ROMANO'S MACARONI GRILL - ALA MOANA CENTER

ROMANO'S MACARONI GRILL

ALA MOANA SHOPPING CENTER

HONOLULU, HAWAII

We have been on an Italian food run lately.  After not being able to get a table at Taormina in Waikiki because I did not make a reservation, we opted to go to Romano's Macaroni Grill the following day.  I have stayed away from Romano's because the last time I was there we ate dishes loaded with cheese and creme sauces.  Not a good memory.  This time we ate on the lighter side and ate family style.  We started with the Bib and Blue Salad that is $5 when you order any pasta dish.  There was more than enough for two in the bowl.  The salad includes bib lettuce, Buttermilk Dressing with Blue Cheese crumbles, thinly slice onion rings, pancetta, walnuts and pickled red onions.  Not too heavy and good combination of flavors.  Our second dish was Mom's Ricotta Meatballs with Spaghetti and Bolognese Sauce ($15).  The small meat balls are made of Beef, Veal and Ricotta.  They were moist and flavorful.  The Bolognese sauce was meaty and pretty good.  The spaghetti was a bit soft.  I would prefer a more al dente pasta.  The serving of pasta served two with a little left over.  The Margherita Pizza ($13) was really "fresh".  We both liked the fresh taste of the multi-colored tomatoes that cover the pizza.  Added some crushed red pepper to kick this one up a notch.  The Kids Meal Grilled Chicken and Pasta is a bargain at $7.  My daughter finished everything on the plate plus half of the loaf of Rosemary Bread that is served with every meal.  Overall this was not bad at all.  Our server was pretty lame.  How he got a job serving food is beyond me.  The bottle of Olive Oil on the table had more personality.  I won't name names but his name was Jeff.
Click links below for more posts on Romano's Macaroni Grill:
http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2014/02/romanos-macaroni-grill.html
http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2008/04/ramanos-macaroni-grill.html

RAMANO'S MACARONI GRILL

NICE FIRE PIT AND BAR AREA 

NO RESERVATIONS.  CHECK IN AT HOSTESS STATION
AND BE PREPARED TO WAIT.

TABLE CLOTH IS PAPER AND CRAYONS ARE FREE

OLIVE OIL ON EVERY TABLE.

FRESH BAKED ROSEMARY BREAD

BIB AND BLUE SALAD

CHILDREN'S MENU - GRILLED CHICKEN WITH PASTA
AND BROCCOLINI.  NOT BAD FOR $7

MOM'S RICOTTA MEAT BALLS WITH SPAGHETTI
AND BOLOGNESE SUACE

MARGHERITA PIZZA WAS FRESH!

THIN CRUNCHY CRUST IS THE WAY I LIKE IT

LARGE PIECES OF REALLY FRESH TOMATOES

ROMANO'S MACARONI GRILL

ROMANO'S MACARONI GRILL

Honolulu, HI

Located in the Ala Moana Shopping Center in Honolulu, the Macaroni Grill is a good, family friendly place to grab a lunch or dinner.  We took some friend and three girls ages 3 to 7 there to celebrate Keli's 7th Birthday.  All of the girls enjoyed macaroni and cheese with a side of fresh grilled broccoli.  Yes, they ate the broccoli and loved it.  I tried it and it was good.  We ordered a Margherita Pizza as an appetizer for the table.  At $10.99 it was a bargain.  Good sized brick oven cooked pizza topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, fresh tomatoes and basil.  Everyone said it was good.  Both couples split a Ceasar Salad.  It was also good and served with large pieces of anchovy on top.  For entrees, our friends split the Mama's Trio.  Three Italian favorites on one plate.  Lasagna Bolognese, Chicken Cannelloni and Chicken Parmesan.  This is a lot of food for $16.99.  A bargain if you split it between two people.  Shirley enjoyed Chicken Scaloppine.  Sauteed chicken breast with mushrooms, artichokes, capers and smoked prosciutto in a lemon butter sauce.  Served over capellini pasta ($15.99).  There was enough for two people here and it was quite tasty.  I enjoyed the Seafood Linguine.  Shrimp, scallops and clams sauteed with oven roasted tomatoes, basil, arugula and linguine in a white wine, garlic and olive oil sauce ($16.99).  The dish was o.k.  A little oily and tasteless.  The shrimp and scallops had no flavor.  The clams were small but good.  I could only eat half.  The table enjoyed a double bottle of Chianti wine.  At $32 it is a bargain for two bottles of wine.  During the course of our dinner we were pleased to have two songs sung by one of the employees.  She was Asian and 23 yet belted out songs in Italian that were really good.  This is a great place to eat family style and bring kids.  The service was excellent.  The food and prices are good.  Click links below for updated posts on Romano's Macaroni Grill:
http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2012/04/ramanos-macaroni-grill-ala-moana-center.html
http://greateatshawaii.blogspot.com/2014/02/romanos-macaroni-grill.html