Review: Romano's Macaroni Grill
We were in Garden City on two consecutive days recently, where I had my eyes zapped inhospitably with a laser. The wife wanted to try this place, so we went there for lunch the first day, and on the next day, as we were leaving, we couldn’t decide where to go, so we headed back. So, I think I have a decent feel for the restaurant, having tried a number of dishes.
It’s not a great restaurant, but for what it is (a moderately-priced chain Italian place), it’s fairly good.
The complimentary bread is rosemary (which you can smell more than taste). It’s baked fresh, and there is olive oil for dipping it in.
The appetizer sampler is decent (fried calamari, fried mozzarella, and basic bruschetta). The tomato sauce for the calamari and mozzarella is of the fresh, lightly-cooked variety. The shrimp and artichoke dip is enormous and richly cheesy. My only complaint was that the bread served with it appeared to be the previous day’s complimentary bread (read: stale).
The salads are all fairly large and have plenty of fresh greens, and many have arugula. The chicken for the parmesan-crusted chicken salad is wonderful (though can be dry).
Rigatoni with chicken and mushrooms in a cream sauce is rich, cheesy, and filling. (However, the rigatoni was overcooked and falling apart.) Their verson of penne alla vodka is also solid and has a mysterious spicy heat to it that we couldn’t place.
The restaurant is essentially a better-imagined Olive Garden. Lots of interesting things on the menu, but we couldn’t try them all. Certainly far more interesting things than an Olive Garden or one of the many chain Italian places around.
3 out of 5 stars
It’s not a great restaurant, but for what it is (a moderately-priced chain Italian place), it’s fairly good.
The complimentary bread is rosemary (which you can smell more than taste). It’s baked fresh, and there is olive oil for dipping it in.
The appetizer sampler is decent (fried calamari, fried mozzarella, and basic bruschetta). The tomato sauce for the calamari and mozzarella is of the fresh, lightly-cooked variety. The shrimp and artichoke dip is enormous and richly cheesy. My only complaint was that the bread served with it appeared to be the previous day’s complimentary bread (read: stale).
The salads are all fairly large and have plenty of fresh greens, and many have arugula. The chicken for the parmesan-crusted chicken salad is wonderful (though can be dry).
Rigatoni with chicken and mushrooms in a cream sauce is rich, cheesy, and filling. (However, the rigatoni was overcooked and falling apart.) Their verson of penne alla vodka is also solid and has a mysterious spicy heat to it that we couldn’t place.
The restaurant is essentially a better-imagined Olive Garden. Lots of interesting things on the menu, but we couldn’t try them all. Certainly far more interesting things than an Olive Garden or one of the many chain Italian places around.
3 out of 5 stars
1195 Corporate Dr.
Westbury, NY
516-683-8611
posted by Butter Lover @ 10:46 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I disagree with your review, and have enjoyed this place on many occations. However, when I attempted to go to the Westbury location this past weekend I found it closed.
I have been searching for some indication as to why, but have found none.
Is there way to find out? 4/28/08
Closed for good? You could give them a call, I guess.
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