Romano’s Macaroni Grill

I’ve been here twice due to the superior service and good food! Ask for Bobby’s section as he is very knowledgeable about ALL items on the menu and makes great recommendations. We were lucky to be placed in Bobby’s section on the 1^st visit and requested his section the 2^nd time, he is consistent in the outstanding service he provides. Bobby is definitely 5star! I’ve had salads, salmon, and a few different pastas… all were good.

I’ve been here twice. Once for a group dinner before a dance and the second time for a friend’s birthday dinner. Both times I had the penne rustica. I LOVE pasta, and was not disappointed either times I went. However, after reading a review on here about a lady finding a cockroach in her food… I don’t think I’ll be rushing back here anytime soon – or at all.

the olive oil is great! i got a salad and requested dressing on side but that did not happen and my friend got mom’s famous spaghetti which is the reason we went there, he felt like spaghetti and meatballs. it was ghastly, no flavor whatever. perhaps «mom» should work on that recipe. this was my first and last visit to macaroni grill.

I can’t remember the last time I went to a Macaroni Grill. We had a great experience! The bread and oil was great. We had 2 appetizers that, despite a lengthy wait, were hot and good. We both ate too much bread and appetizer, and boxed our main course up to go. We split a tiramisu for dessert. My only complaint is that we were there well over an hour and there were black and brown pieces frozen in our ice cubes. Their ice machine needs cleaning really, really bad.

Hadn’t been here in like 14 – 15 years and the food has gone down hill. Way down hill! First the menu isn’t very extensive so I would think that the few dishes they make should be great. Pasta had very little flavor, over cooked and watery, the salad was ok at best and the bread was hard and dry. I ate with a party of 3 and no one was impressed with their food. The place was pretty much empty for dinner time. I will not be returning as I’ve had better cheaper meals at the OG and for a few bucks more we could have had a delicious meal at Carrabbas.

Always a freindly place to eat. Unexpectedly Thursday is half price wine… so needless to say it was a good evening

The restaurant was clean upon entering just as it had been 6 years ago when I was last here. I moved out of Houston so this location is a bit of a drive. Today I was in the area with my daughter and decided to stop by since its been Years! We ordered chicken scaloppini (my absolute favorite!). My daughter is super picky with veggies in her food so she started digging out all the artichokes. As she was sifting thru her pasta dish she disgustingly asked «mom what is this?!» I picked it out with my spoon and its a cock roach!!! It’s legs were missing! We have never been so disgusted. We are Never coming back. The manager asked to replace our meal and he will comp us the entire meal. Umm thanks but no thanks we don’t hAve an appetite anymore! He brought back $ 40 worth in complimentary vouchers. Thanks but there will not be a next time.
Make sure you all check your food! It might not be bacon bits you are eating.

There wasn’t very many delicious sounding options there as a pescatarian eater. I ended up with just an $ 8 bowl of Caesar salad. Which was cool, it was huge and more than filling. I wanted to top it with shrimp, but when I asked about the size of the shrimp, it was small pieces. Not worth the extra $ 4. I can’t say that I will be returning anytime soon. The service was great, though!

This is my first review so I deciced to do it in one of my favorite restaurants. I was very suprised that in only has 3 starts. Well that is other people, I really love coming here with my girl the food is great and the service even better, my favorite plate here is calabrese stake is delicius allright then that my review keep up the good work. Bone appetitte

Food is always delicious at this place as well as the service. I had the best waiter today, a man named bobby. He not only described and gave suggestions on the menu but also described what goes in each dish. Very knowledgable and he will sell you out on each dish. Incredibly charismatic. Overheard him being fluent in Spanish as well! Tip is earned.

Food is always good. Staff is always friendly. This is one of my favourite restaurant chains in the country. I’m always excited to eat at one. They definitely hold up the quality I am used to. I’m just super disappointed they got rid of the fried Mac ad cheese.

I came here intending to enjoy a nice lunch on my one-​hour lunch break from work. I sat at my table for a good ten minutes, waiting for a server to approach. I watched as multiple servers and even a manager or two walked by and no one acknowledged me. Finally, after I made eye contact with a manager, they went and got the server for me. He had passed by me a couple times prior to actually greeting me. I told him that I was in a rush because I’m on my lunch break and that I was a bit irritated because I had been waiting so long. His response? «Let me go get you another server because you’re coming off negatively to me and… Let me just get you a new server.» Then he walked off. I left, though the manager stopped me on my way out and offered to take care of my meal. I declined. I don’t appreciate being treated poorly when I’m here to spend my money.

Willowbrook location, TERRIBLE management (Lawrence Jones II), told me «never come back» !!! This was all over a to go order that was not correct at the second attempt. I have never been spoken to like that from a manager. I do not like confrontation, and found this rather large man peering into my jeep very uncomfortable. I will NOT go back, even for to go, which is a shame because my family and i have spent a many special occasions in this restaurant. Unfortunately the area has gone downhill over the past few years. Too many gangs around that area, and worse off the manager Lawrence acts like hes part of a gang! Oh and the food leaves much to be desired. Stay clear of this location.

Just ordered Mom’s Ricotta Spaghetti and meatball and a Penne Rustica. Absolutely amazing. Fresh ingredients that took me all the way back to a ristorante Italiano. Service was quick, efficient and staff quite friendly. Definitely returning to try other items on the menu.

Okay, my MAIN complaint with this place is the customer service. A very smart person said to me recently «In a city like Houston, abound with restaurants, the only thing that sets certain restaurants above the rest is the high quality of customer service — the way they make you feel when you dine at their establishment.»
So we were in the mood for italian and decided to give Maggiano’s a break. Arrived there and was seated promptly, our waiter was very attentive, kept returning every few minutes to check whether we were ready to order (we took a while deciding what we wanted) — and was very knowledgeable about the menu. He recommended that I get the Penne Rustica when I asked for his opinion based off of popular requests and was eager to answer any other questions that I had. Once he placed our orders, he informed us that his shift was ending but that we would be left in the capable hands of his colleague, M. This is where everything goes downhill.
Firstly, M introduced herself to us in passing as she was rushing to serve another table. Then we tried to get her attention to get some steak sauce since my beau was dining on steak, and no matter what we did, she did not pass back to our table. She kept speeding past our table to her other tables, and stopped once to apologize for the «craziness». Still trying to get the steak sauce, after asking her for it, we flagged down another waiter, who looked like he was the supervisor, who promptly held up one finger to me and with a quick «one moment» kept on moving to the other tables. Eventually I got up, went to the back room where M was and reminded her for the sauce and asked if she could pass by our table when she was next free. At that time the other «manager/​supervisor» waiter came to me and I politely thanked him and stated that I had already contact our waiter. The steak sauce came when we were ready to leave, so we asked for to-​go boxes and promptly left. I looked around the restaurant thinking that it was obviously full, which was why we had to go without a waiter, but it was at least ¾ empty. I will not be returning to this establishment, but I wish them luck.
Pro: We could’ve drawn on the tables
Con: Food was unimpressive, and so was the service.

Stopped by around 9: PM for a later dinner on December 26^th. Our waiter was Mauricio. He was attentive and professional in all aspects. I had mamas trio and my friend had the chicken Alfredo. The atmosphere is very rustic. After three glasses (no I’m not driving or operating heavy equipment) of a dry red wine, good food and attractive company it has been a pleasant evening. Well done Macaroni Grill. I will be back, thank you!

I believe this restaurant should be named Oil, Salt and Butter because that sums up this place completely.
Upon entering a very strong «dirty moldy mildew» type smell almost made me want to turn around. The light above the table was flickering like in a bad scary movie, why did I not take these as signs and leave??? The waitress came and she was good, attentive, friendly and pleasant but maybe that’s because she didn’t know she was serving death. I’ve never seen so much artery clogging, food coma inducing, acne contributing oil in my life! Holy crap I had no idea. Please for the love of all that is holy do not, I repeat DO NOT bring anyone who lives a healthy lifestyle to this restaurant. There are no options for them except a glass of water. However, I could see how people that are used to eating large amounts of fried food and oil and butter and bread and salt and pasta would enjoy this place. In my opinion the over exaggeration of salt and oil overpowered the food and so it just tasted like gluttony. Things my fiancé and I tried: Chicken Milanese (chicken with oil and bread crumbs and oil atop a river of not so much lemon but lots of butter) with the roasted potatoes (oily, salty wedges), Fettuccine Alfredo (not very fresh), Fried Macaroni (oil squares) and Zucchini Fritte (Once a vegetable converted into piping hot fried oil and salt) Spaghetti with tomato sauce (flavorless) and of course the Rosemary bread (first time in my life I did not go to town on a bread loaf Salty and DRY as dirt) they give you in the beginning. Needless to say this was my first and last time ever coming here. If you care about your body don’t even bother. I would give 3 stars for the service 0 for the food.

This place has gone down the tubes since they closed all but this one location. When there was a location in Stafford, it was always bustling, the bread was amazing, and the food was delicious. Macaroni Grill has always served «Americanized Italian» food, but now it’s barely a step above Chef Boyardee.
OK let’s get this over with. First, the positive: Our waiter Erick was a cool dude, though we had to struggle to get his attention a few times. And now for the not so good. The bread is much smaller and less tasty than it used to be. The wife ordered Mama’s Trio, which was 3 Lean Cuisine versions of chicken parmesan, lasagna bolognese, and chicken and mushroom cannelloni… definitely thawed and heated in microwave. I ordered the cremini pork shank, which Erick raved over and said people love it. This was a huge pork shank covered in grease-​gravy and overcooked mushrooms, accompanied by rubbery potatoes – all with a greasy, poorly seasoned taste.
Well thankfully we only chose to eat here because we had two gift cards and wanted to use them. We will stick with Nick’s Italian Restaurant in Richmond or homemade from now on.

The Italian word «Insalate» translates directly to English as «Salad, greens». It almost sounds like the word «Salad» after the «In…». Also, selecting a dish under the section labelled «Antipasti» does not mean you just ordered something anti-​pasta or carb free; it means you ordered a «Starter» (aka appetizer). Something good to know before you go.
When I think of Macaroni Grill, I think of General Tso’s chicken. In comparison, Macaroni Grill isn’t quite the most authentic Italian restaurant, as General Tso’s chicken isn’t quite most authentic Chinese food. Although they are both delicious and use ingredients derived from their respective culture (i.e. Italian = various herbs, Chinese = soy sauce), it’s not pure enough to be known as «Autentico» *gestures hands in air, fingers pinched together, and waving back and forth while speaking* Should this matter though? No, but don’t bring your Italian friends here and set high expectations. Instead, bring them here and set expectations for real authentic Americanized Italiano food — lots of cheese, sauce, and more cheese.
Love their Rosemary peasant bread? Yea that’s right, the soft, warm, and crispy goodness they tempt you with before you even order your food. Me too, it’s delicious. Want to keep eating it? If yes, then don’t read on. One loaf contains 480 calories, 89 g of carbohydrates, and 2150 mg of sodium (which is 90 percent of suggested daily value based on a 2,000 calorie plan). Sadly I can eat an entire loaf before my meal even arrives, and that usually doesn’t stop me from finishing my entrée as well.
You can’t be a health nut when you come here though. Most of the dishes contain lots of simple sugars (i.e. white bread and white pasta) and a lot of fat from cheese. In fact, most of the protein your body gets from these dishes are from cheese, unless you specifically choose a chicken, shrimp, of beef dish (which usually cost more).
My choice of poison is the Pasta Milano (because I’m a fan of sun-​dried tomatoes) and the lasagna (just because I like lasagna). Either of the two dishes you can’t go wrong with. Portion size has gotten smaller and smaller over the years though.
Service is generally good from all my experiences. If you are trained to write your name upside down, in cursive, and legibly using nothing but children’s crayons then you are trained to take on the world. Most of the waiters and waitresses have done so on the paper table cloth provided, which adds a nice personal touch. Service here has never been bad for me. It’s almost Chick-​fil-​a good, but just not quite Del Frisco good.
If you are in the mood for Americanized Italian food and don’t feel like being seen at Olive Garden, this place is perfect for you.
Fun Fact: Olive Garden and Macaroni Grill aren’t owned by the same organization (Darden Restaurants = Olive Garden, Ignite = Macaroni Grill [as of 7/​21/​2014])

I was pleasantly surprised. I really thought this place was going to be like another Olive Garden.
We went here mainly because I had a gift card for a million years and wanted to get rid of it. Parking was easy. No wait even for a Friday night at about 8 p.m. Our waiter was ok. He was nice and came to check on us every once in a while, not amazing but enough.
There was some classical opera-​style singing happening when we walked in. Not sure what that was about but later the girl sang for a table celebrating a birthday so maybe they have random spurts of singing then birthday singing? It caught me off guard. The boo didn’t like the singing at all. He said it ruined the ambiance.
I wish they would bring the lights up just a little. It was too dark for my taste. I get it «intimate setting» and whatnot, but I would prefer to see my food and read the menu without having to move it to the light.
I would say it’s a good value for your money. A lot of good tasting food that we had plenty of leftovers for dinner the next day. For two entrees and two glasses of wine, it was about $ 35 (rounding up and prior to the gift card payment). Wine was half off at the time, as well.