Romano's Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Ferndale

I went to Romano's with my stepdad tonight. The front entrance was difficult to find at first, but to help others out, it's on the side of the building that faces the car dealership. The lines in the parking lot are very dull and aren't perpendicular to the building, so figuring out where to park at first was also confusing.

He ordered a Tom Collins with a double shot; they gave him a Tom Collins then a double shot of gin on the side in a whiskey glass. Usually I wouldn't complain about getting extra, especially alcohol, but he's 76 and doesn't need half of whiskey glass of gin.

Both of us ordered simple dishes - he got Spaghetti and Meatballs; I got Chicken Alfredo. I want to start by saying some positives - the serving sizes were massive. The house dressing that came with the salad was delicious, and the bread was perfectly crispy on the outside, soft and airy inside. I'm usually someone who fills up on salad before the main entree comes out, so I thoroughly enjoyed the first course of the meal

The Chicken Alfredo I ordered could be one of the worst Chicken Alfredo dishes in the country. The alfredo sauce was bland and misproportioned; the butter to Parmigiano ratio was completely skewed, acting more as a butter sauce with some parm sprinkled in. It was also room temperature at best, which leads me to believe it was directly poured out of a can onto my pasta and put under the heat lamp to warm up for a minute. The fettuccine was served over-boiled, and someone in the kitchen needs to put some salt in the pot because the pasta was utterly tasteless. This wouldn't usually be enough for me to come to such a strong opinion, but the chicken made me reach my boiling point (preemptive pun). This chicken had ABSOLUTELY no flavor. Imagine someone boiling chicken to the point where it becomes so rubbery that the texture resembles the sole of a shoe. Chicken so rubbery that if you threw it at the ground, it would bounce back into your hand. So rubbery, if you cut it into strips, it would just be gum. Every bite I took had my jaw shaking like a pair of wind-up dentures. You could get the same Chicken Alfredo experience from a TV dinner. I am convinced that if there is any seasoning in that kitchen at all, it's locked behind a china cabinet and only serves as decoration. The food here has the "umami" of communism.

My stepdad and I had fine service. The drink mishap wasn't ideal, but that's a reflection of the bartender, not the server. The server also explained the mix-up very candidly and truthfully, which is how it should be handled. The restaurant is beautiful, too.

The problem is, the atmosphere and service is not as important to the dining experience as food critics and reviewers elude to. The most important part of going out to eat at a restaurant is getting good food. I can overlook a bad environment and bad service if the food is delicious; I can't overlook bad food if I'm paying money for it, even if there is professional service and the restaurant looks the part. Romano's Bar and Grill might try to convince you it's a top-tier restaurant with its staggeringly high price point and upscale branding, but it objectively fails at the most vital part of the process - cooking food that...

This place was recommended to my husband and I by a few friends, so we decided to check it out. We went on a Thursday evening. The main dining area was fairly empty so we decided to sit in the Bar area. We were greeted by a waitress after a few minutes. We placed orders for drinks and food.

The drink I received was subpar. To which the waitress offered to have it remade. This is where the issue started. She returned my drink to the bar. When the bartender was handed the drink she loudly stated, “NO, I’m not remaking the drink. I’m tired of remaking drinks. Asking for no ice doesn’t get you more alcohol etc etc”. The waitress tried to get her to lower her tone but that was to no avail. Other patrons and myself were shocked at the response bc it was completely abrupt, unprofessional, and rude.

Our waitress returned to the table and I promptly asked to speak with a manager. I spoke with Kim, who apologized to us for the experience and offered to serve us in the main dining room. Since our food order was already in we agreed.

We received our food and honestly, it was just subpar. The crab cakes were good but the sides were lacking flavor.

Our service in the dining area was going well until, the bartender decided to gripe about it in the main dining area to another employee. I brought this to Kim’s attention. She ensured us, “That’s not how we do business or service. I hope yall will return so we can show you better.” I declined. We received our check. Our beverages were comp’d.

The bartenders piss poor service and the subpar food ruined the experience for us. We will not...

Food at Romanos was excellent. I enjoyed their orange ruffy as my main dish. My appetizer was their stuffed mushrooms. They were delicious. The only thing I noticed was they were more stuffing then mushroom. They just had a small mushroom cap at the bottom rest was crab meat. It was still delicious. Their cream of crab soup was excellent. Lots of real crab meat. Overall it was a great experience. Romano’s should consider a bigger location nearby its’ current location. Parking was difficult as there were many customers and it was hard to find a space and not get in the way of the adjacent car dealership. Romanos should do more to help customers find where the front of the store is and the back. We ended up parking in the back parking lot and entering from the back door as it wasn’t easy to determine front from back. The back door took us through the kitchen area into the back where you guys sell food. The doors and ramps could be improved and some of the halls for better wheelchair access. Because the door was opening in the opposite direction I had to navigate a not wide enough pathway and turn on the back ramp which was also not wide enough. It was difficult. I had to lobster out of the dining area backwards and then turn down to the ramp due to space and cramped conditions. Overall it was a great experience. Hope I get a chance to visit again...