Romi's Mediterranean (2010)

Romi's Mediterranean (Romi's Fine Dining) is a now closed (as of 2010) restaurant that was located in Palmdale California. I remember when they first opened, I was excited! Finally a new restaurant in town- a brake from the same old, same old to offer something fresh, new and exciting to the dry, dull valley.

I remember walking up to the sign outside the building before the grand opening. There was a sign that made a note of certain dress code requirements (i.e. no flip flops or sweat pants etc) to which I later discovered could be completely disregarded as a trip back to another restaurant in the area revealed people clothing and footwear of all types to enter. With this, my mother, nana and I made plans to attend for a nice, casual lunch one day.

Inside the main entrance - Romi's.

It seemed like a nice establishment. Nice new interior, very rustic and artsy. I remember it smelling like really nice food. They had a nice menu (I still have a mini take-home menu somewhere) with some great food choices. The staff was friendly. I think I remember our only complaint being that the food took twice as long as it should have on a day when the place was not full or busy by any means. But overall no big complaints by the end of the experience - which is why I was a little bummed after hearing of Romi's closing. After reading other reviews, our one, single visit must have just been pleasantly lucky.

The food? Well each of us only ordered single entree's and no soup/salad or appetizers (it was a 'light' lunch). Mom and I both has the Tomatillo Chicken Penne. And honestly speaking, it was probably one of the best pasta dishes I've ever had at a restaurant before. Not lacking in flavor by any means, not an over sized or ungodly portion of food, and certainly not overdressed in cream sauce. Fresh tasting ingredients and spices to the point where I really wanted to take this recipe home with me!

Romi's Tomatillo Chicken Penne

Well... this photo speaks for itself, really.

Overall not a bad experience. Great food. Friendly service. But I guess not every experience is the same for everyone and it wasn't enough to keep this place open for very long. Sad as I was to see the back of Romi's, I still enjoyed the meal I had there and the day I had out with my mom and grandmother :)

-Danno

All photos taken by me.