La Rose Cafe Reviews

My GF took me there just for old time sake coz I use to live around the corner. The restaurant is really cute and there was a guitar player playing Filipino songs in his guitar. The food was really good and good portions. I highly recommend this restaurant.

This is the best Filipino restaurant here in the US. I had the Buchon. This is a pork belly lechon dish that I wish I could have everyday. All the other dishes we tried were good too. We were even entertained with a lounge pianist and the owner sang too.

Los Angeles continues to surprise me. Having lived here my whole life, and never did I know about such a wonderful place like this, until tonight. I've had Filipino cuisine mostly from people's homes, but it's unheard of, that I find such authenticity of the Filipino cuisine, in a restaurant.. until now. After many years of success, Lem Balagot's LA Rose Cafe stands as a beacon of culture, passion, dedication, and a precision in customer relations. With years of experience, Lem and his team of exemplary partners bring a smile to your face, delivering authentic Filipino Cuisine that is both warm at arrival and satisfaction guaranteed. With beautiful interior designs and a peaceful atmosphere, it is quiet enough for a casual date with a romantic touch to it. Peace in the atmosphere, beauty all around, and a warm smile that passes by to serve you, LA Rose Cafe stands true to its name, for all that it encompasses, are the many flowers of a people, that remain in bloom, all year long.

Homecooked, great meals. The owner, Lem also used to cater, and probably still does. He's wonderful, sweet, cheerful, and great at preparing homecooked style meals. I used to always have to come here for the breakfast and have the longaniza sausage (phillippino sausage) that was to die for, and definitely a small step towards a heart attack. But that sweet, savory swirl in your mouth deliciousness can only come from a sausage with fat. C'est la vie.

We were staying in LA, awaiting a plane to Cabo the next day. We went to Hollywood (horrible traffic) and decided to eat Pinoy at a local establishment that was near the walk of fame (on the other side of the US 101, close to the hospital). Nice enough restaurant, but the food was way over-priced and not really that appealing (she had sinigang and pancit and I had breakfast). Might try other restaurants next time (Carson seemed to be loaded with Filipino food).

I saw a link at Eater LA to an article about Filipino food in Los Angeles. I read it and sent it along to my Filipino brother in law who told me he had wanted to try LA Rose for years. The very next morning we drove up for breakfast super early to beat the heat and so we could find parking, and it did not disappoint. A very nice 'American' style breakfast for the kids with pancakes and bacon and eggs. And for the adults, all the best of Filipino cuisine. Tocino, Longanisa, and of course Sisig. The portions were huge, just stuffing us with porky goodness and excellent garlic rice. The restaurant looks like it is a converted house, and you are basically sitting in someone's living room having a meal. But truly the best part was Lem, the owner, coming to sit with us. He spoiled my kids with extra whipped cream, regaled us with tales of his youth, and he and I swapped stories about our years working in the foodservice industry. It is very hard to find true hospitality. Most restaurants want to throw food at you and get you out the door. I felt like we could have sat there all day, and he would have enjoyed it and entertained us. Great place. Thank you Lem for the hospitality!

Lovely ambiance and very good food. Attentive and knowledgeable service. Excellent cocktails and desert. I highly recommend making a reservation. Also an excellent breakfast spot.

We had lunch there today with family. Its a Filipino Spanish fusion in Los Angles close to Melrose. Food is really good. We had Tapa,Chicken chicken,curry,Bangus, tocino and a Belgian waffle and chocolate cheesecake for desert. Price is average but its well worth with there great service. Owner kept us happy with unlimited coffee, soda and good conversation. Will be back soon

If you are craving for Filipino cuisine, this place will not disappoint you! I had pork adobo with garlic fried rice and husband got Cebu Lechon. And for dessert - a big wow Halo-halo. The owner itself walked around table by table and made sure all taste great, it doesn’t get better than that! We walk in stranger but we left feeling friends. What a great impression he shared especially our first time there. Thank you LA Rose Cafe, we truly enjoyed our lunch.

You've got to love The Rose, from it's giant rose mural decor to its back patio to its easy breezy morning take-out to its luncheon room for Hollywood deal making or maybe first dates. I can't resist the almond milk pudding or the myriad of salads, from beet to broccoli, or the breakfast delights with salmon or avocado. Parking in the back, no worries be happy.

Arrived here to meet some business colleagues and arrived early. Decided to start without them with empinadas and the lumpia shanghai - Both were delicious.. We also had the pork lechon kawali which was very tender, melt-in-your mouth and flavorful. We met the owner and he is a really nice guy - he spent time talking to us and checked on us frequently. Will definitely be back to try more! The food here is also very inexpensive...love it!

Delicious, authentic Filipino food in a cozy atmosphere with amazing service! The experience was like dining in the home of a friend or auntie.

Went in for some takeaway. Puncit and Lechon were very nice. The owner was very helpful, throwing in plenty of sauce and additional rice. All very nice to eat.

Found this place by accident. Then, after a lovely albeit pricey breakfast, we walked around the Scientology "area". The restaurant sticks out in my mind of that day in LA just about as much as the Scientology buildings.

My husband and I found it by accident. From the outside it doesn't look too fancy or like a proper restaurant. Once inside you are transported to a relaxing and eclectic atmosphere. My parents tried the Filipino food for the first time and they were hooked. Mum is really picky and she enjoyed every single dish served. Congratulations to the owner who comes out and mingles with the patrons.

I know you are salivating for fresh lumpiang ubod, like the one made back in the Philippines, well, this is perhaps one of the best I have tasted, as they make the crepes from scratch, then, fill them with sumptious vegetables, pork and shrimp. You can also order it with tofu or chicken. No beef in lumpiang ubod. Then, pair it with a balanced flavored soup made with fish and tomatoes -- oh the luxury of having balanced flavors is to be remembered...

Came here with a few friends for my birthday lunch. I love the décor of the place. It's not your usual casual Filipino joint. The service was friendly and good until it got a little busy and they seem to have forgotten about us. We ordered: Daing ng Bangus (marinated boneless milkfish) (5/5) love the texture and flavor. They fried the fish to perfection and was served with atchara (pickled papaya). Pinangat Sole Filet (fish in soup with veggies) (4.5/5). There was ample pieces of fish for the four of us to share and there were lots of veggies as well. It reminds me more of sinigang than a pangat because the soup was sour but nonetheless good. Vegetable Stir Fry with chicken (3.5/5) - this was a bit on the salty side but had good flavor. The problem is we wanted a vegetable dish but this had more chicken than veggies. Chicken Afritada (stew) (2.5/5) - meh this was nothing to write home about. The portion was small and the flavor just was not that good and it was too mushy too. Halo Halo Special (10/5) - their version of this dessert is BOMB! The portion is large so there's enough for everyone and they were not stingy with the ingredients. Love, Love, Love it! I can see why this was named as one of the best desserts in LA. I would love to come back again and try other dishes. I have had some of their catered food in the past and they were very good.

Looking somewhat shabby from the outside and certainly needs an interior refit but the Philipino cuisine is stunning, prepared by the owner, all the dishes were freshly prepared and superb

Our first stop in LA and it was such a good choice. Authentic, albeit slightly fancy Filipino food. Food: 9 Drink: 9 Ambience: 7.5 Service: 10 Value: 8 A tad bit pricey, but the execution and presentation is spot on. The outside of this place looks unassuming, but the inside is actually very quaint and clean. Cebu Lechon: so good...crispy skin and tender meat with a homemade mang tomas type sauce. Opt for the garlic rice...it's mind-blowing. 1/2 lb is more than enough for one. Beef Mechado: also very good...zesty, tomato base stewed, tender beef. Stacked with tons of meat. Halo Halo: by far the BEST "mix mix" dessert I've come across outside of the Philippines! Ube and Vanilla ice cream (Magnolia brand), amazing Ube paste, velvety leche flan, toasted rice crispies, coconut palm gels, sweet beans/jellies, shaved ice, and sweet milk. Big enough for 3 or even 4 to share!

Yelp led us to this restaurant on Vermont and Fountain when we searched "Filipino food" in Hollywood. We went at the tail end of the no-indoor dining rule and lucky to snag the last outdoor table on the lunch hour. Jepoy was friendly and gave us menus right away. We immediately noticed that the prices are higher than average, maybe a tad higher than the Filipino favorites Max's, Gerry's Grill, Barrio Fiesta and Red Ribbon. We hoped the quality and taste will justify the $$ We ordered tapsilog ($14.99) described as cured beef, peppery and garlicky with 2 sunny side up eggs and plain rice. The picture was appetizing but the real thing in a styro was disappointing. Tough, dry, not at all tender beef/tapa, 1 sunny side up egg and 2 cups of rice. Also ordered daing ($15.99) described and pictured on the menu as a whole marinated milk fish with rice. The real thing in a styro consisted of a dry HALF milk fish, 2 cups of rice and we were charged extra $3.50 for 2 eggs. Total rip-off. The only thing we enjoyed was the tasty fresh lumpia ($16.99) with the perfect mixture of veggies, jicama, diced shrimp, chicken and pork topped with garlic and soy peanut sauce. With ground nuts and sugar it was delicious. We like that the calamansi juice with honey ($5.99) is refillable. Their desserts sansrival and buko pandan looked appetizing but at that point we were turned off with the quality of the beef and price per serving of the main dishes and decided to skip dessert. We couldn’t wrap our heads around the $60+ lunch bill. So, no, we are not particularly interested in returning to this restaurant.

Loved the food and loved the atmosphere even more! Waiter was very attentive which is always surprising when the place is packed!

venue of a very small reunion. comfortably seats 15 great lechon and pancit. salmon mousse. Kare kare. biko. cassava. calamansi juice. iced tea (mix the two). main dining room has a vintage flair. since 1982... staying power for sure

L A Rose Café brings back fond memories of growing up in Manila, when the extended family will share a leisurely Sunday lunch. It is this sense of "home", and its food that appeals to me; about L A Rose. Filipino food is unpretentious and welcoming and yet sublime - an amalgamation of so many rich culinary traditions (Malay, Asian, European and American), that it's best to experience it. Our favorites on the menu continue to be: Fresh Lumpia, Kare-Kare (Oxtail Stew), Crispy Pata and Daing na Bangus. Our genial host Lem (short or Lemuel), makes sure to reintroduce us to delicacies from home we thought we've forgotten; from time to time. This is a GREAT restaurant! And well worth the trek from North Orange County!

First night in LA didn't know where to go, cafe recommended by hotel, lovely welcome good food, but take your own wine, not alcohol available to purchase, but would recommend this one

Good place to eat. The restaurant is warm and comfortable, the waiters were friendly and the food was very delicious. Great value for money.

Fantastic service and wonderful food. Such a pleasant surprise when you first walk in! It's so pleasing to the eye and calming. And the food is extremely well prepared. Definitely recommend.

A large restaurant with major area outside. On this winter night flame heaters keep you warm with heavy netting covering openings. Be careful your not in a corner as we had a cold draft from the side. As you settle in & take in the ambiance one realises it’s like sitting in a big barn with flame & soft lighting Buzzing with chatter & packed to the rafters we felt lucky to have a table even though we booked, we had to wait. Our waitress was engaging, as we didn’t know the wines on offer asked for direction. Big mistake, it was like vinegar! Ian the Sommelier came to our rescue, he Suggested a lovely French Pinot Noir & advised us to buy a bottle rather than a carafe as it was the same price, ( there were only two of us one driving) to take the balance of bottle home We ordered half dozen oysters to share, we were shocked as they were only a film, no body, so paper thin a fork couldn’t pick it up. At USD $24 it was insulting Our waitress recommended marinated Baja shrimp which was delicious, would have liked a spoon to serve it with. Thank goodness my friend ordered bread to go with it, luckily we didn’t eat it all before the Foie Gras on Pan Dulce arrived. We inquired what Pan Dulce was & was duly informed toast. Well, the Foie Gras (like a mousse) was fabulous, unfortunately it was on a sickly sweet cake with cinnamon through it. As I said, thank goodness we had some bread left as we scrapped it off the “cake” & devoured it on the bread. If you go, ask for the Foie Gras in a rankin & order bread! Ian came to our rescue again sending us a stunning desert of Pecan & Pear Pudding. Thank you Ian, wine & desert saved the night!

Came here today with a friend for breakfast. What can I say... Best Filipino restaurant in LA by far... The courteous warm service and cozy ambiance is awesome... I ordered the Ilocano longanisa breakfast with garlic brown rice.. Yum! We ordered the leche flan and ube halaya for dessert... Very rich in flavor... The owner is also very hands on... Definitely coming back!

A really delightful surprise in decor when you visit here. Somebody has taken a great deal of time to collect all the interesting items on display around the restaurant. Very eclectic! Good menu, friendly quality service, generous portions and very relaxing atmosphere. Worth the visit.

When you get in the restaurant, you will feel like you're in a tropical place. All the capiz shells hanging in the ceiling as decorations makes you feel at home. The staff are warm and friendly. We ordered daing na bangus (grilled fish), pancit (noodles), sinigang (sour soup) and tocino. Great food!

Great food and readable price. Convenient to kaiser, CHOC hospitals just off sunset. It is a small place but big flavor. Parking on the streetsmapplace

Visiting LA on my own and eating out can be quite daunting, but this place made me feel very welcome and the food was great and reasonably priced. The place is decorated in a lovely style and there was even someone playing the piano in the main restaurant area - a great find.

Delicious Filipino Food, with good service in a quaint setting. We had my grandson's christening luncheon here and we were lucky to have a pianist playing such melancholy tunes that made the celebration more memorable. The buchon was so crispy and delicious. We had a good time and lots of food to take home that was good the following day! We had empanada, lumpia shanghai, chicken inasal, lumpia sariwa, tocino, sweet & sour fish fillet, and palabok.

The LA Rose Cafe has killer french toast that tastes like custard! Fantastic breakfast dishes. And great rice plates with garlic stir fry fresh vegies and brown rice. I am addicted.

This place is overrated! I was visiting LA & was looking forward to having great filipino food. I read many reviews for filipino restaurants & chose to go to La Rose because of the reviews. Very disappointing! The food was ok and way overpriced! Also, who ever heard of being served filipino food without rice??? You have to pay extra to get rice! I had an entree that was $18 & paid another $2 for rice! Crazy! Our meal for 2 for LUNCH was over $85! What a rip-off!

this is one of LA's hidden gems. super cute and the owner is very friendly. try the tocino, it's worth it.

We visited this cute Filipino restaurant this afternoon. The ambience inside was impressive though one would not have guessed that from the outside... The food was really delicious. Service was a bit tardy even though the place was not all that busy. One of us was still waiting to be served the main course even after the four others at our table had finished theirs! And the dish that was delayed was marked "Today's Special" in the menu!

I have eaten here a number of times. Sometimes it was excellent for an inexpensive quick meal, sometimes not so great. They did handle our large group very well for a breakfast.

An interesting Filipino cafe, with a little French colonial flavor, and homey. Baby rose on each table while serenades by a lady pianist, playing some old tunes such as moon river, a small world, Chopin, and Dr. Zhivago – oh my, almost felt off my rattan chair with cushion. The portly owner likes to socialize with diners, and good naturally fussing with the rose; even replacing one over a couple who’s in the mist of chewing. I don’t think that I would have mind even its a little odd. Ok, the food. We order dry roast pork and oxtail soup. Both are delicious but the pork is old (hard at the edges) – I think they don’t sell enough to keep it fresh. The flavor is more than Chinese – I used to participate in a Filipino tennis tourney that incl lunch and sometimes dinner. And every time the organizers brought out a whole roast pig similar to that of Chinese. The oxtail soup is gigantic, with generous veggies. The meat is very tender but not off the bone, which requires a little persuasion to get it off. The sinamak (spicy vinegar) is yummy!

We came in here for a breakfast and we loved it...the staff welcomed us to the resturant ..Its one of the most authentic filipino breakfast I've tasted here in the US!I would definetly recommend it my people and will try coming back again!!

Hidden gem! This is a hole in the wall that is worth every cent. When I first walked up to this place, I have to admit that I was a bit apprehensive, I almost turned around. This is a perfect example of not judging a book by its cover. My wife and I went there for brunch around 11 a.m. And we were pleasantly surprised to find live music entertainment. As we stepped into the dining area I was astonished by the transformation that took place, "was I in an alternate universe?" the atmosphere was classy, and the chairs were comfortable with pillows. The place is small, I would not say it could accommodate more than 30 or 40 people at best, but it had a homie feel that I really enjoyed. There is only 1 small unisex restroom. The food was delicious and the presentation was a work of art. We had longanisa and Tocino with white and brown garlic fried rice and fried eggs. We topped it off with ube! The coffee and hot chocolate was also very savory, not too strong. I will definitely be back here again!

Try their well-done pork tocino and chicken longganisa dipped in Sinamak or Pinakurat. So good with garlic rice and over-easy eggs!

Looking for a quick meal, my daughter brought us here. Good food, just like at home setting. Cozy and service is good. Price just right and lots of choices. Will be back for more.

I came here because my brother recommended that we bring our mom here for Mother's Day. He spoke highly of the place because of the owner who made him feel welcome. But that was three weeks prior to this. Upon arriving they first said they were full, but they managed to find a table at the back room. The server was nice but it took a while for the server to come. Plus I got confused as there were like three servers coming/going. I didn't know who our server was. I figured it was Mother's Day so it was busy. In fact, there was one customer who had been waiting for a long time for someone to wait on him. He had to get up and find someone to take his order. Poor guy, had to wait a good 20 minutes. We thought at first he was waiting for someone. It was busy there that I later saw another person (who he does not know) share a table with him. Interesting. The selection of food is great - if you're not a vegetarian. Being a vegeteraian, my choices were somewhat limited. I settled for the fresh lumpia. It was ok but I had better ones before. Another disappointment was that it took a long time for someone to wait on us and also fill our glasses with water. It seem like they were in a hurry to get the customers moving but they were sure slow in serving/asking if we needed anything else. This was my first time at L.A. Rose Cafe and I was proud that it was Filipino. But, boy, I was disappointed. I didn't like it as much and I felt rushed/uncomfortable. I also think I had my expectations high. What I like was that there was a piano player. It added ambience to the place. I would probably give this restaurant another chance to see if it's really worth it. This time I plan to go during a non-holiday. I may have just gone at a busy time. Otherwise, I would have rated this place as poor. We'll see.

I went with two native Philippinas and food was delicious. I had the chicken curry with coconut milk - fantastic. Service was a bit weak - server would disappear for long periods and seemed to have a bit of an attitude - but food was so good - easily overlooked. Music and ambiance was nice.