Tony Roma’s

As it crazy as this sounds, I first heard about Tony Roma’s when I was a young boy living in Singapore in the early 90s. After moving to the US in 1996, I did not see another Tony Romas for the next 14 years! The closest I ever got to a Tony Romas in my home state of Connecticut was a pre-​packaged Tony Romas ribs at my local Costco. These pre-​packaged ribs were great… but I still longed for those freshly cooked ribs straight from the restaurant kitchen.
Fast forward some 15 years, the restaurant venue has changed from the original Orchard location to now, Orchard Central, but more importantly those Original Baby Back Ribs still taste as good as when I was young boy. The meat just falls off the bone and the original barbecue sauce is just quintessential Tony Romas., as good as they come. DON’T EVEN BOTHER with the other Rib offerings: St. Louis, Carolina Honey’s, etc. Simply put, they just suck!
I’ve some of the best Ribs that my good old US of A has to offer. Rudy’s in Texas, The very best of Carolina Dry Rub (my alma mater is Duke University, so I would know a thing or two). I’m not saying that Tony Romas is the best Ribs I’ve ever tried, but if you are a starved American like me craving for Ribs in the little island of Singapore, you can no better than Tony Romas. Best of all, I can fulfill my Asian cravings by ordering two sides of Rice. You can’t say you can do that at every barbecue join back home! :D
To Conclude: ORIGINAL BABY BACK RIBS is all you need to know. Period!

We had our sales lunch treated by boss. Yay! this is the first time i’m invited to the lunch.
Tony Roma!!, Yep Its you… i heard a bout his place for a very very long time and have yet to try it. Finally, i get to try you this time round with the expense of my boss (treat).
We order the Tony Sampler oh gosh you need to order this cause i fall in love with the spinach artichoke dip its really really nice … Oh the ribs … i order the original baby back ribs its really soft and tender.
Seriously, this is my first time didn’t really expect it to be this good. The location is not very fantastic as it doesn’t appeal to the mass crowd as its not somewhere near the shopping area.

The husband was craving ribs, so he decided to take me to the Tony Roma’s location he used to go to as a kid way back in the ‘90s. Believe it or not, I’ve never been to a Tony Roma’s before in the US, but I used to buy their original BBQ ribs at Costco all the time. I was excited to finally check out a physical Tony Roma’s location!
Walking in, it felt really familiar and American, although slightly dated. The prices for lunch were a bit steep for me (over $ 20 for a meal), but when the hubby has a craving, we have to go for it.
Since I am very familiar with their original recipe, I wanted to be adventurous and try something different. I opted for the ribs with the bourbon sauce. However, I was informed that they ran out of the bourbon, so I ended up getting the sweet version (I believe it’s the «Carolina Honeys».)
They have a lot of sides to choose from, so I settled for corn on the cob and coleslaw, which were well portioned. As for the ribs, I liked how they fell off the bone, but they weren’t as meaty as the ones back home. Also, the sauce wasn’t that great. It was sweet, as advertised, but it was lacking some flavor. It was reminiscent of the «blah» sweet and sour chicken you get at a crappy Chinese buffet. I think it would’ve been better if it could’ve been more smoky. Lesson learned– just stick with the original!
Bottom line, I wouldn’t jump at the chance of coming back since I find it overpriced, and I have a feeling there are other places in Singapore that serve better ribs (word on the street is that Smokey’s meets this challenge!) so onwards to the next BBQ joint!

Mmmm RIBS !!! Yes I have to admit sometimes I enjoy getting down & dirty at the Tony Roma’s of my choice. Though this is merely reflecting the mess you make when enjoying these wonderful BBQ Bourbon Ribs it’s always joy to go back to Tony’s.
Now: This location is not really ideal except you are on a shopping spree at ION and don’t mind walking a little. I would not call it a back alley but parking etc can be a PITA there so better take a cab!
It doesn’t seem to be a very touristy spot, probably due to the location. Sometimes you even have to Q up because it gets pretty busy esp on Fri/​Sat night.
Make sure you order the baked & loaded potato with your ribs!
And i can’t stress this enough: This is a place that I would recommend for ribs only. Often people come with us who might not like ribs and will order chicken or a steak that end up to be disappointing. If you or one of your companions don’t like ribs I suggest don’t go to a place that has ‘ribs’ already in it’s name (duh).
The second location at Suntec is a bit nicer but also pretty busy. I like them both though.
Nom Nom
–s

Tony Roma’s is a great western family restaurant, famous for its ribs. With every visit, we always make it a point to order the baby back ribs. The portion is satisfactory, whereby half –rib is usually sufficient for two to share. Each serving also has a sizeable amount of meat that is so extremely tender. Crispy on the outside drizzled with honey sauce and juicy on the inside, just using your fork is enough to pry the meat away from each bone.
Before the main course is served, each table is served a bread basket with their own unique butter mixed with various herbs and spices. Spread on thick fluffy slices of baguette, this is absolutely heavenly. Unfortunately the branches are not exactly consistent on this; the bread was actually stale on two occasions.
When we feel like indulging ourselves, the giant cookie with ice cream dessert is ordered. Served in a pan, the cookie is warm and chewy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting on it. Together with chocolate sauce drizzled all over, this is a sinful dessert that is perfect to end the meal with.
One minus point would be the location of the branch at Orchard Hotel. The place is somewhat inaccessible even when you drive. The branch is situated such that it is outside of the hotel, but the only way you can get to it is to walk through and around the hotel. Pretty unusual for a family restaurant. The location also means that it’s the kind of restaurant that is only popular among the regulars. Definitely not the kind that you would go «let’s try this!» when walking around, because its simply quite isolated from popular shopping areas. The branch at Suntec City is slightly better, but also difficult to navigate at the basement area of the huge complex. But once you’ve tried it, there’s a high chance that you’ll become a regular just like me.