Romano’s Macaroni Grill

I was going to give Macaroni Grill two stars instead of one, but «Eek! Methinks not» describes my experience perfectly.
Would not recommend for large parties (ie. 20 people… but for the record, we were less than 20). On a Saturday evening, the restaurant wasn’t busy but service was severely lacking. One server was assigned to our large group, and after she took everyone’s drink orders, she disappeared. Then, only half of the group got their drinks. The waiter came back and asked if everyone got their drinks… nope. We had to point out the whole side of the table that had no drinks in front of them.
I did like the complimentary rosemary bread that you can dip in their olive oil and cracked black pepper. However, they had a monopoly on the black pepper because they wouldn’t leave it at the table. We had to keep asking the waiter for more black pepper (but we had to ask several times because she kept forgetting). We also put in for some appetizers — calamari, bruschetta, and mac & cheese bites. The mac & cheese bites were the best of the bunch, even though they were on the bland side. The bruschetta was okay, but too oily for my tastes. The calamari came out cold. Fried calamari is not as good when it’s cold.
In the midst of all the hubbub, our orders still had not been taken yet. Drinks were served, appetizers were eaten, and we were all just sitting there with our menus, waiting to give our orders. After speaking with the manager, we got a different waitress who did a good job of picking up the slack, but by then it was too little, too late.
They did their best to get everyone their dish at approximately the same time, but they lost track of one order. Once we pointed it out, they had it out in a jiffy. None of the steak in the steak and greens salad were cooked to the right temperature. Some of the pasta was dry and clumpy. My dish, the Parmesan-​Crusted Sole, was fine. The sole was mild but the sun-​dried tomato orzo was colorful and flavorful.
When the servers came to check on the table, they would only check at the front of the table. By the time we would pass the message down to the rest of the group, asking if anyone needed anything, the server would be gone. Our response to the rest of the table: Too late!
In the words of Joey from Friends, service was «abysmal.»
Also, the bathrooms are not maintained.
Needless to say, we won’t be returning.

Today has been one of the worst experience that we had in this restaurant. The waitress assumed that she had taken our order. She then bought food but forgot to give us the plates to eat in. The. When asked to get plates she gave it to us from the other side of the restaurant divider. The plates were wet with water on them.
I called the waitress again as said that I would like her to pay more attention to me she said that she is trying too hard but that we should speak to the manager. I had not asked for the manager but she just jumped the hoop.
Anyways, we had lost our appetites till then.
This will be the last time that we come here that is for sure.

positive attributes:
— The location is perfect, right by the fair oaks mall.
— They have an outside terrace so you can dine outside.
— The waitress that we had was outstanding, very knowledgeable, giving advices and funny.
— the food is fresh
— the bread is amazing
— the portions are big — you can easily share an entrée with someone else
— half price on wine on thursday
negative attributes:
— the manager was not welcoming.
— the bartender dropped the bottle on our table, closed, with the wine opener next to it. We had to open it and serve ourselves, which is an interesting concept in a restaurant
— chocolate cake is really not good. Too dry– tastes like the cake mix from the grocery store

Not sure how this place stays in business! I’ve never been there; but had a gift card so I thought I’d use it. Wasn’t acknowledge when my son and I walked in around 4:00 on a Tuesday. The manager just walked past us so we sat ourselves in the bar. The bartender was also flippant about our presence. I asked her what the happy hour specials were and she said to look at the board. I decided that was reason enough to just leave. No wonder this establishment has such low cores on Unilocal. I tried; but I have to agree with the other critics … DONT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY. There are too many other restaurants nearby that will be happy to have your business.

Quality has improved over the last year. Recently my wife and I have been going for lunch. I love their penne arrabiatta that comes as part of the 3 course meal. Their bread is always great. I usually take home an extra meal.

I wish I can give them negative star!
We walked in through the to go door and the manager was so mean! She greeted with us «what you want?» We were surprised!!! And we had a coupon so we ordered our express lunch and she was very mean and her demeanor was degrading. Her name is Maria!!!
I’m never ever coming back ever again. This is my very first time in macaroni grill and THE LAST!

Terrible service tonight. Worst service I have had in awhile and the server only had one table, which was ours. Extremely rude, forgot food, and didn’t do anything to help the situation just stood around talking to her co-​workers, ignoring her one table. It’s a shame, because the food was pretty good once it came out. Will not be going back.

It’s been a while since I’ve been to the Macaroni Grill because the nearest location is 30 minutes away and the last few times I went I’ve had a bad experience with the service. I decided to give this Macaroni Grill location another try last night because I was in the area and had a 20% off email coupon. I ordered over the phone and picked my old favorite Penne Rustica without shrimp. I asked the person on the phone if I could have extra chicken in place of the shrimp and they agree to do that. I was told it would take about 15 — 20 minutes to prepare my meal. I arrived at the Macaroni Grill about 15 minutes later and they were packed inside. Even though they were packed my order was ready and the 20% had already been taken off the bill. The Penne Rustica was just as good as I remembered it and there was defiantly extra chicken substituted for the shrimp. A full loaf of bread also comes standard with a take out meal. That’s a good deal getting a whole loaf of bread for a single order. The quality of food and service has improved at this location. It won’t be as long before my next visit.

Not impressed! The waitress was inattentive, we had to ask multiple times for drinks and when she finally brought them, they were the wrong ones!
The food was overcooked, overly oiled, and overly salted. I have had many good meals at this chain, I would not recommend this location!

First time here.
We ordered two chicken parmesan plate, veggie pasta snd lobster Ravioli and one Calamari Firitti. All of them were hearty and delicious. Also the kitchen manager was well behaved and nice. The environment is cosy and friendly.

Complete crap. I haven’t been to a romano’s in five years since I moved from California. I got the penne rustica.
Pre made. The pasta was not well rehydrated. No flavor. Parmesan cheese wasn’t even offered and I only noticed because I saw a different waiter offer it to someone else.
Won’t be back.

Wanted some pasta so came here with my dad.
It was lunch time as soon as we came in to the stand, the only host ran off to a different direction. We waited a while and was finally seated.
Our waitress scribbled in chicken scratch her name, which I didn’t even try to remember.
She rushed us so much the whole time.
She would even cut off my dad when he was trying to ask questions about the menu and gave him an irritated tone. Pretty bad customer service throughout the whole lunch.
Plus I still found previous food glued on and not scrubbed off of my utensil.
I asked for new ones and same thing. Gag.

3.5 stars
Ever since the Reston location closed, my family had been craving the Macaroni Grill bread. The restaurant chain is family friendly, and this location was pretty busy on a Saturday night!
Service was 5-​stars in its own right: our server was incredibly attentive and conversational, and open about suggestions. The manager also visited our table and allowed us to sample a sauce before ordering accordingly.
My parents were astounded with the lamb selection, while I had sampled the grilled vegetables (nothing wrong there!). I’m not an expert with eggplant Parmesan, but could have probably been spared the oil or fried eggplant in its own right.
Overall, I may be hesitant to give the full four-​stars because of variety available for vegetarians. Regardless, Italian food isn’t inherently vegetarian-​friendly, and the staff does a good job to offer flex options and replace ingredients.

My boyfriend and I stopped by for a quick lunch at Macaroni Grill, and unfortunately, we left very very v e r y dissatisfied.
The good:
Our waitress was very attentive and nice. She promptly took our order and we received our food in a timely manner.
It’s always fun to draw on the paper table cloths with the crayons they provide!
The bad:
Honestly, my boyfriend’s dish — I think he got the Pasta Milano? — was pretty decent! It was angel hair pasta with an arugula salad and grilled chicken, which, could have been/​most definitely was taken from a bag of frozen Perdue chicken.
I wasn’t so lucky. I ordered the mushroom ravioli (porcini-​stuffed fresh pasta, caramelized onions, marsala cream sauce) and it was n o t good. The marsala cream sauce was like warm milk on a plate and the dish looked so unappetizing with four ravioli pieces slopping around all over the place.
We also saw a ¼″ thick layer of dust caked on to the décor next to our booth and it made us wonder what else isn’t regularly maintained/​cleaned. I don’t remember the restaurant being this bad a few years ago; maybe they got new management? Either way, they need to get it together!!!

We like to come and sit in the bar area and enjoy some wine and appetizers. Today we had the Pesto Primavera pizza. It was delicious. There’s a new brunch menu with $ 2 mimosas.
Warning to parents hostess drops «F» bombs at will
Another try at Macaroni Grill. This time we wasted 15 minutes with no menu, wait staff attention. The manager. Looked up and gave the OK to sit in the bar and then pointedly ignored us. I am shocked that they are able to stay open. Horrible service!

We got a gift card to Macaroni Grill awhile back and decided to finally use it.
Placed an order online and our food was ready for pick up in 15 mins. Employees were friendly and quick. The manager ensured our to go bag had silverware, napkins, olive oil, dressing, parmesan cheese, and bread inside. The portions were very generous. I got 4 meals out of the Eggplant Parmagean entrée. Super!

For lunch my friend and I ordered the Chicken Milanese Panzanella, Baked Ravioli, and Spaghetti Vendi. The pasta was described as a creamy pesto base but it was more of an olive oil pesto based spaghetti. I loved the idea of this pasta but the taste was pretty bland and greasy. The baked ravioli was pretty good. The tomato sauce was a little bit more acidic than I would have liked it but it was good. Felt very fresh. The Chicken Milanese Panzanella is under the salad section of the menu but it was more like chicken with some grass. It was the best dish out of the three but unexpected not salad. Overall, everything was good and had awesome portions… So make sure you order one plate for yourself. Don’t think because its 7 dollars that it will be in small portions!

I had their express lunch deal. It had fast service and actually good food! $ 7 for 4 pieces of chicken panini! See my pictures for detail:)
I recommend this place for the deals!

This is a happy hour review.
I had their «New Manhattan» and two antipasta: meatballs and cheese stuffed peppers.
Service: I did not find out there was a happy hour until my bill arrived and my drink was cheaper than expected. Had I known beforehand, I might have drank more. On that note, the bar tender was not engaging with the customers at all and while the bar was full, it was not overwhelmingly busy.
Food: my two dishes were fresh and good for the price.
Bar atmosphere on a Tuesday evening was not too crowded or noisy.
Overall, this is an ok place if you live nearby, but I would not go out of my way to come here.
Updated comment 7÷20÷2015:
Bar sucks. Happy hour over at 7 and the atmosphere and drink menu suck

This review is for the Express Dinner — $ 9 delivered in 9 minutes, or it’s free. Sign up for the email club for $ 5 coupons or a BOGO offer.
At this location, you enter the restaurant and head over to the kitchen side of the building, to the right. See the posted menu above, then place your order with the staff person at the ordering station. Take your number and sit at one of the dozen tables closest to the ordering station. Servers bring drinks, plates and silverware, but it’s a no muss, no fuss kind of set-​up, so you don’t have an actual server who checks back in regularly.
I ordered the Prosciutto & Chicken Penne. The description said cream sauce, but it was actually a pink sauce (white and red mixed). Overall it was salty. I didn’t notice it at the start, but about halfway through the dish, I was salted out. I think the natural saltiness of the prosciutto combined with the over-​salted sauce was a bad combo. The portion size was generous, but I chose to leave the leftovers behind.
My husband had the Pesto Chicken Farfalle. A little sweet for my taste, and the pasta was drown in the soupy sauce. Other options on the menu include a Buffalo Chicken Spaghetti, Brisket Ravioli or Rigatoni, Pork Belly and Chicken Carbonara or a seasonal pasta.
Add a round of the rosemary bread for $ 1, or a side salad for $ 3.
Note that there are no kid options on this menu, but the staffer allowed us to tack on an item from the kid’s menu. Kid options are $ 5+ and include a drink. The kid’s mac and cheese is a simple cheese sauce tossed with penne.
Overall, the food is average. At 6 p.m., there were only about a dozen other tables filled in the restaurant. Service was helpful and fast. The $ 9 dinners are a fairly good value for the portion size, but there are so many better tasting options at the same cost elsewhere.