Cafe Roma 02/22/2009
Reviewers Rating: Excellent
Walking into Cafe Roma is like walking into a restaurant in Boston's North End. The restaurant is small and dark but as the saying go, good things come in small packages. We started the evening with a basket of the delicious bread and dipping oil. I ordered a pomegranate martini which was top notch. For an appetizer, we ordered the mozzarella and tomato stuffed bread. The dish featured a quarter loaf of french bread, sliced 3/4 through and stuffed with fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil and a drizzling of olive oil. The dish was filling and delicious but we enjoyed the bread basket so much, we wished we had tried something else. For entrees, I ordered the Sierra. A pasta dish with fresh asparagus, sundried tomatoes, red onion, garlic and feta cheese. There is also an option to add shrimp. On the evening we were there, they were out of asparagus and substituted broccoli. The dish was one of the best pasta dishes I've had in a very long time. The broccoli and shrimp were both cooked perfectly- tender but with a slight snap. The feta cheese was a top quality cheese- creamy and piquant. It really made the dish. My husband ordered a special of cheese ravioli, with chicken topped with a creamy gorgonzola cheese sauce and walnuts. The dish was like a savory dessert with the cream sauce being perfectly executed. One son ordered the rack of lamb with fettucine alfredo. The lamb was perfectly cooked and seasoned. The alfredo featured a wonderful creamy sauce. Not overly sauced and a perfect accompaniment to the lamb. Finally, my son ordered manicotti. The cheese stuffed pasta came drenched in a delicious marinara that can rival any restaurant I've ever been to.

The portions here are HUGE. We each took home a large chinese take out container overflowing with left overs. The prices were very reasonable making this the best value restaurant we dined at in STJ.

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