text: You never get a second chance to make a first impression nnTruer words have never been spoken My family lives pretty much across the street from this establishment For several years it stood empty We carefully watched hoping some restaurant would move in preferably one that served alcohol nnWhen it became clear a business was moving into the building we were thrilled After months of watching renovations and wondering what was to come the Roman Bistro finally opened On Fathers Day my husband daughter and I headed over to enjoy a nice family dinner at our newest local restaurant nnIll start with the positives The beer list is amazing Great selection And the atmosphere is very attractive As far as the food goes it is not bad It is nothing to write home about but it is okaynnHeres where the critical aspects of this review kick in After selecting our meals including ziti for our twoyearold we waited an inordinate amount of time for our food to arrive Our waitress had seemingly disappeared Empty drink glasses were not refilled If it had been a busy night this would have been understandable But it was not a busy night at all About of the tables sat empty nnFinally our waitress reappeared She brought out a basket of cold and slightly stale bread and told us our food would be out soon Then she dropped the bombshell there was no ziti Our yearolds meal would not arrive with our meals If you have a young child you understand that can be a major issue We asked for a mini pizza instead but the mini pizza would not be ready for about minutes Not goodnnOur meals came out and as I fruitlessly tried to get my daughter to eat some of my trout with shallots best of luck getting a toddler to eat that I lamented not going to the more casual but consistently decent Drews down the block nnHer pizza finally arrived about minutes later She enjoyed the pizza but it was too little too late nnWe left feeling shortchanged having spent a good with tip for a belowaverage experience On our way out we stopped in at the beer store to get a sampler a sixpack for The beer was fantastic and the prices probably reflect PAs archaic liquor laws more than anything else But we were feeling none too jazzed about stopping in for another meal anytime soon nnFinal verdict We have been back for the occasional beer but never another meal Maybe that is a mistake But first impressions are everything and our first impression of the Roman Bistro left us decidedly unimpressed