Romano’s Macaroni Grill

Had a create your own pasta… it was a snooze. Just plain olé boring. My Partner has the Fettucine said it was dull and bland. The Manager kept coming by our table trying to get some kind of reaction from us… we answered like Zombies because the atmosphere was like Night of the Living Dead… dark and drab with lifeless Servers. You could hear pin drop on Sunday afternoon.

I ordered the sampler… so much food! I didn’t even touch my lasagna but it made wonderful leftovers when I heated it up the next day. Our sever was funny and friendly and the food was great. I will happily be returning.

Service was awful — the servers walk around like they have all the time in you world. Our food sat on the counter for over 7 minutes before it was brought to us; it was cold and dry. Then I found a piece of unidentifiable food in my dish. The manager came back and told me it was part of their mushroom mix but it wasn’t. It was meat and it was raw! You couldn’t even cut it with a fork. The manager was nice enough to take care of the bill… But she was probably hoping I didn’t take that piece of meat with me and make a bigger deal… I think it’s just a matter of time before all Macaroni Grills close they are all so gross. Do yourself a favor, drive a little further on providence and try Portofinos if you want Italian.

We eat here several times a year. This is excellent italian food. The «create your own pasta» menu choice is a hit with us — you can choose from several types of pasta, sauces, veggies, and sausage or meatballs. The salmon and shrimp scampi dinners are outstanding as well. Maggiano’s is still at the top of my list for italian, but Romano’s is a close second.

The food here is excellent and consistent; especially for a large chain. This is a family favorite since its nearby and quick. Service is the only area that is lacking. Over the years, service has been very inconsistent. Usually servers are very forgetful of things. Missing silverware, missing pepper for foccai bread, missing items ordered, etc. Host/​hostess has been very good. Bar area is decent on service, although usually short staffed when busy.
Kids love it so we keep coming back.

Service was much better than the University location but, the bread wasnt ready so we waited a long time for it. Food was ok. My wife’s order was not totally right. She did the Pasta Your Way and they gave her the wrong pasta and forgot the meatballs (which we were charged for initially). We chose not to complain because our waitress was running around like crazy because she was the only one waiting on tables with a little help from the manager. There were two other waitresses that were just standing around. We suspect they weren’t on the clock, but the perception was bad.

The best part about this visit was the server. He was polite and had a great sense of humor! The food was low quality. The fried macaroni ball thing was too greasy and completely falls apart. The pasta tasted like something I could make at home. The lobster ravioli was lacking flavor, however, it was cooked well. The service was really slow and I would not go back if it were my choice.

It appears that Macaroni Grill suffers from what a lot of chain restaurants seem to be suffering from lately: familiarity. They start out fantastic, get a fan base, expand, and then decide to let things slide because they think people won’t notice and will come again and again regardless.
The first insult came a few years ago when they got rid of what was my favorite dish (farfalle al sugo bianco). I asked a server about it the first time I noticed it missing from the menu. They weren’t sure why either because it was a guest favorite. Huh. First sign of decline: you get rid of one of your most popular dishes that make people want to return.
I’ve noticed they’ve tried to mix up their menu from time to time, even trying specials/​dishes that similar Italian restaurant chains are offering to try to get people to come in. Second sign of decline: trying to be like everyone else instead of standing out on your own merit.
We were offered a free sample of their house wine. It was good, but when we told our server that we didn’t want to order a glass, she took our samples away before we could finish! Wow. No buyee, no drinkee.
We tried their fried zucchini appetizer to start. It was pretty bland. I realize that zucchini doesn’t have a lot of flavor. But that’s why you season it, to bring out its flavor. I guess Macaroni Grill doesn’t realize that, though. Even the marinara dipping sauce tasted unseasoned. If you want fried zucchini done right, you have to go to Leroy Fox.
Thankfully, Macaroni Grill still makes delicious rosemary-​flavored bread that they bring complimentary to the tables to dip in olive oil. I remember when they used to pour the olive oil into a dish for you; I guess that’s out, too. Third sign of decline: no longer offering a service that you used to offer (and people remember).
Our dinners took FOREVER to come. And the restaurant wasn’t even that busy. It was about ²⁄₃ full at a maximum. Fourth sign of decline: your dinners take longer than they should to arrive and there’s no manager walking around the floor apologizing for the delay or trying to help/​speed things up.
I ordered their new Buffalo Chicken Parmesan as my entrée. It said it came with calabrian peppers, celery, a gorgonzola cream sauce and capellini pasta, which I changed to farfalle (bowties). The chicken tasted decent, although not exceptional. The pasta and cream sauce was a disappointment. There were a couple of BIG chunks of crunchy celery in it (I would have sliced it thin if making this dish at home) and only 3 tiny slices of calabrian peppers (which wasn’t nearly enough). I found one chunk of gorgonzola cheese, where I think all the flavor was, because the rest was just a plain cream sauce with no distinct gorgonzola flavor. If you want to know what a gorgonzola cream sauce should taste like, go to Hawthorne’s Pizza for their sausage and gorgonzola pasta dish. It is out of this world.
Others in my dinner party were similarly disappointed with their entrees. My partner ordered the Brick Chicken to try to order on the healthy side. He said it was extremely greasy and not very flavorful. Mission unaccomplished. His daughter ordered the Parmesan-​Crusted Chicken Salad which looked big and amazing when it was delivered, but later she wondered where the «greens» were that were promised in the description. It looked like they used cabbage instead. Seriously? This isn’t coleslaw. It’s a salad. They ran out and someone couldn’t run over to the grocery store? Lame. Fifth sign of decline: running out of ingredients and substituting with something completely different, hoping the customer won’t notice.
After waiting too long for our dinners, we then waited for too long to have our dishes cleared, boxes for leftovers, and the check. We were just ready to go.
Macaroni Grill used to be my go-​to Italian restaurant. I can safely say that it is no longer even on our list of options for the future. I have to break up with them. It’s not me, it’s you.

On 3÷29÷15, my credit card tip of $ 10 was changed to $ 20. I noticed the difference in my account 2 days later. It took well over a month, over ten calls and an email to corporate to get a copy of my altered credit card receipt. The management at the Promenade clearly did not care enough to return my calls and get me a copy of my signed credit card receipt in a timely manner. They did refund my $ 10.

Yet again another atrocious experience at macaroni grill… first of all we were sat in the back room where the thermostat was set to a frigid 65 degrees. I’m normally a hot natured person but today I was so cold I had to put my arms inside my shirt for half of the experience so I didn’t feel like I was freezing to death. One of the many sloppy dressed waiters wearing jeans asked if we wanted bread and it took us three times of asking again to actually get it. I asked for my salad dressing on the side and of course it wasn’t, there was so much dressing I couldn’t even taste my salad and it was sopping wet but I was literally too hungry at this point to have them make another. Overall very disappointed. Hard to say which was worse the service or the food.

This restaurant is in distress — food and service are untimely and ill prepared. Don’t recommend it until qualified cooks and servers are hired with proper training from management and a public apology from owners.

In the way of chains, it’s actually not bad! The house wine was ok, nothing special but pretty darn special considering this is a chain. The bread and olive oil was my favorite part of the meal, well really the olive oil. I honestly don’t remember much about my entrée except that it was salty, greasy food you would expect from a chain restaurant, but in a good way! For the price, it was great. We are not talking a knock your socks off meal but that’s not what you came here for, is it? Good option for a quick lunch before, after or in between shopping. Decent kid options too.

I would give this place zero stars if I could. The time I went before this one, my food took over an hour to make it to the table, and when it did; it was cold and the Manager could not care less.
Today, I decided to give them one more chance, we ordered chicken Parmesan and fatbread (yes, I spelled it right) the chicken was BURN, fatbread was blah. What’s wrong with quality check at this restaurant!!! Poor poor poor experience, don’t go!!!

I now understand why this place has such terrible reviews. I can’t comment on the food because we never got a chance to try it. My boyfriend and I walked in and were seated almost immediately. That is pretty much all we did. We sat for fifteen minutes and not one person came to our table. There were only 5 other tables in the restaurant which should have tipped us off. The final straw was when three of the servers looked right at my boyfriend and then looked away. We walked out, right past the manager, who said nothing. Never again.

Slow service but the food was excellent. We had the zuchinni appetizer, eggplant parmigiano, seafood pasta, and lasagna. All were fabulous.

My wife and I went to MG on Friday 8÷8÷14 at 6:15 PM. Sat there 15 mins
Before our waiter appeared. Ordered chicken parm. Forty minutes later still no food and they wouldn’t even produce a manager! We got up and left.
This will be our last time.

For about 10+ years my family has gone to macaroni grill often and for special occasions like birthdays. Over the last 2 to 3 years the restaurant has been in a steady decline in terms of quality. Our most recent and last visit included the new «half pound meatball dishes» which ended up absolutely nothing like the picture for the TV advertisement. First, the pound of food was about 4 ounces of meatball and 12 ounces of pasta. Second, the pasta lacked flavor and in my case only had a few pieces of sliced mushroom. Everyone at our table was not happy with their meal after having given the restaurant tour three visit chances. The bread is still good, the key on today is good and the waitstaff continue to be relatively decent. Unfortunately, this is the last time and there are other similar options whereby the food is much better and they seem to care more.

My first time ever eating at a Romano’s MG. The group I was with said the food was great. I ordered Lasagna (only) for $ 13.00 and was not impressed at all, actually disappointed. The portion was extremely small and half of the 2 layers of noodles on top, were overdone and crunchy, inedible! Thankfully, their bread was good, with real butter. The service was great and the atmosphere was great but I have no desire to return.
I think you get a much better deal at Olive Garden, portion and money wise. I’m very honest when I say this and actually, a little bit embarrassed but the frozen lasagna at Aldi from Bremer was much, much better all around.

There is a lot about this place that I do like. We can start there. Service is pretty impeccable. Our server was very attentive, yet not overly attentive. Our group, consisting of two couples, had nothing but compliments and tipped accordingly. The décor and atmosphere work. The specials on wine (Tuesday night) were great– about $ 2.50(?) for a glass of either house red or white.
The food and corresponding prices just didn’t do it for me. I feel like Olive Garden is a better bargain. Portions were generally pretty small, whereas you might get 2 times as much at OG.
Overall, I’m not a huge fan of any Americanized Italian joint, let alone one where I don’t find much value in my order. So yeah, I’m a little impartial regardless. I guess if your looking for a decent meal and not too concerned with cost or the portion sizes, it is probably a decent place to grab a makeshift Italian bite. There are a good variety of dishes here too.

Nice quiet Wednesday evening to visit Macaroni Grill. Was the first time I had been there in probably a decade, so my expectations were all over the place.
They still have the white paper table-​tops and crayons, which is great, gotta love that. No longer do they have the giant jugs of house wine and the «honor system» for self-​service. So while that’s a bit of a change, they did try to upgrade their house wine to a Sangiovese-​Chianti blend which is a bit more in line with what they’re trying to accomplish here.
The stuffed mushrooms were pretty typical as was the calimari for appetizers. The bibb and blue salad was solid and included some pancetta and crispy onions on top making the salad exceed the expectation of a bag of lettuce and some carrots.
My salmon was overcooked, but seasoned nicely. Honestly, I don’t expect them to have mind-​blowing salmon, and this was amicable. I swapped the standard sun-​dried tomato orzo for a mushroom risotto which was actually a little undercooked, but still tasty.
The other folks at the table enjoyed their meals, and their experience, so overall was a good experience and actually exceeded the expectations.
Waiter, Clay did a good job, and was quite accommodating to even my 2-​year old, kudos to him and the rest of the waitstaff which did a nice job.