CB and I hadn't been out for dinner together in awhile, so I asked if she wanted to go somewhere on Friday night. After awhile, it was decided to give Tony Romas a try, which is located next to the Woodside building, between Hay St and St Georges Terrace.
We arrived and waited about 5 to 10 minutes for a table. CB had tried to book earlier in the day, but was told only groups of 10 or more could book. I'm not sure if it's always going to be like this or not, hopefully it's just for the opening phase.
For starters, we shared two dishes. One was half an onion loaf, effectively breaded onion rings, deep fried and clumped together and served with some special mayonnaise. Apart from being a little greasy, it was pretty good, I think anyone who likes onions (and I am the first to put my hand up) will love this dish.
The other starter we got were some 'Fiery Wings', served with a blue cheese sauce. The wings were breaded and deep fried, then the sauce was put on. They weren't bad, but weren't that good either. Heat wise, it would've been white man blasting, but for us, it was a mild tingle.
The blue cheese sauce wasn't as strong as say "Meat and Wine Co's", so I had a little bit more of the sauce than I originally had intended to.
For my main, I went for a full rack of Original Ribs, with some coleslaw and a baked potato.
I chose the baked potato for something different, other options included mash, fries or corn on the cob. It was loaded with spring onions, bacon, cheese, butter and sour cream, despite me asking for no sour cream. But there wasn't a lot of it in there (I was expected a heap, which is why I asked for it without), so I didn't kick up a fuss. The potato was really really good. The skin was nice and firm, the inside was smooth and silky. Must be the type of potato, I haven't seen them in supermarkets, might have to try the markets or a fruit and veg shop.
The coleslaw was a bit average, the dressing was not strong enough... however..
The ribs were what I had come for. They were quite good, very smokey, little sweet and fall off the bone tender. I'm not sure if I was as blown away as "Meat and Wine Co's", but still, I'd go back for these again.
Just a little photo of everything smashed...
I would definitely go back to Tony Romas. Maybe in a few months when they've sorted out their service issues. There were a few hiccups along the way in terms of service, but coz they've only been open for only a few days, I'm willing to go for another shot.
One thing I did notice though, that the prices did not include GST on their menus .. a bit dodgy if you ask me...
Rocky's Special - "Slices of tomato, mozzarella, tuna, marinated seafood, basil, olive oil on a tomato sauce base."
Antipasto - "Marinated artichokes, eggplant, semi-dried tomatoes, olives, capers,
