For our first night in San Luis Obispo, I chose to eat at Café Roma. I don’t typically seek out Italian food, but I was travelling with family, so I selected different restaurants than I otherwise would have. I narrowed it down to two Italian restaurants in the area, and Café Roma seemed more authentic.
I didn’t have super high expectations, because my experiences at casual Italian restaurants tend to be negative. However, if I’m being totally honest, the meal was worse than expected.
For anyone who’s interested, here is the menu:
Café Roma Food
The meal started off with a complementary serving of bread, which was half sourdough and half wheat. Despite the menu saying that dip cost $4, they brought out olive oil and balsamic vinegar. They also brought us a second serving of bread immediately after we finished the first, although this one only consisted of wheat bread. The second time around, the bread was warm, which made it taste significantly better.
We didn’t order any appetizers, but instead each chose a main course.
My grandfather and I both ordered the Tortelli di Zucca, which was described as a squash filled ravioli with parmesan sauce. I chose it because in late November I’d had an amazing butternut squash ravioli in United Polaris, and ever since then I’ve been craving a good ravioli.
Unfortunately, this appeared to be pumpkin, rather than butternut squash, making the dish extremely sweet. It was also pretty bland overall, and the sauce could’ve used a lot more flavour. Neither of us enjoyed it, and it was definitely the weakest point of the meal.
My mom had the Bucatini Carbonara – a spaghetti with egg and meat, which she described as decent and somewhat tasty. According to her, it wasn’t terrible, but she wouldn’t go back to the restaurant.
My grandmother had the Gnocchi alla Sorrentina, which was one of the items I was considering ordering. I sure do regret not choosing it, as this was by far the best of all the dishes. It was soft and pillowy, and the flavour was great. Everyone who sampled it genuinely liked it.
My sister had the Fettuccine Alfredo side, which simply had no flavour. We tried adding parmesan, but it tasted very cheap and made the pasta worse.
Finally, my dad ordered the Pepperoni Diavola, a supposedly spicy pizza. However, there was absolutely no spice, and despite them saying it was Neapolitan-style, the crust was very doughy. He said it wasn’t a great pizza, but it did hit the spot on the cold evening.
Café Roma Drinks
The drinks were a mixed bag too – my grandfather ordered a Menabrea beer, which he found to be very good. However, my mom’s lemonade was extremely watered down and lacked lemon flavour.
Café Roma Dessert
We ordered two desserts: the Classic Tiramisu and the Chocolate Mousse. I didn’t try the tiramisu, but it was supposedly tasty. The chocolate mousse was alright, though not special. Both were better than the main courses.
Café Roma Ambience
We ate in the outdoor dining section of the restaurant, as Omicron was starting to surge and we wanted to take extra precaution. The outdoor dining was really a fully enclosed tent, which I didn’t find impressive. That’s not true outdoor dining.
The inside of the restaurant was nicely decorated, though it was only about 25% full. They were playing very typical Italian restaurant music both indoors and outdoors.
Overall the restaurant had a nice ambience and I really liked the intriguing decor.
Café Roma Service
The service at this restaurant was mixed. At the start of the meal, they brought out water for everyone – but for some reason, mine was sparkling water. When we asked them to replace it, they were slightly confused, but eventually brought me a new glass with plain water.
However, there were also positives, such as them refilling our bread basket without asking, and the little candies at the front of the restaurant for guests to take as they departed.
Final Thoughts
I hate to leave a negative review, but unfortunately I don’t have much good to say about Café Roma. The service was a little chaotic, and the food was far from being tasty. Everything lacked flavour, and was just not up to par. The desserts were a significant improvement, but I still wouldn’t return.
Comments 3
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Thanks for the run down on the Cafe Roma – the name sounds inviting, doesn’t it? Enjoyed reading he honest comments.
Keep writing.