Romero's Restaurant — Restaurant in Guelph

Excellent service and the wine list however limited is still priced extremely well and that's why it gets a second star. Based on the food alone it would be a single star. I went with two app's, the calamari and the bacon wrapped scallops. The calamari was very flour heavy and had absolutely no seasoning. The scallops were exceptionally over cooked. They went with scallops entirely too small to be able to wrap and still get the proper sear and cook. Rather than 6 or 8 small scallops done poorly doing two large scallops properly would have been at the same price point but a better value. And also like the calamari, zero seasoning. For the main I asked for suggestions as to what they do the best and was given a few options. I went with the Romero linguini. Again ZERO seasoning. The cream sauce was extremely thin and very cream heavy. A sauce should stick to the pasta not drown it and run off. The shrimp and scallops with the pasta were not too small or over done, however no sear again. The pasta tasted as it came from a box and was also over done. To finish I went with the creme brulee and again it was done poorly. The cream was over worked, again like it came from a box. The major fail was the sugar crust. It should be thin and delicate, carmalized to a golden shade. However this was burnt and extremely thick. A creme brulee should melt in your mouth not have to be chewed for ten minutes then picked from your teeth. If I was to compare it to another restaurant it would come below even an...

I wasn’t convinced the $19+ asparagus chicken fettuccine special was worth the price. It would have been acceptable at $10-$11.

It was a fairly basic-seeming pasta dish that was a bit overcooked (definitely no longer al dente), topped with a somewhat juicy-deficient set of grilled chicken strips that I suspect came from a manufactured cutlet, not from intact whole breast meat. The asparagus in the sauce was too sparse for it to be featured in the name of the dish, and was cooked to an oversoft olive green. My impression was that the pasta itself did not have the distinctive texture nor flavour of being made in-house, something I would have hoped for in a feature pasta entree served at a sit-down Italian restaurant with tablecloths.

Portion size was standard/good.

Caesar salad (ordered separately for additional cost) was ok — nothing really stood out about it per se.

Servers were professional-polite and quietly attentive.

I’m told the veal sandwich is excellent, which is why I pulled in to begin with... I’ll have to give that a try next time — for take out.

Giving 4 stars, but it feels like I am being kind by rounding up from 3.5. It’s a nice restaurant that perhaps needs to consider upping its culinary game to ensure a healthy future clientele in an era of far better travelled palates and more discerning tastebuds than ever before. Of course, this is all based on just one mere experience... factor in fairness...

Discovering this place was such a treat! My coworkers have been here multiple times and didn’t stop praising this little spot down the road so I had to try it myself. I ordered the Hot and Spicy Linguine and it was delicious, full of flavor and cooked perfectly. Melissa, our server, was wonderful and made sure I was well looked after as a vegetarian which meant a lot.

The highlight for me was the bruschetta, honestly the best I’ve had so far. Usually it’s just tomatoes, but here they even add cheese (and I love cheese), which took it to another level. My friends enjoyed the fish tacos, Caesar salad, and chicken souvlaki, and they were just as impressed.

Romero’s really feels like a hidden gem in Guelph. It’s family-owned, the staff are so sweet, and the cozy atmosphere makes it an easy favorite. We went in around 11 am and it filled up quickly, which tells you how much people love it. Prices are fair and very reasonable for the quality you get. Definitely a spot I’ll be...