Rose Café Sprouts on Katy Trail

Rose Café, the new sibling of LePasSage, opened on Oct. 22. You’d know it by the snaking line wrapped around the Terminal at Katy Trail.

When it opened, the coveted open-seating patio transformed into an intense chair game weekend afternoons. We got lucky on a chilly Sunday evening in early December.

In France, a café is synonymous with a coffee-bar hybrid in a chic setting for semi-casual dining. In Texas, a café is simply a coffee shop with free wifi.

Unsuspecting coffee lovers be warned: Rose Café is not a coffee shop. Think of it as a café-restaurant with a full cocktail, wine and beer menu, and Mediterranean and Asian all-day fare. (Not quite a cafe, huh?) And it doesn’t hurt that it’s a beauty.

Rose Café is bright, whereas Le PasSage is dark and sultry. Airy bar seating lines the café, and rattan light pendants, romantic golden table light fixtures and green marble tables with straw placemats and adorable mini panda chopstick holders contribute to the ambiance. But despite the café moniker, it has upscale-restaurant pricing.

It’s the ideal spot on a slow afternoon, but for now, Rose Café’s new-opening fandom is anything but slow. It’s busier on the weekends, so perhaps try an evening when things have relaxed a bit. 
There’s a full cocktail menu with a couple of $17 spritzes, an $18 frozen Paloma and a $21 fruity reposado and rye whiskey House of Dragons. The Mr. Chow Spritz is an experimental yuzu spritz with matcha-infused St. Germain. The Sake to Me is refreshing and comes in a casual bistro tumbler. The floral garnish is a nice touch.

Chef Sotear Tep serves as executive chef at Rose Café. Her expertise intersects nutrition, French techniques and Southeast Asian flavors. Many of Le PasSage’s offerings make an appearance at Rose Café, including ha gao and shumai dumplings ($16 each), chicken satay ($16) and shrimp toast ($17).
The $16 spring rolls are specific to the café. Two rice paper wraps full of plump shrimp or tofu, mango and vermicelli noodles are served alongside a deliciously tangy and thin peanut sauce. The rolls are fresh and sizeable, but twice the price of other spring rolls in Dallas.  The $18 banh mi comes with a crusty French roll cut in half and filled with chicken, papaya slaw, a sprinkle of pickled jalapeños and a bed of cilantro. Traditional pickled vegetables are absent and missed. Rose Café’s version costs up to three times as much as other local banh-mi offerings.

Inside, Rose Café offers its “Grab and Go” menu that includes coffee, pastries, granolas, puddings and fruit. The coffee menu has all the necessities, but no specialties.

Rosé Cafe is promising, but some vital clarification is needed, as are excess funds.

Rose Café at Le PasSage, 4205 Buena Vista St., Suite 160. Daily, 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.