Roman’s Gourmet Express

Yay! This awful place is closed! :)

This place is sub-​par, at best! Their mini breakfast burritos are what kept me going there, until the quality started going south –and– I pulled a black hair out of my burrito. I’m sorry but you don’t have to be a master chef to get a tiny thing like an egg wrap right. The pastry’s shelf life must be long, because their croissants are rock hard and their salads, well, lets just say about half way through I found a large piece of bone and almost broke my tooth. Based on the attitude you get from the girls who work the register, you’d think they were working a 4star place. I’ve tried again and again to like this place but I just can’t anymore.

Went there today to try the sushi… ordered, watched over 10 people who ordered ahead of me and my friend get their food, watched the guy preparing my food do at least 8 to-​go orders before even looking at ours (for people who were not there waiting, because we were the only ones left at that point)… it took 25 minutes (I checked the time of my receipt against the time I actually got my food) for a carry out order of sub-​par sushi — disappointing because they charge as if it’s an actual sushi restaurant, but certainly is not that quality.

We went here today for the first time, and I was super excited; I really hoped it would be good since I work close to here and need a good sushi or salad place beside the same ol’ same ol’.
I should’ve realized we were doomed when I saw that the menu had everything from sushi to burgers to jambalaya wraps. This is one of those classic cases of «do everything mediocre and nothing good» syndrome. Also not helpful? The surly teenagers running the front. Protip! 17 year-​olds are probably not the best choice to expedite a kitchen at lunchtime.
The wait time was 25 min.; my friends and I all ordered at once, but since mine came out 15 min before theirs, by the time I got to my desk the tempura was soggy and the sushi warm. Nothing was great or even good about the sushi bento. Very basic and more bleargh than anything. (‘Bleargh’ is the noise you will emit while eating it.)
The tl;dr of it?
First I was like this: D
Then I was like this :/​
Finally, I was like this: x
Want a good, cheap sushi bento? Walk to Zono down the street.

* This is a 2.5 star review, but Glendale business always get rounded up since I like my city’s businesses to remain busy.
A co-​worker brought me to Romans for lunch today. Quite honeslty, i had never even heard of it prior to him suggesting it but beiung the trooper that I am, i agreed and then went straight to Unilocal to get the scoop prior to us leaving.
The menu is filled with wraps, sandwiches, and salads. They have breakfast items and other sides like backed goods, soups, sushi (?) et al. The place was busy but not packed and kept up quite well. There was upstairs seating (although we didnt venture up there) and patio seation (we DID venture out there).
I ordered a cup of the soup of the day which was corn chowder and half of a chicken sandwich. The soup was actually pretty good! It wasnt too heavy and the corn and potatoes were plentiful. The sandwich was OK. it was a fairly bland chicken breast topped with bacon and a sauce that was either aioli or cheese whiz or a combo of both. It was kinda weird — not in a bad way, just in a weird way. The sandwich came with a «salad» which was greens and dressing. I ended up scooping them onto the sandwich for a little crunch.
All in all it was a decent meal.
However with places like Hot Wings, Panera, Carousel and Portos just a few blocks down, I’m afraid there just isnt anything exceptional about Romans.

Got to hand to all the Unilocalers who’ve tried this place, the rating is on point — 2 stars! Came here with a couple of friends for lunch and am not impressed. The only reason we went here was it was near our offices. I usually find places with «express» in their names kinda sketchy since it normally is a lower quality version of the original (like the Califonia Pizza Kitchen express, except for Panda). I can’t even figure this place out since from the name and their logo I thought this was either a deli or they served italian food but for some odd reason they have Asian dishes, suhsi, and even had pulled pork sandwiches. So basically this place has some sort of identity crisis. Ok, so for the food, I ordered the Turkey BLT whcih came with salad and a small drink. Food is mediocre at best, kinda bland not enough mayo for my taste. it’s a sandwich I could’ve made at home but better. My friends said the same thing, their food was not great just mediocre. The only reason they got 2 stars from me is the portions, they are generous with the portions of their food. But then again, I’ve experienced better.

They have the best soups around!!! sandwiches and pasta r good too but too cheesy… staf is v helpful… itz a perfect place to goto whn itz chilly or raining outside and u feel like a bowl of soup…

I’m kind of baffled by all of the low stars for this place. I don’t come here that often, but when I do come, the food has been fresh and tasty. I like to get their sandwiches because I really like their ciabatta bread. Avoid the bbq pork sandwich though, I do remember being disappointed with that.
They could definitely lower their prices. While I do enjoy the grilled chicken sandwich, $ 7.49 plus tax is a bit on the expensive side. It should be more like $ 5.99.

I’ve only had 1 item here.
Mini breakfast burrito.
Cost: $ 1.50
Ingredients: egg, cheese, tortilla and supposedly hash browns. There were no hash or browns in mine. Disappointing.
I understand it’s cheap and convenient, but dude, do yourself a favour, walk a few more minutes down to da Juice Bar and get a really awesome breakfast burrito. Keep in mind it’ll be a whopping $ 2.49 more though.

The only thing Express about this joint has quick your anger will rise. I had a basic order — the special sandwich w/​side salad — and the place was pretty empty. 20 minutes later and still no order I asked what was up; order lost. The were able to produce an order wihtin a couple of minutes and it can only be decribed as the blanded sandwich with the most wilted salad I have ever seen. Total garbage — avoid at all costs.

This place is a solid two stars. The food is not terrible, it’s just sort of… ordinary. There are too many great places along Brand to be settling for Roman’s. Usually when I end up here its because it is close to where I work, and it’s raining outside. On the plus side, they have a great tropical iced tea; which I appreciate because plenty of nicer restaurants still serve crappy Lipton and charge you $ 2.00 for it.

Ugh — I was forced by time constraints to get a salad from here today. Normally the substandard chinese chicken salad is ok — but today I ordered the Greek Salad with chicken.
The menu board says «fresh lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, greek olives, feta…»
The menu board lied — because what I received was:
yellow, brown and wilted romain lettuce
«factory chicken»
soggy cucumbers
no tomato
browning white onions
I couldn’t even eat the salad — it’s now sitting in the trash.
I used to think this place was at least passable for lunch… not anymore — look elsewhere for a decent salad!

I hate this place. It’s one of the closest places for me to grab a sandwich when I’m at work, but after today’s experience I am never stepping foot in there again.
In the past I’ve had a chicken caesar salad make me sick to my stomach, so it was questionable based on that. I decided to give it one more try today, since the pastrami sandwich special on the board outside caught my eye.
Over 15 minutes from order until my food arrived. Took it back to office, just ate it at my desk. Or tried to eat it. It was so riddled with fat and gristle that I gave up and threw out most of it. Absolutely disgusting, poor quality pastrami. Perhaps not cooked properly.
You can do so much better in a 2-​block radius on Brand Blvd.

Been here twice, food is AVERAGE!!! Came here once for a chicken wrap I think the Santa Fe chicken wrap omg the damn wrap was stuffed with CHEESE and it wasn’t even melted I felt like I was eating a CHEESE wrap and it wasn’t that good.
Next time I came back for a Health Nut Salad. Okayyy that was goodddd. Good Portion salad, good portion on the chicken and the dresssing was delicious. never had anything like it… I would definiltey come back again just for this salad.
The décor is greattt I like that they have an upstairs part and there are 2 monster looking loungey sofas with a table. super comfortable and you can really just lounge and relax.
A lil pricey but ehhh what can you expect these days especially in Glendale.

Generously sized portions! I like how clean this restaurant is kept, it has patio seating and an upstairs loft type of area which is filled with small tables good for two people.
I ordered the BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich here for $ 6.99 pre-​tax. It came with a side of fries. It was very saucy and had good BBQ flavor, tangy and sweet. I was so stuffed afterwards. This is a convenient place to go for all the people working on Brand, either to eat on location or take back to the office.
The Cobb Salad is also a good choice and quite a filling salad. It is practically a small mound and almost overflowing from your plate. When you order your meals to-​go, they don’t skimp on the size either.
I agree on an earlier post on soups, when you are feeling under the weather you should order the chicken soup, its hearty!

Okay, so Roman’s doesn’t offer top quality Italian food. There is no question about that. Their pasta feels very «buffet» quality, with the sauce tending to be a bit thick and the noodles are often overcooked. The salads are basic and filling, although nothing to write home about.
So then why do I often come here for lunch? For their soups. Their soups are a great deal — about $ 2.75 — $ 4 for a hearty cup or bowl of soup plus roll. The minestrone that they offer every day is meh, but they often have pretty good soup of the day specials, ranging from roasted red bell pepper soup to new england clam chowder.
Also, on Fridays their fresh muffins and cookies are discounted at lunchtime. Good way to power yourself through a sleepy Friday afternoon in the office!

Very good Tri-​Tip Sandwich (great value, but watch out for the Peppercorn sauce unless you like strong peppercorn flavor), also good BLT, Grilled Chicken Breast Sandwich. I do not care for the Wraps, they tend to get dry during heating. Service can be slow. This is a very clean establishment with a bright atmosphere

I had lunch at Gourmet Roman’s Express the other day since I was in the area and needed a quick bite to eat. Well, there’s nothing «Gourmet» about this restaurant. The food’s TERRIBLE! I ordered penne with marinara and I might as well put ketchup on top of the pre-​drained pasta!
I’m not a great cook myself but I do believe I could make it better than they do there. I can’t understand why they have a line I had to wait through before they’d take my order.

So I gave Roman’s another shot. They’re still pretty bad and they don’t have any excuses for being new anymore.
I’ve tried calling in my order — they can’t hear me over the loud music and I’ve even been hung up on. Food is still mediocre at best and overpriced and the wait time is unreasonable.
Even when I was the only one there in the early morning it still took upwards of 20 minutes to get a simple order of eggs over easy and bacon.

I was hoping Roman’s would be a great all-​purpose sandwich shop. Unfortunately it is not. The sandwich options are limited and, worst of all, you only get one bread choice, Ciabatta.
I originally ordered a BLT because after all, how can you ruin a BLT? Well, they figured out how. The giant Ciabatta bread they force you to choose was simply too much bread for the portions of bacon, tomatoes and lettuce they provide.
I recently tried one of their «BBQ chicken» wraps but unfortunately they should have just called it a «BBQ Onion» wrap. There were more onions in it than chicken!
With so much competition in the area you’d think Roman’s would know better.