Monday, January 23, 2012

Restaurant Review - Romano's Macaroni Grill

Romano's Macaroni Grill in Dublin

Prior to going gluten and dairy free, I used to love Romano’s Macaroni Grill. I went quite often with business colleagues. Of course, after going GFCF, I crossed it off my list of dining options. I was very intrigued to learn they now have an “allergen menu” which includes gluten and dairy free options. I took my son there last week for lunch and we had a lovely time. They have a very interesting allergy menu that took a few minutes to figure out but then turned out very informative.

Sammy's children's pomodoro pasta

I love the fact that they have a children’s menu which makes it very affordable to take kids. Sammy wanted the pasta pomodoro. It was very good but I felt it needed a little bit more sauce. I like the marinara sauce at Frankie, Johnnie and Luigi’s Too (a restaurant in Dublin) better but the sauce at Macaroni Grill was not quite as spicy so it was better for Sammy. The gluten free penne pasta is a rice blend with no corn (as reported by the waiter). You can also order a children’s dish with a combo of chicken and GF pasta (and broccollini).

Greens Salad with grilled chicken

I decided to order the greens salad for myself with one of the two gluten/dairy free dressings they offer. I added grilled chicken breast. The chicken was very fresh and tender, cooked to perfection. The greens and vegetables in the salad were simple but very fresh. I enjoyed it.

We were able to top off our meal with dairy free white peach sorbet. It was a nice finish.


Here are the things I love about Romano’s Macaroni Grill:

 The atmosphere.  It’s fun and entertaining.
The Italian recordings in the restroom are a nice touch.

A water bottle at your table. I drink a lot of water and am often left
with an empty glass in restaurants.

The waiter’s name written on our table so I can easily request him/her if needed.


That fact that they paid attention to our being gluten free and did not even come near our table with bread. Anyone who’s had to wrestle a bread roll out of their GFCF child’s hand can relate to this.


Sammy’s favorite part was that he could color on the table cover.
This entertained him the entire time we were waiting for the food. Nice!


A GFCF dessert option!


The pasta must have been good because it’s all gone!

We give this new GFCF dining option a thumbs up!!

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