Rosita’s Restaurant

Been coming here with the family on and off since moving to San Leandro in 2003. Solid and authentic Mexican fare. The mariachis playing in the evenings are a nice touch too. The day worker tios (uncles) frequent here every evening after work.
There’s 2 sections — the front more casual with juke box, and the back with larger tables for bigger groups. We usually park in the lot in back and eat in the back section with the family.
The ladies behind the counter are always friendly and courteous. Service can be a little slow when its busy in the evenings, but nothing to complain about.
We particularly love the pescado diablo (devil fish) selections! And sometimes mix that with the garlic fish selections. Comes with lots of tortillas, chips, salsas, rich, beans etc.
The only downside is this is a slightly sketchy part of town. But that doesn’t faze us one bit. Bring it on Mama Rosita!

Worse nachos ever. They use that fake cheese crap. No guacamole and the chicken had no flavor at all I couldn’t even eat more than 3 chips. I was so hungry so I mostly ate the very plane chicken. It was shredded chicken. It looked like breast meat. The chips even tasted stale.

Solid 4 stars! We lived on this block for about 9 months and went here just aboutweekly. We usually ordered out; the less one star is for the time we dined in. The service wasn’t very great and there was a SUPER loud mariachi band in the center of the restaurant making it near impossible to almost have a conversation. It does come with the territory though, so we couldn’t be too mad.
Food is yummy — we usually ordered fajitas to go. They got out order wrong a few times, but nothing major. Very consistent, authentic Mexican cuisine! My only critique would be that their beans were a little bland. Would definitely recommend it to anyone who lives in the area, or is brave enough to venture into East Oakland :)

I decided to try this place a second time. The girl that took care of me knew what chile verde was. The girl the first time I went there had no clue what chile verde is. I got the chile verde super burrito. Excellent. Not 75% rice as it was the first time I went there. The only reason I am not giving them 5 stars is not having a place to place to-​go orders.

Inexpensive and yummy!!! I eat here AT LEAST 2 – 3 times a week. The fajitas are amazing, not to mention the fact that they make homemade corn tortillas!!! The chicken burrito, fish tacos, chicken nachos… just about anything you order here is great

Delicious and authentic, what more could you ask for. It’s a nice facility too, lots of room inside. Generous portions.

Rosita’s is standard «authentic» mexican fare. place looks like a former hamburger joint. there’s even a take out window (which isn’t used). no prices posted. menu on counter, standard mexican sitdown pricing.
flatscreen: channel 14-​news
eats: steak ranchero (8.95)
–chewy beef with peppers
–slight watery, broken spanish rice
–beans had cheese flavoring.
–flour tortillas freshly made
frijoles refritos:
–open kitchen
–mostly amigo patrons in evening.
–near border of the ‘dro.
–lots of sitdown
–mexican murals on walls by ricardo.

When the food came to the table it looked like I’d ordered three times as much as my male counterpart. I got the enchilada plate (one chicken with green sauce, one beef with red sauce). He got the carnitas tacos. I ordered a chili relleno to share because of another Unilocaler’s recommendation.
The portions were a good value for the money: $ 27 including tip for me and a guest.
Salsas were ok, nothing special.
The chicken enchilada was delicious. Chicken was juicy, tender, flavorful. Green sauce was good, nothing special but good. I’d go back for it (and probably will)
Beef enchilada was mediocre. Beef was overcooked, red sauce was bland.
Rice and beans were standard. No surprises there.
Carnitas were just ok. That’s all he said.
Chili Relleno — my guest didn’t care for it at all. He described it as «squishy». I thought it was ok. The texture was softer than I was expecting, but maybe they put the sauce on too early and let it sit for a while before bringing it to the table. If you want to try it maybe you should request sauce on the side and pour it on yourself at the table. The sauce was ok but different from what I was expecting. It tasted like tomato bisque. Overall it wasn’t unpleasant, but I don’t think I would recommend it over something else.

We stopped in for a late dinner (8 is late if you have a preschoooler with you) at this East Oakland joint and we were not disappointed. After parking on the side street, we walked into the unassuming, small restaurant full of guys that could easily be my tios. The ranchera music was blasting. The waitresses and cooks were all women last night; my daughter and I were otherwise the only women in the place.
Chips are huge and delicious. Both the green and red salsas have the right amount of kick. Rosita’s specializes in seafood so I ordered the Filete de Pescado with spicy sauce. Perfectly cooked with a sauce I could have wiped clean had my order included tortillas. The horchatas are enormous but there are no refills so be aware that they will charge you if you request one or more.

OK, we’ve been back a few more times since my original review, and my enthusiasm has waned. Either we got lucky that first time or maybe I was really hungry. Never again has the ceviche been better than ok-​ish. Though my partner still likes their whole roasted fish (which is pretty darn good).
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Handmade tortillas. Fresh seafood. Ceviche with lots of lime and crisp vegetables. Need I say more? This place is a hole in the wall in a dicey neighborhood but walk into the back part of the restaurant, ask the wonderful waitresses what’s good that day, and get ready for a delicious meal. Like another reviewer, we’ve eaten at Don~a Tomas, Cocina Poblana, Poc Chuc, La Super Rica Taqueria — and this place is as good in its way. And like Poc Chuc, this place is much kinder to your wallet… though you might want to park right in front of the restaurant…

Great food … sexy waitresses but hot as n oven and this fly is driving me crazy… i might give it one more chance

When I come here, I always wish my stomach could hold more because it’s so delicious. Be sure to get tortillas with whatever you order: from the steamy flakey chewiness, I believe they’re made fresh when you order them.
Not that Rosita’s makes a big deal about it. Situated next door to a pawn shop, Rosita’s is about as unpretentious as it gets. The many times I’ve been here for lunch, without fail I’m the only one speaking English. The other clientele are usually older men eating together and drinking Mexican beers. It’s a refreshing change from some of the trendy establishments in my beloved Berkeley, and the food costs about half as much (so be sure to tip the server well).
Back to the food. I’ve had their rice and beans burrito and it was nothing to write home about. Why the five stars? Because the rest of the food I’ve had here is that good. The two kinds of freshly made, well-​balanced salsas with their ridiculously huge basket of hot chips. The aforementioned tortillas. The chile relleno. Oh, the chile relleno. You have to be careful because the plate is hot, and the server has to be careful to not spill its lake of sauce when she brings it to you. And it’s fresh and perfect to the last bite. Do you know anyone who always orders the same thing at restaurants? At Mexican restaurants, this is my dish. Based on extensive research, I call Rosita’s The Best Place for Chile Rellenos.

The food at Rosita’s is definately one of our favorite lunch time stops! My co-​workers and I all love the grilled chicken taco salad and fajitas! The homemade corn tortillas are awsome! We even went last night after work for my birthday. Always good!!! Just wish that everyone’s food came out a little closer together.

Great Mexican Food outside of the Fruitvale District! I’ve lived in the area for four years and come to Rosita’s often for quick, delicous, and reasonably priced food.
Plenty of parking!
btw-​Do NOT miss out on the carnitas tacos and the home made corn tortillas.