Romano's Macaroni Grill

FIrst visit last night and I was so impressed........Wine, excellent.  My dish of Roasted Eggplant Quadratini was out of this world.  The bread was warm and soft and our waiter was right there.  They also leave nice ice old water on the table so you can refill anytime you want.
We, a party of 6, were VERY pleased!!!  Prices comparable with other places, What is up with the negative reviews???  
Everyone tried something different and we all were very pleased with service, food, everything.  They were ready for us with the reservation we made.  
They have a little variety of everything!!

I'm really surprised at the negative reviews for this place. Personally, I'm a fan. I've been here several times and each time has been great. On a whim, we decided to come here on a Saturday night which is pretty busy anywhere you go. Knowing that, we decided to call ahead. Wait time for a table was 45 minutes, so we asked if we could make a reservation. They asked for a time and said it was okay. That may have been because it would be about 45 minutes until we got there, but at least this ensured that we would have a table upon arriving.

It's a pretty nice area with wine bottles lined everywhere and a kitchen you can see into. The tables are lined with paper and the waiters draw their name in crayon. They also leave the crayons behind so you can doodle which helps pass the time. I ordered the chicken parm for $13. While we waited for our food, we were served some bread which was one of the best breads I've ever had. It's drizzled in olive oil and salt and has such a great flavor to it and it's super fresh. Dip it in some more oil and please your tastebuds.

It did take a while for our food to come but they were pretty busy. I probably should have ordered some wine to make the time go by even faster! But the food is worth the wait. Fresh mozzarella cheese melted on three pieces of lightly breaded chicken and some thin pasta on the side. Grilled cherry tomatoes on top gave it a nice, sweet touch. I probably could have finished my meal, but I wanted to bring some home to have for lunch the next day.

Definitely don't expect to be in and out very quickly, but if you have time and enjoy yourself, you'll have a good time.

"Are you on any time constraints?" was one of the questions the host asked us as we were getting seated to ensure we would still enjoy the dining experience (which we did).

The lights in the restaurant were dimmed for the ambience. The rest of the restaurant was pretty open. You could see the kitchen if you peered over the railings. Also, there are a few crayons on the table. The server writes his or her name on there, which I think is a great idea. I don't know how many times I've gone out and barely remember the name or face of who is serving us. Aside from that, it's fun to doodle =)

Our server seemed new, and a tad nervous, but did well - pointing us to the new options on the menu and letting us know the specials. We asked for a sample of the wine, which they did that for us, to ensure we even liked it before ordering the bottle. By the way, it's 1/2 off select bottles of wine on Thursdays.

Fun fact on that - if you finish the bottle, you can sign it and they will put it on display on their shelves in the restaurant. They're obviously not going to force you if that's not something you want to do. That was pretty neat; though I thought of it as a hall of fame for "wine-o's" =P Hah.

I really like the portions of food here. After indulging in nearly 2 loaves of bread and a clam chowder soup (all shared of course), we shared a caprese salad and the penne rustica. It brought us to the right amount of "full-and-happy-stomachs". The bread they give you is pretty delicious when dipped in the olive oil that's sprinkled with cracked pepper... yum!

The clam chowder was great too, very thick and chunky (my fave). I wished there was more balsamic on the caprese salad. Otherwise, the dish was great with the stack of cheese and tomato. The penne was decadent with the chicken, shrimp AND prosciutto mixed into it. Again, yum!

For me, they have it right. I favor this place over Olive Garden (if you can even compare the 2) for mix of flavors, ambience and portion sizing.