Romano’s Macaroni Grill

We have often driven past various Macaroni Grill restaurants on our way to, or from shopping trips in Florida but had never got around to stopping to see what any of them were like.

We usually opt for Olive Garden if we fancy Italian which I must admit isn’t that often as the steak and seafood restaurants usually get our vote. So when we found ourselves with a couple of hours to kill at Orlando International Airport on our last trip home we decide to check out some of the restaurants and food outlets that were on offer to save us having to endure the in flight meal.

We were first drawn to the Macaroni Grill, or Romano’s Macaroni Grill to give it its full title, not by its distinctive “stone clad” exterior but by the delicious smells that were wafting through the terminal. If you don’t like garlic then this is definitely not the place for you but if you do read on.

We had a quick read of the menu that was on display outside and soon decided to give it a try. There are two dining areas at the airport location one for those just looking for a quick pit stop and the other, which we chose, for those who have a little longer to spend on their meal. We were quickly shown to our table and handed menus.

By the time our waiter appeared a couple of minutes later we hadn’t got a clue what to order as it all sounded so good. Our server introduced himself and gave us some gorgeous bread and olive oil for dipping, he then made some suggestions that he thought we might enjoy and left us for a few more minutes before he came back for our order.

We eventually decide to share the Shrimp and Artichoke dip to start and then I ordered the Chicken Florentine salad, a wonderful mix of orzo pasta, the little stuff that looks like large grains of rice, with chicken, pine nuts, black olives, spinach and capers with parmesan and a lemon vinaigrette dressing. Steve plumped for the Penne Rustica a rich baked pasta dish with chicken, shrimp (king prawns to us) and smoked ham topped with parmesan.

We were much too full for dessert but we managed to force down a very nice cappuccino that arrived accompanied by a couple of Italian biscuits. I mentioned that I loved the biscuits as the coffee was served and next minute the waiter was back with a small plate of biscuits and a smile.

All the food was delicious and the server was attentive and efficient without us feeling that we were being rushed. He certainly deserved his tip and I appreciated the extra biscuits that I wrapped in a serviette for on the plane later.

In future we won’t be too worried if we have a few hours to kill at the airport as it was so nice to sit and enjoy a good meal rather than just hanging around getting bored. It was a great end to a fantastic holiday.