Caffe Roma

I like this place. Simple Italian. They don’t try to be trendy by putting an egg on top of your spaghetti dinner to claim some idiotic innovation prize. Salads are basic. Sauce is traditional red. Meatballs are like your Italian grandma’s. Chicken Parmesan is thin cut and tasty, but I don’t think it’s prepared fresh for each order. All in all a decent spot for bare bones, no frills Italian. Its not Mama Santa’s, but not bad for a west side, non-​chain, hole in the wall.

Lovely food. Simple yet tasty and a real value
Will return as often as I can
Very friendly staff.

Café Roma brings back memories of eating in a mom & pop restaurant in the North End of Boston. Homemade meatballs were just right, pasta not overcooked, veal cutlet the real deal. Cannoli is also freshly made. Hard to find, but don’t miss out.

My husband raved how good the food was here. I wanted olive garden. But, nooo. he insisted we go here.
Needless to say… not impressed in the least. Very outdated, dirty, and I was cringing on the inside. To appease this man of mine, I gave it a try. We ordered wedding soup, mozzarella sticks, andpizza. I ordered angel hair with marinara, and he ordered eggplant parm. It was a whole pound of boxed pasta with out of the jar ragu sauce. The soup was ok. Microwaved no doubt.
Our waitressnever came over… not once while we were eating to see how things tasted. She sat talking with some guy the whole time. Then, some guy who worked there was out working on his car out back, kept coming in and out huffing and puffing whilst mumbling under his breath.
45 dollars later plus a tip… Not worth it. Definitely not authentic Italian food.

I love fine dining; I love adventurous dining. But sometimes on a gloomy mid-​October day I just crave comfort food. Not complex, simple but well executed. I randomly chose to do take-​out from Caffe Roma. I was not disappointed! The lasagna was rich, tasted like it had been made with homemade noodles, and came in a huge portion. The garlic bread was also wonderful, homemade bread slathered in garlic butter and topped with cheese. Just what my old italian nana would have made me years ago if I had had one!
Adventurous Italian dining? No. What you enjoyed as a kid? Yes.

I’ve been here a handful of times over the years. It’s family owned and one time I had a kid around the age of 12 filling my water for me. The food has always been good, quality Italian food. I have had the chicken parm and gnocchi. Parking can be a nightmare behind the restaurant due to double parking so if you’re dining with another couple, try to coordinate that. Prices are great and their tiramisu was delicious. I’m sure I’ll continue to return for years to come.

Best veal piccata in town. Recently tried Café Roma and figured this time I’d comment on the food. This is a MUST STOP place if you’re looking for an authentic Italian restaurant. Joe and Carla run the kitchen like your mother and father would when you were growing up. What more could one ask for? 5 stars!

This is how Italian cooking should be! Sauces are absolutely fantastic. Everything is home made here and they use no garlic on the sauces and no ricotta on lasagna just how it should be! Place is simple, not big but the food is fantastic. Staff is really friendly and I do disagree with all the other reviews saying the opposite.
The bread for the sandwiches is freshly baked which makes them extra tasty!

I work close to this resturant and heard fair reviews… I ordered spagetti and sausage dinner and could not eat it… it was the worst spagetti I have ever orderd. The sauce was like ketchup and it was semi-​warm. For the money… I will never order or eat from here again! Sandra D

I’ve lived in the same neighborhood as Caffe Roma for years. I dined here the week I moved into my new house in 2008 and really had no desire to return, despite its convenient location.
I recently made a second visit, totally hoping that they’ve improved. But nope!
I just don’t get it — the penne arrabiata I ordered was basically penne with Ragu for about $ 10. My date ordered pasta olio e aglio (normally my favorite dish to order at any Italian restaurant), and he was underwhelmed as well.
I should have consulted Unilocal reviews first… Maybe in five or six years when I venture back against my will, I’ll try the pizza.
Also, the rumors of the employees not getting tipped out — that is pretty disturbing.

An Italian friend raved about this restaurant so my Sicilian bf and I went to Caffe Roma for dinner last night. It’s a no frills spot. paper napkins, plastic table cloth, and sports on a tv. That isn’t a problem though– we went there for the food. Honestly we were disappointed at the quality of he food and overall experience. We ordered salads and knew they would basically consist if iceberg, tomato, and cucumber, which was fine. They tasted fresh and I liked the Italian dressing, and that it was on the side. The bread was weird. Dry and overdone in the outside, soft and gluey on the inside. I suspect microwaving was employed.
My boyfriend didn’t revive his drink until after we finished our salads, and even then he had to remind the sever about it. Aside from about 7 workers loitering about and loudly rolling silverware, there was only one other couple dining. There may have been more people on the other side of the restaurant though.
Ok so our food. We realllly wanted to love it but man! What a fail. His stuffed penne was literally the exact same as some flavorless stuff I bought for $ 3.00 in the freezer aisle at Aldi recently. No herbs, spices, or character.
My eggplant parm made me sad. It’s not fair to compare it to Bruno’s which is staggeringly wonderful, however I think I would have been a lot more satisfied with boring old Olive Garden in this scenario. My rigatoni was thick and undercooked and the sauce was too sweet and with little redeeming qualities. That’s the good stuff. The two thin eggplant planks were battered and deep fried! Gross! They were greasy, soggy, falling apart and entirely void of flavor aside from fryer oil. For almost $ 40.00 we could have gone to Bruno’s, paid a little extra for an exceptional experience, and had leftovers for two days.

Down to earth, inexpensive Italian fare. I had the Wedding Soup and it was very flavorful. I also had Angel Hair Carbonara, and it was delicious. The wine selection is also pretty decent for a «divey» little place.

I’d eaten here once before with a large group, and wasn’t overly impressed but didn’t hate it either. Recently, I was a fan. I ordered take-​out, and within 15 minutes of phoning in I was on my way home with enough lasagne and tiramisu for two days (one portion of each) for $ 14. I also received a portion of what I perceived to be homemade Italian bread. It was just as I like it — warm and chewy. The lasagne was accompanied by a delicious bright red sauce, and I was provided a portion of Kraft-​style Parmesan cheese. It was a bit salty, so I didn’t use it. All in all, you’ll get very good home-​made food for a decent price. You can’t beat that as far as I’m concerned.

Not overly impressed. The calamari was decent but nothing special. We got the pasta carbonara and the lasagna. The carbonara had a really odd after taste and was very salty, while the lasagna had an extremely sweet red sauce and the noodles were over cooked. Really didn’t feel it was worth the $ 40 bill. The plus side was the homey atmosphere, but the waitress could have been much friendlier. Overall I will not be returning.

My wife and I wanted Italian food, we found this restaurant on our GPS.
The food was fantastic and the quiet cozy feel reminded us of being back in Milan.
The portions were perfect and the service outstanding. My wife had the stuff ziti, it was out of this world. We finished our dinner with gelato and cannoli. Wow!
We definitely will return when in the area.

I’ve been coming here since they opened in 2004. My family was actually one of their first customers! I love this place!
This place is the perfect small Italian eatery with a cozy feel to it.
The food is amazing! Great portions, home-​cooked style Italian food. My favorite is the cavatelli with meatballs, spaghetti aglio-​olio, and chicken parmesan! Also definitely get a salad before the meal, the house dressing is a delicious oil and vinegar style dressing! Tiramisu is also a great finish to a wonderful meal! I recommend it!
Caffe Roma is run by a wonderful Italian family, and the service is great! Always friendly and make you feel right at home!
If you live in the area, don’t miss this wonderful gem of a restaurant! Try it!

I’ve often found that increased complexity is not a good sign – it usually indicates that an establishment is trying to hide some of the flaws somewhere in their processes. So it’s an encouraging sign that Caffe Roma serves up no-​frills Italian food, letting the fresh ingredients shine through on their own.
By far my favorite part of the meal was the bread selection. Hot, fresh Italian bread is an excellent (and dare I say, necessary) start to the meal. Just be careful not to eat too much as the main dish portions are on the large side.
I ordered the Italian Sausage Sandwich with Peppers and Onions. The sausage was very flavorful but not overly spicy while the roll was one of the freshest I’ve ever had with a sandwich. I’d get it again, though the pasta main dishes that other people ordered looked great as well. Decisions, decisions…
But that was all child’s play compared to the desserts. Homemade cannolis filled with a mascarpone cream filling as well as Tiramisu that was pretty heavy on the rum (or whatever alcohol was used) – you can’t beat that! And the portions are small enough that you don’t need to feel bad about taking two. I’ve heard the gelato is very good as well, but I haven’t had the chance to try it yet.
The only drawback was the somewhat slow and unresponsive service. Though it makes for a nice, relaxing, Italian-​style meal, it was a bit overkill. This was particularly the case after the meal when it took a little while for us to get the check and have the credit card processed. If you run into similar problems when you eat here, a gentle nudge might help.

So NOT fair to rate this restaurant on anything other than what it is: old style Italian food, made by old style Italians.
Do the vinyl tableclothes and casual bar make it look like you should expect a gourmet salad? No, it screams iceberg. So why would you order it and then Complain about it? (see below reviews)
One look at this place and you’ll know what you should order:
Gnocchi, spaghetti, meatballs and bread.
All as authentic as any Italian grandmas kitchen.
Order things they make from scratch; their specialties.
Delicious.

Based on recommendations (from Unilocalers Will S and Cara L) I ventured to West Park to try out Caffe Roma. I liked the place and enjoyed my meal so I’ll be back (next time I’m trying the the Pasta Puttanesca!)
The salad was iceberg lettuce based but not poured from a bag. Although basic it was one of the best salads I’ve had out. It is odd to be excited by a restaurant having a chilled super fresh, crisp iceberg lettuce based salad! It was topped with a few veggies and a generous handful of shredded mozzarella and with a tasty Italian dressing served alongside homemade yeast rolls. The red wine I selected was basic although a slight pour and I wished they would invest in some decent wine besides all purpose Libby glasses they used! :-)
Some of the pastas are homemade but not all so be sure to ask as I did — although it was odd to me that the servers had no idea which they made there and had to get a manager or owner to talk with me. I did love that the person who came over had a heavy Italian accent. I choose a pasta that was made there — I think a cavatappi type. I really enjoyed and appreciated that it was more savory (and in this case a little spicy) and not a sweet sauce.
Not being a red meat eater I did ask the server if the sauce had meat in it and learned that it did not. When she brought it to me she said she had them prepare it with the marinara because the typical sauce they use has meat broth in it. That was nice of her to take care of this and good to know should you be a serious vegetarian or vegan. The serving was generous so I had a small serving for lunch the next day.
The environment is very casual and basic with vinyl table cloths covering the tables in a spacious dining room. The service was good, prices very affordable although I had kind of hoped for a cute, cozy Italian décor that wasn’t the case yet it was a good basic Italian diner.

A bit of the allure is gone for me, but I still love their arrabiata sauce way too much for my own good.
It seems their food has changed, just slightly. New cooks since the small expansion, maybe? I don’t know. All I do know is that I loved looking into the previous kitchen and seeing the little, Italian ladies cooking up a storm. Now you look in on who appear to be young, borderline teenage boys. Sigh… it’s just not the same. The portions seem slightly smaller and the salads got some sprucing up.
What is the same is that arrabiata… oh, yes. Being a creature of habit I can’t help but order that sauce poured abundantly over a big mound of angel hair pasta with meatballs. Also, their homemade bread comes out piping hot, ready to melt some butter. Carb-​e-​diem, people. Totally worth the hours of working on my fitness that will ensue the next day.
The service has always been a little sketchy, so that was pretty much the same. They also chopped down their wine selections significantly and made each bottle $ 15 each. I didn’t enjoy the Pinot Noir we ordered, mostly because I could have bought it from the grocery store for well under $ 10 – but that’s just life when you’re ordering wine from a restaurant. Mark-​up City!
Anyways, I still can’t drop them a start considering I continue to come back and enjoy my food. And for that price? It still rocks. I just wish some of the more recent changes would go back to the way they used to be. Ahhh, memories…