Roma Mia — Restaurant in San Diego

Roma Mi: A Masterclass in Missing the Point by Somebody Who’s Been Around the Block Too Many Times

I wanted to like Roma Mi. I really did. I walked in hopeful, maybe even a little hungry for one of those old-school red-sauce joints where the pasta’s a little sloppy, the bread’s a little burnt, and the wine flows faster than you can say “Nonna.” But what I got was a slow-motion car wreck disguised as dinner — a baffling, infuriating parade of everything that can go wrong when a kitchen forgets its soul and a dining room forgets its manners.

First, the service. If you enjoy feeling like a burden just for existing, congratulations — you’ve found your mecca. Drinks? Forget about it. The food beat the cocktails to the table like it owed them money. Appetizers? Sure, if by appetizer you mean “something random that arrives fifteen minutes after your entrée’s already congealing under the fluorescent lights.”

They cleared plates like we were fugitives on the run. God forbid you linger over a half-finished forkful or savor a conversation — swoop — plate gone, dignity optional. I’ve been mugged with more grace.

And then there was the food. Oh, the food.

The carbonara, a dish so simple it’s damn near sacred, came out so salty it could have pickled a corpse. One bite and my face puckered like a raisin in the Mojave. The lasagna was a crime against both God and pasta: a wet, flavorless mass of mush, like somebody dropped a tray of Stouffer’s in the alley behind a strip mall and decided, eh, good enough.

The Alfredo? Don’t get me started. I don’t know who decided that creamy, luscious, butter-laden sauce should taste like canned Chef Boyardee product runoff, but here we are, America. This was the pasta equivalent of a sad gas station hot dog — pale, tired, and somehow both slimy and dry at the same time.

You want to know what Roma Mi is? It’s a tourist trap for people who don’t know what real Italian food is supposed to taste like. It’s a plate of broken promises, shoved across the table with all the warmth and hospitality of a DMV clerk on overtime.

If Nonna were alive to see this, she’d burn the place to the ground herself — and we’d help her...

So after reading the reviews we decided to give this place a try. For context it's a Friday night 8pm. We walked north up 5th street to get most of the way before heading over to 4th. Every place on 5th was people lined out the doors. We were worried we wouldn't get a table, but 4th Street wasn't nearly as busy. We were seated immediately, and our food was out about the moment we'd finished our bread (crispy crust, perfectly airy and stretchy inside, strong yeast aroma, served with balsamic,olive oil, and spices) my spouse ordered the gnocchi and I ordered the seafood linguine. The gnocchi was delicious if simple, but the seafood linguine was amazing. The linguine was perfectly al dente. The seafood included a generous portion of mussels, clams, shrimp, and chunks of what I think may have been salmon (I didn't ask and I'm no fish expert, but it was delicious). Going the extra mile the dish came with the smaller crab fork and a dish for the completed shells, something a lot of places haven't bothered with in the past. It was nice not poking around empty shells trying to get to my food. Overall I was extremely satisfied with my experience. This place is somehow floating under the radar, so instead of waiting for a table on 5th Street only to be rushed out when you're done, swing by here and enjoy something...

For Valentine's day, we were craving Italian and got a reservation at Roma Mia. The location is right in the middle of gaslamp quarters in front of Balboa theater and easy to find. The restaurant had a nice atmosphere and the interior was lovely. However, the table in the corner was a bit squished and we were very close to the people sitting next to us. We were close enough to hear their conversation but the seating arrangements might just be for Valentine's day. We got the last reservation for our time slot so we were expecting the restaurant to be packed, but most of the tables were empty.

For food, we ordered the bruschetta assortment, ravioli ricota e spinaci, and tagliolini gamberi e limone. The bruschetta sampler was an unique experience. The menu didn't specify which ones we were getting so we were pleasantly surprised when we tried each one. They came with a mushroom spread, tomatoes, olive spread, and garlic spread. The pastas were pretty good too. We enjoyed the tagliolini which had shrimps in a lemon tomato sauce. The pasta was al dente. The presentation was very nice. The spinach ravioli was also flavorful. The portions were a bit small though. There was only 5 raviolis. The meal was a bit pricey for the portion size, but the...