Saturday Night Live?
I thought I was stuck in an old Saturday Night Live skit. But it was not funny.

My friend and I met at the Roma Reataurant to enjoy dinner and the Tuesday night jazz performance. We went upstairs and asked if we could order dinner. After being told we could by 3 different people, we purchased tickets and proceeded to the performance area. We met the hostess, she did not seat us, however, pointed across the room to a dirty table and told my friend and me that we could sit there. I asked if she would like us to wait while the table was cleared. She said "No," and that someone would be right over to clean the table.

Our waitress came to the table and asked what we would like to drink. We told her we were going to order dinner. She said we could not because the kitchen was closing in 2 minutes. We told her the bartender, manager and hostess had just told us we could order dinner. She sighed and posed with her pad and paper. I asked if there was a menu. She sighed again and pointed to a folded piece of paper under the dirty dishes and crumpled napkins still on our table. We made our choice and asked if she could clean off our table. She sighed again and began to pick up the items from the previous diners. She hesitated at the dirty silverware, looked at it and said "I will bring a clean setup." I didn't know clean silverware was an option.

While the waitress was away, we asked the manager to please clear the crumbs that were scattered all over the table. He informed us he could only turn the table cloth over, which he did sending crumbs flying everywhere.

The waitress came back with 2 glasses of water, my salad and a glass of wine for my friend. She then quickly left. Several minutes later, we again called the manager over. I asked for some silverware so I could begin to eat my salad. At this point, the manager said we had to stop being rude to his waitstaff. We asked what he meant and he said the waitress had said we had sworn at her. When we denied this allegation he said he did not think his waitress would lie to him. He said if we continued to be rude we would have to leave. At this point we asked him to return our cover charge and left.

I found this to be quite distressful. I have eaten at the Roma for over 20 years. It was one of my favorite restaurants. I will never eat there again, and I will tell everyone I know about this experience. I also found the false statements by the waitress upsetting. I have never heard my friend swear, and I would not consider it an option.    [10 Sep 2003 03:21:47]

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     ­Anonymous   

Rudest Staff Around
I was at the restaurant last Sunday, at a wedding I was invited to. I was very disapointed from the way we were treated. The staff was very rude; the food was cold. I'll never step in this restaurant again, and believe me, I wasn't the only one that wasn't happy.

I can put up with almost anything but not rude waiters. They ruined my day.

By the way I was a waitress myself for five years, and I know the way you speak to a customer. Thank you.    [21 Oct 2003 19:44:06]

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     ­ghada rizkallah   

You Want How Much for Alfredo Sauce?
I went to The Roma one day for lunch and ordered steak tips (which were burnt by the way) and for my side I chose to have pasta with Alfredo sauce. I was amazed that when the bartender gave me my bill that the charge for Alfredo sauce was $4.00. That was outrageous! Not only were my steak tips burnt and tasteless but I had to pay for Alfredo sauce what I would have almost paid for another lunch. I will never be back to that place again, no wonder why their parking lot is always empty.    [22 Nov 2004 22:50:35]

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     ­A Haverhill Resident   

The Roma
First of all. I was a waitress for The Roma for two years so I happen to know quite a bit about Jazz Night, the quality of the food, and the waitstaff. If you want to blame someone for a bad experience at the Roma, blame the owner. Particularly the jazz nights, he did not put enough staff upstairs to work each show. This is for two reasons: 1. because he is extremely cheap and will never pay staff what they deserve. 2 because no one wants to work Jazz.

Most of the people who attended Jazz night at the Roma were extremely snobby and ill-mannered...not to mention the worst tippers I have ever seen. They did not understand that the kitchen staff was made up of two cooks (again blame the owner) to provide food for the entire restaurant, not to mention all upstairs functions. So they were cooking for the restaurant downstairs as well as upstairs. Now as talented as they are (and believe me they were extremely great cooks who took pride in their food and how it was served), cooking for that many people is a hard task for anyone.

The waitstaff was overworked as well, being short staffed and having to carry trays of food up through the restaurant and up two flights of stairs. This, for some reason, never entered the mind of any customers. Most good waiters and waitresses can handle 6 or 7 tables at once on a busy night. Upstairs at Jazz, it was more like 3 or 4 at the most because the type of customer at Jazz night was extremely demanding and unappreciative. However since the tips were awful and waiters need the money they would try and take on more than what they could handle. After 1 night of working this I refused to ever to it again.

The last thing I have to say is that the waitstaff is extremely friendly. If you can be polite and understanding knowing that when you walk in to a show that has been going on for a few hours and is almost over, and demand to eat, your not going to make a server very happy either. Why don't you try showing up to the show on time? Of course the manager and owners are going to tell you that you can order because its more money for them and they aren't working, so who cares, right?    [29 Jul 2005 16:15:19]

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Recommended Dishes: frangelico

     ­Anonymous   

My family had a function here in January. The heat went out the day before and they descided not to call to warn us. Our guests ate cold food and had to wear their jackets in the function room. They did not offer to bring in space heaters or even give us a discount. They did give us a coupon for our next meal, which we will never use.    [03 Sep 2005 22:58:14]

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     ­Anonymous   

Consistent Quality and Service
I've have been to the Roma for numerous functions, lunches, and dinners over the past several years and in nearly every case have had very pleasant experiences. During one lunch visit we had to repeatedly ask our waitress to refill water glasses and such, but it wasn't so bad as to "ruin" our meal. The Roma serves hearty portions and has a very traditional Italian menu. The prices (especially for large groups) are *extremely* reasonable for the quality and portion size. It's not exquisite dining, nor does it pretend to be - it's simple, fairly casual Italian food done very well.    [28 Sep 2005 11:02:39]

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     ­Maria   

Good Standby
It might sound like an insult, but knowing that we have the Roma as an option is reassuring. The Roma was the first restaurant I was ever in back in 1972. Things have changed for sure, but I still enjoy most of my visits. I find it a shame that the dining room is so empty many midweek evenings. I really dont want to see this place go under. The prices are good and the meals are tasty. The waitstaff seems to lack energy occasionally, but there are a few good ones. I will keep coming back if stays.    [06 Nov 2005 16:04:58]

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Recommended Dishes: Roma cutlet

     ­Melissa   

Run While You Can
We have dined at The Roma several times over the past 10 yrs. Early on it was great. However, now it is a sad shell of what it used to be. The food all tastes the same.    [13 Jun 2007 21:06:03]

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     ­Anonymous