I wasn't sure how to write this review because it's somewhat negative, though I didn't necessarily want it to be. We don't have a lot of variety in this area, and what variety we do have tends to cater to a certain 'bland' palate. Romio's is Italian, but it's also very rural Americana, with all the bells and whistles that entails. They have a variety of dishes, including pastas, pizzas, sandwiches, appetizers, etc., so if you're wanting something other than a Domino's bread bowl, they have you covered.
Most Italian places you find, outside of larger cities, or communities that have a large Italian presence, tend to have very similar pasta items. You have your red and white sauces, several pasta varieties and several cheese and protein types. Mix any of them together, and bam! Menu item. If I see a menu filled with more exotic items I'll typically give them a run. If not, I'll initially pick something simple and familiar to me and that something tends to be their variation of the carbonara, if offered. And I say variation because carbonara isn't exactly complex - it's primarily egg yolk, pecorino and/or parmesan cheese, and guanciale or bacon. All depending on ingredient availability. But who is going to pay $16+ for that, right? So some places tend to add extra's to spice it up since it's a pretty simple dish. Need to amp it up, otherwise, some folks may balk at the tag for a plate of 'cheesy noodles,' right?
But here lies our problem - I didn't get a carbonara. I got some bacon, mushrooms, scallions and tomatoes in a mornay sauce (flour, butter, milk and cheese.) And when you're 'expecting' a carbonara and what you get was something decidedly not, it kind of puts a damper on your enjoyment of the dish.
Which leads to our second problem - every dish seemed to be left under the broiler too long. And with the amount of folks I saw in the kitchen vs what I saw out at the tables, why? Why did everything come out like it was a baked dish? Even the appetizer, which were the tenderloin skewers, appear wilted down as though it was premade and left under a heat lamp until someone ordered it?
Which led to our third problem...whoever prepped the skewers didn't even bother removing the little sticker from the bell pepper when they chopped/prepped it. A small, but gross oversight. And to Romio's credit, they provided a considerable discount for that sticker, without our asking.
Finally, our fourth problem...the booth we sat in smelled of mold/mildew. The interior of Romio's is dated (though clean,) which in of itself, is not necessarily a bad thing, but when you can smell very unpleasant smells where you are sitting, nothing that comes after is going to be A+. Maybe it's time to gut the booths?
I don't really put a lot of stock into the wait staff much these days (service positions are overworked and underpaid and American tipping culture is wild these days with a lot of variation,) as long as they're not rude or decidedly 'put out' that we're there. I suppose if I were paying a lot of money (relatively,) I'd expect more, but again, we're in a small town, with small town wages - don't be mean and you're good to go. And the staff at Romio's were good to go.
Overall, was Romio's a good place to go? Again, if you're wanting more than what Domino's has to offer, it's really the only place to go unless you want to travel 30-60 minutes out of the area. read more