Rome Italian Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in Tooele

My partner and I have been wanting to try Rome out, since its opening. The dimly lit atmosphere paired with a quaint music track was quite relaxing. The only sound it’s missing is a water feature. I do wish they had some complimentary food item given shortly after being seated, such as breadsticks or rolls. Honestly, their rolls are delicious! My partner got their carbonara. While it’s not quite what he was expecting, the taste was very good. I was limited in what I could have, because I have a lot of food sensitivities. So I ended up getting a beet salad with grilled salmon added. That pairing was tastier than I had anticipated. I would love to see a soup or two on their menu. A gluten free minestrone would be lovely. For dairy lovers, perhaps a creamy tortellini soup is in order.

The food does seem a little overpriced, when considering the smaller portion sizes. Then again, possibly not. We’ve gotten so accustomed to chain restaurant portions and pricing. Yet neither my partner nor I left hungry. We got an entree each and a shared dessert. Truly it was refreshing not to be given so much food that it could feed 2-3 people per entree. Each was portioned perfectly for one person who doesn’t want to take leftovers home. Too many restaurants contribute to an overeating problem or food waste, which is sad to me. But Rome has healthy portion sizes and I love seeing that. Also, a standalone restaurant will rarely have the capital that a chain restaurant has. Therefore, I expect to pay more for my dining experience. Overall, I want Rome to stay in Tooele. I hope they can successfully navigate appealing to a diverse demographic. The people seated near us seemed unimpressed, yet we thoroughly enjoyed our time there. It goes to show everyone has different expectations. My expectation was to have a delicious meal I didn’t have to cook myself; to discover something new and interesting (FYI: salmon, balsamic, and beet flavors pair really well together); and to just sit back and be allowed to enjoy life. That’s exactly what I got out of it. Give Rome a chance. A second chance. A third chance. Give them your support. Life is freakin hard these days. And they started off with a huge disappointment. They were denied a liquor license because of a stupid, outdated law. At least that’s the rumor going around. Too many small businesses go under. Businesses that were someone’s dream. Rome is a lovely restaurant with a lot of potential to be great, which is why I’m giving them 5 stars. I wish them the best of luck in permanently anchoring themselves as a part of quaint little...

So I took my two children out to this Italian restaurant for dinner tonight. Tooele has waited a very long time for a nice Italian restaurant to arrive. At this moment, I cannot yet say that has happened. My daughter ordered the spaghetti with meatballs, which was a very generous portion. It came with some bread. My son ordered the Cacio E Pepe which also came with bread. And I ordered the rolled lasagna layers. The Cacio E Pepe portion was ridiculously small for the price. I don’t know if they were trying to look like a three Michelin star restaurant but this wasn’t cutting it. It was very bland tasting of nothing but olive oil and black pepper. In my opinion, they could’ve added a lot more pecorino Romano to balance out the dish. I will say that my lasagna was quite delicious and a decent portion size for the price. Spending almost 4 dollars on a Sprite is ridiculous. My son got a Virgin piña colada that cost eight dollars. Although it was tasty and a nice gimmick, I don’t think eight dollars is the price range. And at the end of the night, I bought a raspberry tart for $11. That was just two 2 inch tiny tarts. Although I did enjoy my lasagna and my daughter, enjoyed her spaghetti and meatballs I would have to say a $68 ticket for this meal was not appropriate. There was a long wait time. I didn’t even get any bread with my Meal. And when I ordered the Tart to go at the end of the night, it took 10 minutes. that is just ridiculous. I do think their weight staff needs to step up their game. When I’m at the front door waiting to be seated and there’s someone just standing there staring at me, that’s not a good start. Standing around, staring at me instead of making me feel welcome doesn’t help the business. I understand this restaurant is just starting out so I want to give them the benefit of the doubt, but if they want to last in Tooele, they need to correct a few issues and they need to do it fast. Because I can tell you this, I have never spent this much money at an Olive Garden and received this little food...

New spot has good potential, hoping they work thru some issues.

Food was good, we got the antipasto appetizer and that was good, some of the cheese I never had before and ended up liking them. Main course we go Rigatoni and Scallops. The Rigatoni was good, but I could see it being better. Wife really like the Scallops and said they were very good. The rolls served with the pasta dish was really good, and would like to see them offer more bread. Plating and appearance of all items was great.

Cost and portion sizes of the food was about what we expect for a upscale restaurant, that being smaller and more expensive than other restaurants or Diners we have here. That said, I still felt it was decent size portions and was satisfied after.

Dessert was disappointing. We were told the Pear dessert would take 15 minutes to make, which was fine with us. We did not end up getting that or our tarts until 50 minutes later. We were about to just get our check and leave. The tart was ok, and the pear thing was good. I'm inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt here as they are new, and new places will inevitably have issues.

Building and décor is pretty well done, its is small so it leans itself into being a more quaint and intimate dinner setting, but in my honest opinion it is not there and is ruined and cheapened by the large TVs over the bar. I don't see this place ever competing with sports bars, and detracts from what would other be a upscale dining experience.

Overall it was a decent experience with a few issues. This is a new place, and the only Italian restaurant in Tooele so we were prepared to experience some issues on our visit, and we are looking forward to coming here again once they are more...