Terrible experience this time at Cafe Roma. On a Thursday before a holiday the place was packed. Three of us waited about ten minutes for a table. Not bad. The host seated us and brought three glasses of water for the table. What was really crappy was the table service. A fourteen top table was getting all the attention and we were solidly ignored for more than ten minutes. Not a drink order, not even an acknowledgment that they'll be with us. Nothing. When a server finally showed up we ordered everything. Drinks, salad and entrees. That's when I started a stopwatch on the phone. It took over twenty five minutes for our dinners to arrive. The food was fine. Sorry Cafe Roma. You lost us as customers. I'll never be back. read more

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This review is for their catering services. I have used Cafe Roma on multiple occasions and have never been disappointed. Lisa was very helpful and offered suggestions for our event. She assisted not only with food selectio, but quantity. She made the preplanning so easy. On the day of the event the team are well prepared and set up is exactly as discussed. They are so attentive ! For the last event the items were served and they moves gracefully and silently around the table to avoid disrupting conversations. They are professional and blend into the background . At the end of the event they package leftovers , put them in the kitchen area and clean up. They do all of this effortlessly. The food is outstanding, I have had many different selections and have not been disappointed. I have used them for not only catered event, but also for work lunches . Their portions are very generous. They excel at customer service and never disapppoint. read more

Don't get the hype . Weird location way back in an industrial park in the bottom of an office building. No ambience at all. Food subpar and doubt anything is made fresh food served with hot gloves never seen that which makes me wonder how it's being cooked. Place wasn't busy but services was awful no water refills coffee etc . Garlic bread is a piece of bread with cheese .. one and done read more

Super cute little Italian cafe with all the cafe vibes. Fully stocked bar. Our food was delicious and cooked to order. Our waitress was attentive and friendly. read more

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You can always count on Cafe Roma to bring you an amazing meal and friendly staff. I wish them much success in the new Huntley location soon! Their Valentine menu and touches was delightful too :) read more

On a Saturday day evening there was only one booth available. All others were reserved. Note to self: next time call ahead. We were waited on almost immediately. We ordered Shrimp Diablo and Lasagna. The food came out almost as fast as we were waited on. Food was piping hot and delicious. Portions were huge. Took 2/3 of our plate home. Didn't stop us from ordering dessert which was 4 mini cannolis. Chocolate shells with traditional creamy insides. Nice finish to a grand dinner. read more

Cafe Roma - Shrimp Diablo. It was served hot, moderately spicy and delicious. Loaded with jumbo shrimp. - Italian Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

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Simply the best!!! You are treated like family and the food, service and cocktails are spectacular!! Looking forward to the new location!!!

I had such high hopes for this place, judging from the reviews. But it was ok. I asked the host for a booth, I noticed 2 booths were not reserved. He said every booth was reserved, ok, then how come there's no menus on them? Alright, I got sat at a table. The lady was super sweet though, she was great. So I am looking over the menu and all of a sudden, they put menus on the booths. Ohhhhh looks like they were JUST NOW reserved, gotcha. Anyway, I got spaghetti, it needed seasonings badly, the sauce tasted like Ragu, the pasta was a bit al dente & I was not offered parmesan cheese. My friend stated their dish was very bland and the chicken was too dry. I like dry chicken so I wouldn't have minded. Sadly I would not come back. read more

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My lady friend had the Greek salad. It was very large with all the elements that made it Grecian. I had eggplant parm with side of pasta and side salad. The salad was very nice. The eggplant was terrible and the pasta was starchy and overcooked. The presentation was shameful. I will not return. read more

* This review is based solely off their takeout pizza! * Pingree Grove gets a crap shoot choice of pizza options. Being originally from Miami I absolutely loathe Tavern style AKA Chicago Thin pizzas. And with the likes of "Little Pop's" about an hour each way to the closest location, and my beloved gems "The Slice Spot" and "That's Amore" both being 35 minutes away each way as well, I was understandably desperate! So I hopped on Yelp and found this joint. Realized I'd had it bookmarked already for a few years now. Figured "why not" as I've never had Roman pizza before and this was just 12 minutes away door to door. Called in an order for an 18" Padrone pie, and some tiramisu. Was quoted 15-20 minutes, which I thought was impressively quick! I got there in 15, as it was only 10 minutes from my house. Decided to try the pizza as soon as I'd paid and got it back to my car, it was cut into squares and seemed pretty light and crisp. The pie was still very warm, bordering on hot. This was looking good! I took a bite of a edge triangle and thought it had a great crisp chew, then decided to go inwards to get some toppings and a bigger bite. The pizza was bland and tasteless, nothing noteworthy or memorable about it. The crisp was gone, the crust was still a bit doughy and all the toppings were so flat I wondered if I'd contracted COVID. I did not. So, I was now out $42 between the pie and the tiramisu, got home and decided to take a bite of the $6.50 tiramisu, it was good, not too sweet and not too coffee or chocolate heavy, it was "just right". So overall, I still haven't found a great local pizza spot to replace any of my geographically undesirable loves. I will try this place again to see how the rest of the menu (not pizza) fairs. read more

Great service and food can't wait for the Huntley location to open I love their food.i

We have to disagree with Mark D's review. My husband and I were at Cafe Roma at the same time as Mark and were seated by the large group he is referencing. Our server was kind and knowledgeable and the food was delicious! Really Mark - you waited a bit more than 10 minutes to place your entire order? And a 25 minute wait for made to order food? The horror!! Seriously. You have a first world problem. Good thing you have other choices. read more

What a wonderful find. This gem is hidden in a office/business complex. The decor and environment are very nice, the staff is super friendly and the food was fantastic. Highly recommend if you have a chance to drop in. read more

Casual Italian diner, fresh food and friendly vibe! The staff are attentive and so positive. This feels like a warm, family-owned place. I grabbed a booth for lunch, and the place is hopping. A good sign. The outdoor patio is adorable, decked out in gorgeous flowers! It's raining, so I'm seated inside. But that looks like a great place to relax on a lunch hour. Enjoyed my capallini pomadoro and side salad. I'll definitely return. read more

Cafe Roma - Capellini Pomodoro - Italian Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

Absolutely delicious food! The decor is minimalist but at these large portions and reasonable prices, who cares? The hubs ordered the fusilli with sausage and meatballs and I ordered the chicken Marsala. Both dishes were wonderful and we also ate our generous leftovers at home the next night as well. I ordered a yummy California Pinot noir and it did not disappoint - its round berry notes were truly luscious. Mary was our server and quite busy, but we never felt overlooked or waited an unreasonable amount of time. We enjoyed our dinner tremendously - make sure to make a reservation! read more

Great food, I've been here several times and each and every time it has been delicious food. Small place but mighty in service. Love to see them open a bigger location. Who ever is in the kitchen has their eye on the prize. Great and delicious food, excellent service. Love this Cafe Roma. read more

The food was amazing. Unfortunately the service was the worst service I have ever had in my life. The atmosphere is a little loud.

The service was very good. My husband liked his chicken parm our friend had the chicken lemone said it was ok kinda sweet? I had eggplant parm. I didn't mind the thick slices however it wasn't cooked through so it was a little hard. I didn't like that but the sauce was very good read more

It's been awhile but the food there was some of the best Italian I have ever had. Current location is very cramped. Looking forward to trying again in new location in Huntley. read more

First time ordering food here at Cafe Roma and I will definitely be coming back to try more of the dishes. Ordered the bow tie chicken cream pasta. It is a very large portion and I will be having leftovers tomorrow. So delicious! Also, the goat cheese bruschetta is amazing! I chose the outdoor patio on a beautiful night. Can't wait to go back! Only thing I regret was asking if they had desserts. They didn't have it on the online menu. Definitely will check next time. Reservations recommended. Hope to bring my friends and family next time. read more

I have been waiting for so long to try this highly rated Italian restaurant in Elgin! We ordered take out and was excited about the meal, but was let down. I ordered the tortiglione alla vodka with chicken and instead I got roasted vegetables aglio e olio. I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt and tried this dish anyways. This dish was bland and didn't have much flavor to it. It tasted like steamed vegetables and chicken with pasta. We also ordered fusilli sausage and meatballs pasta. The ratio of meat to pasta was lacking. A very medicore dish. The soup gumbo and side salad were good. For dessert, we got tiramisu and panna cotta. Tiramisu was frozen or had an ice cream layer to it. I couldn't taste the creaminess of the mascarpone. Not one of the best I've had. Panna cotta was just ok. Overall, kinda disappointed this time around read more

Cafe Roma - two plates of pasta and a bowl of sauce - Italian Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

Food was good. Service was good. Ambiance is nothing special. Will never go back. Our friends ordered scotch. About half way through his drink my friend asked for more ice cubes. Was blown away when there was a $4.00 charge for the ice cubes. These ice cubes were nothing special. NO WHERE on the menu was there anything about an extra charge for ice cubes. My wife is gluten intolerant. There IS a note on the menu about an extra charge for gluten free items. Talked to one of the owners (later) about this. He came up with some nonsense about a long pour, or a short pour. My friend had ordered scotch. There was no discussion about long pours, or short pours. Had we had ANY NOTICE about all of this, I wouldn't have cared. Don't think it's right to add an extra charge without the customer knowing there was an extra charge. We simply could have asked for water and used the ice cubes from that. Poor management. read more

I heard about this place from a few friends. I expected to see the Restaurant closer to Randal and Frontage Road. It is tucked back inside of an office Building easy to find after the first time. The food is amazing, fresh, and full of flavor. I usually try something with Chicken or Veal, and love it. I took a few people who never hear of the place, and they have become regulars. They have outside dining, when weather is nice, which helps because they are packed. Make a Reservation and you will not be disappointed. read more

What a sleeper! Off I90 by Route 47 located in a business area. Arrived on a Saturday after Valentines Day. I will recommend highly to make reservations because this Resturant can fill up fast!! Plenty of parking. Downtown Chicago is where we would expect this quality and service but this hidden gem has that beat hands down in our opinion. I cannot rave about our experience here and sorry we didn't post the desert picture! Make reservations and sit back and enjoy the romantic moment! read more

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The food was delicious might as well be the best pasta I've ever eaten the atmosphere was good and there was outdoor and indoor seating

Yes, it's in a weird location in an industrial park in northside of Elgin. Yes, it has odd hours. But food is GREAT! The TORTIGLIONE ALLA VODKA with sausage is AMAZING! Ask for extra sauce on the side. it's so good, but sometimes the sauce dries to the pasta and you could use an extra dose halfway thru. Also love the PAN SEARED SOLE, and mussels. The best news is when they started selling their homemade Vodka & Pomodoro sauces! Haven't tried the Pomodoro, but we order a jar of the Vodka whenever we are there for dine in or carry out! Hours as of April 2021... Tuesday-Wednesday 11 am - 2:00 pm Thursday-Friday 11 am - 8:30 pm Saturday 4 pm - 8:30 pm read more

We've only had their entree's delivered. OH my goodness they are so good! Huge portions and very well made. Delicious and presented well and quick service. read more

Elgin does not have many great options for food, but Cafe Roma is definitely a great option! The service was friendly and the atmosphere was nice. This is a great place for drinks or dinner after work or a low key date. Most of the entrees come with soup or salad and a side of cheesy garlic bread and the prices range from $10-$15. I thought the food was a good value for all you get. I had the chicken vodka pasta and it was tasty! I had enough for 3 meals, the portion sizes are very generous. The caesar salad I had with my meal was good. My only small compliant was that the cheesy bread was burnt, I probably would not have served that to someone. I'm sure if I said something they would have given me a new one. Overall, the food was great and the menu has a lot of delicious looking options. I would definitely come back the next time I am in Elgin! read more

Cafe Roma - Chicken and vodka sauce pasta. Delicious! - Italian Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

Attended a baby shower here and I was so impressed! I helped the host set up and the Cafe Roma staff were so accommodating and flexible with letting us put the decor anywhere we wanted! The waitresses were extremely responsive and tending to the guests the whole event. The owner even came to help and greet guests too! Not only was the service top notch, but the food was delicious as well. I always love buffet style because you can get a little bit of everything. With that said, I definitely will be making it a point to return here so I can have their chicken piccata again!! read more

One of those off the beaten trail type places that the locals know and covet. The food, the service, and the wine is far better than many of the four and five star establishments in the area. This place is outstanding check it out for dinner. read more

Enjoyed a great dinner here last night. It's was bad weather and the staff was very appreciative that we stayed true plans as many others we were told cancelled. Service was outstanding (thanks Kris), attentive and delightful. Food, as I have always enjoyed, was spot on delicious. We are big fans and love Cafe Roma. read more

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Absolutely delicious and great/fast service!! Awesome food and atmosphere. My favorite is any of those pizzas!! Truly Sicilian style pizza and tasty sauce!! read more

Nice atmosphere especially for in an office building. Salad della casa with avocado and shrimp with house basaltic dressing was very good - I love avocado and shrimp and this was a good one. Service was good but we did get here before the lunch crowd. read more

Gotta Roam to find Roma So cliché, but it's a hidden gem. I like that in a restaurant. And it's weird to think - by me giving it a good rating, it makes it less likely to be as hidden, but it's worth the review. Here's the breakdown: Ambience: Weird. It's in the corner of a business office in a small business park in Elgin. Strange place for a restaurant, but if the restaurant is good, then I'll overlook the odd location. Plus - nice big parking lot with open space so go ahead and drive your fancy car over and park far away. The inside though, is nice - black linens, candle on the table, dark-ish room, option to eat outside. Service: Very nice service. Alexa waited on us and was attentive and friendly. Everyone who brought water, menu, bussed table was pleasant and professional. I had an interaction with the bartender regarding the way to make my drink and he was very open to catering to my specific taste (and the drink was spot-on, by the way). Food: Salad came before appetizer, which is not usual, but was fine. Dinners come with a side sized salad (Caesar or house) and it was a pretty good sized side salad. Very good except for your very blasé dried croutons. They were very smart to create these little thin breadsticks from pizza dough - maybe find a way to make those into some creative croutons. Anyway, dressing was good and you can get anchovies on your Caesar if you ask. Appetizer - Fried Calamari (again - setting a baseline). Good, nicely presented, sauce was just okay (like tangy catsup). Main course: Very good (mine, in particular). I had the chicken parmagiana - I know - par for the course, but again, setting a baseline since it was my first time there. Presentation was very nice - they use thick pieces of chicken, not the typical thinner pieces. It was not covered in sauce and cheese, which was okay - although I do enjoy that sumptuous touch. Pasta on the side was good, al dente, sauce was thin (as I noticed another reviewer indicate). Unfortunately, my friend's dinner (pasta with sausage and meatballs) was only so-so. The sausage was way overdone (see the pic) but he said the pasta sauce was good and the meatballs were very tasty. Price: Not cheap, but certainly not outrageous for what we had and the overall experience. I believe the chicken dish was $17. The sausage and pasta dish was $16. Cocktails were around $10 each. Suffice it to say, I did not feel ripped off at all. Bottom Line: Would I recommend/go again? For sure! I love that it's hidden away and on a Saturday night at prime dinner time, wasn't swamped with people waiting. I could definitely see this as my go-to place for Italian in the area. Next time - trying the pizza - looks delish! read more

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We went here last night and the food and drink was terrible. As soon as we walked in a host looked very confused and was not welcoming at all. Also, what's with all the slot machines ? It looks so tacky. My husband got a Manhattan and it only filled the glass halfway and was a $14 drink, felt like rip off. It was also not very good. Our sever was nice. We both got pasta dishes and I did not think think you could mess up a dish so bad. It was flavorless and watery. The vodka sauced lacked any flavor and the noodles were not cooked enough. My agliolio also lacked flavor , no garlic or lemon or anything. I had to add salt and tons of cheese to even take a few bites. There was also a bunch of water in my dish. However, both salads were good- he had the cesar and I had the house. I would go to wood-fire pizza for their pasta in west Dundee, way better. Like I said earlier , our server was nice but took over 10 minutes to do a table check and did not even notice that one dish was barley eaten. I hate complaining so we did not say anything, hence the review. Hope they do better and was totally shocked they were getting busy. Maybe their other dishes are better but we won't be coming back to find out. Overall experience was underwhelming . read more

Really great, fresh, high quality food. Customer service isn't that friendly, but the food is top notch, top Chef! Frank Chef is really friendly, and his culinary skills are Michelin comparable! read more

Its my favorite italian restaurant.Absolutely perfect!Food is outstanding and our server was super nice read more

Cafe Roma - Italian Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

Love,love, this place. I wish I could eat here everyday! Love Chicken Marsala,chicken piccata, vodka sauce and Caesar salad.

My colleague and I stopped for a late lunch ....we shared a chicken panini which was supposed to have jalapenos and pesto along with bacon. I asked for the bacon on the side and lo behold couldn't understand why my sandwich was bland only to realize the bacon was Jalapeno flavored. Anyways, I cant say I liked the food as much as the dessert. I would highly recommend the Tiramisu which simply the best in Chicagoland cant get more real!!! read more

Cafe Roma - The best Tiramisu ... straight from Italy !! - Italian Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

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It's kind of a hidden place, but I was glad to stop by! The food was really good. I highly recommend the place and the portions are big, so take it easy of the appetizers The ambience is nice too and I loved the food here. I will definitely be coming back more often! read more