Romola’s Seafood & Grille

Excellent food and service. Great atmosphere with dim lighting and white table cloths. The zuppa di pesce was great as were the fried calamari and octopus apps. BYOB a plus! Prices are a little in the high side though.

Everything is great here.
Service is attentive and the dark lighting sets the mood.
Parking is in the garage next door which is very convenient.
I would like to return with friends to enjoy again!

Excellent service and food! Sea bass was delicious, mussels appetizer was amazing! Very attentive and friendly staff.

This was our first visit, and we did have a Groupon. We went for a date night and were very pleased with the atmosphere. Quiet, nice lighting, excellent service. Before even hearing the specials, we had warm crusty bread, chunks of delicious cheese, and an olive tapenade that was delicious. Great way to start. Having read other reviews, we shared a mesclun salad with mango and the octopus salad. Both were quite tasty
though they could have gone lighter on the dressing on the salad. The Chilean sea bass was very good, but not jaw-​dropping. My shrimp and scallops were delicious and with rich risotto, it was enough to take some home. Just as good for lunch the next day. We did not have dessert. I would definitely recommend it for a date if you both like seafood.

My wife and I decided to have dinner at this highly reviewed place on New Year’s Eve. The décor was nice, however it all went downhill and turned into a horrible experience. For appetizer, we had the grilled octopus, which was about the only enjoying experience at the restaurant. She got the $ 40.00 Chilean sea bass with risotto and I got the $ 39 sea scallops and jumbo shrimp in truffle oil with mushroom risotto. We have never had Chilean sea bass as rough in texture as that. Any other time we have had Chilean sea bass, the meat was buttery and juicy, but not here, leading me to believe it was definitely frozen. And even then, we’ve had better frozen Chilean sea bass before. The fish desperately lacked flavor, along with the risotto that came with it. My entrée came with 2 sea scallops and 3 shrimp that were certainly not jumbo in size. The scallops had a weird mercury type taste to them and the soft center texture was a dead giveaway that these were frozen and not fresh.
When it came time to pay, we presented our Groupon voucher — $ 30 for $ 50 worth of food. We checked the fine print prior to heading to the restaurant, and nowhere did it state that it was not valid on that day nor any holiday for that matter. The hostess brought our bill over and told us that they cannot accept the voucher today. I told her that the fine print did not exclude New Year’s Eve nor any other holidays. She replied that the chef was adamant about it not being accepted for the night. She went back to speak with the chef, who I could see was furious for whatever reason, and looked like he had a temper issue. Why the chef is charge of whether a voucher is accepted is beyond me. She came back to tell us again that it was not accepted, so I asked to speak with the manager. She brought over a guy who did not appear to be a manager, maybe a busboy at best. Either way the guy shoves it down our throat that they will not accept the voucher and that we should understand as its New Year’s Eve and they’re a business. I refute that the fine print does not exclude that day nor any other holidays, so it is not our fault nor should they make up new terms on the spot. He continued to refuse to accept our voucher. At the end of the day, what would they have lost, $ 20? So after a heated debate with them for about fifteen minutes and having our New Year’s Eve ruined, we decided it was not worth another minute of debate with staff that did not care about their customers. We paid the bill in full and left very disgruntled. I have never encountered a worse dining experience where the staff cared any less about their customers or even their business reputation. So in summation, if you want to be treated like money bags who are there just to shut up and eat their crappy overpriced food, then this is the place.

The food experience was much better this time around and once again the service was great. I started with a hot octopus appetizer that was great. My main course, pictured below, of shrimp and scallops was delicious.
Now I see what everyone else is Unilocaling about.

Tried this place with a Groupon tonight. Hubby had the Osso Buco and I had the Shrimp and Scallop with mushroom risotto, we shared the fried calamari appetizer. Everything was excellent. Great service, we felt welcomed and was never rushed. Worth coming without a Groupon. Can’t wait to come back again!

I tried this new gem out today on a whim for a date night. I was craving fresh seafood, I saw they had an awesome groupon deal$ 30 for $ 50 worth of food and really good reviews on Unilocal.First impressions upon walking in, very dim and intimate, casual dress code (even though I was in jeans and a hoodie) the staff was very warm and friendly, despite I didn’t blend in with the casual dress theme. prices are fair because the food is just so fresh and just that good. Overall, excellent experience. I had the seafood fradiablo, and shared a crab cake app. Best crab cake in Union county. A MUST VISIT! You won’t be disappointed.

Best ahi tuna around! Friendly service. They always have something interesting on a menu to make your evening special.

Fantastic food with a simple, yet warm and inviting ambiance. The wait staff was very nice and super attentive. Food was nothing short of great. The menu is simple and short. I enjoyed the seafood fradiablo and the portion size was on point. Dish was flavorful and very balanced. BYOB is a thumbs up! I will definitely dine at their establishment again.

Great food, great service! They really made you feel special! And a liquor store right next store to grab a bottle of wine! The grilled octopus was amazing and I didn’t think I would like it and I did! I will definitely return!

Our first visit here was for their bargain Tuesday-​Thursday 4 course $ 36 dinner, whih has many options.
First course – 3 medium tasty shrimp and a larger, but over battered fried calamari, both with good sauces. Second-​tasty, but small salads. Third – excellent slightly small salmon; 2 shrimp, 2 scallops and small mushroom risotto – all tasty, Fourth – nice sorbet and crème caramel.
I do not know if these are their standard sized portions (as entrees are $ 25 – 35, I hope not, but…) or they are shrunk for the prix fixe. It may also be that only shrimp and scallop dishes are tiny.
Service was excellent. BYO is a major plus. Outdoor seats (but traffic noise) and nice indoor décor.
Well worth a second visit, which may lead to a higher rating if I actually get enough to eat.,

Price fix on Sundays for $ 30 for a three course meal. Phenomenal service and food! Great outdoor seating with nice ambiance music. You feel like you’re in Europe! We had the eggplant rollatini, burrata salad, salmon and crab capellini with cannolis for dessert. Everything was delicious!!! This is a must go to!!!

I enjoyed the food here immensely. Everything was fresh & cooked to perfection.
The service was excellent & pleasant. I wish I lived closer so I could go back more often

Shared a solid meal here on Mother’s Day that was only marred by the atrocious behavior of guests at the outside tables.
Parents, please don’t let your kids run wild and swing around the trees when other patrons are trying to dine. It’s just inconsiderate and rude. Sitting outside doesn’t mean that good manners are optional.
Additionally, this is a *seafood* restaurant. The table who came and ordered steak au poivre then sent it back multiple times, good lord. Your displeasure with your meal was distracting and if you really wanted a steak (yes with peppercorns!) why not try a steakhouse?
The food was great, service outstanding, fellow humanity truly lacking.

The grilled octopus appetizer was absolutely delicious, among the very best I’ve ever tasted. The seafood crepes with caviar and béchamel sauce were delightful.

I cannot rave enough about this restaurant – everything from the ambiance, service, and of course, the FOOD!
Took my husband here for his birthday last night and we had the best time ever. It’s our first time celebrating together as husband and wife, so I wanted it to be extra special. We both ordered from the 4 course Winter Prix-​Fixe menu (you MUST try this before winter is over and the menu changes).
1^st course– we both had the oysters. They were delicious and incredibly fresh.
2^nd course– we both ordered the Manhattan clam chowder. This is hands down THE best chowder I’ve ever had in my life. It wasn’t fishy tasting nor salty – it was light but hearty with just the right amount of flavor packed in. I was half tempted to lick the bowl, it was so good. :p My husband could not stop raving about it either. I hope they keep this on their Spring/​Summer menu.
Main course– my husband had the shrimp and scallops and I had the Capellini Crab meat. We felt like we ordered the best off the list. We are both huge seafood lovers, so to taste freshness in our meal made us happy. Our dishes weren’t overcooked and crazy flavors were bursting out with each savory bite. Again, we cleaned off our plates.
Dessert– we had one of each: Tres Leches cake and crème caramel. Both were delicious! The crème caramel tasted like ice cream. It wasn’t too sweet or syrupy – just perfect for my taste buds. Our waitress was awesome and had written out, Happy Bday Baby, on my husband’s Tres Leches dish. I had requested it prior to making reservations and they were super accommodating.
A very big **THANK YOU** to our waitress, server, and the Chef for making our night magical and memorable. We greatly appreciate it! You will be seeing us again real soon. :)

Not sure what went wrong here. Maybe an identity crisis?
The seafood was great — fresh, generous and well presented. Excellent crab cake.
The surf and turf left much to be desired. The filet, ordered medium rare, arrived practically mooing. Purple and cold in the center. Actually cold! We sent it back, they said they would cook it more. It reappeared at the table adequately cooked. But. It had gristle, and was tough! What kind of filet mignon has gristle?! Cheap filet. That’s what kind.
On top of it, the polenta they served was completely flavorless. Such a fail.
If we hadn’t ordered that dish I would have given them two more stars, as everything else was quite nice.

I could not have been more pleased. We both tried two different soups, the asparagus and lobster bisque. They were uniquely delicious.
Instead of entrees, we shared a number of appetizers. I recommend the tuna tartare. It rivals the same from elite restaurants.
Overall phenomenal experience with fantastic service.

Had a belated holiday dinner here with my co-​workers on a Thursday night. It wasn’t crowded, but the service was a bit slow. The host did say it was the waitress’s first night, but she did forget little things, like bringing over sugar for coffee and giving us the check. However, I’m sure that with more experience she’ll improve.
Onto the food! We started with grilled octopus, crabcake, and a goat cheese and beet salad. The octopus was amazing, as good as any I’ve ever had. The crabcake was also delicious, with barely any filler. The salad was fine, basically exactly what you would expect from a salad. All portion sizes were a very good size, perfect for splitting.
For my entrée I went with the bouillabaisse, while my companions each chose the pasta columbo special (linguine with seafood and broccoli rabe). I enjoyed my bouillabaisse, though I felt it could have had a bit more seafood and broth. However, it was definitely tasty. My companions loved their dishes, and in retrospect I would definitely give high consideration to the specials next time. Romola’s is a great addition to downtown Cranford, especially as it’s byo but also offers a wine menu, provided by a local wine store. Perfect for those nights when you forget to bring wine with you. I’m really looking forward to going back.