A ‘Rib-licious’ Haven for Carnivores

For more than three decades, Tony Roma’s has served multiple generations of Hawaii’s families in its comfortable, casual setting, while serving up signature cuisine, including unforgettable ribs, steaks and seafood.

Tony Roma’s also strives to provide stellar service and a fun atmosphere, which along with the popular cuisine, elevate the dining experience. The restaurant, with locations in Aiea’s Westridge Shopping Center, as well as at the entrance to Waikiki, also offers an array of salads, sandwiches, burgers and pastas to satisfy all tastes.

Kelly Nguyen recently made the move from the Waikiki location to serve as assistant general manager of Tony Roma’s Aiea, and she recommends that both loyal diners and new customers try Star Sampler ($28.99) and the famous Baby Back Ribs ($29.99 for a full slab). The signature dish features lean, tender pork ribs, which are basted with a savory barbecue sauce and slow-baked until the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender. After baking, the ribs are grilled over an open flame and smothered in sauce to complete the finger-licking experience.

“I find Tony Roma’s ribs to be the most tender on the island,” Nguyen says. “Our barbecue sauce is specially made — you can’t find it anywhere else.”

Shrimp Scampi Pasta ($18.99) is a seafood lover’s dream, as it presents a generous portion of shrimp lightly sauteed with garlic, fresh basil, tomato pesto and a hint of chipotle served over linguine and topped with Romano cheese. Tony Roma’s also offers a host of popular appetizers, including Half Onion Loaf ($6.99), a small tower of deep-fried onion rings that is easy to share, and served with a zesty sauce.

Back by popular demand, Tony Roma’s is reintroducing a pair of customer favorites starting next month. Dinner Special ($33.99) offers a flavorful feast of a half rack of St. Louis ribs, filet medallions and a shrimp kabob with four succulent shrimp. Ultimate Shrimp Combo ($27.99) includes St. Louis ribs, barbecue chicken and a savory shrimp kabob.

The combos come with a choice of two sides. Patrons may pick from baked potato, mashed potatoes, french fries, rice pilaf or white rice, as well as coleslaw, broccoli or corn on the cob. Two premium sides ($1.99 each) also may be included: garlic green beans and fire-roasted vegetables.

And another can’t-miss deal resides at Tony Roma’s from April 3 through the end of the month: Diners can order two Ultimate Combos and two ice cream desserts for just $49.99.

“You can’t get better service than what we offer at Tony Roma’s. All our servers have been with us for at least 10 years, and we have a lot of repeat visitors.” says Nguyen.

To sweeten the deal, the Aiea location hosts free entertainment from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on all three nights for kids and kids-at-heart. Glen Bailey performs his engaging brand of magic Tuesday nights, and enjoys seeing customers he performed for decades ago bring their children to experience the fun. Wednesdays belong to the show-stopping magic tricks presented by Alan Arita, who also explains some of his “tricky business” to patrons interested in learning about his passion. Professional balloon artist Suzette Arita steals the show Thursdays with her amazing balloon creations, which resemble mermaids, Super Mario and everything in between.

Diners are encouraged to “Like” Tony Roma’s Facebook page (Facebook.com/TonyRomasHawaii) and follow the restaurants on Instagram (Instagram.com/tonyromashawaii) for superb social media savings, deals and regularly posted offers.

Tony Roma’s

WAIKIKI
1972 Kalakaua Ave.
942-2121
Daily, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

AIEA
98-150 Kaonohi St.
487-9911
Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.