The Early Word on Rosemary's in the West Village

Serving Italian fare with a locavore twist, Rosemary's Enoteca and Trattoria, the latest project from restaurateur Carlos Suarez, opened its doors in the West Village two weeks ago today. With food from Eataly and Babbo alum Wade Moises, roof-grown herbs and vegetables, and a food education outreach program with P.S. 41, Rosemary's has attracted plenty of early attention for both its foodie cred and its sustainable focus.

Although many early diners have good things to say about the food and atmosphere, many complain about lackluster service and long waits. Here's a roundup of what guests are saying about Rosemary's:

The Just Plain Good News: An Eater commenter has no complaints: "My wife and I went last night. Fantastic. Granted, we had to wait an hour for a table since a lot of people showed up. Good looking fun New York crowd. Great music and atmosphere! The food was great. Nice mix. I can officially say this will be the new spot for the summer. If only all restaurants could have green roofs instead of shipping in their ingredients from God knows where...Congratulations Rosemary's on your sustainable stance and good luck." [Eater Comments]

The Overhyped News: Over on Yelp, one customer was less pleased: "There was a lot of buzz about Rosemary's, and I was looking forward to trying it . Too bad it doesn't live up to the hype, food or service-wise. Especially service...The meal overall was not noteworthy: the eggplant capanata was more olive-heavy than eggplant-y; the shrimp was just fair, the salad was gritty...if you're not looking to be a part of scene just for the sake of being part of a scene, or waiting for hours for fair food and bad service, there are plenty of delicious options on that very block that would be happy to have your patronage." [Yelp]

The Still Hungry News: The lone Menupages reviewer left without being served: "Was told my table for 6 would only be a few minutes wait - ended up being way over an hour. Once we finally got seated, they ran out of food. Poor management. We were rushed once we were seated and the food was nothing special. Way too hyped up." [Menupages]

The Great News: From another Yelper: "It was super packed given that it just opened recently, but we were still able to get a spot at the bar to wait for our table...luckily they have a tasty wine list (all bottles are $40) because it was quite a long wait. Try the rose - it was so refreshing without being sweet. The food was outstanding. Between the four of us, we had rosemary foccacia (incredibly dense and decadent - they drizzle/pour this incredible olive oil on it just before serving), calamari, the chopped salad, and all of the pasta dishes - each one was so simple & fresh & delicious (the spicy linguine was the best - hot & zesty!). Overall: beautiful space, fresh & delicious food, and great service." [Yelp]

The Still Working On It News: An Eater commenter sees potential, but thinks Rosemary's needs to iron out a few kinks: "I think they need to do something about their seating (take reservations instead of walk-in, maybe). When we got in, the guy at the door told us 45min waiting, then I started walking out and he says it could be only half an hour so we went to the bar and no one came up to us for an hour. They apologised a lot and tried to make up for it by being extra attentive once we were seated. The food is good with some great wines on the list. The ambience is very summerish and the location is prime. So if they sort out their seating stuff then it should do well in the summer." [Eater Comments]

The Good News: A Foursquare tipster has a few recommendations: "Great spot! Prosecco on tap. Delicious food (eggplant carbonara, beets, pasta, celery Caesar salad, focaccia). Great service. Must get there early - no reservations right now." [Foursquare]

The Terrible Service News: One Yelp reviewer says: "The food is quite good (assuming your plate arrives warm...two out of four did for our group), the fixed price wine menu makes selections much easier (and very fairly priced considering the relationship with Bobo that has a really pricey menu), and the space is absolutely beautiful and will translate well all year round...The bar service sucks. Our bartenders didn't know their menu at ALL - we had to show them each time we ordered something listed on their menu...Our table service was abysmal...Once we ordered and our food was delivered, one of our friends didn't get his meal for another few minutes, but the waiter didn't even acknowledge that it was coming or anything...Service can be fixed...the fundamentals are here for this restaurant to succeed. Hopefully management notices these types of incidents and ratchets up the training." [Yelp]
— Alison Herman