When staying in the City, Chef, Little Chef and I enjoyed a family dinner at Tony Romas Perth, a short stroll up Hay Street from our hotel. It’s a family friendly, international chain restaurant that specialises in ribs. I’m obsessed with ribs and I’d been craving Tony Roma’s ribs for a quite some time. It had been a few years since our last visit there – would it still be as good as I remembered?
We were easily seated without a booking as it was early on a Sunday night. It’s a large restaurant with plenty of tables and some cosy booths too. I knew exactly what I wanted (ribs!). Ordering was a breeze; I just had to choose two sides with to go with my ribs. There’s’ a good choice; Corn on the cob, Wild rice, chips, broccoli, coleslaw, baked potato – I chose a roasted potato and slaw. Little Chef had a good choice of several dishes on the kids menu.
Just after we placed our order. We were given a complimentary sliced baguette and garlic butter. The butter melted on the warmed bread, it was a nice touch.
Tony Romas Perth – The Food
Chef was EXTRA hungry, so ordered an entrée “red hot buffalo wings” ($15.50) in buffalo sauce, with celery sticks and a creamy blue cheese sauce. Unsure if any of their entrees were gluten free, I passed on that and saved room for my ribs!
My baby back ribs were marinated and cooked in Tony Roma’s Original BBQ sauce (there are other sauces to choose from too). I went for the half rack ($32.95), but given my love of ribs I probably could have tackled the full rack. The half rack was a generous size and I got stuck into them as soon as the plate landed on the table! I barley had to touch the meat with a knife, to separate each rib. The meat was so succulent. I was happy with my choice of sides too.
Chef chose the same as me, with chips and slaw on the side. His full rack ($45.95 ) almost got the better of him, so I was only too happy to help him with a couple of ribs!
Little chef had the burger and chips ($15). As stated on the menu, all kid’s meals are served with a glass of fruit juice, citrus apple salad and 2 scoops of ice cream for dessert. I only realised this after we left, but he never actually got the citrus apple salad, which was a shame, as it was the only healthy part of the meal. Little Chef love apples too. This actually happened the last time we dined there too, so I wonder if you have to request the salad – though we shouldn’t have to!
All in All
Tony Romas Perth was a good spot for a casual family dinner. I do think the prices are on the high side, though the serves are a pretty decent size. The service was friendly and the ribs just as smoky, tender and finger licking delicious as I remember them. No room for table manners here!
