I tried several restaurants on the famous Melrose area, LA. I often found them unsatisfying one way or another. Rosaliné was one of them.

The restaurant owner is the famed chef Ricardo Zarate. It has a bright and nice design with the feel of a sunny greenhouse and stylish dining furniture. It made me happy sitting under the glass ceiling with those hanging plants, having some drinks and good foods with the friend on the weekend. The service was a bit slow but friendly, except the front receptionist, who looked sleepy and hangover.

I started with the quita calzón $15, which the menu described as a “citrusy, refreshing” which made of mezcal, gooseberry, coconut water, and lime. The drink was excellent to kick off our appetite while we were studying the menu. We decided to other different dishes from the menu and then compared them.

We decided to try picarone $10 which was a sweet potato pumpkin beignet served with fig chancaca sauce. The dish was delicious with a lovely texture of fried pumpkin dough and the heavenly sweet dipping sauce. I loved the sauce so much that I tried to save it then bring it home and have it on my toasts.

A second appetizer which we shared was pan con chicharron  $14, which was crispy pork belly served on an open face toasted bread with sweet potato, salsa criolla, and huancaina sauce. The dish was very tasty but small and expensive for the price tag.

Seabass Tiradito  $12 –classic seabass sashimi style with aji amarillo lime sauce. Here came the seafood, smaller than I expected but the flavor was very good and fresh. I am not sure if I will spend the money again for four tiny pieces of fish.

Salmon Tiradito  $10 -sweet and sour salmon sashimi style with orange miso sauce. The flavor was refreshing but it was very citrusy. It was good on it own. I wouldn’t order it with other fish dishes because they all have citrus in the sauce.

Done with the sea, we moved to the land. The steak was tender and tasty. The citrus sauce had a pleasant unique taste which balanced out the richness of the meat. A simple salad came with dish instead of fries. The portion was good for lunchtime. I would order it again.

Here came the exciting time of a meal – the dessert, of course. One of many benefits of eating out with friends is you shared foods so you will have space for desserts. We had no problem making a decision on the dessert menu, just ordered them all.

End of the meal, we all agreed that the foods were good and we had a good time but the price was something keeping us from coming back. It is ok to spend that much for first time experience and special occasion but if I want tasty authentic Peruvian foods, I would go somewhere else, less fancy and pay for the worthy foods, not for the name of the chef and the high sky rent of Melrose Ave.