The Roman Oven — Restaurant in Braselton

We recently visited Roman Oven, a small, local spot that caught our attention with its cozy charm and warm, nostalgic interior; reminding us of the family-run eatery from the Netflix movie Nona. Drawn in by neighborhood buzz and some mixed online reviews, we decided to give it a try.

First impressions: We had tried calling the restaurant multiple times on different occasions with no luck; no one ever answered the phone, which was a bit frustrating. However, once we arrived, we were greeted and seated promptly. The staff was friendly and attentive throughout the meal.

What we ordered: We tried the Margherita Pizza and the Fra Diavolo Pasta with Chicken. Unfortunately, the food didn’t quite live up to the anticipation.

Margherita Pizza: While the crust had a nice airy texture and looked promising, the first bite left us underwhelmed. Instead of fresh tomato slices, the pizza was topped with diced tomato, which made the crust soggy. The use of dried basil rather than fresh was disappointing, and the drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette felt out of place. That said, the cheese was the redeeming element; melted well and flavorful.

Fra Diavolo Pasta with Chicken: This dish came out in two parts: the pasta and the chicken separately. The pasta itself was hot and flavorful, but the chicken was a real letdown. It seemed like pre-cooked chicken that had been microwaved and then hastily covered with sauce. It wasn’t even properly heated, and we couldn’t tell if it was meant to be crispy or just poorly prepared. The contrast between the well-executed pasta and the lackluster protein was confusing.

Other notes: The presentation of both dishes was underwhelming. Drink refills are limited—you get one additional refill, so don’t expect bottomless beverages.

Final thoughts: We love supporting local restaurants, and Roman Oven has potential with its welcoming service and charming ambiance. However, based on our experience, the food quality and execution leave much to be desired. Sadly, this one is a...

Honestly, I never do this and if I could, I would give no stars. My husband and I took my son and his wife and they’re one year-old to dinner at Roman Irvin and we have been there many times before with them, but tonight was weird. We first started with asking for straws and they told us that they had Ran out of straws, but we could clearly see people that had come in after us with straws, moving on, our food came and I had ravioli with regular sauce. I asked one of the owners if they happen to have any mozzarella or Parmesan cheese that I could put on top and she looked at me like and told me it doesn’t come with it. I said OK never mind. I said y’all don’t have just little shakers that you could give people for their pizza or anything. She said, we have one. I said can I use it? Very strange so then they bring us our check without even asking if we want dessert which we did because it was my son‘s birthday so they acted like we were impositioning them by asking them for dessert. The owner went and added the dessert to out total and put it on the table. We felt like we were being rushed out of there. I don’t want to think this is true, but I am surely hoping that the owner was not acting this way out of being prejudice in anyway. I certainly hope that this is not the case. We will be going to a different restaurant...

I came into this restaurant very excited to finally try after recommending so many people to come here to eat when I used to work at the hotel down the road. The worker that seated us was so nice and very professional. When I was seated, i hear the owner making small talk to the couple next to us and talking about leaving a good review. She seemed very nice and sweet. However, when she came to my table, she was the complete opposite. She seemed so annoyed from the beginning when she asked what we wanted for drinks to putting our plates down on the table. I’m always a person who says thank you each time something is brought to me and she wouldn’t even turn to look at me. I felt very unwelcomed by her and almost wanted to get up and leave. I wanted to take in some consideration that we all don’t have good days but the fact that she was literally just talking to other people right in front of us in a good mood and then came to us with the complete opposite? Her whole mood changed once it was time for us to get our check. The whole reason why I even decided to dine in was because there was an hour wait for to go orders. I didn’t even know the owner was our waiter until we asked for the name at the desk while paying. I will never come back. I never thought I’d get a bad experience from here. Especially...