roma revolving restaurant

outstanding food. outstanding service.
10/10!
definitely a must go to!
food was excellent and waiters and waitresses very friendly.
desserts also excellent!

i went to the roma for the first time this past saturday for lunch to celebrate my birthday and i was disappointed. i chose the roma based on good feedback from older colleagues and family of mine. i am sad to say that it was a disappointing experience and a far cry from what i was told the place was like in its heyday.  service was slow and cringe-worthy at times. some of the younger waiters really need a lesson in etiquette.  the view is exquisite though and was the highlight of the afternoon.
the owner didn't even bother to acknowledge us or check up on our table, instead he choose to entertain the table of tourists seated close by and made a big fuss over them.
(puzzling to say the least) are the locals not good enough for some common courtesy?
our food arrived in a reasonable amount of time. my duck was mediocre and lacked flavour and the mashed potatoes didn't taste fresh. i had much better duck in other establishments in durban. my brother had better luck with the fish. my mum said her chicken dish was average and so was my dad's lamb. some of the side plates given to us were dirty!
on saturday, the restaurant was more than half empty at lunch time (this should have been a warning sign) so there was no reason for slow and sloppy service. we had to ask for our bill twice and that too from another waiter because our waiter was nowhere to be found. (beware that 10% is already added to the bill).
the decor needs a serious revamp. yes, i get that they were going for the retro theme but some of the stuff is really tacky and belongs in the 80s (and this is from a guy who loves 80s memorabilia). the restaurant also needs a good and thorough cleaning. parking is atrocious and i was constantly worried about my car despite the car guards. i rarely travel into central town and this trip reminded me why.
the roma has loads of potential to be a good restaurant. it has amazing views over the city which is the reason many of us choose to visit in the first place. management needs a complete overhaul in terms of service and food to reclaim its glory days. i don't plan on going back any time soon.
on a side note, it would be great if someone opened a revolving, high rise restaurant in umhlanga. great views would be guaranteed and it would be safer.

i have frequented this restaurant many times in my life. it has always been a family favorite, but i feel that is partly as it has a memories of times gone by. we went this last saturday, and i was not looking forward to it. the last time we had been there, the curtains seemed as though they had not been cleaned since the 80's and the bathrooms needed  a lot of attention. at least this time around, the curtains looked clean. as always, i had checked the menu beforehand to see what i would likely order in that evening. their vegetarian options consist of what is probably 1 bland salad and  then 1 pasta dish. while they may believe that their menu is quite classic, it is very outdated, i'm sure a re-vamp would do them no harm.
the waiters were quite aggressive in the beginning when taking the drinks orders, and were then nowhere to be seen for the next 20 min or so. we were eventually served by the maitre d, i'm not sure if this was supposed to be a special touch - it wasn't. after placing my order with him, the napoletena pasta, with no parmesan - he told me that he would not be able to sleep if that was all he had to eat. this was uncalled for and quite rude. 
the food also took a very long time to arrive, and we had not ordered complicated unusual dishes (steak, fish, lasagna, pasta). the serving sizes were average. the presentation could have done with a lot of work, chips and veggies were just slopped onto the plate it seemed, and of course the crockery is as old as the restaurant itself with their emblem. i can only speak for my pasta dish, which was quite tasty, i am still however waiting for the side of chilli. everyone else seemed to have enjoyed their meals. so, the food was good, worth the price? debatable. 
the cherry on top however, was when the bill came. the waiter who brought us our bill, we had not seen the whole evening, he just appeared, and then stood there while we checked the bill - did not move. just stood there waiting for the payment, which was a little odd, and rude. we payed, and not 1 min later did he return and ask us to please leave if we don't mind as they had to prepare the table for the next guests. this now, was totally unacceptable. i could stand the tacky decor, the cheap comments from the maitre d and vacant waiters. this is a no. perhaps had they been more attentive when we first arrived, and not just gone missing, we would have not been there so long? i made my disdain for this matter quite clear. i honestly hope that this is the memory that stays with my family and we don't have to go experience "the roma revolving" ever again.

once in a lifetime experience, one of a kind in durban. i especially love the duck. the service was great. book in advance. very good ambience, charming decor. i was dissatisfied that there was no set dessert menu and that the waiter goes around with a trolley of desserts especially if someone has already picked the desserts that you want.
otherwise good

went there after years a little while back and the food coupled with the great service and awesome view made for a wonderful date night. we shared starters, mains were delicious and the epic dessert trolley was all delicious..

this is a great place for a breathtaking dining experience. the views, especially at night, decor, music selection and old fashioned styled waitress make for an experience. the food however is very average. the maitre'd was rather condescending when i was trying to get clarity on a few dishes. the service was practically non existent. i had 3 courses. the most outstanding was my crayfish soup. my mains was dissapointing and the 'hand made pasta' turned out to be vermicelli from a packet. definitely not fresh. the dessert trolley cakes all looked like they were from chateaux gateaux. the cassata was average. i tasted some of the seafood pasta from my mum in law and it was great! i think the more average priced dishes are ordered frequently and are well prepared.

visited this place over the weekend. customer service is really bad here. being a vegetarian, there isn't many veggie options on the menu.

i ordered the veg ravioli from the menu. my food was served in a small dirty plate (with hard brown dirt) with only about 7 pieces of ravioli. take note of the pic attached with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top before the food was sent back. about 5 to 10 mins later, i got back my ravioli in a different place with different garnishing and the sides slightly harden. if i didn't know better,i am very sure that the food i sent back was just put into another plate and placed in a microwave to be heated. gross!

the ravioli was not good at all. to top off the bad service and bad food, the 10% tip is forced on you.

old school as it comes! you find very few restaurants anywhere in the world like this hidden gem. a classic menu which i bet hasn't been changed in decades, reading the menu took me back to my memories of the long gone restaurants i was treated to as a child. yes the service is a little old school, yes the wait between starters and main course was a little long. but that's the quirkiness that has almost become a distant memory from another era.

i mean where can you meet a professional 30 year veteran on a desert trolley , serving classic recipes only your grandmother could have made, i presumed lost to the new generation of chefs a long time ago. but unbelievably roma has survived and i am very privileged to have had the chance to dine in another era.

these businesses in my opinion deserve our support more than any others. stop eating cheap factory produced franchise rubbish, save up a little extra cash for a real meal and good glass of wine at establishments like roma before it's too late.

went there last night. first of all, the prices are higher than the ones here, add about 20 - 30 % to them. the food was absolutely delicious, the portions are small but surprisingly filling. the waiters are absolute darlings, i get why they have old people as waiters.. it goes with the theme of the restaurant, it's all about class. the food takes a while to get prepared but i guess it's because they want us to enjoy the view. you honestly feel like royalty.

great experience, stunning views.
parking is not the best but there are security guards.
the staff are super friendly and their coffee is delicious. good pasta however the restaurant has old fashioned decor. we only stayed for one rotation because we started getting motion sickness.

very bad service received. was there for almost 2 hours and all we had was a drink and a starter. waited 40mins for a waiter to take our drinks order and after receiving the drinks another 30 mins later we had to stop a waiter that was walking past to take our starter order as we were very hungry. while having the starters we asked for the main to be taken to which we were told they not allowed to take the order they will get someone to take the order. we waited for more than 30 mins and no one attended to us. we thereafter asked for the bill and left.
it was my husband's birthday dinner and we left hungry and angry.
this was the worse customer service received.
the little food we had was good.
if it wasn't for the scenery we would've been out of there sooner.

we booked for 19.00 and got our main meal only at 21.30. we ordered chataubriand with bearnaise sauce. the bearnaise sauce looked liked it was bought at the supermarket in a packet and microwaved. certainly not the creamy sauce we would expect. just in case we did not like the sauce we got a pepper sauce as well ??? lost the plot here. the fillet and the views were worth it but overall a disappointment. it would have been great if i just had a spaghetti bolognaise. therefor the roma revolving is great for a simple meal and the view.

absolutely love going there. the service is outstanding very friendly and very professional. they are very informative about their food and the food is just outstanding. lovely view and outstanding food. definitely a must go back.

we went to roma revolving restaurant to celebrate and it was a great evening! the views are worth the price of the food and it's a real novelty! the italian owners are absolutely delightful and so friendly. the bread sticks started us off on a good note and i thoroughly enjoyed my pepper fillet with delicious pepper sauce and vegetables. the butternut was really tasty. my fellow diners had veal and fish and both really enjoyed it. we then shared a creamy three chocolate mousse and a really yummy tiramisu. i recommend the tiramisu as i enjoy anything coffee flavoured!
all in all, worth a visit and enjoy the warm italian hospitality.

firstly, no parking. the parking lot below only has ten spaces allocated to the restaurant, therefore you must either park in the street or down a dark alleyway, where more parking is available but with no security.

our reception was good and we were seated promptly. our drink order was taken in about 5 minutes so that is not bad. but that's where the not bad service stopped. drinks came about 20 minutes after that. at about the 1hour mark i requested bread sticks as i was getting hungry no one was taking our order they came about 15minutes later and to my surprise our bread sticks were actually 4 pieces of stale bread.

having now requested to order twice a waiter finally came and took them. a further 30 minutes passed and we got what could pass for food. ps. still no second round of drinks have been offered at this point. we eat and they clear 10 minutes later. the manager comes by and he offers us a round of drinks. naturally, i declined as this would mean a further 30 minutes before we could order dessert.

waited another 15 - 20 minutes to order dessert. no one came. so i called the manager and exclaimed that for an establishment that chargers so much for what they call food the service is really terrible. give him exact times for everything. he looks sincere when apologising and tells me he will find the waiter and they will both be back.

10 minutes pass and our waiter arrives to kindly offer us our dessert. i decline and ask for the bill. within a minute he brings that (amazing). he then argues with me after hearing from the manager that he did bring us drinks. (remember the first round, about 2 - 2:30 hours earlier) and that he was told to apologise. great really. even after this completely terrible service. i give him a tip of 10% which isn't even appreciated.

do not eat here, also if you do all listed prices are wrong. even on their own website. add 20 to 30 % onto those prices.

ruined what was supposed to be a great date for my girlfriend and i.