The Rosebud... not a dud!

The evening didn't get off to a great start as my dining companion Pete and I didn't end up going to the place we had in mind; so we had to make up a plan on the spot and I suggested we venture to the seedy corner of Bathurst and Queen as I've been wanting to try Rosebud. As we approached, there was this gigantic yellow sign outside with lights shimmering on it and i thought "oh great! it's going to be a dive" and we were ready for a nice meal tonight. As we stepped in, I felt like I entered a well kept secret as the inside blew my expectations- It was very intimate and quite romantic with it's dark wood and long space.

As we settled down at our table, one of my favourite Jack Johnson songs played in the background, I was very happy at that moment. Our server Teresa was very knowledgeable about the food and wine and had great recommendations and I wanted to give her a shout out as she was a one woman show last night with the restaurant full. She was really great with her service, making us wait the appropriate times for our meal and filling up our water and wine at the right times.
We started with cocktails to set the mood - i had a prosecco and orange concoction but it wasn't a mimosa and Pete started with a godfather- tapping into the Whisky early!
We also got a great bottle of red that was smooth and bold and it went nicely with our meal.
We started our night off with the frogs legs- Pete had never tried them and I thought they would be good nibblers to commence with. Frogs legs are as tender as chicken drumsticks but you get the hint of fishiness in the after taste. This is not a dish for everyone as people love Kermit and perhaps can't get pass that..
OK so weoutdid it when ordering our meals as we couldn't help ourselves:
We had 2 salads- the heirloom beet salad - came with 3 types of beets- regular bloody beets, orange beets and rainbow beets on arugula with goat cheese... delicious and felt very healthy about the choice. The other salad was a duck salad which featured duck prepared 3 ways- roasted, confit and cubed- this was heavenly... i loved the taste of all the different preparations of duck! If you were to go with one salad - it would be hands down duck all the way!
For mains- we had the risotto special - OMG! delicious - prepared with salty pork cheek, and sage in the buttery creaminess of risotto ... the portions for this dish was very big and am happy we shared it. We also splurged and tried the rainbow trout served with roasted artichoke hearts with a ricolade sauce (which is creamed red peppers) ... the portions of the trout were massive too and perfectly cooked - tender and smooth and very good!
Our bellies were full and very satisfied after our meal but that didn't stop us from ordering dessert and some port to finish the evening with.
Just a note on dessert- i was actually surprised there was only 3 choices on the menu and they were not the most impressive. So of course we asked Teresa her recommendation and we had the carrot cake. This was a ginger spiced carrot cake served with a goat cheese ice cream and caramelized carrots and it was to die for!

I am quite happy we stumbled into this establishment and uncovered a hidden gem in the city!
Rosebud 669 Queen Street West, Bathurst and Queen
*** stars (out of 5)