Romano’s Macaroni Grill

The food here is good every time; it’s decent Italian for a chain restaurant. I usually don’t review chains because everyone already knows what to expect from them. The reason I’m making an exception is the service at this place. We ordered two appetizers, the bruschetta and the loaded fries. The bruschetta came, but the fries didn’t. By the time they did, they were cold. Our server was very apologetic and offered to get us fresh ones, but we thought we would have plenty of food without them, so we declined. Ten minutes later or so, the manager came by and asked how everything was, and we said everything was great. She said she understood We’d gotten some cold fries, and she apologized. Then she comped us the bruschetta. We were really impressed — we hadn’t pitched a fit or anything. This is customer service, and that’s something you don’t find much of nowadays. We enjoyed our meal very much and will certainly return.

Well. first off I would like to say me and my wife had an amazing time. Deana helped us and she was great. She was so informative about the menu, drinks and happy hour specials. She spend a good amount of time with us. She even helped us with our planning of a trip that we have coming up. (San Francisco). So first we ordered our drinks. My wife had the Blood Orange Cosmo. very good. Not to sweet and not to strong. but good enough to get the job done.lol. I ordered a markers Manhattan and an old fashioned.. Amazing.. And for food. we ordered the meatballs and the stuffed Mac and cheese balls. Oh man. good stuff. And of course the bread was great too​.so. Even though it was crowded. Deana was always checking on us. Oh one more thing I forgot to mention.. As we were talking about our trip to S.F. she said. I just came back from S.F. and got her phone and left it with us to look at pictures. .lol. so that was very cool that she trusted us. me and my wife will go back. And I hope Deana helps us again. Thank you Deana for the great service and making us feel important.

We have visited this place twice in the past month. What amazing service, and couldn’t ask for better food. The portobello fries were crispy and very tasty, and the margherita pizza was amazing. We sat at the bar both times and the bartender/​servers were right on top of things. Very friendly, and helpful. We would definitely recommend this place and we will be back.

Service here is very slow. It took almost an hour for our entrees to come out after ordering and another 30 minutes for them to bring out our checks after we asked them to. I would understand if they were very busy, but there were only about 2 other parties in the corner of the restaurant where my party was seated.

Came in during a busy Saturday night. Make reservations, guys! My gf and I did and we were seated in 15 mins. The waitress was very friendly and even wrote her name down backwards and upside down on our table paper cover. Alright, now to get down to the nitty gritty. We started off with Farmhouse Artisan Pizza, which was savory. You could really feel the crunch of the bacon and prosciutto. One thing I was worried about was the pizza being too salty since it has lots of meat on it. But I was wrong. The ingredients weren’t too overpowering and combination of fresh mozzarella, fonduta, and parmesan was o so creamy. The bread wasn’t too crunchy or chewy like most artisan slices are so it was a great appetizer. We were also given fresh hot bread that was just out of the oven. They couple this bread with olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette. We also ordered two drinks: The Peach Cream Soda and Ultimate Bellini. I was a bit disappointed in the Bellini because it was a slush rather than a liquid drink full of rum and prosecco. I guess I should have asked prior. My gf seemed to like the Bellini so we traded.
For the dinner entrees, I got the Lobster Ravioli because I am a sucker for all things lobster. Needless to say, I wasn’t disappointed. You know that feeling when you find your ravioli stuffed with a lot of lobster and not just cheese or filling? Well, that’s what I found here. Each of the ravioli was well portioned and the sauce was delicious. It’s especially tasty when you dip the comp bread into the sauce. My gf’s dish was the butternut asiago tortellaci which has a massive amount flavor and delicous cream sauce. We ended up sharing our plates all night and taking some to go. For dessert, we got the chocolate cake ganache which has a delicous ganache filling in the middle. It wasn’t too sweet or too bitter and was just the right amount. Definitely a dish to split with two people since it gets a little heavy and overwhelming after having ate a great dinner. I would definitely come back to this location again.
P. S. They have a live gondola singer who goes to each table and sings for free upon request. We weren’t looking to attract any attention so we didn’t request him. But he has a great voice and was applauded each time he sang. Great touch.

Ok … Where do I begin???
Our waitress seemed in a hurry. She quickly wrote her name down and have us the «special menu»… Didn’t take time to explain. My husband had to ask. She gave us a wine tasting. She looked annoyed when I ordered water. The water tastes terrible! Our silverware was dirty, my napkin had a lipstick stain. When we asked for new silverware she again looked annoyed that she had to run and get more. I didn’t even show her the dirty napkin for fear of a dirty look!
We ordered the margarita pizza and steak salad. The salad greens looked old, the dressing was horrible. We only ate half. The pizza was soft in the center and had no flavor at all. We took half home and dumped it. The manager did not stop by once to check on us. This was at 4:00 pm on a Tues and it wasn’t even busy. Sever’s name was Jani. Never never again!!!

I have to commend the amazing staff and management at this location.
We were recently there for a family dinner, party of 12 and when the food came out my dish was COLD. As someone who used to work in the restaurant business, I hate to be that customer and complain about little things. So I wasn’t going to say anything.
But my waitress could tell I wasn’t happy with it and called her manager over, and without hesitation she brought over a fresh dish that was hot and removed the entrée from the bill.
Thank you for taking customer service to the next level!

Came in at 9 after seeing a movie. We waited almost 10 minutes before anyone even acknowledged us. We were finally seated, when our waitress showed up she took our drink orders, seemingly put out that we ordered waters with lemon and no appetizer. Service was horrible, refills were hard to get, as the staff was completely consumed with closing, including our waitress, when closing hours aren’t until 10pm. My meatballs were cold and the pasta bland. Not happy and not impressed. Every customer should receive the same good service irregardless of what time of the day it is.
**as I submitted this review the manager, Mike, showed up at our table to see how things were. My husband explained and Mike graciously took care of our meal. I have to say that Mike is the only reason that we will come back and try this restaurant again. Thank you Mike. **

We greatly enjoyed our family brunch on the day after Christmas. The staff was great; Eric took good care of us and promptly brought us refills while his colleagues worked efficiently with him as a team. Our food (e.g. mushroom ravioli) was delicious.

The worst location I’ve ever been to. The staff was rude. The place was dirty. Unbussed tables everywhere. My waitress Kristian brought bread and my drink but no napkin or silverware. I was afraid that if I drank all my drink I wouldn’t get another one. Brought my food still with no silverware finally asked twice she brought it and I never saw her again. Got a drink refill with my check and left. I usually like romanos but will NEVER come to this location again

Slow service, OK food, loud atmosphere. OK but the kids like pasta and Redlands Italian faire is limited, so we go on occasion. And then I remember the slow service, loud atmosphere…

Glad we have a reservation only had to wait 15 minutes on a Saturday night.
Bread with olive oil and vinegar was excellent !!!
Chicken Marcella extremely good.
Our server was right on top of things.
You ask and she brought it to you fast
Go Early they fill up fast.
If I may say don’t eat a loaf of bread yourself before your food … Lol

TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE customer service… our waiter (whose name begins with «A» and ends with ‘lissa”) made several mistakes: forgot to take one of our orders, forgot whose drinks are whose, didnt clear the table of dirty plates, didnt refill our drinks, but you know what… she did come promptly to receive my card for the bill. The food, however, is great got the chicken parmesan, but the waiters are too busy playing knick knack paddy whack to pay attention. Go to Olive garden instead.

The service was very poor, multiple waiters/​waitresses passed our table as our plates continued stacking higher and higher paying no mind to clear it, our waitress did not get our order correct, left our drinks empty until we had to wave someone down, who was not our waiter. Overall, not a good experience.
P.S.
Who’s Romano? And why does he have favorites?

Me and my wife had a great lunch today. Our waiter Leo made are experience here a great one. Very attentive and very professional.
Thank you

Bennisimo! Molto Bene! And every other Italian compliment I can hurl at this place. Romano’s Macaroni grill is as close to authentic as you can get without Unilocaling for a mom and pop shop run by actual Italians.
The food here is ALWAYS a treat for your tastebuds. The menu is kept simple, offering a few appetizers (try the mushrooms), classic pasta dishes, antipasta dishes, soups, salads, fish and chicken. In other words, there is something for everyone, without the confusion of browsing a long list of items.
What I love best about Macaroni grill is the atmosphere. Aside from the interior aesthetics, every Macaroni Grill location (including this one) employs at least one server that is able to sing happy birthday in Italian, in an operatic style. The kitchen is open, so you can watch your food being prepared by the expert chefs. Some Macaroni Grills even feature live piano music.
My guilty pleasure at any Macaroni Grill is to use the crayons they provide and doodle on the butcher paper that drapes every table and booth. It is a clever way to pass the time while waiting for your meal, or to play gakes while eating (this is the one place where playing while eating is encouraged).
This location has a swift, coureteous and delightful wait-​staff. The venue is kept clean, relatively cool (bring a jacket or sweater) and is perfectly situated in the Citrus Plaza shopping center, which means that your meal can be followed up with a bit of book browsing at Barnes and Noble or precuring a nice desert wine from Bev Mo. What more can you ask for?

Boom. Where else are you going to have your waitress write her name upside down on your table? This is our go-​to restaurant when Tippe and I can’t agree on a place for dinner.
We get the goat cheese stuffed peppadew peppers as an appetizer every time we come. It’s off the charts delicious. We especially like the tomato soup and I’ve never had a bad meal here.
Be sure to check out the half priced bottles of wine or the «on your honor system» wine where they drop off a big magnum of wine and you pour yourself glasses and are supposed to keep track of how many glasses you pour. We bought a bottle of wine and kept the bottle. Then we went to Lowes and bought a lamp making kit. I drilled a hole in the bottom of the bottle and we now have our own wine bottle lamp in the living room.
The staff are always friendly and helpful. You don’t have to wait to see your server, any one of them will help you. The parking is a little tight right in front of the restaurant, but you’ll find a spot if you go a little farther out.

Five stars for Allie… Seriously she saved our evening. We were in a time crunch and after being seated for 10 mins, we were never greeted by a server. No contact, no drinks, not even a hello.
We flagged down the first person that would actually stop, and that was Allie. She proceeded to serve our table even though it was not hers, and made sure that we were able to get out on time.
She had a great and positive attitude and salvaged our evening.

Went on a Sunday afternoon & there was no waiting for a table. — ok, my minions arrived first & secured a table. It was against the back wall & had 3 large windows. They are tinted, so it was a comfortable temperature and lighting.
We enjoyed 3 appetizers, 7 entrees & 2 desserts. I can’t say enough about how delicious and descent the tiramisu tasted! Mmmmm We liked everything about the meal, but after the appetizers were served, server was MiA. No drink refills or pre-​bussing of items, hard to get check. They were not busy when we arrived or left.

My wife and I have been to this restaurant several years ago, and I remember the experience to be exactly the same as our experience today (04/16/15)…great!
Let’s start with the interior of thr business. Very clean, with extended open space. The decoration is nicely conducted. The ambiance is very moderate (lighting is medium). The tables are spaced very well, not like other restaurants to where if you back your chair up, you bump the other party.
The service. The waitress my wife and I had was very nice and constantly coming to our table to check on our status. Not once did my wife or I have to ask for a refill of a drink. The appetizers and main course arrived within 8 minutes from the initial order.
The food. The food was hot and had a great presentation. I had the Shrimp Portofini, while my wife had the Pene Riscatta (i believe this is how it was spelled) was also great in taste. Great dishes that need to be tried.
Overall…my wife and I had a great experience on our date and recommend this restaurant to everyone.