Romansa Cafe Inc

Very friendly service, food was excellent and cosy atmosphere. Will def. go back.

Mediocre food, slow service,  little atmosphere ...waste of time and money--despite having a coupon!  Arrived on a "Poker night", when they turned up all the house lights (NOT a pretty sight!!) and pretty well wrecked any attempt at atmosphere.  Smoke wafting in from front outside area smelled almost like it was a smoking restaurant!
Food specialties were Serbo-Croat but now overly flavorful. Portions somewhat small and pricey for what we received. Service was pretty slow, despite being only one of 2 or 3 tables eating--rest was bar crowd, either drinking at bar and/or waiting for the poker games to begin.

Another one of those "Really - you're a restaurant in my backyard, and I didn't know you existed!!"

Romansa is of Serbian/Croatian pedigree, but the menu is Balkan-European eclectic, and beyond.  I'm not sure if they've decided they want to be a sub-shop or a DINING establishment, but they have everything from gyros to wiener schnitzel.  They were quiet when we went this Saturday evening.  Apparently, they have on tap Yuen Ling (and other nondescript but famous American brand(s) that starts with the second letter of the alphabet during Happy Hour for a buck a draught.)  Not a bad start, right?  The decor and equipment also suggests that this place turns into dance-club cum party town later on in the evening, but a 6:30, the only hint of that is found in the techno-pop that blasts through the speakers, a little too conspicuously, truth be known..  I get the impression that they're trying to be a lot of things to a lot of people.  But let's see what the FOOD is like.  That's the main thing when you go to a restaurant, right?

We settled on the mahi for me and shrimp scampi for my wife ($15 a piece, incld. house salad and garlic bread).  We thought we'd try their bruschetta to see how far the Italian influence extends.  It irked me a little though, that they brought out the salad and garlic bread AHEAD of an item they put under "Appetizer".  In other words, it was salad and garlic bread first, and THEN they brought out the bruschetta!  I can half forgive the bruschetta having cheese on top (a sign of authenticity lacking, or perhaps a capitulation to the clientele).  The salad was of the iceberg variety, but thank goodness it was fresh.  For beverage,  my wife picked a pinot gris, which I pronounced prominently good, especially when it comes in one of those 3-gallon bottles (OK - it's a 1.5 L bottle) and costs only $4.50 - drinks almost like a NZ SV!  So I laid into a couple of those after the beer.

Dinner came while we were still munching on the salad.  I took pix of both dishes.  The mahi portion was a little on the small side.  It was pan-fried and reasonably fresh, but a little under-seasoned (NOT a huge issue, since I'd rather it be under than over).  The so-called shrimp scampis are a nudge on the small side (must be 31+ size), but they were tasty and fresh.  It came on a bed of linguini, which was also fairly well prepared.  I ordered my fish with steamed broccoli, and was a little disappointed they they were quite butter-laden - there's a reason we ordered steamed vegetables, and putting on weight isn't it!

All in all, not a bad experience overall, but the jury is kind of still out.  would like to come back to try some of the more authentic dishes.  If you're in this neck of the woods (SR 434 just west of 17-92 on the northside in the only big mall there is), give them a try.  They have some interesting burgers for a very good price: half-pound chopped sirloin, supposedly priced between $5 and $6!  I could find a very good reason not to cook during happy hour, downing one of those and a couple of cold ones!

p.s. Stupidly left my sunglasses at the table.  Server Christy was on the horn within minutes of my arriving home.  Always put your name/phone number inside such items unless you're not at all prone to such incidents.  Thanks, Christy.