The English Rose

My sister and I had breakfast there about 2 weeks ago. Place was full, as expected. Luckily didn’t have to wait long for a table. Our server was a sweetheart. Our order was brought in a timely manner and was delicious. Coffee was fresh too!

Beautiful view! I heard it’s super busy in the early morning. We went around 11:30 — 11:45 and were seated immediately (we had made reservations for noon). The drinks were good and the food was delicious! My boyfriend said the French toast and omelettes were the best he’s ever had (& he eats a lot of omelettes). They had «valet» parking, which consisted of a guy who took my keys after I already parked.

I’ve been here before and loved it back in 2010. This time i brought my family and they too enjoyed it. The portions were hearty and the flavor was all there! I had my toddler asking to switch dishes with me! Ha! The staff are so friendly and quite efficient with getting patrons in and out, fed and turned over! We ordered the turkey and sweet potato hash, the french toast with salty sweet panchetta and a kids breakfast. Additionally, the food is not the only thing that brings one here but it is their amazing view from up in the mountains. I recommend anyone in Rincon to enjoy a meal there and i promise you will fall in love with the food and the view. For those with more than an appitite this establishment couod be yours as the owners are selling for 1.5 million!

Good tasting breakfast with good service. Poached eggs, sausage and bacon, potatoes, everything was good! I’d say it’s your classic English breakfast with a perfect view. Just an observation, the coffee sort of tasted like plastic. And the food wasn’t service as hot as I’d typically like. Other than that, wonderful.

Great breakfast with a spectacular view. French toast, fresh bread and hash browns are awesome.

1 STAR for efficiency. Where do I begin. I’ve now been to Rincon 4 times and have eaten here twice, so I feel this review is warranted. The English Rose is one of the few places to have a nice breakfast which automatically monopolizes the nice breakfast options in Rincon. They are the only one of their kind which is what makes them a hot commodity. You have to make a reservation to eat here which is kind of annoying on its own because no other place in the the town really requires reservations and forget about calling them the morning of. I’ve tried to come in to the restaurant on 3 other occasions during my stay in Rincon and they have turned me and friends away. Both times I’ve been lucky enough to sit and eat, I’ve watched them turn other potential guests away… SMH because it’s such BAD business. Even if you make a reservation you don’t get to experience the beautiful setting with an equal chance as the hotel guests, as they get first dibs on the patio tables which look over a gorgeous landscape. I get that the restaurant is small — but it’s not that small. The interior of the place is made up of 6 tables and holds roughly 30 people. The outside on the patio (which is the only and best place to sit.) has maybe 5 tables and can hold 15 – 20 people. The set up of the restaurant is completely inefficient. Not one two top in the place! Aren’t bed and breakfasts for couples anyway? The tables are way too big for the size of the space and if they downsized the tables they could probably fit more of them which equals more people, which would mean they would be servicing the visitors better and ultimately making more money. (But who knows maybe it’s not about making money for them??) Nothing is commercial in the entire space; refrigerators, coffee pots, stoves, microwaves etc. I don’t understand how they expect to service up to 60 people with two home coffee pots that the wait staff keep refilling every 5 minutes. (I have a commercial coffee pot in my house for when I have 20 people over for the holidays!)
2.5 STARS for service. The wait staff seem to have been with the place for years. I actually think I remember seeing most of them on my first visit.
You can tell they like to enforce the «rules» just look on the back of the menu and you can read them! They take their jobs very seriously, which is important and I get it — but at the same time it gives off a defensive vibe, almost like it’s their house. They all look like their running around like chickens with out heads, acting like they are so busy (which they are!) but it’s only because the structure of the way the place is staffed is completely wrong and inefficient. The servers are doing everything but they shouldn’t be. They shouldn’t be making the coffee and setting up the fruit plates etc. There should be 2 (mayyyyybe 3) servers that can service the whole place. They need a designated hostess, who can take reservations, on the same day over the phone, who is in charge of turning over tables and seating people constantly. They need a bartender who can service the people that are waiting for a table and all of the tables at the service bar. They need 1 – 2 bussers who can help with cleaning and also turning over tables. And most importantly, appropriate kitchen staff who can pump out food for the 4 hours of the day they are open. They did do a good job of up selling me though, I ordered a juice and a fruit plate because of their suggestions.
5 STARS for food. The food is great. The menu is put together really well. A big salad option with a poached egg would be a HUGE hit in my opinion. The coffee could be a little better (stronger). lattes, espressos and other coffee options would also be a nice addition. (But then they might need a barista lol.)
My feedback is only in an attempt to help better The English Rose. It just seems they are stuck in old ways and small changes could change the business in a big way. As a business owner myself, I expect small businesses to continuously evolve. They should get better year over year. The place has so much potential and it seems like they have been open for a long enough time where they can take the next step in improving their operations. The reality is, it would benefit everyone! The restaurant would be more successful, the staff would make more money, the visitors would always come back and we would all be happy! Despite my 2 STAR rating — I would still highly recommend The English Rose. Just be sure to make a reservation and beg for the patio seats!!! LOL Hopefully next time I come back they will have taken some of my advice. (Or maybe I’m just an opinionated New Yorker — who knows?)

We were told this place is «a must» while in Rincon. We made 9:30 reservations for a Wednesday morning and were told to come early if we want outdoor seating since it is first-​come, first-​served. The turn off is right across from Steps beach turn off and leads you straight up a narrow, windy road. Be prepared to do some tight passing if another car is coming up or down. They help with parking once you arrive.
The place is a hotel and restaurant on a nice property. The views look down to the jungle and out to the ocean as you are up pretty high. We started at an inside table and moved to a very tight table outside for 5 people.
The menu has lots of options and they will explain what is made in house, some of the British terms, etc. They would not allow me to make a simple substitution which I thought was a little weird. If you want something different you have to order it as a side. We tried almost everything on the menu and it was all delicious. I got the Full Monty with a side of spinach and was very satisfied. Everything was tasty — the homemade sausage was good although a bit dry, the house-​made bread could have been great but it was toasted to the texture of a rock — but these are just little complaints.
Overall we were all very happy with our choices and the whole dining experience. Definitely worth it. We will all be full for hours. Cool to have a different perspective on the beach and town too.

SUMMATION: This review cut to fit Unilocal.For the complete review see TripAdvisor. This review and all previous ones are useless as this place is no longer the same. It is temporarily closed, but will open under the same name, new owners, and management, October 2015. Their usual excellent service, food, and location; however, the road to get up there is still dangerous and their menu riddled with a plenitude of humorous errors.
TITLE: «Last Breakfast» [Yelp, Parguera Pirate review #425 [2], submitted 7 September 2015]
OWNERS: The English owners, Jethro and Ruth Wickenden Rivero, are selling and returning to England. I hope they learn a bit more about correct English cooking, and the proper names and spellings of dishes (see Corrections). The new owners are Puerto Ricans, who intend to continue the tradition of the English Rose. [1]
CHEF: Jethro Wickenden Rivero
DIRECTIONS: They have a good map on their web page, but the area has a maze of confusing roads. There are 2 long, one-​way roads, with 2-​way traffic, up to the restaurant. These include many blind curves and blind hilltops. Some near-​road precipices are also entertaining as are some steep sections. I would call these roads «bad» and «worse.» Please be careful. At least the roads are paved.
PARKING: They had valet parking on this last day, which was very nice, and well worth a tip.
VIEW: We had the best table in the house on the outer corner of their balcony. Excellent view of ocean and forest.
AMBIANCE: Café causal. Half the patrons were friends of the foodie at our table. She had invited them all (Dutch). Many were our friends, as well. With 2 refrigerators in the dinning room, they cannot rank very high on style.
MENU ITEMS: Their «Lobster Thermidor Benedict» began as a special, but is now on the menu. I have tried to order it 4 times. Now, I will never have it. One foodie told me it was not very good [sour grapes?].
WAITSTAFF: Excellent, attentive, knowledgeable. I asked one of the owners for a menu to keep, since they would not use them any more. She gave me one.
JUICES: They once had interesting, fresh, local juices. The waitress said nothing was in season. I told her mangos and starfruit were falling off the trees right now. She made no reply.
ENTRÉE: I had an HRH Burger: homemade giant, sausage patty; chorizo; fried egg over light; provolone cheese; cherry tomato «ketchup»; lettuce (actually spring mix); chipotle mayonnaise; sesame seed bun. Contents piled on each bun and could not possibly be closed as a sandwich. My First Mate had «Encore Eggs Benedict» with a side of homemade sausage. Everything was excellent.
HEALTH: For all their pretense of healthy foods, they had nothing unsweetened, except coffee and hot tea. Their sausage is made with chicken, they have vegetarian items marked on their menu, and a Fruit Plate.
MADE IN THE USA: Using Saigon Cinnamon, made in Viet Nam, could keep veterans out of your restaurant. Their light stainless was made in Brazil and plates in China
RECOMMENDATIONS:
MERCHANT: They were too arrogant to pay any attention to my suggestions, have retreated back to England, but perhaps the new owners are more astute? See Corrections.
CORRECTIONS:
(I) «The Full Monty» is by no means a «Classic English Breakfast.» Not even close.
(II) «Eggs Ruby Murry» [=Murray] [3]
(III) «Lobster Thermidor Benedict» is a juxtaposition of words that have no meaning when placed together. It has no relationship to Lobster Thermidor [4]
(IV) They still list «Benny Hill», but this preparation does not employ salmon. The correct term is «Eggs Royal.»
(V) Either add peanut butter to the «Dead Elvis» or do not use this name [5].
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The name and recipes are not changing, but the English Chef and owners are gone. Who knows what the place will be like in the future. We will find out.
[2] plus thousands of paper and books reviews for hundreds of journals
[3] This was a popular, and well-​used, rhyme slang across London, where Indian food such as curry became enormously popular in the 1970s. In fact, Ruby Murray (1935 – 1996) has become so synonymous with curry, that many London Indian restaurants are named simply «The Ruby.» Ruby Murray was a popular Irish singer. Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, she scored 7 top 10 hits in the UK during the 50s, including «Heartbeat» (1954), «Softly, Softly» (1955), «If Anyone Finds This, I Love You» (1955), and «Evermore» (1955), along with many other smash hits. She has an unsurpassed Guinness World Record of top songs.
[4] Lobster Thermidor Benedict was poached eggs on English muffins with pan seared fresh Caribbean lobster tail medallions topped with brandy cream sauce served with bubble and squeak for $ 20. Real Lobster Thermidor is a French dish consisting of a creamy mixture of cooked lobster meat, egg yolks, and cognac or brandy, stuffed into a lobster shell. It can also be served with an oven-​browned cheese c

Make a reservation
This was a great find for breakfast! The food was amazing, and the view was even better! Don’t let Pineapple Hill scare you away! The next time we are in Rincon, we will be back!

Two words: strawberry lemonade! if they have it available you need to try it hands dow best lemonade I’ve ever had! And i like lemonades. Staff is very friendly, fluent in spanish and english!
All bread is home baked, croissant, bagels, toasts are all good.
I had the eggs benedict and were amazing. The canadian bacon was too thick for my taste but it was still very good.
On top of it, the view is spectacular!
Will definitely recommend this place.
If you have plans to go to rincon must visit The English Rose, and you must make reservations.