All in all we had a good time, and would definitely go back again.
Ambiance: 4/5 stars.
The entrance to Bistro Romano is somewhat elegant and somewhat tacky, but it makes for a perfect cool old-timey combination. The bar was very cool, and was from a defunct luxury cruse ship called “City of Detroit III.”
A painting above the staircase down to the main restaurant also came from the same ship.
I can only assume that such looting has contributed heavily to Detroit’s current state of disrepair. The main restaurant is situated underground, with low ceilings and exposed beams that create a rustic charm. While I feel that Bunny and I were seated at one of the worst tables (perhaps they didn’t recognize that Bunny and I are as well-traveled as we are), the setting still made it charming, and it would be a nice place to take a date, if I was into that kind of thing.
Martini: 4/5 stars
Bunny’s martini was delicious and fruity, and promptly delivered.
Salad: 4/5 stars
The salad did not suffer from over-use of dressing, and the roasted red peppers added a nice flavor. I enjoyed the real olives. Bunny does not like olives, so he gave them to me. Bunny would have liked some carrots in the salad, but there were none.
Pasta: 4/5 stars
Simple linguini in a tomato basil sauce with parmesan cheese. Nothing fancy, but good. Sometimes simple is best. Bunny and I both enjoyed it.
Lobster: 4/5 stars
The lobster was yummy, though it was overly buttery. Strangely superbuttery. As if the lobster was force fed butter for several days before killing. Also, the shells were strangely soft, though the meat was not over-cooked. All in all it was a yummy, albeit slightly creepy, lobster.
Leave the gun, take the cannoli: 4/5 stars
I like the fact that the waitress brought all of the desserts to our table for us to view. It is nice to see a.) portion size and b.) composition of the desserts. Nothing is worse than ordering something and getting a tiny too-rich-to-eat dessert that costs $10. Bunny and I split a cannoli. I don’t think that Bunny enjoyed the fact that the cannoli had a strong pistachio flavor. However, I thought it was nice. The chocolate sauce was good, and the chocolate chips in the cream filling were a nice touch. At $7.95, dessert was very reasonably priced.
Bamboo availability: 0/5 stars
No bamboo dishes were found on the menu, much to my disappointment.
Prices: 4/5 stars
A decent lobster dinner for $14.95 is tough to beat. Drink and dessert prices were also very reasonable.
Service: 3/5 stars
The service was adequate. I would have liked to have had my water refilled, but no one ever came back to check on it. No one asked me if I’d like a second beer, either. I think restaurants are silly not to be attentive to drinks. They could have made an extra $3.50 off of me if they would have just inquired about my empty beer glass.
Overall rating: 3.5/5 stars.
We both really enjoyed this restaurant. It would have been rated higher had they included some appetizers containing carrots or bamboo on the menu.
I also really liked Bistro Romano, though I wish it wasn't quite so far away... Carrot cake would have been a most excellent addition to the dessert menu.
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