Romano Lounge — Restaurant in Colchester

Visited Sunday 10/04/2022 - not very impressed. All day breakfast, warm sandwiches and a variety of burgers. We've been trying to get in here since it opened. It’s always been very busy and we've heard good things, so I wanted to try it out. It’s very eclectic, smart and clean. It’s located at the centre of a growing area of Colchester and a stones throw from other restaurants, bars and the castle of course. When we went in, we asked where to sit, even though we had to wait to be seated. We were told 'anywhere', so even though there were two of us, we sat at a spacious six seat table as we had shopping bags. After looking through the menus, we decided what we wanted and waited to catch a servers attention. That was the first problem. The staff don’t wear uniforms, or any kind of identification, so we didn’t know who to catch the attention of. There was one guy who was wearing a checked overshirt, who was very busy moving between customers tables, so we grabbed his attention. He told us that we could use the app (the card telling us this was missing from the table) or go to the bar to order. As we didn’t know which app to download, we went to the bar. It turns out there were about 6 people working that morning, but at least a couple were more interested in the dogs and puppies that were being bought in by customers. Petting them, talking to them etc. Which is fine. I have pets too. But please, if you’re going to pet an animal and serve food afterwards, make sure you wash your hands before serving a customer. I didn’t see any of that. One guy did however catch my attention for the wrong reasons. He looked like he’d been on a night out, the night before and was still recovering. He wasn’t dressed very smartly and I think he’d been wearing the same clothes for a few days… So, we ordered and we waited. The staff recognised a few regulars or friends (I guess) and were talking to them. One pair talked not far from our table and the server said she’d make sure they got their order quickly. They did. Well, they did before us. We waited nearly 30 minutes for our food, in which time we’d finished our drinks (no we weren’t asked if we wanted a refill) and they had gotten their food. Eventually, the staff noticed we hadn’t gotten our order yet and chatted amongst themselves, trying to work out what we’d had and why it hadn’t turned up yet. I admit, I was getting a bit peeved by the lack of attention or not a ‘sorry your foods late’ or ‘what did you order’. Just looking over… Eventually they worked it out and our food was bought over and dropped on our table. Yep, dropped. Ravenous by this time, we started eating. After a couple of mouthfuls, the youngest server came over to ask if the food was alright, but before I could answer… she turned on her heal and walked away. We ate our food, not the greatest, I’d give it 6.5 out of 10 – the bacon and sausage was very greasy. As soon as we finished, we got up and left. Usually I’d leave a tip, but not today. I felt like I was interrupting them and I had to work too hard to work out what was going on with the staff and the ordering service. Will I go back? Maybe, but doubtful. There are plenty of other chains that do better food nearby, Three Wise Monkeys, Slug and Lettuce, Love Thy Burger, but the price was good and the surroundings were nice. I don’t think I’d recommend it, purely because of the poor service; but if that improved, I’d give it...

Visited first time ever end of november. Ordered 2 coffees on the app, which took 30 mins to arrive, must’ve gotten lost somewhere.

Visited again the following week for breakfast. Tried to order on the app, but was provided with an “Error, try again” message. After trying again and it still failing, I went up to order at the bar.

I later realised the original transaction had gone through on my online bank statement. I notified the lady at the till who advised me that only one order could be seen on her system and to sit tight. Then two breakfasts came (one for each order), I declined the second one and later had it refunded. Just overall poor communication there..

Visited 2 weeks ago, hair in the flapjack (refunded also) but not a great experience pulling hair through my lips.

Overall the staff don’t seem trained in the art of waiting / generating an atmosphere. Cutlery is plonked on the table, two sets in one pile on top of two napkins. Sometimes cutlery handled by the blade creating finger prints on the food-side.

I keep coming back giving the benefit of the doubt - but there is always something everyone time.

As it’s a new place it can be excused for these shortfalls but it would be expected to completely transform come...

Basically Yates, minus the dance floor. My wife and I visited on opening night (thanks for the free beer btw) 03/11/21.

It was assumed we were eating so a lady just plonked menus on the table. We said we only wanted drinks and got a look that made me feel I'd just stomped her dog. Plus, there are so many tables crammed into this place that it makes it feel uncomfortable.

The same could be said for pictures on the wall! This will just give you a headache. As for the men's toilets, a few extra square feet would have worked wonders but instead, you have the smallest toilets in Colchester. #fail

For a launch night, you would have thought things would be more organised but there was a lot of staff standing around doing nothing. I'm sure that's not their fault. #Nochiefs

The table service seemed very discombobulated and awkward, even though our drinks were free, sometimes I'd rather just go to the bar.

As for the atmosphere, it's just soulless. It's a shame as it's clearly a great location.

Overall, this place just feels like Yates with no dancefloor, fewer blinding white teeth, and fewer tracksuits. The "force the food" on you approach is also a bit rubbish.

Who knows where...