Roman Forum

The service was great and the place was huge and pristine. I can’t figure out how I came at the peak lunch hour and there were more people in line at the cleaners next door! I was the only person in here for the better part of 30 minutes. The food was just ok… on the bland side. Food alone, 1.5 stars… the service improved the score.

Excellent! Loved the food and the kids loved the play area! Not very busy but that is better news for us! Everything is home made! Really yummy!

Good food and good service. Love the house dressing and the fresh veggies.

I have now been here 2 times. The food is amazing although a little on the salty side the sangria makes up for it! Service has always been with a smile we never felt rushed or forgot about! I have been in the hospitality industry for over 20 years and there is not much I can disagree with there. Keep up the good work!!! P. S. Everyone rating on service you have to remember that servers and bartenders come and go try just judging the food… Also TIPS means To Insure Proper Service and if your waitstaff doesn’t deserve it don’t leave it!

Had dinner here last week and I was very impressed. The restaurant boasts everything is made from scratch and it certainly tasted that way. My chicken dish was very nicely prepared and my wife’s eggplant Parmesan was very good as well. The playroom they have for the kids is a very very nice bonus for any parent.

I do not know how they get much less the 5 stars as our meal were almost perfect as I had the broiled Sole 13 $ which had a wonderful sauce and would of been a perfect 5 star but they serves spaghetti in a red sauce which I did not find a good paring so next time I remember to ask for an alternate. The other dish we had thought was perfect the gorgonzola filet 20 $ which had a seasoned roosted Potato’s cubs which were some of the best I ever had the Filet was very tender good size and prefect med rare.

I’m really surprised by the negative reviews of this restaurant. Every time I try it, the service is friendly, attentive and the food is very good. They have a way with chicken.

Tried this restaurant again. I guess I don’t learn. Bad service and bad attitude. Fist it appears that the sign for when it is open is always wrong. I mentioned to the staff that the sign says they are open for breakfast, but they are not. I guess that was a sensitive subject because from that point on things were slammed down or tossed. I will never try again. Customers don’t come first.

I WOULD RATE THIS PLACE, REFUSE TO AWARD IT THE NAME RESTAURANT, ZERO STARS IF ABLE. I HAD THE WORST
MEALS, FOOD AND SERVICES EVER EXPERIENCED. Service for the food took well over one hour and fifteen minutes. Some of our party we almost finished eating before the rest of us got our Salads. I ordered chicken marshal which came with sliced red potatoes instead of pasta like the menu stated. I was over charged for the salads, bread was delivered after most we finished eating and my coffee came after only three requests. NEVER WASTE YOUR TIME HERE!!!

I have to give this place 5 stars based on one thing. The sauce. That is all that matters in an Italian restaurant. Theirs is mixed with ricotta, at least for the eggplant parmigiana. Maybe that’s cheating to slip cheese in there but it is a real treat to find good sauce in an Italian restaurant in tampa.
We ordered the eggplant parmigiana and two pizzas. One gardinia pizza with eggplant, zucchini and other vegetables. And a classic margherita pizza as we wanted a point to compare to the other places we’ve tried.
The pizza is good. Three stars. The toppings were good. Mine came out a bit too cool but my husbands pizza was piping. My mother loved the pizza. The crust can be better but it is good pizza for the average person (I’m admittedly a pizza snob).
The eggplant parmigiana was 4 stars. Very good. A delight! Eggplant very tasty. My husband thought it was too mushy but I liked it. The cannoli’s were very good. The filling was a little thin for me but good flavor. Apparently they have tiramisu too.
The service is out of this world. Sam greeted us at the door and was very friendly. Heather our waitress was on top of all concerns. A young man came out to serve the pizza and he was laughing and joking with us
The music there is soooo amazing!!! I was rocking out to bon jovi and Michael Jackson.
The place is huge. Lots of money put into that place. They need to market more to get it packed. No one was hardly there.
I noticed they have Italian lessons starting up sept 16. Dinner and a lesson. I think I’ll join. Why not?
I’ll go back for sure. Nice atmosphere and I want to try more non-​pizza items as well as the coffees.

I can not give this place any stars because it was such a terrible experience from start to finish
My husband tried to drive thru for lunch at 2:00 pm — no one came to the window and there was not even a bell.
He then went inside to find a huge ace with two tables occupied .
He approached the counter and mentioned to the waitress that he was at the drive thru bit no one came
She could not have been less interested in the customer experience
Undaunted my husband ordered several items including a Cuban sandwich that he had to ask for it to be pressed– the fact that they pressed lettuce and tomatoe on the sandwich was terrible
When we asked for the check, the waitress had an incorrect total that we pointed out to her.
The reply was negative and as my husband had a copy of the menu in his hand !
The waitress was huffy and unfriendly because she had to redo the check
I can say we will not be back!
The only reason they got a star was to post this

Roman Forum is another place that I’ve driven by countless time but have never been to. I was surprised at how much space there is inside of it. The place is enormous! This restaurant has one of the strangest layouts that I’ve ever seen. We were seated in «Piazza Grande», which is the large seating area in the front near the «food court». I was confused as to what the food court was supposed to be. It did look like a food court in the mall, but it seemed empty and there appeared to be nothing in the three glass display cases that it had. From where we were sitting I could see a little into the sports bar section. I didn’t look in the «La Veranda Ristorante» section, which is apparently the more upscale section of the restaurant.
I ordered the Chicken Francese and it was pretty good. The vegetables were really skimpy with the broccoli and I wasn’t crazy about the pasta, but the chicken had a nice flavor to it. I’d be interested in coming back to see what their pizza is like.

Last night we stopped in for dinner, hoping for a chance to sample a neighborhood Italian restaurant.
The place was enormous inside, sparkling clean, yet devoid of patrons. We were one of two parties of patrons in the restaurant.
Our server was polite and friendly.
We ordered eggplant fritters as an appetizer, and they came out crispy and hot, with a marinara dipping sauce. Nice presentation but fairly flavorless.
I ordered the spaghetti with meat discs and my companion ordered lasagne. Both came out bubbling hot and covered in a bright orange tomato sauce. The color was off putting and the sauce was flavorless.
The pasta was cooked perfectly al dente, but lacked flavor.
We asked the waitress for garlic and red pepper flakes to liven up the dishes. She brought them and mentioned that the kitchen didn’t like to use much in the way of spices.
Even with the additional pepper, we both left more than three quarters of our meal on the plate.
The owner/​manager did come over to our table and sent cannoli to us afterward, but never offered to get us something else when she saw that we were not eating our meals.
Nice people, bad cooks. We probably should have ordered the pizza. For spending almost $ 40 for two plates of pasta, we won’t be back.

I guess I should have ordered the Pizza, because I cannot believe how bland the pasta was. Save your money and make some pasta at home, even Weight Watchers Smart ones has more flavor with their pasta dishes. I will say the waitress was very polite as was the manager, but that did not make up for the lousy food. No wonder the place was empty. Too bad, because I would rather support a locally owned business over a chain any day.

We drive by Roman Forum on Dale Mabry, at least once a week since they have opened, about 6 months ago. To be honest, we have been skeptical of this restaurant, mainly because of the appearance on the outside. We decided tonight, the Monday after Easter, to give it a shot. The
This place is huge inside and VERY clean (and empty –Monday after Easter). We were immediately greeted by a wonderful waitress. We were amazed by how large this restaurant was. There is a meeting area (Civitans were there tonight), a bar area, a children’s area, and a lot more seating!
We ordered the eggplant balls (fritters) and a large pizza. Both were delicious! The fritters seemed to be made fresh and the pizza’s crust was very light. Our waitress said that the recipe was from the owner’s family. It was probably the best pizza crust I have had in a LONG time. The pizza was lightly covered with tomato sauce, and had just the right amount of toppings.
All in all, I definitely recommend this establishment. It is not like any other Italian restaurant!

Take care here else your car may be wrongly towed. Restaurant is located in strip center of multiple businesses sharing a common lot. Apparently a dispute between tenants has led this owner to tow cars, in spite of the fact that their are no signs reserving or restricting parking to certain spaces for certain businesses. Led to an expensive morning for me.

This is right around the corner from our house, so we had to give it a try. The service was great! I called and a woman named Heather was super helpful in helping me place an order for pickup without me having seen a menu. We ordered a large cheese pizza and a large house salad. When I walked in, I thought «wow, Steve E. was right» because even though the space was large and nice and clean, it seemed like they were still trying to find their groove. They have counter and case space not being utilized.
The bar area was really pretty and had TVs for sports, and the restaurant was spacious. They also have a drive through-​not sure if they use it though.
The food was good. The pizza crust was sort of buttery and thin (just the way I like it) and the house salad was really yummy. I gave it ⁴⁄₅ stars because they didn’t beat Marsala’s or Anthony’s (in my book). $ 23 for the pizza and salad, plus tip.
We will definitely be returning and trying other things on the menu!

Tried on a whim and was fabulous! The Gorgonzola pizza was amazing. We had the lamb shank and fillet with mushroom sauce. Both were great. Kids love playing in the playroom. Wait staff was nice and helpful, manager was around to check on food/​service. The only thing out of place for all this fabulous food and service was the décor. It was very «food court“ish. I almost didn’t stay when we walked in, but something smelled amazing. You would expect a more private seating set up like chili’s or red lobster. But whatever, the food was awesome and I don’t care. I will be back!

Roman Forum is a relatively new restaurant (opened about 6 weeks ago) and they are located on the northern end of a strip mall along N. Dale Mabry Highway in Carrollwood. You’ll find the Roman Forum in the same strip mall as Burger Monger, but these folks are on the far northern end near the bagel shop.
The restaurant is huge inside, and it’s clear that they are still developing their ideas as not everything is up and running. You have a big sit-​down restaurant, as well as an area carved out to be a cocktail lounge. Additionally there are glass cases which will eventually hold salads, wraps, sandwiches, and hot pizza for carryout orders. Also the restaurant has built drive-​through windows on the north side of their building.
Right now the restaurant is open for lunch and dinner, but the owner told me that she has plans to also open for breakfast and include Cuban coffee, Cuban toast, and a variety of breakfast items both for sit-​down or carryout.
The menu is a nice mix of small plate flatbreads, finger food appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps, pizzas, pastas, and full dinners. Lots of creative choices on the menu, and a welcome addition to this area of Carrollwood.
On my latest trip I had a cup of their seafood soup which had crabmeat, shrimp, calamari, and cubes of fish mixed with Italian herbs in a light tomato broth. spicy and delicious. I also enjoyed their special of the day which was the sea bass sandwich. The filet of fish was breaded and fried, and then served on an Italian roll with lettuce, tomato and a spicy guacamole sauce. The sandwich was huge, and I took half home to enjoy for dinner.
I’m delighted to support a small, family-​owned non-​chain restaurant in this area of Carrollwood, and thrilled that these folks are willing to take some chances and offer a nice mix of Italian options.

Every single thing we had here was delicious! Must try the fried tomato skins, they are something I’ve never had before and wasn’t sure what to expect but they were definitely delicious! The sangria was perfect, from the actual sangria to the cinnamon/​sugar rim on the glass, it was just amazing. The pizza was tasty as well, crispy crust with savory sauce and the perfect blend of cheeses. Even the house salad alone was scrumptious. The blend of the oil & vinegar dressing was delectable. Everything was above my expectations and we will definitely be returning on a regular basis.