Unique and great quality restaurant in the Art district. Great cocktails, apps and entrees. Ingredients were all fresh, the combinations were very flavorful and satisfying. All the offerings had a great Hawaiian influence with enough variety to please everyone. It was a satisfying dining experience with enough variety without being an overly heavy meal. This is our new local favorite.
Storyteller828840
Very unique Polynesian/Hawaiian menu and drinks. Service was extremely rushed. In fact, our main dish came out while we were still eating our appetizers. $160 fast food meal!!!!!!
Nancy A
Absolutely outstanding! The food is amazing and GET THE DESSERT! The owner is a pastry chef and many of the desserts are gluten-free as well! Definitely worth a stop when you are in the area. We had the Mochiko Chicken and the Poke Bowl- service was also excellent!
Michelle P
This is higher end prices but worth every penny. Very creative and original food offerings, high-quality ingredients, good wine, great ambiance, great service. Be aware that many restaurants are adding a kitchen tip (3% in this case). We are local and will be back. My daughter had the gourmet burger, I had had the garlic shrimp, and my husband had a type of ramen. We ordered an amazing smore dessert and right-side up pineapple cake as well. If you are a fine dining fan every single offering has its charm and the quality and care put into the food is terrific.
Matt DeBrine
If you want a unique and delicious wedding cake, Melissa of Cakes by Gray should be your first choice! Her tasting was fun, interactive, and so creative. Her flavors span from traditional to wild and you get to be the driver of how creative you want the cake to be. Our wedding cake turned out beautifully, and all of our guests absolutely loved the exciting flavors. Our favorite flavor combo had to be the almond cake, pineapple curd, and lavender buttercream. The chocolate cake with cherry jam and black pepper buttercream was a crowd favorite - we actually didn't even get to have any before it all disappeared! We can't recommend Cakes by Gray enough!
doolw
will never eat here. made a reservation through Resy and canceled it within 3.5 hours of my reservation. my husband was very ill on our trip from Raleigh to Asheville so I canceled as soon as I could while we were driving. when we got to the hotel, he was feeling better so i went back to resy to see if I could still get a reservation. Rosabees was booked. so they booked my time slot and STILL charged me $50!! I contacted the owner Melissa Gray about the issue and she didn’t even have the decency to respond. So my plans in Asheville will never be at this restaurant. Good riddance.
TampaGirl04
My husband and I tried a lot of restaurants in Asheville during our recent trip but on the last night we left our kids at our rental and had a date night at RosaBees. Everything we ate was absolutely fantastic. The Mai Tai and Island Style Old Fashioned were strong and refreshing and the spring rolls were hot, crispy, and flavorful. My husband raved about the Poke Bowl and savored each bite. I loved my perfectly cooked teriyaki beef with grilled pineapple, wasabi mashed potatoes, and crispy green beans. It was excellent. And our coconut cream and banana cream mini pies for dessert were both delicious. We thought we would take some home for the kids but we actually finished both pies. We were in Hawaii recently and this food brought back some good memories. We agreed that it was the best, most flavorful meal we’ve had in a long time.
NorthStar16866646432
Our first time at Rosabee’s and we were blown away by the food, deserts, and service! I usually don’t write reviews but I had to after last night’s dinner. From the moment we walked in everyone was friendly and accommodating and we were seated at a table where We met our server Chloe. She was so friendly and warm, and is a star , which added to the experience. Our appetizers and main courses were some of the best I’ve ever tasted, and then came the choices for desert. Even though we were full, with the owner being also a pastry chef, we had to try one, and then we saw this other layer cake and also ordered it! WOW! If you are going to Asheville don’t miss this gem and ask for Chloe!
Lauren Sholar
Unfortunately I did not have a good experience with Cakes by Gray. My wedding was in March, 2022 for 25 guests. I contacted Melissa in November, 2021 to ask if she would do my wedding cake and some desserts and she agreed. I wanted an exact replica of a cake/display she had done before. She was VERY unresponsive and unprofessional. I would contact her multiple times (emails and texts) over the next few months and she would NOT get back to me in a timely manner. When she did respond, she would ask the same questions over and over (that I've already answered multiple times) about what I wanted. It took her over 2 months to give me a price quote (and that was with me constantly messaging her). It was such an unprofessional experience that I went ahead with another baker and I'm SOOOO glad I did. I wouldn't use Cakes by Gray because there are much more professional bakers available.
lrpubl
The pics when tesearching looked amazing. We were stoked. The Lumpina spring roll appetizer had scant filling and was greasy for $9. The std salad was very good, bright clean tasting. The scallops were 3, and were cooked well, best dish of the 4 I had bby back ribs, were overcooked and dry, sauce was spicy and tast y, a shame. This style of rib should fall off the bone, not here. Sides were ok. Pork belly bowl was cooked well, crispy, smokey. The poke ahi bowl was unremarkable. The Mai Tai was amazing, I should have stopped there, one of the best mixed drinks I've had. $20 for desert, we passed. Overall nor so great, maybe off night, but didn't come close to our expectations and definitely not for the bill.
The excellent and fresh dishes prepared here will draw me back. Hawaiian and Polynesian food uniquely crafted and beautifully presented. Small but wonderfully good!
Elyssa & James Skonicki
AMAZING. Everybody has talked about our dessert table/cake and I don’t blame them. It was easily one of the things I was looking forward to the most when it came to our reception. Everything tasted sooo good, just as we expected from the yummy tasting we had. If we were local, I’d go through Melissa any chance I got. Thank you for everything! Highly recommend!
Susannah Young
Melissa and her team are shining stars! Our experience working with her was amazing, start-to-finish: the tasting made us feel like medieval kings; there were so many different types of cake, curd and buttercream to try and I think we experimented with just about every flavor combination under the sun. If you like traditional flavors, her versions are on point—but she really shines when it comes to adventurous flavors and desserts for folks like me who aren’t really dessert people. Months later, I’m still thinking about our cake—lemon cake with lavender buttercream, and vanilla cake with grapefruit curd and rosemary buttercream. And how about that buttercream pigeon painting on the bottom layer? Just a dream. She’s in high demand for obvious reasons so book early!
Karen N
My husband and I are midwesterners (meat/potato people) so we wanted to try something outside of our comfort zone, and this is THE place to do it. We ate octopus, raw salmon, pickled veggies, wasabi mashed potatoes, and a bunch of other things and I am still dreaming about it. My husband was saying "I hate wasabi" right up until he tasted my mashed potatoes and then I had to share. We ordered several things and shared them and that is what I recommend if you go here because you will want to taste everything. And I ordered the mango tart to go and ate it the next day, it was incredible. If we travel back to Asheville we will be eating here again.
Laurin Curtis
Melissa of Cakes by Gray is AMAZING. She threw together the most amazing cake flavors I've ever tasted in a pinch and was incredibly attentive and helpful, despite running TWO businesses in the (sort of) post-pandemic rush of a billion wedding reschedules and the madness that goes along with it. Thank you Melissa!
Unique and great quality restaurant in the Art district. Great cocktails, apps and entrees. Ingredients were all fresh, the combinations were very flavorful and satisfying. All the offerings had a great Hawaiian influence with enough variety to please everyone. It was a satisfying dining experience with enough variety without being an overly heavy meal. This is our new local favorite.
Very unique Polynesian/Hawaiian menu and drinks. Service was extremely rushed. In fact, our main dish came out while we were still eating our appetizers. $160 fast food meal!!!!!!
Absolutely outstanding! The food is amazing and GET THE DESSERT! The owner is a pastry chef and many of the desserts are gluten-free as well! Definitely worth a stop when you are in the area. We had the Mochiko Chicken and the Poke Bowl- service was also excellent!
This is higher end prices but worth every penny. Very creative and original food offerings, high-quality ingredients, good wine, great ambiance, great service. Be aware that many restaurants are adding a kitchen tip (3% in this case). We are local and will be back. My daughter had the gourmet burger, I had had the garlic shrimp, and my husband had a type of ramen. We ordered an amazing smore dessert and right-side up pineapple cake as well. If you are a fine dining fan every single offering has its charm and the quality and care put into the food is terrific.
If you want a unique and delicious wedding cake, Melissa of Cakes by Gray should be your first choice! Her tasting was fun, interactive, and so creative. Her flavors span from traditional to wild and you get to be the driver of how creative you want the cake to be. Our wedding cake turned out beautifully, and all of our guests absolutely loved the exciting flavors. Our favorite flavor combo had to be the almond cake, pineapple curd, and lavender buttercream. The chocolate cake with cherry jam and black pepper buttercream was a crowd favorite - we actually didn't even get to have any before it all disappeared! We can't recommend Cakes by Gray enough!
will never eat here. made a reservation through Resy and canceled it within 3.5 hours of my reservation. my husband was very ill on our trip from Raleigh to Asheville so I canceled as soon as I could while we were driving. when we got to the hotel, he was feeling better so i went back to resy to see if I could still get a reservation. Rosabees was booked. so they booked my time slot and STILL charged me $50!! I contacted the owner Melissa Gray about the issue and she didn’t even have the decency to respond. So my plans in Asheville will never be at this restaurant. Good riddance.
My husband and I tried a lot of restaurants in Asheville during our recent trip but on the last night we left our kids at our rental and had a date night at RosaBees. Everything we ate was absolutely fantastic. The Mai Tai and Island Style Old Fashioned were strong and refreshing and the spring rolls were hot, crispy, and flavorful. My husband raved about the Poke Bowl and savored each bite. I loved my perfectly cooked teriyaki beef with grilled pineapple, wasabi mashed potatoes, and crispy green beans. It was excellent. And our coconut cream and banana cream mini pies for dessert were both delicious. We thought we would take some home for the kids but we actually finished both pies. We were in Hawaii recently and this food brought back some good memories. We agreed that it was the best, most flavorful meal we’ve had in a long time.
Our first time at Rosabee’s and we were blown away by the food, deserts, and service! I usually don’t write reviews but I had to after last night’s dinner. From the moment we walked in everyone was friendly and accommodating and we were seated at a table where We met our server Chloe. She was so friendly and warm, and is a star , which added to the experience. Our appetizers and main courses were some of the best I’ve ever tasted, and then came the choices for desert. Even though we were full, with the owner being also a pastry chef, we had to try one, and then we saw this other layer cake and also ordered it! WOW! If you are going to Asheville don’t miss this gem and ask for Chloe!
Unfortunately I did not have a good experience with Cakes by Gray. My wedding was in March, 2022 for 25 guests. I contacted Melissa in November, 2021 to ask if she would do my wedding cake and some desserts and she agreed. I wanted an exact replica of a cake/display she had done before. She was VERY unresponsive and unprofessional. I would contact her multiple times (emails and texts) over the next few months and she would NOT get back to me in a timely manner. When she did respond, she would ask the same questions over and over (that I've already answered multiple times) about what I wanted. It took her over 2 months to give me a price quote (and that was with me constantly messaging her). It was such an unprofessional experience that I went ahead with another baker and I'm SOOOO glad I did. I wouldn't use Cakes by Gray because there are much more professional bakers available.
The pics when tesearching looked amazing. We were stoked. The Lumpina spring roll appetizer had scant filling and was greasy for $9. The std salad was very good, bright clean tasting. The scallops were 3, and were cooked well, best dish of the 4 I had bby back ribs, were overcooked and dry, sauce was spicy and tast y, a shame. This style of rib should fall off the bone, not here. Sides were ok. Pork belly bowl was cooked well, crispy, smokey. The poke ahi bowl was unremarkable. The Mai Tai was amazing, I should have stopped there, one of the best mixed drinks I've had. $20 for desert, we passed. Overall nor so great, maybe off night, but didn't come close to our expectations and definitely not for the bill.
Restaurantji Recommends
The excellent and fresh dishes prepared here will draw me back. Hawaiian and Polynesian food uniquely crafted and beautifully presented. Small but wonderfully good!
AMAZING. Everybody has talked about our dessert table/cake and I don’t blame them. It was easily one of the things I was looking forward to the most when it came to our reception. Everything tasted sooo good, just as we expected from the yummy tasting we had. If we were local, I’d go through Melissa any chance I got. Thank you for everything! Highly recommend!
Melissa and her team are shining stars! Our experience working with her was amazing, start-to-finish: the tasting made us feel like medieval kings; there were so many different types of cake, curd and buttercream to try and I think we experimented with just about every flavor combination under the sun. If you like traditional flavors, her versions are on point—but she really shines when it comes to adventurous flavors and desserts for folks like me who aren’t really dessert people. Months later, I’m still thinking about our cake—lemon cake with lavender buttercream, and vanilla cake with grapefruit curd and rosemary buttercream. And how about that buttercream pigeon painting on the bottom layer? Just a dream. She’s in high demand for obvious reasons so book early!
My husband and I are midwesterners (meat/potato people) so we wanted to try something outside of our comfort zone, and this is THE place to do it. We ate octopus, raw salmon, pickled veggies, wasabi mashed potatoes, and a bunch of other things and I am still dreaming about it. My husband was saying "I hate wasabi" right up until he tasted my mashed potatoes and then I had to share. We ordered several things and shared them and that is what I recommend if you go here because you will want to taste everything. And I ordered the mango tart to go and ate it the next day, it was incredible. If we travel back to Asheville we will be eating here again.
Melissa of Cakes by Gray is AMAZING. She threw together the most amazing cake flavors I've ever tasted in a pinch and was incredibly attentive and helpful, despite running TWO businesses in the (sort of) post-pandemic rush of a billion wedding reschedules and the madness that goes along with it. Thank you Melissa!