Cafe Roma — Restaurant in Cleveland

My Family and I were driving and happened upon a very unique, romantic and palette pleasuring surprise delightfully hidden in a beautiful downtown Cleveland location. It is a hidden diamond in the rough, from the beautiful structure to the absolutely perfect service (we wanted for nothing) they were fully staffed and it was as if we were their only customer "spoiled" if you will. It's a shame to think customer service is not expected and greatly under appreciated, this is why I must rave at how we felt like we were the only customers in the entire restaurant. The kind of special, once in a lifetime like your at a all inclusive pampered resort feeling! It was amazing, and haven't even began and/or gotten to the food. They brought out freshly made bread with dipping oil/butter sauce it was melt in your mouth delicious. Just light and perfectly blended and hit the spot type of appetizer/await your entree perfect beginning. My wife ordered a simple greens salad called a house romaine w/ a light lemon and oil simple dressing that I sampled and we both loved it. It was refreshing and subtle that required nothing more. I ordered salmon that was perfectly cooked and was paired with zucchini and squash that was tastefully grilled and seasoned and brought out the flavors of the fresh salmon. My wife had the tortellini bolognese the beautiful pink sauce was delicious and complimented the pasta so very well and hers included the grilled veggies also which we both were very pleased with the lightness of the side pairing gave balance to a perfect meal, not too heavy and not too light. Unfortunately we enjoyed our food so much we ate everything on our plates and left absolutely no room for dessert, which considering what I witnessed being shared at the table next to us (I saw a sampling of just 4) of their to die for desserts should be a crime. But, it just makes my need for our next visit to be even sooner than I would have ever thought just dropping into a random spot that I truly believe will soon become a regular family favorite. Thank you so very much for a beautiful and romantic date night with my wife and for allowing me to surprise her with a perfectly cooked Italian meal (earned extra points there too, my wife has had and been looking for a really good Italian spot like the romantic place I took her too in Nashville for her birthday) and you helped me accomplish all that with one great surprise find!!! Kudos, keep up the great service, food and intimate setting...

Okay so. I'm 50/50 with this place. Here's my reasons. Me and my husband came here because i was craving specifically a creamy Alfredo pasta dish. (I'm 8 months pregnant). We got here and didn't get asked what we wanted to drink at all. Only brought water. Had to ask for our drinks. I got a coffee and my husband got a beer. Coffee was amazing. Then ordered fried calamari. It was as good as it can be for being frozen. Chewy and overly salty and the tartar sauce was very fishy for some reason. We ordered our dish. And i didn't get what i ordered. Got a complete opposite of what i ordered. What i wanted was a creamy Alfredo spinach mushroom type pasta. But they brought me a tomato based pasta with chicken and shrimp. The shrimp tails were still on the shrimp and the bread it came with was super stale. Despite this i still ate it because i was hungry and it wasn't bad. It was actually really good. But when i asked why i didn't get what i ordered the waiter told me what i wanted was a special so they just brought me this. I at least would have liked to be told this before they decide what I wanted to eat. I felt very disrespected in this aspect. Also. My husband ordered a sandwich and also the roma pizza. They brought his sandwich but never the pizza. Like they completely acted like he never ordered it. During all this our waiter was completely avoiding us. At least that's what it seemed like. The manager had to chase him down. ALSO during our whole time being here we were fighting off swarms if nats and flies flying around our faces and dishes. I mean there were at least 10-15 flies trying to get to our food this whole time. It made our meal unbearable. They really need to do something about the flies. We payed our bill and left. For two main dishes an appetizer and two drinks came out to over $51 + tip for mid tier food and poor service. Definitaly call ahead of time to make reservations and keep in mind. They do different dishes at different times. And wont tell you unless you ask ahead of time. Probably will not be...

I would rate this 2.5, but you can only rate with full stars, so im giving it three for neutral. We went here for our rehearsal dinner on the 12th, and I wouldn't recommend it for events.

The reservation was booked over a month in advance, the doors open at 5pm sharp, and my wedding party of 17 was the first in the door. It was nearly an hour before our tables got bread. Multiple groups were sat, served, and paid before we got appetizers. Some people didn't get sides they ordered at all and when food did arrive we had already been waiting for over 2 hours. The food itself was almost tasteless, and multiple dishes with penne had 10 noodles or less. After waiting for the desert we ordered and getting up to leave(everything was ordered together at the same time at the beginning of the experience) it had been nearly 3 hours and some of the party was still wait8ng on deserts.

This ate up most of the rest of the evening anyone had available since again our wedding was the next day. We arrived before 5 and didn't leave until after closer to 9.

The positive is the atmosphere was well enough with lit candles and low lighting but the place was freezing all night and there were so many people in the relatively small dining space you had to shout across the table to speak. I am glad they are popular, but I would not go again... not if it's supposed to be an important meal...