taste buds were able to dance the night away.
Ratings
Grace's: Pokemon Master
Leanna's: Pokemon Master
Atmosphere
Dimly lit, and moody. The atmosphere can change drastically depending on if a show or performance is happening. When the Flamenco dancers come, the whole place is packed. When there aren't any shows, its pretty quiet and relaxing.
Sound
Pretty loud at times, but never loud enough that you couldn't hear other people talking. La Sala Rosa is surrounded by different Venues and shows, so it will be apparent when a show is starting by the rumbling of the ceiling or floor. When there isn't a show happening, it can be pretty quiet.
Menu
All items are shown on a one sided laminated piece of paper and is written completely in French.
Price
Most dishes ranged from $7-$12, but be prepared to have to buy two dishes to be full.
Open
Monday: Closed
Tuesday: 5:00pm-11:00pm
Wednesday: 5:00pm–11:00pm
Thursday: 5:00pm–1:30am
Friday: 5:00pm–1:30am
Saturday: 5:00pm–1:30am
Sunday: 5:00–11pm
Wheelchair Accessible
No.