by 
Last evening we began a celebration for a close friend’s birthday with a dinner at Roland’s Seafood Grill in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. I had never been to Roland’s and was excited to go to what some call a staple in Pittsburgh.
It was a big group of people for the birthday dinner, about 20 people and I was one of the last guests to arrive. As I was saying my hellos I could tell the server seemed overwhelmed with a party of our size.
The first thing that I was annoyed about was the other end of the table said they didn’t want any appetizers, so she started taking the dinner orders, and when she got to us she said “That end of the table doesn’t want appetizers so you guys are out of luck, what would you like for dinner?” As the evening continued, our waitress was forgetting people’s soups or salads, even forgot to put bring out somone’s dinner, stating that “Someone in the kitchen must have taken your plate.” Meanwhile, the restaurant wasn’t busy, even the the main bar wasn’t full.
I got the New England Clam Chowder, which was served hot and hearty. TasteBudB got the Maryland Crab Chowder which had an overwhelming aroma of Old Bay the whole table could smell, but he said it was delicious. Both TasteBudB and I both ordered “Roland’s Famous Lobster Roll“. Sauteed lobster and garlic on grilled mancini’s bread with french fries and coleslaw…14.99. Sadly, it was anything but hot. The roll was warm but the lobster was kind of cold which doesn’t taste well together. I would have told this to our waitress to see if I could get the lobster heated up a bit, though I decided not to when I overheard her mention to a friend 2 seats down that “We have been the most stressful table she has had all night…” Yup, and that is a quote!
Overall, neither the food or service was impressive. There was a good beer selection, but that can only make up for so much. The menu appeared to have a good selection, but we were left disappointed with their most popular item. The waitress didn’t give us much confidence in the overall service quality of the restaurant. Let’s just say she is lucky I gave her the 10 percent tip that I did.
I agree with the service. It’s terrible. I do love the lobster roll but service is everything. My brother -in-law and sister were in from Florida. We waited over 15 minutes and nobody would come to our table. I was very unhappy. I’ll only eat at the bar from now on. Once I prefect the roll I’ll start making it at home .