Romano’s Macaroni Grill

This was one of the worst experience I’ve ever had at restaurant, especially a corporate one. We stopped in for brunch 12÷10÷16 after a local bridal show. We stopped in around 2:30, which the restaurant was extremely empty, only about 4 tables, and the majority of the empty ones needed to be cleared. We were seated promptly by the unfriendly hostess. We were seated for 10 minutes before we asked a server walking around the floor for a server. She did not say a word and walked away. A few minutes later we motioned for the manager and asked for a server as we have been waiting for over 10 minutes. He apologized and too our drink order, 4 drinks from the bar and 4 waters. After 20 minutes we still did not have even water on the table. We order some appetizers, not bad but not good either. Two out of the four entrees where cold and one took an extra five minutes to come out. We have given this restaurant a chance time and time again and will not be returning. Save your time and go somewhere else.

If I could give 0 star I would’ve
We usually give 25% or more in tips. But today, I don’t think I will leave even just a penny.
1. The waiter is rude
2. I ordered water with lemon and of coarse there’s no lemon. He came to our table 4x and each time I asked for lemon and never came. Took 33 mins for the lemon to finally arrive that’s when my husband asked for it.
3. He seems to be in a rush taking the order
4. He brought thirdys drink in a kids cup with no straw. Had to asked 2x and took 6 mins for it.
5. THE RESTAURANT IS NOT EVEN BUSY!!!
Also, we sat at 1:20pm order was taken at 1:40pm ordered kids ap ghetto and chicken Parmegan. Got our food 2:10pm… Again, it wasn’t busy at all.

For the second time this month, almost empty restaurant yet it took almost an hour for food. Had to ask for silverware, then ask for bread plates, then ask for refills on drinks. The one waitress never came back to the table after telling us they were out of red sauce then out of spaghetti noodles. Neither were true. Wait staff needs to retrain and kitchen needs to speed up. I could have made it faster at home!

Absolutely loved the food and our server was awesome. We will definitely be going back. What else can I say, great food & great service.

Ordered on line. Still waited for order.
Order was not right and waited and watched a very organized crew serving dinner to 2 tables only. Very unorganized area in front of pick up bar. Personal items and work books along with orders.
Seems management has a organization problem here.

My wife and I don’t get to go out on dates often. When we finally had an opportunity, we wanted to catch dinner before seeing a movie. So we sat at the bar at The Macaroni Grill, where, aside from having some menus haphazardly tossed at us, we weren’t seen for 25 minutes. There was one other customer at the bar, so it’s not like it was slammed. I can’t comment on the food, because we left out of fear of missing our movie. Anyways, it seemed to be very poorly managed, and almost ruined our date, but we’re resilient. A couple on a first date might not have faired as well.

Took a large group (14) there the weekend of Ironman Augusta, September 26^th. Called ahead and made reservations early as the athletes in our group needed to wrap up dinner early.
The restaurant was less than ¹⁄₃ full when we arrived (5:30). We were seated promptly but then nothing. 15 minutes rolled by with no wait staff. There was another large table beside us that did not seem to be getting served either. One of our party went to management and two wait staff came to our table and said that were going to serve all of us (both large groups) as one group. Am not sure of restaurant operations but it seemed strange to lump us in with another party and only 2 staff to cover both.
They asked us what we would like to start with. At this point we have nothing on the table except silverware. We asked for a round of waters. Took another 15 minutes for water and bread to make it to the table.
We decided that there was no way this was going to go smoothly. We left the restaurant to talked to the GM on the way out. He seemed oblivious to what was going on and even though his restaurant was all but empty couldn’t understand why we left.
Walked next door to another chain and were seated, served and out the door in an little over an hour.
Would never recommend this location to anyone. Based on reviews I have read I am not the only one.

This was the worst experience I’ve ever had at a corporate restaurant and they should be ashamed of themselves. We were sat quickly by the bar and the bartender saw to our drinks and orders but that’s where everything went wrong-​horribly wrong.
First, they were out of the only appetite we wanted-​stuffed mushrooms. This apparently disappointed the table next to us as well but the bartender jokingly assured us «they were really bad today! You wouldn’t want to eat them!» This didn’t really fill us with confidence for the rest of the menu items but we really really wanted Italian and wanted to give this place a try so we dug in and just filled up on bread for the rest 40 minutes.
We finally flagged down our bartender who was trying to avoid us-​and by the way the two tables after us got their food and left before we finally decided to leave. He explained his manager was gonna be by in 10 minutes with the food or we could leave-«your choice» he says as he walks away from the table to buss his first table and grab a check. At this point, it was over 50 minutes and my appetite wasn’t gonna be satiated by Italian. We left and will never do Romano’s ever again.
I did call Romano’s 800 number and told them what happened. Their response? Well, it’s your fault you didn’t stick around. We could have made it better. What?! I’m the one getting scolded here? No way! This isn’t how to treat a customer. I’m going anywhere but here next time.

Being seated quickly was the highlight of the meal. My fiancé said two stalls in the ladies room were out of order. The glasses on the table were dirty. I had dirty silverware and had to take a set from the table next to us. The server was very very very slow and rarely came by to refill our drinks. The food was not good. We ordered stuffed mushrooms for our appetizer and had to remind the server about it. When they finally came, the mushrooms had a freezer burn aftertaste. The rest of the food was bland and had very little seasoning. The bread was good. Still waiting on the check…

I should say up front that this is a review on the service, not the food– I never got far enough into the order process. Early dinner with a drink or so was the plan. Having enjoyed RMG on many occasions and recently moved where the closest one was 40 miles away this was going to be an enjoyable meal. Let me set the scene, typical atmosphere, open airy and very inviting, booths to the side of the room chairs and table along the center really no different than any other one I have been in. I was taken immediately to my table, having only 4 tables with customers and well over 6 employees on the floor seating time seemed appropriate. The hostess was nice enough gave me the menu and promptly left me to peruse the selection. Wow the Bellini’s looked good and it was going to be a ‘make your own pasta night’ golly geee it was going to be an awesome meal… I waited… and waited… And waited. After more than 15 minutes and no one even coming with a glass of water, I left. Oh well.

Service was horrible. Food was cold and uneatable. Staff standing around trying to look busy making excuses saying «we are sorry but we are short staffed tonight and been really busy». Not that busy. I never got my salad and my sons food came out 15 minutes after our cold food did.

We come here weekly for lunch and the food is awesome, You will not be disappointed!!!

I took my stepmom here for a late Mother’s Day lunch since we were in the area. We stopped in around one and the place was dead — that probably should have been a sign.
We were seated and then had our drink order taken. We both decided to have salads for lunch since we were going to see a movie later and didn’t want something heavy. I chose a chicken caesar with tomatoes and she chose the chicken florentine. This is where the problems began. First, the waitress pointed out that because this salad has capers, it has a lot of sodium and we should get it without. I don’t mind the waitstaff being helpful when I ask a question, but this could have made a guest feel uncomfortable, like the waitstaff thinks they shouldn’t be eating «unhealthy» foods. We then sat and and watched our salads being prepared. They sat on the counter with no one coming to bring them for about ten minutes. Then the staff realized it has capers, so they left mine sitting there while they remade hers. I understand its a salad, but I still like my chicken to be warm when I eat it. When they finally did arrive, I noticed that my salad did not appear to be the caesar — instead they had given me the parmesan chicken salad. I couldn’t find my waitress the entire meal and finally gave up and ate it. When I am dining, I expect someone to at least check on me once. Finally, what appeared to be a busboy came and asked if we needed anything. It took another ten minutes for the check to finally make its way to us.
When you are busy, I can understand being scarce. However, in an empty restaurant, I watched our waitress joke around with the manager/​someone in charge and then disappear until she brought a check. I will not be returning, especially since neither of our salads was any good — the lettuce was limp and had no crisp, it was doused in dressing, and (for me) it wasn’t even what I ordered.

Not a great experience. We reserved for a huge group of 55 on a Friday night. Prepared with premade, limited menus we came in ready to go. Unfortunately, the staff at Romano’s seemed woefully underprepared. Our servers expressed surprise at the total number of guests, one stating that they had no idea we were coming.
Two hours after we started, the main courses were still not all out, while the main sitting area of the restaurant was emptying out. The dining area was frigid — people were standing by the fire to warm up (in May!).
Some people wanted to order off of the main menu, rather than the premade, limited meal provided, which the manager refused to budge on. This in itself would be understandable to me, if the restaurant was full, but even with our fifty-​five person group, the place never reached capacity.
Bar:
Drinks ranged from incredibly strong to incredibly watered down. It seemed the bartender had very limited experience beyond pouring beers.
Bread and Oil:
Bread was pretty good. Oil tasted old and cheap.
Starter:
The Caesars salads were pretty sad little piles of lettuce with a side of dressing. Garden salads pretty good.
Main:
Most people thought their main courses were average. A few really enjoyed theirs. One was sent back because the arugula side looked and tasted terrible. The cook did provide a pile of fresh arugula on the second go.
Desert:
Pretty good!
Service:
Meal orders were taken by table of four, in general, but came out by type. Many patrons forgot what they ordered, not uncommon in my experience with large groups, and the wait staff was unprepared to serve by table. Drink orders from the bar got confused and came out sporadically.
Overall, I am disappointed in this Romano’s. I may try another one in a different place, but I doubt I will come back.
To the manager’s credit, after a series of complaints and a discussion, we settled on a 25% discount on the meal price — lower than what she originally told us she would give us. This place just wasn’t prepared for a large group.

I chose to eat here tonight because the website stated that they had a gluten free menu option. Once I got to the retaurant they told me that they discontinued it. Very disappointing. Also though we were seated right away, not one person showed up to our table until a good 10 minutes. The place was also almost empty so what was the deal. Not worth the time and certainly not for people with specific food allergies.
Update:
I will give the waitstaff and manager alot of kudos. They were aware of the deficiencies and apologized and comped our meal. Thank you.

We have dined here many times in the past. The service this time was not very efficient and the food was served cold. I’m not sure what the problem was, but I think I’ll give this place a few months before I’ll try it again.

Terrible calamari fritti I would definitely not recommend. Decoy by duckhorn pretty good Cabernet. Only by bottle. Music to loud needs better ambience…

This is my first experience at Macaroni Grill. Honestly, it’s never crossed my mind to dine here. The reviews were bad and I believed them, but my sister wanted to eat here, so we did. The stuffed mushrooms were good, but it was downhill from there. I ordered Pasta Di Mare, which included shrimp, mussels and scallops. It had the potential to be good, but it was warm. I think seafood dishes should be steaming. My brother-​in-​law and niece’s food was warm as if it sat in the window waiting for pick up. We had to send two dishes back because they were cold. Our waitress kind of sucked. She left so fast each time we requested something, we weren’t finished with our sentences. My brother-​in-​law ended up sending his food back and opting to eat somewhere else later. She wasn’t apologetic or get a manager. The meal was taken off, but because he didn’t even touch it. Upside: my sister enjoyed her dish and got a to-​go box and I ate only the seafood in my pasta. They had a huge wait and it looked as if they were short staff. I don’t think I’ll return, but there’s a first time for everything.

This was by far the worst dining experience we have had in the area. We waited over 1 hour for our food, when the dining room was empty. Although we did not show frustration (at first) our server seemed to be ignoring us and the situation. Once our food arrived, it was very greasy, and was not eatable, even though I was super hungry.
Hey Eric, in the future, if you know an entrée will take awhile due to extra prep, let the customer know, and offer a free appetizer. We were left sitting in the dark waving across the dining room to attract someone’s attention for our food, and bill.
The restaurant did have a great atmosphere, it was clean, organized, and romantic.

As this was lunch service, it wasn’t very busy. Our server was personable, but failed to tell us the specials, which sounded better than what we actually ordered. I ordered the Bibb & Blue salad, which was actually pretty good, and the Penne Rustica which was VERY salty. I could only eat half. My husband ordered the ‘make your own’ pasta, which he said was ok.
Since it was my husband’s birthday, he got comped a chocolate cake thing which was very good.
We’ve been to other Macaroni Grills, and the food & service was much better.