Romano’s Macaroni Grill

I’ve come here off and on over the years, it’s usually hit or miss, their new menu however is pretty delicious. I skipped the traditional pasta dish and went with one of their new dishes «chicken under a brick». Let me just say wow! Well presented and full of flavor. If you’ve had a bad experience here it may be worth your while to give them another whirl like we did.

Lukewarm, bland food, much different than past visits. This week we were soooo disappointed, and on a Thursday evening when it wasn’t crowded. I’m really afraid we won’t soon be returning. It isn’t worth spending $ 100 just to look shagrinned at your friends wondering if they think that your taste is so bad that you likely drink your own bathwater.

This is my daughter’s favorite restaurant. For me its just ok. I have taken to getting the same thing over and over (Chicken Marsala) and it is consistently good.
My kids are getting older and getting bored with the standard kids menu, so the price is going to be out of our range, as soon as they stop sharing an adult meal.
Gotta say… that Lemon Passion cake and the chocolate cake desserts are DELICIOUS! Eat dessert first!
EDITED:
oh my goodness… what happened to this place? I only gave it a 3 star before, but I’d give it a ONE now. A waiter told us the chain had been sold and the menu revamped about 4 months ago. Ok, I’m good with the menu… Rib Eye… gone (it was why we came). But basically ok. EXCEPT the service… oh gosh, it was not good at all. I had to ask for drinks, sweetener, he threw out my leftovers… not even listening to my answers. Anything that did arrive, took forever and a day. Sorry, Romano’s gonna have to step it up.

Mr. Romano, you have restored my belief that I can enjoy a corporate American restaurant. I like to imagine the customer care middle manager in your Southern Californian corporate headquarters figuring out that older patrons need to be offered reading glasses at the host station because they often forget their own and can’t read the menu. Nice touch.
Another hint of ‘customer is always right’ good service design: when my wife’s salad exhibited rusty bits of rotten mesclun, she reported said defect and immediately the manager came buy to do whatever to make it right. Very cool.
They market the menu items like pro-​marketers too. I got sucked into ordering the Mediterranean Olives after seeing the teaser ads everywhere and getting the homespun spiel from the hostess. They are marinated in orange peel and have a bright citrus taste.
You can get a Peroni in the bottle but don’t order Campari, they just nixed it from the bar. The Sausage Salentino was excellent and included a good bit of broccoli. Chicken Parm is up to par. Sausage Pizza is forgettable. In all, the food is good quality for a corporate operation.
The interior design is expansive and dark. This is relaxing compared to other chain restaurants that are hectic when they are crowded. Oh and they sing Happy Birthday in Italian. The comic value is priceless.

A friend of mine mentioned enjoying happy hour at Macaroni Grill a while back so the last time I was in the neighborhood I thought it appropriate to pop in and give it a try. The bar area has a few tables and a large wrap-​around bar with seating. As I usually prefer, I sidled up to the bar. While there were only two other patrons in the bar, it did take Brian, the bartender, some time to make his way over to me. I also had to ask him a few questions to get the real gist of the happy hour specials out of him.
The happy hour special has a great selection of small plates that ranged from chicken or shrimp skewers with roasted veggies to chicken parmesan atop spaghetti. Any wines by the glass are offered at $ 4.99 with a food purchase… this was a great deal for me as I ordered what is normally a $ 10 glass. The catch with this special is one must order a food plate to get the $ 4.99 price for each order. So for the second glass of wine, I had to order another plate. Luckily I had went with the skewers which were much lighter fare.
I really liked that MG has a bike rack out front as I pretty much only ride my bike to establishments, unfortunately it is located on a very busy road that is not bike friendly. The food was great, the wine fantastic, and the service improved greatly. Brian actually turned out to be a great server with a heavy dose of sarcasm, a couple of my favorite things. I could see returning to Macaroni Grill if in the neighborhood again.

This place is really nice. I enjoyed it a lot. The food was up to par and the price was decent for the amount of food you are getting. The only thing that ticked me off was their service. We had a rude waiter who constantly was talking to a group of girls across our table and when we needed refills on our drinks it took him 20 minutes for him to notice. He was so rude that another waitress had to bring in our food (he didn’t even bother to check if our food was done), Thankfully, our food wasn’t cold or I would’ve of put him on the spot for that. He came by the table and asked if i wanted Param on our pasta. I did. He grinded the cheese onto my plate and ask everyone around me if they wanted some cheese. He was already grinding the cheese on my friends plate when he asked «sir, would you like some» — That is wrong. First of all he didn’t pay attention when he «said No thanks» second what if he was allergic to cheese or something? This douchbag really doesn’t like to pay attention or listen. I would’ve said something to the manager but it was already closing time. I just hope next time we dont get him as a waiter. EVER! …
But the place is good. Dont get my wrong. I just rated it low because of this terrible waiter. -.- tsk ts.

I really like this place. It’s a bit spendy, but the food is good (typical of food in this price range.) I frequently stay in hotels nearby, and since I don’t drink and drive, I just kinda camp there. I walk from the hotel with a book, park my butt in the lounge, tell the bartender that I’m going to be there for a few hours and to make sure to keep my water full as well as my alcohol. The bartenders eyes usually light up, and I always leave a good tip because I get great service.

welcome to mediocre (at best) cuisine. they’re a chain. expect nothing more. when I ordered a «healthy choices» chicken dish, it came SMOTHERED in pepper. when I complained, the chef was very accommodating, but I was a little confused by her reply «yeah, when I cook at home, I never use pepper on my food. there’s just a lot of pepper in the sauce.»
YES. I KNOW. and why would you serve food that you, as a chef, would never eat? two stars only because they didn’t charge me for the chicken entrée. otherwise, two thumbs DOWN.
oh yeah–
host service= idiot 16 year olds that don’t know the first thing about customer service
wait service= incompetent