Romano's Macaroni Grill — Restaurant in Susquehanna Township

The name implies otherwise, but this is not a casual restaurant. This establishment presents an attractive and classy atmosphere, with a long open bar sporting a neat fireplace on its top. We visited on a winter's day at 4:30 pm without a reservation, and it was warm and cozy yet open spaced and quiet. The hostess and servers were well dressed and each with carefully done hair and makeup and they maintained a formal interaction with us throughout. This is a semi-fancy place. Partly for these reasons I feel this place is geared towards business entertainment and wealthier clientele, or high-class celebratory gathering meals. I think it would be a good date restaurant, when atmosphere counts more than usual. I on the other hand am a long married retired yokel with minor grumpiness disorder and seek to pleasure senses less lofty. I felt like the place presented a, "If you have to ask, you can't afford it" vibe. The menu prices seemed steep to me. The food is very high in calories (clearly stated on the menu) so price-per-calorie might be competitive, but portions seemed meager compared to an American style diner which is our normal choice of venue. Neither of us ordered an entree, but we observed the ones delivered to other tables, and they looked well prepared. The food quality is a supposed draw here, but I couldn't rave about for my Ceasar salad with (4) grilled shrimp (@$1 extra per shrimp). A square bread loaf was served up with olive oil and oregano-based seasoning to dip it into, but the loaf already had an oil glaze that made me feel that it was pre-soaked on the outside, and then soaked again before eating. Oh, it was tasty though, and a second loaf was offered and accepted (for $1 extra which I found out when the bill came, good value but not free). Additional grumpy old man peeves: The paper tablecloth cover over the real tablecloth was slightly "pre-owned" on my side at the start of the meal, as if a wet bowl was removed from it. The server "signed" the tablecloth with a crayon at introduction, with flourish, but we couldn't read it, so it offered no help after forgetting her name immediately as we were distracted by her brightly colored inch-long fingernails. As their work is visible from the dining room tables, the chefs donned vinyl gloves only after preparing our dishes, which I found curious, as if they suddenly remembered they were required to do so by policy. They were wearing hats, but I think hair nets - or both- would have been better suited. At $42 (after 20% tip) for me and my wife having ordered only salads and two vegetable sides, I personally won't vote to go back soon, but it's nice to have the option when the...

If you come here for the garlic olive oil, please be aware that the recipe is changing to include crushed red pepper flakes. My girlfriend's entree came out wrong the first time (it included garlic olive oil, sun dried tomatoes, spinach and chicken. She ordered garlic olive oil, penne, with roasted red peppers, fresh mushrooms, and added shrimp (which is 4 shrimp for an additional $5). When they served the newly made plate, she took 1 bite and her mouth started to burn. We waited about 10 minutes or so for the waitress to check on us which she failed to do. We asked another staff member for the manager and advised that he was cooking and would be right out. He did come to the table rather quickly, but with a demeaning attitude. He didn't apologize for the first plate coming out wrong. Then told us that the new recipe for garlic olive oil includes crushed red pepper flakes and that if we didn't want them, we had to ask the wait staff not to include the pepper flakes. When the first plate came out, there were no pepper flakes in it. When she told the manager this, he said that sometimes the kitchen is inconsistent... again, he didn't offer an apology... just another excuse. I debated to give 1 star or 2... the hostess had no personality. The waitress was not very attentive as we had to flag her down whenever we needed something, and most of the staff appeared miserable. My food on the other was very good, overpriced (but what isn't right now), but very good. It was a bad experience, and set the evening up to be very disappointing. She was looking forward to this for a couple of days (we live about an hour away). You would think if you're changing the recipe to a staple menu item, it would be announced in the menu... Macaroni grill was very...

Based on the level of service at this restaurant, I can see why this chain is closing locations across the country. I predict it will be out of business in less than two years. I came here on a Saturday afternoon by myself. I sat at the bar for 10 minutes, with no sign of a bartender or waiter. I finally went back up to the hostess stand, where I had to wait another 3-5 minutes for the hostess to reappear. When she finally came back, I asked if anyone was working at the bar. She nonchalantly said there were only two servers in the ENTIRE restaurant. I asked if I could get a table in the main restaurant area, and she said it wouldn’t be any better at a table versus sitting at the bar. Then she proceeded to completely ignore me and help a group that walked in as we were talking. I stood there for a second, realized she had completely disregarded me, then I finally asked, “Soooo, can I get a table or not?“ She replied that she had to help other people. I didn’t think I had worn my “ignore me“ T-shirt and hat today, but maybe I was wrong. Instead of trying to fight to give this terrible place my money and eat its average food, I just left and walked to a restaurant nearby. This macaroni grill was about 3/4 full and is located in a giant shopping complex. It’s ridiculous that they only have two servers working on a Saturday afternoon. And more so, with the way the server acted like they are doing us customers a favor to let us eat there, I am surprised this location has not closed down like the dozens of others across the country. Why would I support this business when they treat their customers so poorly? Avoid this location. It will probably be out of business within 12 months of me writing this...