Romaine's Kitchen and Bar — Restaurant in Northborough

(edited after 2nd visit-2/8/2014 - See my full review w/pics at Reviews-by-PJ at BlogSpot) "romaine's" is my new "Go-to" restaurant! The food and the service are excellent. It cannot be overstated how genuinely friendly the entire staff at romaine's are. If you go on a Saturday, reservations for the bar area are NOT accepted, and when we went, all seats were filled by 5:22 p.m. - and at noon, there were no reservations available until 8:30 p.m. for the other areas - Yeah, it's that good. Everything we had was EXCELLENT. This time we had Maine Crab Cake-$10, Wood Grilled Salmon-$20, and a Beef Tenderloin with Gnocchi (off-menu special)-$34, and the Homemade Bar Chips - $free, but get there early. The Chef/owner knows how to cook. - We're anxious to return.

(Original review after 1st visit) “Opened in 1999, Romaine’s Wood Grill and Bar’s 165-seat restaurant provides a social atmosphere with intimate lighting and warm décor. Romaine’s Wood Grill and Bar also offers an inviting 40-seat bar featuring the area’s best mixologists, plus a private dining area that can accommodate up to 54 guests.”…from their website.

PJ’s Ratings: • Overall – 5 of 5 o Service – 5 o Food - 5 o Drinks (full bar) – 5 o Ambience – 5

• If you want to be seated in the Bar Area – get there early and/or make a reservation!

• PajamaGal and I were pleasantly surprised on this, our first visit to romaine’s. It certainly won’t be our last.

This review’s Visit: 2014/01/20 – 5:30 P.M. Server: Beth

Starters: • Calamari - $8 Buttermilk Soaked, Fried Crispy, Cherry Peppers, Sweet Thai Chile Sauce

Fried calamari is my favorite appetizer. Carrabba’s version is the standard against which I measure all others – and romaine’s is almost an equal. For the first time ever, we were offered “tube rings and tentacles”, or “only tube rings.” We like both – and they were great! Delicate, tender, with a breading that was light and fluffy, yet crispy. When I commented that there should be more, PajamaGal said, “But then it would be a main dish, not an appetizer.” (I’d still like a larger portion – it’s a tad too small to share.) Main Dishes: • Wood Roasted Duck - $22 Broccolini, Spiced Sweet Potato Fries, Fig Demi

PajamaGal loves duck. romaine’s was prepared beautifully. The skin was crisp, the meat tender, juicy, and plentiful. While I didn’t sample her duck, I did taste the fries. They were wonderful. Their shoestring cut enabled their crispiness without being overdone. The spiced flavor was perfect and not overpowering.

• North Atlantic Haddock - $22 Panko, Horseradish, Garlic Mash, Roasted Pepper, Asparagus (Broccolini), Sundried Tomato Butter

The breading was flavorful and fluffy like the calamari. The Haddock could have been removed from the heat 1 or 2 minutes earlier, although it was not dry. The Garlic Mash was outstanding with large chunks of roasted garlic floating through the perfectly seasoned mash. I wish the Broccolini had been cooked an additional 30 seconds. Its smoky flavor was intense and very good, but for me, there was too much “crisp” and not enough “tender” in the crisp-tender preparation. (Notice that Beth didn’t hesitate to substitute the broccolini for the asparagus.)

Deserts: • (we had desert waiting for us at home, so we skipped...

My wife and I experienced Romaine's last night for our 17th Anniversary. We arrived for 7pm and were promptly seated in the side room. There were only a couple of empty tables when we arrived, but by the time we left the room was full. The noise level was never an issue and we enjoyed easy conversation. Our waitress Jenna was both prompt and friendly with a smile and did not disappoint on the service.

We started with a glass of wine and ordered the Caesar salad and Calamari. Both arrived as expected. The salad was cold which allows the greens to remain crisp and the Calamari was hot and perfectly done, neither needed additional seasoning and were thoroughly enjoyed.

My wife chose the "Under the Brick" Chicken and I had the Pork Chop. Both dishes were exceptional to say the least. The Chicken was moist and flavorful and the Pork Chop was absolutely a standout, compliments were sent back to the Chef.

The Chicken was accompanied by "Arugula, Truffle Mash, Garlic-Lemon Confit, Balsamic", quoted straight off the menu. These were all delicious and any remains were taken home to be enjoyed the next day. The Truffle Mash were noted to be the best mashed this diner has had in a long time.

The Pork Chop was accompanied by "Spinach Spaetzle, Crumbled Hot Italian Sausage, Charred Tomato Ragout", also quoted direct from the menu. The ragout was fantastic and the sausage just made the dish even better.

The main dishes were also shared with the Truffle-Parmesan Fries which added a wonderful salty Parmesan dimension that was well enjoyed with breakfast the next morning.

While both diners were content, we ended the meal with the Fallen Chocolate Cake, There was no disappointment here, the cake was wonderful without being overly sweet and the Vanilla ice cream and Raspberry danced off the tongue.

Both my wife and I agreed that we would not wait for our 18th Anniversary to return to this...

Well folks .. I’m here to let you know that WE found a wonderful place in Northborough. We selected Romaine’s at 299 West Main Street.

We had a reservation at 5:45 but arrived early. Water was poured as we were seated which was most welcome as it was 95 out.

A most charming waitress, I am sorry that I did not get her name, mid thirties with a loose bob haircut.

The offered a number of beers on tap, but of the five of us, two selected a pomegranate “Mocktail” which they said was fantastic. My brother and I had perfectly made Stoli Dirty Martinis with Blue Cheese Stuffed jumbo olives.

We were told the specials as well as the background on the Chef who is from the South and loves to showcase the food from the area.

To start we shared with super crisp homemade fries with delicious blue cheese dipping sauce. Then Harissa glazed roasted heirloom carrots. The Creole BBQ Shrimp were perfectly cooked and their grilled bread for dipping was perfect. We also had a most generous size of Brie with was served with Fig Jam on crostini.

Two of the group had a special of Panzanella with chicken. Two additional guests had the Chicken Piccata who was juicy and just the right amount of lemon and sugar.

I had the Pork Schnitzel which litterally the size of the dinner plate and a nice taste. It was set upon a grain mustard sauce.

My brother had the steak strip and pommes frites. So yummy!

The service was super attentive and very knowledgeable about the menu!

Here is a photo from the website.

While not a problem for me, but could be for someone in the next situation, was that the menu is on the smaller side.

We had a few glasses of wine and several cokes. The total bill was 257 and we left a 70 tip for great service… which it was.

I would...