Rosa’s Thai Liverpool review: ‘The portion sizes were great’ - we visited the Albert Dock restaurant

I was invited to Rosa’s Thai, on the fourth anniversary of the Liverpool branch’s opening!

About Rosa’s Thai

Saphin Moore and her husband, Alex, opened their first ever Rosa’s Thai Cafe back in 2008 and the business has gone from strength to strength, with branches across the country.

Rosa’s Thai has been serving customers in Liverpool for four years, opening on the Royal Albert Dock in February 2019. The Liverpool branch was the first to open outside London, in a Grade I listed warehouse.

I was invited to bring a friend and try the new Ampawa specials menu, with a trio of dishes inspired by the famous floating market in the Samut Songkhram province.

Available until April 4, the three specials are: crispy pork belly bites with baby gem lettuce and sticky rice; pork belly with ‘secret’ noodles - served in a rich 5-spiced broth with vermicelli noodles and a traditional jungle curry, served with tofu or chicken.

As a lover of Thai curries, and someone who follows a vegan diet, I was thrilled to see tofu jungle curry as an option, and hoped it would be as good as others I’ve tried.

Starters and drinks

To start, we shared pumpkin crackers, with a sweet chilli dipping sauce - which tasted just like prawn crackers and were delicious. I also had a portion of summer rolls, and my friend had crispy Thai calamari. The portion sizes were great and we were both very pleased.

For drinks, I had Mango Star Martinis - a new take on a Pornstar Martini. Initally, I had hoped to try one of their more authentic Thai cocktails, however, they had stock issues. But, I was very pleased with my drinks and would definitely recommend.

My friend went for Chang beer, a classic.

Mains

For my main course, I chose the jungle curry with tofu and sticky rice. Rated ‘two chillis’ on the menu, the dish is ‘definitely spicy’ featuring fresh red and green chillis. The meal features a Thai curry sauce, a range of mixed veggies and large chunks of tofu. I thoroughly enjoyed the dish, and would definitely have it again. However, I like my Thai curry to be very spicy, especially a jungle curry, and would have liked a little bit more of a kick. The sticky rice was the perfect side to accompany the curry, as it doesn’t have a coconut milk base and is thinner than many other curries and the rice soaked up all the goodness!

My friend chose the pork belly with ‘secret noodles’ and was very happy with his choice. The meal features noodles, veggies, pork belly and boiled egg in a five-spiced broth. It is rated ‘zero chillies’ so is not meant to be spicy and is a great choice for lovers of ramen style dishes. His only criticism was he would have liked more pork belly!

Service and overall experience

Despite being a busy Saturday afternoon, the service throughout my visit was impeccable. Staff members were friendly and attentive, and we were quickly served our drinks and starters. Within five minutes of finishing our starters, mains were brought out and a second drink order was taken.

We were sat in a booth near the window, meaning we had views of the docks and the whole experience was excellent. The only downside of the visit was a lot of the cocktails being out of stock, however, our waitress explained there had been an issue with deliveries and offered us alternatives - which were great.

I would highly recommend visiting Rosa’s Thai and trying the specials menu - however, if you’re a lover of spice, ask for a bit more chilli in the jungle curry!