Romano’s Macaroni Grill

What can I say? I wouldn’t normally come here, but I had a gift card to use.
I do want to note that our server was great, very attentive and patient.
Also, that trick with the upside-​down writing is amusing.
The food itself came out in a reasonable amount of time and the complimentary bread was a nice addition. I ordered spaghetti and meatballs since that seems like a standard pasta dish that no one could mess up. I’m not the biggest fan of tomato sauce (unless it’s on pizza!) but I was pleasantly surprised by the flavors and enjoyed it.
I also ordered a tiramisu for dessert, it wasn’t my favorite version of the dish. Too tangy for my taste. Of course, that may be because I’m used to the alcohol-​infused version of another restaurant.
Overall, I’d give this place 3.5 stars. The price is not unreasonable for the amount of food that you get, but there’s only so much pasta that I can eat and I’d rather just pay less for a smaller amount of food.

My siblings and I received gift cards for Christmas, so here we are. I’ve known about this place since a friend will sometimes mention that they’re having lunch at this location.
It’s my 1^st time here and the restaurant isn’t crazy noisy, like… ehm Bravo’s. The service is very efficient and our waiter was great. The fresh bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar was delish! I ordered the Mama’s Trio, since I was debating between the Eggplant Parmesan and Lasagna. We didn’t have to wait long and the food was nice and hot. I love the fact, they offer to grate fresh parmesan on our food. Mmmm! The portions are HUGE! I probably dented only less than ¹⁄₃ of what was on the plate. It’s going to feed me at least 2 more meals. Hey, that works! The lasagna was WINNAHS! The Chicken Parmesan was also excellent. The Alfredo was also creamy and rich, but I’ll admit it needed some chicken or mushrooms added to it, but overall it tasted very good.
Overall, while I enjoyed the food, portions, and the service, but I probably will only return if I get another gift card, etc. Sadly, what’s stopping me is the prices at many of these Italian restaurants, which I’ll admit is unfortunate.

One of my students gave me a gift card for this restaurant and I was excited to check it out.
The first time I went was during the week for the lunch special and it was delicious and a great value except, the whole time I could hear the employees talking stink about other customers.
Bottom line this is unprofessional and I was bummed that I still had $ 10 on my gift card because I’m not a huge fan of supporting mainland chain restaurants especially when they have unprofessional staff.
My friend came back from Iron Man training on Hawaii island and ranted and raved about the salad she had at the Big Island location. I was gonna tell her no, until I realized I still had the gift card. We both ordered this Parmesan crusted chicken salad with prosciutto and balsamic reduction. It was just as delicious as she described.
But once again, the service fell way short. When we arrived around 12:00 today there was a few couples waiting to be seated so we walked to the bar area. There was a couple already seated and the design of the bar is a little awkward so we sat on the other side.
I could tell the bartender was irritated so I commented that we didn’t want to sit right next to them. Her response? «Uh, okay.» Right away I knew our personalities were not going to be compatible.
Later on another bartender and customer arrived. The customer sat down next to me, and was a regular. The original bartender with the dry personality knew exactly what drink she wanted. And the younger bartender who just showed up made a comment like, «Everyone knows and loves her (bartender doing all the work), I’m not sure why.» Um what?! Was it really necessary to stand there make a negative comment and continue to do nothing while the irritable bartender with no personality did everything?
Clearly, this Macaroni Grill is employing staff that just can’t get jobs at other great restaurants.

Thank you Casey!
We had amazing service and the food was amazing! I had ordered the shrimp portofino and my husband ordered the pasta di mare. Both were amazing! Bread was always on our table before we even ran out of the first loaf, and water and drinks were always refilled.
Our food
ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! I’m so happy I had leftovers so I could enjoy my dish twice! My husband’s dish was also great but I liked mine better. Hahaha! Whenever you order anything with shrimp you tend to only receive maybe 2 – 3 pieces but to my surprise I had a good seven! Thank god!

We’re boring, we come here about once a week. We eat in the bar/​lounge where there is no wait for a table, and order the same thing every week. For me, a spinach shrimp salad with lemon dressing, for my son a caprese salad with a create your own pasta. The servers are usually very prompt and pleasant. We love their bread served before the meal, but recently it shrank to half it’s original size. I guess it’s the perfect size for my son, since I never eat bread. All in all, a nice place to eat a quick, light meal.

I always get the mama’s trio, but on my latest visit, I decided to be daring and get the lobster ravioli. All I gotta say is mmMmmMmmM. The ravioli was cooked to perfection, and the sauce was delicious. The only thing I have against this dish is that it only comes with 5 pieces. For $ 21, I expected more considering for $ 3 more, you’ll get significantly more with the mama’s trio.
Pretty good food. Service can be better. The service I always get isn’t prompt and attentive. But, they have happy hour with is a plus.
If I had to choose between CPK and Macaroni Grill, it would be a coin toss.

This is a good friend of mine and my go to place for every gossip/​catch up dinner date! I am pretty consistent with getting the same thing each time. (So good!)
Lobster Ravioli !!! I eat it nowhere else and it’s good every time.
The appetizers I suggest the macaroni and cheese cubes. Sorry I do not know the actual menu name but those are sooooo yummy!
The ambiance of the venue is super relaxing, the service has always been good to us, which is probably why we continue to come back. Mai Tais is right around the corner which has live music all the time. (little suggestion: make sure to check out Isle Five performances over at Mai Tais after a delicious dinner at the Macaroni grill. It sounds like a perfect night to me!)

5 star review = great food + great service
First off, let me start off by saying that the service was AMAZING. Despite the craziness of the dinner rush, our server, CASEY was personable and attentive. He seemed to multi-​task well, which is why our service was so quick!
The date of our visit was May 21^st. We waited about 45 – 60 minutes for our table. We were seated quickly and our drinks and bread were served within 5 minutes or so. When we asked to add an extra person to our party, Casey made the arrangements and somehow all of our food came out approximately the same time, maybe 15 minutes later. Our drinks were refilled before they reached the bottom. I didn’t have to ask for a container because he offered one before I had the chance to.
I don’t remember the name of my dish but I’ll post a picture. It was delicious, I’ve had better, but it was good. That plus good service equals 5 stars: D

I’m not sure why I don’t eat here more often, because this is one of my favorite places to eat Italian food! Their Marsala cream sauce is out of this world! Mushroom pasta with Marsala is my go to. Friend Mac and cheese balls are also good, they come with a rich truffle sauce.
I love the ambience and how they draw on the table. Love the yummy bread and olive oil with spices. It can get crowded, but they have an open seating lounge area that you can score If you’re lucky.

This was our second visit to Macaroni Grill.
Frankly, it’s an upgraded Olive Garden offering the standard «American» Italian food, but since we don’t have a «Little Italy» here, it’ll have to do.
Good flavors and ample portions. The prices are a bit inflated (thankfully we had a gift card), but since it’s located in the mall (Ala Moana shopping center), that’s to be expected.
VERY kid friendly, offering a table covering that doubles as a drawing pad with complimentary crayons. My 5 year old twins LOVED it.
The atmosphere was inviting and the staff courteous and efficient. Our food arrived quickly and the drinks refilled accordingly.
Very good experience. We will return.
$ 5 discount with Facebook check-​in (if I remember correctly).

Food was great.
Service from Jocelyn (sp) was so awkward and she seemed very grouchy. Slamming items down on the table, very rude and short with us, not acknowledging when we thanked her. Check your attitude dude! Made us feel horrible and uncomfortable. &we were not difficult, no special orders, didn’t ask a million questions nothing…
Saving grace was the other female server with glasses (didn’t get her name) and the gentleman who dropped off the food… thank you!

We came here after being stuck waiting for other restaurants around. I’ve been here many times before, but it has been years. You know that feeling when you get tired of something really good that you don’t want it anymore??? Well that’s exactly why I haven’t been here in a while.
It was a delight to be reminded again why I love this place. The herb loaf mixed with olive oil and vinegar is fantastic!
This place is one of those fun for a date night or fun to have kids around places. It’s the perfect atmosphere of family friendly and romantic. They have dim romantic lighting and tables covered in paper to color on.
Service was good for the most part. We came 1 hour before closing and they graciously sat us right away. Our waiter Stefan wrote his name upside down and gave us an overview of the specials. We ordered right away, since we knew they were closing in less than an hour.
The food came out quickly! We were enjoyjng the house bread. Then out came our appetizers in a couple of minutes. Just when we finished, our entrees came. Everyone enjoyed their food. The butternut squash pasta was a fabulous reminder of why I liked this place before. They have good Alfredo sauces! It was my stepson’s first time here and he loved his chicken Alfredo pasta.
The price was pretty reasonable. They have big portions to share enough for two tummies. But we usually get our own entrees.
Overall it was a good experience. Unfortunately we came very close to closing so the workers were very relaxed by the bar near us. I had to ding a star because I just didn’t think watching our waiter having a conversation with the bartender about the weekend haps was ok. He rarely checked if we needed anything or refilled our empty water bottle once the food came. Other than that it was good! If you go remember to ask for olive oil and balsamic vinegar for the house bread. It’s great that way!

As the Italian phrase goes «La cucina piccola fal la casa grande» (a small kitchen makes the house big) … correct me if I’m wrong…
Romano’s in my opinion has really good pasta in Ala Moana for decent price if you don’t want ASSAGIOS… They use to have a ravioli I liked that I no longer see on the menu. I ordered a Penne Rustica… Penne is my favorite type of pasta cause it’s easy to slide in forks haha. My friend got a chicken Marsala.
Bread — Did you know you can ask for balsamic vinegar to go with your olive oil/​salt and pepper dip? if not ask the server!
The wait here sometimes is long like 45mins but it’s expected if you come on a busy Friday/​weekend.
I’ve had the tiramisu before… theirs is a little different… they use lady fingers? weird right?

Quite a bit of assortment with regards to selection of appetizers and entrees. Recommend you vary the different dishes based upon sauces so that you avoid eating something similar. Though, I did have the Butternut Asiago Ravioli and Mushroom Ravioli and while they were similar they had a unique difference to keep your appeal if you are eating both and sharing.
Some other notables that our table ate were the Italian Sausage and Mac Cheese Bites. Both were unique and tasty. I used to enjoy the Penne Rustica as well. One word of caution however is some of the dishes may be slightly salty with the cream sauces, bacon, etc in combination so be weary of you are sensitive to sodium otherwise drink a lot of water.
As for prices, fairly reasonable though some may find it a little pricy for Italian, approximately $ 16 – 24 per entrée. Take into account you are in Ala Moana.
Ambiance is great. Nice low lighting, music in the background and you can even learn Italian in the restroom.
Service has always been speedy and quick. Even with a party of 10 at dinner time we were able to get seated in less than 20 minutes. Food comes also comes out quickly which is a plus.
Parking is ample as it is connected to the mall. Park on the top floor on the side closet to Waikiki; there is an escalator that takes right to the front entrance.
Overall a nice to place try every once in awhile to play with some crayons on the table. An assortment on their entrees to change things up and worth a try if you want some Italian and in the mall/​area. For a more Italian feel try IL Lupino Trattoria and Wine by Wolfgang Zweiner at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center.
Price 4.5÷5
Food ⁴⁄₅
Ambiance ⁵⁄₅
Service ⁵⁄₅
Parking ⁵⁄₅
Note: they do have a television at the bar area. It’s also a nice area to grab a meal by the fireplace or bar if you are in a hurry or want some quick drinks with food.

TWO-​AND-​A-​HALF STARS.
Things have changed since I was last here, years ago (2012 — shows you how much I go out). My friends have said the food has gone downhill since they opened, but I wanted to see for myself, besides, it was Valentine’s Day and a treat from the hubby (no, I did not complain in front of him, I get to do it here!!)
LOWLIGHTS: Awful Sauce, teeny tiny legs, where is my Tabasco!!! x 4, undercooked yuck pasta, let’s not even talk about the stinginess of the balsamic vinegar in the oil for the bread dip!
SERVICE:
It was pretty crowded on our arrival at lunch, since it was Valentine’s Day. No problem, they said they will text us, so that was a nice touch. Our waiter was pleasant. I asked for Tabasco three times before I got it (our waiter, plus two others), and when I did get a bottle, it only had a few shakes left, so I had to ask yet another time, so make that four times. Annoying.
FOOD:
Penne Arrabiata ($ 14.00) FAIL FAIL = My Eggplant Quadratini that I had remembered so fondly was now gone, so I asked for a Penne Arrabiata in the «make your own pasta» category. I asked the waiter to make it extra spicy please… after all, an Arrabiata is supposed to be spicy hot! It was NOT. It was disappointing due to its very chewy, almost undercooked nature. Like eating raw-​ish pasta. The sauce was bland; I had to POUR Tabasco sauce on it. I normally pour Tabasco sauce on bland things that do not excite me. Had I known two of the appetizers we ordered also came with this Awful sauce, I would have not ordered this dish. Couldn’t finish it, it was that bad. I planned to bring it home and nuke it until it was properly cooked.
Calamari ($ 12.00) FAIL = teeny tiny squid parts in a fluffy crispy batter. I don’t think I’ve ever seen tinier Calamari parts in my entire eating career. It, too, came with a Arrabiata sauce that was bland, chunky and came in a stingy-​sized cup… maybe that was a good thing. Teeny tiny legs and tiny cup of awful.
Fried Mozzarella ($ 9.00) GOOD = now this was pretty tasty, five pieces of fresh mozzarella cheese sliced into triangles and deep friend. Served yes, again, with that totally boring Arrabiata sauce.
My husband ordered Lobster Ravioli, which he liked. Kid ordered Kid’s Menu Pepperoni Pizza that had a very cripsy, cracker crust… like a flat bread, only way crispier, like a Lavosh. They need to re-​name it Lavosh Pizza… but then no one would order it.
LOWEST OF LOWS:
I’m even afraid to reheat the Penne Pasta with Awful Sauce left overs because eating it would confirm the fact that I actually went there and got my taste buds assaulted by raw, undercooked pasta and food so bland I had to pour Tabasco on it.
RETURN FACTOR: NOPE.

(Totally forgot to post this when I wrote it –_​-​)
Believe it or not but dec 2015 was my first time eating at Romano’s Macaroni Grill!
I LOVED the ambiance it was sooooo beautifully put together, it really made such a great touch to the restaurant. The lights on the ceiling the water bottles that they keep on your table and the Christmas decorations, it just makes you feel fancy for the night :).
Food: To be honest I wasn’t even quite sure what to expect, I was thinking this place would be junk because some people that I know said they didn’t care for it but boy was I wrong! My cousin had the mushroom ravioli oh my gosh! When I tried it I was bummed that I wasn’t the one who got that! I did however get the Carmela’s chicken, it was also really good I loved the sweetness of the Marsala wine. My cousin also had a salad on the side and I honestly don’t remember what it was but it was also delicious! I just remember the frazzled onions on the side lol!
Service: Our waiters name was Ryan he was great. He came around to check on us, refilled drinks without us having to ask. That’s exactly what I like! He was also very apologetic about the bread not being out yet. (The bread didn’t come out until our meal was almost over)
I will definitely be back! In fact I can’t wait! :)

So I decided to tackle Black Friday at Ala Moana Shopping Center! What an adventure it was! LOL
Halfway through the day around the noon hour I needed to take a break (actually a beer), but yes my stomach was getting restless too. I made a pit stop from my Black Friday shopping at Romano’s Macaroni Grill. It was the noon hour so there was a waiting list for seating, however, the bar seating was semi-​full. All of the flat-​screen televisions in the bar area were tuned in to NCAA football, after all it was rivalry weekend (for those who follow college football).
I started with an IPA beer, and soon followed with lunch and dessert. I skipped the appetizer altogether, although their Caesar salad looked very tempting! I have been here several visits before, but not for a while. I ordered the Carmelo’s chicken for lunch, a nice creamed based pasta. As always, very delicious! For dessert, I ordered the tiramisu. The tiramisu was a nice large slice, enough for two people! The tiramisu was very soft, creamy, and whip cream on the side! OMG! After the pasta, tiramisu and several beers I was stuffed! Luckily, I still had shopping to do so I would work my lunch off walking the mall! ;)
Props to our bartenders/​servers! They were amazing! Very friendly, and very sociable, as they conversed with everyone dining at the bar seating area. Service was an A+! I will definitely be back!
The restaurant is located on the top level (4^th level) of the mall on the top level full of restaurants and bars. It is located on the Mauka (mountain) side of the floor next to Jade Restaurant and across Tsukiji’s.
I really like the ambiance at this location! Very clean, nice setting, a beautiful, spacious restaurant, with ample seating! The bar area is also a good size, with ample seating either at the bar or surrounding area. They have several TV monitors showing different sporting events if you wanna catch a game! This is a nice getaway from the mall to catch a game on TV, have a few cocktails, for a quiet meal or an intimate get together! :)

Romano’s Macaroni Grill is located up on the 4^th floor of Ala Moana near Island’s Burgers and Bubba Gump.
Let’s first start off that it would be best to reserve a table. But if you cannot then should be okay as they do take walk-​ins.
Next the service. They are really nice, from the hostess to the server/​waiter. I was impressed by their professionalism and service. Kind of expected of a high quality restaurant.
A cool feature is that the waitress writes her name on the table sheet of paper with a crayon. Perfect for the little ones or for the artsy customers or «doodlers» like me lol.
So the food. They serve a wide variety of Italian food. And of course there’s the complimentary bread (which is baked to perfection).
Two entrees I’ve tried are the grill salmon and the chicken parmigiana. The salmon comes with orzo (kind of like a rice pasta). So good for those who like rice and seafood. The chicken parmigiana comes with angel hair (sorry I forgot the Italian name). All really good!
I would like to give this place a 5star because of the High quality and service :)

My first experience there tonight on my birthday and i lovvvvved it! I ordered the catch of the day which was the mahi mahi & my bf ordered the ribeye and asparagus & he loved it! we also ordered the mac & cheese truffles & the fried zucchinis for our appetizers and OMG! soooo good!!! Our waiter ritchie was super nice and made sure everything was okay with us. super cool too because we get to write on the table tops. they have those for kids but I really enjoyed myself with that tonight haha
The setting was really nice & the music that was playing made me feel like I was in Italy! LOL I like how they set up the tables and just how the decors look, it’s so nice in there! I would def go back!

It’s been years since I have been to Macaroni Grill. I came here for lunch today because I recently received a gift card for this place. Since it’s a Monday, the restaurant was only half full and we were immediately seated at a booth for two without reservations.
We ordered the mushroom ravioli from the Pranzo Combo Specials (available Monday to Friday from 11 AM to 4 PM). You have a choice of three sides: fresh greens, Caesar salad, or soup. We went with the Caesar salad. For $ 13, I thought this was a pretty good deal because the mushroom ravioli was super delicious!!! The porcini mushrooms on top of the ravioli were beautifully caramelized and the marsala sauce was so good I even dipped my Caesar salad in it!
We also ordered Chicken Under a Brick because it looked so delicious in the pictures other reviewers posted. For $ 21, the portion did not disappoint but we didn’t like much else about it. The flavor was only okay, there was a lot of oil, and the chicken was not tender (probably a bit overcooked). Maybe I was hoping for too much given past reviews but I was let down by this dish.
For drinks, I tried the Limonata Nojito, which had San Pellegrino Limonata, agave nectar, lime, and mint. I love citrus and mint so it was the perfect drink for me! If you like similar flavor profiles, you should totally get the Limonata Nojito (a nojito is apparently a mocktail version of a mojito!).