Roma Imports

Love, love, love this place!
On my way to get my emissions testing done, I picked up dinner here. I ordered two Matt’s Special’s for myself and my boyfriend, two chocolate covered Cannoli’s and a Coffee Soda. As someone who will order any italian sub/​sandwich at every place she goes, this place has the BEST sandwiches in Tucson. Skip the chain restaurant and come here. I cant wait to come back and try their Italian Dip and frozen lasagna.

Look for the flag! — So this place is out by the UA motor pool garage. The only way I discovered it was through a friend who said he had wondered what the flag was. The lunch was awesome but more importantly are the hard-​to-​find goodies offered for sale. Great cheeses, delicacies in the deli case, frozen sausage and pastas. The «restaurant» part consists of picnic tables (inside) with plenty of napkins. Great for lunch. I’ll be back. Only issue I had was the sodas and such are cans or bottles. A fresh made iced tea would have been nice.

Well… the is kind of a tough one. I’ve been here 3 or 4 times and it’s never been bad. It surely has never been great either.
There’s so much to dislike about this place but so little of it is about the food. The location, the layout, the service, the ordering procedure, the dining area are all just suuuuuubbbb par and I for one am not too much of a fan of the food either. All of this being said, I really like the place.
For one thing, the business produces and sells a large variety of good food. They have a great deal of prepared items as well as some specialty stuff that’s awesome.
The menu items I’ve ordered have consistently mediocre and it’s just so difficult to order. The line at the counter completely blocks the paths rom the front door to the dining room and the drink cooler. Not a fan of having to get my own drink from a reach-​in cooler but more often than not places that require one to do so are so fantastic that it compensates for the inconvenience. If you want a second beverage, you’d have to return to the door blocking line and wait again. Not the greatest selection of drinks either… I think I usually end up having s Snapple.
Anyway, I gave it 3 stars cuz it’s a cool place and I like being able to go over there and pick up some good cheese or whatever. I like having places like this in town, I just don’t dine here much.

Best marinara I’ve had in a long time! Even after I ate I couldn’t resist taking home one of their many prepared dinners from the freezer. They must do a lot of retail and carry out since their dining area was fairly small with shared tables but the staff is so friendly and the menu was huge and amazing!

What a treasure!
Perfect to appease anyone. I am a vegetarian and I can easily find something delicious to enjoy. I recommend all my friends to visit this place, you will not be disappointed.

Our university team stopped into Roma’s after a race at U of A in order to re-​fuel; we’d been told that it offered some of the finest fare in town. While we all enjoyed our dinners, nobody was overly wowed or raving about their meal.
I got the Roma Signature, a hot sandwich of slow-​roasted pork shoulder marinated with beer and mustard, topped with crunchy cabbage slaw. The footlong sandwich cost $ 9 and was quite generous on the portion of meat. However, I wouldn’t have guessed the cut was pork shoulder had I not seen the sign. It was a bit dry and not falling apart as much as I’d like; it probably could have used a lower and slower roast. The meat wasn’t bursting with flavor. The slaw, while crunchy, needed a little more acid to counterbalance the pork. I enjoyed the fresh French roll the meat and slaw were on.
I also tried one of my teammate’s raviolis. It was good and fresh but not «epic.» I felt the pasta was a little too thick for the amount of cheese inside.
Perhaps Roma Imports’ strength is its market. They have a lot of cheeses and charcuterie, along with a number of refrigerated pastas and desserts for you to bring home and pop in your oven. Lots of sauces and a grand deli case. If I lived in Tucson, I would likely be a Roma regular just for the market!

My mother was looking for a place to get some high quality cheeses and meats for a charcuterie board. We were visiting for the holiday and were near the area, so we decided to drive through the industrial area to this tiny little shop. We were a bit weary on the location as it is not exactly in a spot you would expect this kind of place to be. We had no idea what we were doing when we walked in as we’re very inexperienced with the Italian side of meats and cheese.
When we asked for help we expected a small description of each cheese. We were amazed to get the information and advice on what we should try and with what combo. Not only that, but he took the time to let us taste the meat and give him our rating before suggesting more cheeses, meats, fruit, and breads/​crackers.
The service was one of the best, but the quality of the meats and cheeses we ended up with were exactly what we were envisioning. We don’t expect to go anywhere else after this!

I’ve been here at least once a week for the past month and it never ceases to amaze. Their deli sandwiches are phenomenal. Really, that spicy meatball sub gets me every time. Also, the pesto chicken and the ultimate roma deserve honorary mention. Their veggies that they put on these subs will change the way you grade subs — they really add a whole new level to it all.
Now for a special shout out to their chocolate dipped cannolis. Wow! You could live a thousand years and never forget these puppies.
Side note. If you’re looking to buy some vanilla beans, this is the place to go. Each bean is $ 1.50 or $ 2.50. Either way, I haven’t found a better deal anywhere else out here.
The staff is incredibly friendly. I had a solid conversation asking about how to cook some homemade pasta and they took the time to go through a few tips and tricks. Really great place, and I love to come here.

I’ve been a customer here since the early ‘90s. Back then you couldn’t just go into any grocery store and buy real Parmesan cheese, but Roma had 18 month aged real deal cheese for a good price. The same goes for whole milk mozzarella.
They’ve re-​invented themselves in a really good way. The deli sandwiches are great, and their prepared foods are awesome too. I make my own marinara, but if you don’t feel like messing with it, theirs is better than anything in a jar in the grocery — and you get a great reusable container to boot. Unless you just feel like making meatballs, their homemade ones are excellent, so save some cleanup and buy them there. The spreads and charcuterie are all that’s needed to turn one of their baguettes into a party board.
Their trays of lasagna are excellent. I’ll throw in a cooking tip. The aluminum pans are thin and filled way over the top. If you put them in the oven like that, the top and sides will overcook by the time the center is done, and the bottom of your oven will be a mess. I use a 4-​inch deep full-​size steam tray pan (yes, totally nerdy). Line the pan with foil to keep it clean and put the lasagna tray in there and cover with foil. Bake it 45 minutes or so, then uncover and let the top brown. It needs to rest 15 minutes or so to firm up and it’s ready to eat.

To go food is epic. Eat in food is of the hook!
Tons of choices… they do a great Octoberfest menu.
Way out of the way… but worth the trip.

Roma Imports is a little hard to find, but worth it! During October they have a bunch of German specials, so we had the schnitzel and the maultaschen, and split both. The food is incredible. Fresh, well-​made, good portion sizes, high quality ingredients. I spent 6 months in Germany and the food was very authentic. My husband went once before and got the lasagna, which he said was also great. We got cannoli for dessert, one regular and one chocolate, and they were delicious.
We didn’t buy any of the prepared foods, but I was impressed with the selection. Frozen casseroles (lasagna, cacciatore, etc), soups, fresh pasta, pizza, turnovers, desserts, appetizers, etc. The freezer lines the whole length of the store. I noticed a number of gluten free items (casseroles, pizza, etc.), and some items were also marked vegetarian and vegan.

Couldn’t really decide between 3 and 4 stars on this one. But I had the cannoli which was excellent, so today I’m feeling the 4.
The sandwiches: I have had the eggplant parmesan sandwich and the special today, brie-​nini (brie and fig jam panini). The egglplant parmesan was hot, gooey, and delicious. Everything I expected it to be. The brie panini I had was very disappointing. It was composed of thin slices of lukewarm brie, a little bit of lettuce, a thin layer of fig jam, all served on room temperature, very average, homemade focaccia bread. The bread to content ratio was just wrong and I was really hoping for a more toasted sandwich. Next time, I am going to try the hot entrees (= pastas).
The CANNOLI! Mmmmm haven’t had a cannoli like this since my days in Little Italy in Cleveland. Creamy, velvety, chilled filling with chocolate chips interspersed. Very crisp and golden outer shell. A light dusting of powdered sugar. It really was perfect and the best I have had in years. It was not a cloyingly sweet mess that my last few cannoli experiences have unfortunately been. This dessert alone brought my rating from a 3 to a 4.
The market: The frozen goods look super enticing. Large trays of frozen baked pasta and lasagna. Frozen homemade raviolis and much much more! Every time I have been here I have wanted to try the ravioli but I have only ever gone during my lunch break at work. I have only heard good things and can’t wait to try these sometime in the near future
The dining area: Communal tables and large pitchers of self-​serve water. May be rubbing elbows with your neighbor if you come during lunchtime. It gets busy.
Overall, I am really not as impressed with the sandwiches as some other reviewers have been. Perhaps the hot entrees are where it’s at. I think next time, when I come for my cannoli, I will try the spaghetti or lasagna.

It’s about time for an update! But this time it’s for the frozen food items. If you’re in a pinch or simply don’t feel like cooking– Roma Imports is an excellent choice. From homemade pasta, lasagna, sauce and even dessert you can serve a full dinner that tastes super fresh. High quality ingredients and a whole lotta Italia love= five star meal.

Just tried this place for the first time today. I have to say that the Stallion sandwich was one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had outside of what I make at home. They have LOTS of prepared food to take home as well, and it’s all made in house.
Try this place if you like REAL Italian food. You will not be disappointed.

This place wavers for me between 3 and 4 stars depending on why I’m going. I’m going to stick with 3 though because you are only as strong as your weakest link and in this case the idiom actually fits.
I guess I’ll start with the good: The Market.
The market here is simply awesome. Super high quality meats, cheeses, freshly made pastries and tapenades and side dishes galore. Freezers and Refrigerators along the main corridor are filled with pre-​made delicacies that are really quite fantastic. Raviolis in like 30 filling options, sauces galore. Quiches to satisfy any taste. Desserts you can not believe: tiramisu that is to die for and canolis with the filling in a pastry bag and the shells separate so they are easy to prepare and seem home made! The pricing can be a bit steep but you get what you pay for here.
The not so great: The restaurant.
After having been here several times for the market and saying to ourselves every time, «Hey, we have to come back and try the in house food!» we finally did. I almost wish we hadn’t. My wife ordered a pesto chicken sandwich which was meh to be generous, and I ordered… uhm…well I’ve honestly blocked it out of my memory. It was that forgettable. Some combination of meats and cheeses I would presume.
As others have said, the eating arrangement can get hairy if you’re not there at the right time. 6 person communal tables… foldable tables with plastic table cloths… is just not ideal.
So here’s the thing: I will be back. Probably many many times. Just not for the restaurant. But damn, those canolis are calling me. I’m going to have to get a batch on my next visit.

I’ve come here through the years and absolutely love the selection. It’s a fantastic market that has a huge selection of EVERYTHING Italian. The frozen selection to take and bake later is endless.
They also have a lunch menu that can be ordered for dine in. I had the harvest salad that is served with fresh bread. So yummy. My friend had a chicken sub that was delicious!
It gets busy so plan to wait a bit for fresh, homemade food. The atmosphere is very relaxed and deli like. When you dine-​in you share you eating space with the others on 6ft tables but it’s so worth it!

Roma completely fits the expression, «a diamond in the rough.» The sandwiches, hot or cold, taste amazing. I have to say that the chicken pesto hot sandwich is one of the best sandwiches I’ve ever had.
I also recommend getting one of their cookies. My family and I call it a, «cookie cake», because it has the thickness and texture of a cake yet still the taste of a wonderful cookie.

You will have to let Father Kino and his little Rock horse lead the way in order to find this hidden gem.
When you enter you will see the deli and frozen food section (frozen pizzas and quiches) as well-​supplied shelves of dry goods. This is a sweet little store also.
You order at the counter, grab your drink, take a seat (family style seating, so you may make some new friends today), and await the arrival of your food.
I ordered the lunch special of cheese ravioli and it came with a basket of bread. The sauce was delicious as well as the ravioli.
This is a well-​loved restaurant and it was very busy even in the early afternoon.
If you love Italian food, you really owe it to yourself to visit Roma. You will go away happy.

Protip: if you’re coming from the west or north and it’s your first time, Broadway to Highland seems to be an easier route than Kino. Highland loops around the building so if you miss the turn to Vine, you’ll have another opportunity to see it.
Roma Imports has everything you need for an Italian experience, down to coffee soda. There’s plenty of frozen and dry items and you can also order platters to go.
I opted for a sit-​down meal of spaghetti with meatballs. I made the right decision.
Water is self-​serve and seating is family-​style.
Rich’s recommendation: get some food there and to bring back.

Roma Imports triples as an Italian market with a deli case of prepared foods, dry pastas, cheese, & frozen food ALSO as a restaurant towards the back PLUS as a sandwich shop up front
It’s a gem in a rough industrial neighborhood!
the sandwich menu wasn’t as extensive as Unilocal pics make it out to be but they do have daily specials
–Ultimate Roma: you can order it spicy or non-​spicy & it comes on a sturdy baguette that doesn’t sog up with the balsamic, pretty tasty
we stopped by since we were about to take a roadtrip and needed a quick meal option, MISTAKE, the sandwiches took a long time to make but at least they were good (perhaps one should call ahead if they are in a rush?)
NOTE: $ 5 minimum credit card charges