Roman’s

Delicious food and knowledgable/​attentive waitstaff, but I found the portions to be quite small. I ate half of their crostini appetizer and paccheri pasta entrée, which were delicious! But I was still hungry after the meal, which isn’t my preference after spending $ 70+ on a meal.

The best in fort Greene, hands down. The menu is changing a lot– and is strong in its simplicity. There’s always a great appetizer– beet, burrata and blood orange dish was phenomenal. The pastas are worth trying — always simple, always good. The wine list is very comprehensive and the staff very knowledgeable about it.
Definitely worth going to.

Simple, wooden, rustic interior. Helpful staff. A changing menu, which is pretty brilliant if you want to hook in the local crowd (which most seemed to be on a Sunday evening).
The Baccala Mantecato was a group favorite. Also loved the Fried Eggplant. The olive plate was plentiful. Solid bread for the table. Very good Parpadelle with Pork Ragu. I can’t say the portions are large (because they are not) or the prices low, but manageable on both accounts.
Good, inventive food in a welcoming environment. Definitely a neighborhood staple.

Daily changing menu and great vibe makes this a neighborhood darling. Love the food. Bruschetta is always a delight. There’s a reason why it’s tough to squeeze in on the weekends!

We expected the place to be better. Ordered a salad and pasta. The salad was good. When the pasta arrived we were stunned by the portion size. Pretty much the smallest I ever saw coming to the table. After pointing it out to the waiter he brought us another plate. The food was good, so was the service but you’d expect more than half a plate of pasta for 18 $…

A neighborhood gem. Wonderful cocktails, food and service.

I’ve been walking by Roman’s for over a year and it was long past time to try it out. I probably won’t be back – it wasn’t SO bad but there are so many other fantastic spots in Fort Greene that it seems pointless to go back. My biggest issue was the service, it took about 35-​ish minutes to order our meal (and we were eating pretty late on a Sunday night so it wasn’t exactly slammed – though to be fair it was somewhat crowded). It seemed to also take disproportionately long to receive our drinks, dishes, pay etc. But the lag time was also highlighted by the fact that the table next to us was clearly Marlow & Sons insiders and servers kept stopping by to chat with them – while we were still waiting for more water, to pay etc. That was quite annoying, and to top it off I think the food was only so-​so. My boyfriend’s braised beef dish with ramps was fantastic (and I was jealous) but my pork ragu was rather dry. We also split an order of bruschetta which I typically take to be bread with a topping but note that it’s simply grilled bread in olive oil. Fine but nothing exciting. If you want Italian in this neck of the woods, go to Dino, or to most of the other spots on DeKalb. I think you’ll have a better time.

Romans was very well decorated and the staff was very pleasant! We got there with 5 mins to spare before they closed the kitchen in order to cross over to the dinner menu. They weren’t rude and the food came out very timely. We had a wonderful time and I’m happy we made it in time to enjoy our meal.

Everything was delicious and the service was fantastic.

The food. The food! And the servers are knowledgable, smart, funny and cool. This place does it right.

I feel that italian restaurants that are expensive are really unjustifiable. You can make amazing italian food without overcharging. It’s not that Roman’s is extremely expensive but for what you pay good eaters like me will find themselves thinking «uhmm is this all?».
The ambience is great, will work for a romantic dinner and also with friends. And the parppardelle with ragu that i had were really good.

WE went there for a late dinner and were pleasantly surprised. We will be back.

This is a Fort Greene gem with very warm, romantic atmosphere and excellent food. Menu changes all the time, so hard to get bored, but variations on very good Italian. Often come here before shows at BAM, which is not far away. Wine list is quite good, but short on moderate priced options. If you are coming on Friday or Saturday could be in for a long wait. During the week usually not bad.

Wow, what a disappointment. I went here for dinner with my husband and two friends. We didn’t have to wait for a table, which was great so at least we didn’t waste our money AND our time. This place is pretentious and the staff were rude. And for the record, the four of us know what a good restaurant should be. We aren’t hillbillies, tourists or mutants although you wouldn’t know that based on how we were treated.
All rudeness aside, the food was just not that good. The pasta my husband ordered was too salty and the entrée I ordered didn’t seem to come together on the plate. I don’t remember how my entrée was described on the menu but it was basically a slab of ham and a salad. I realize the menu changes every day so maybe we had bad luck… but this place is too expensive to have an off night. I hate spending $ 100+ on dinner and feeling cheated which is exactly how I felt after this meal.

Dined at Roman’s last night.
The menu is limited but high in quality.
The Burrata was exceptional but they skimmed on the portion.
We shared the beet salad, which was light and flavorful, the pork pasta and the 8oz Strip Steak ($ 32), all of which were above average.
The only reason I’m reluctant to give Roman’s more stars (décor=cute, service=attentive + knowledgeable, wine list=fine) is the dessert. We ordered two ice creams scoops, chocolate and blueberry. They were both homemade (impressive) and very delightful. However… my fucking jaw fell off my face when I saw the bill.
They had the audacity to charge $ 9 for a scoop of ice cream. I could get a fucking pint at Laboratorio for less and I promise it’d be equally satisfying, if not more. Look, I’m not the kind of person to who’s gonna say something at the end of a meal, but seriously, $ 9 for 1 medium size scoop? Talk about buyers remorse. And it’s not like it’s printed on a dessert menu for you to see. The server verbals the desserts of the day and you think, «hot summer night+ice cream=good idea.» But it wasn’t, not for $ 18.
Will we return?
Yes.
Will we order the ice cream again?
Definitely not.
At the end of the story, dinner was $ 158 for two, plus $ 30 tip.
Not exactly an inexpensive meal but almost worth it.

Mmmmmm Nom Nom!
Check out the menu prior to going as it changes everyday.
So yea, you can go every day.

We are not coming back. Here’s the bad and the good:
We were a party of 8 and they had us wait over TWO hours for a table squeezed in the back when there were three empty tables of four in the front that could have easily accommodated us. I guess we weren’t beautiful enough.
So there we were, squeezed into our table and the deal was «we need you to order your entire meal now, no apps first then dinner etc.».
Rushed…,
Prices are outrageous! Ran out of 8 oz steak for $ 30 so they substituted a larger steak for $ 38 instead of honoring the original price quoted. We had to ask for bread…
And for the good: The food is very good. Delmonico steak; blue fish; pasta; duck confit. The setting is very pretty: wood tables, chandeliers, candles. Don’t be fooled by the outside-​the inside is lovely.
The service is whatever they want it to be. It’s not customer oriented that’s for sure. Just doesn’t rate a return trip.

So we wandered in here on a busy Friday night, and were extremely glad we did :) Delightful service, great buzz and the food was gorgeous.
Tuscan kale and bean soup was rustic and hearty, yet gorgeously balanced, with perfect bread to accompany it — do you know how hard it is to find authentic crusty Italian bread that manages to be more than *just* crust?!
It was simple Italian cooking at its best, using top quality ingredients — the olive oil kissing the edges of the bowl was nothing short of divine! Husband’s «caciocavallo» was basically glorified cheese on toast, but cooked to giddy heights, the richness of the fried bread perfectly complementing the kick from the flavorful goat’s cheese and the lightness of the fresh salad on top.
Entrees were equally delicious — I had several enormous, beautifully cooked shrimp in another sauce to die for — but it was sadly somewhat marred for me by the fact that they a) did not provide a separate dish for me to put the shrimp shells in, and b) just getting the shell off the whole shrimp was an unexpectedly arduous task… it was like the shells themselves had actually been fused into the (admittedly lovely) flesh below!
It’s a shame, because it tasted sublime. I just seemed to spend an awful lot longer wrestling with the shrimp than eating them! Husband had scallops, and pronounced them exquisite. I tried a bit of the accompanying veg on his dish, and was blown away :)
The cocktails — one sour, one bitter — were imaginatively composed and brilliantly executed. So moreish! And then the bitter chocolate sorbet dessert with sea salt… OOF. I’m going to dream about that one tonight. Don’t get one to share — you won’t want to!
It’s definitely a «special occasion» place, at least for us — it’s pricey, but worth it!
PS: If you’re on a date, I’d advise going mid-​week, when it’s quieter — the atmosphere is bound to be a lot more romantic when you don’t have to compete with the table next to you to be heard… and I’d avoid the shrimp, unless messy fingers are your *thing*… ;)

While I was initially unimpressed by this establishment and overwhelmed with what I perceived to be pretension and pomposity run amok, this place slowly but surely revealed itself to be a strong contender for my personal title of Fort Greenes best restaurant. This place takes the whole locavore, seasonal farm-​to-​table deal to pretty much the furthest possible degree. The small simple menu, which is really Italian-​meets New Brooklyn American, seemingly changes to some degree every day. Seasonal farmers market ingredients are featured often thru out the menu in the traditional Italian course arrangement, often in austere minimalist preparations. The pastas are usually a great bet, simple yet delicious ones Ive tried include a Bucatini with Block Island Sardines that tasted briny and fresh and as bracing as the early spring sea of that time. In th depths of winter I had a hearty and rich Lasagna that warmed the soul. More recently in the early summer I had a mind blowing burrata with braised fennel which tasted about as fresh as any dish I have ever had.
Now my initial concerns regarding the attitude heavy self satisfied service was not completely unfounded. The staff can be a bit much in the most «New Brooklyn» way possible. The simple and perfectly prepared food makes it well worth it however and luckily the same quality translates to the cocktails here, which can certainly help make dealing with the smugness easier.

Fantastic choice for a fancy meal/​splurge/​special occasion. I came early on a Tuesday evening and enjoyed an unforgettable meal.
I ordered the spaghetti with artichoke & rosemary, which was beyond amazing. The bread and wine were both equally delicious. The roasted chicken though? It’s quite possibly the best roast chicken I have EVER eaten. The meatballs were also stellar.
Oh, and do not leave without trying the dark chocolate sorbet. Trust me.
It’s a little on the pricey side, but it’s worth every penny. Service was also just as impressive. Love.