It’s a long time coming for the Roma Café to be resurrected to full glory since its glorious past and ignominious decline (circa 1920s to 1980s). Its latest iteration (and one hopes it lasts for generations) is led by chef Anders Tallberg (formerly chef and co-owner, Roustabout), Mike Fraser (Bramhall Pub below the restaurant) and Guy Streitburger (also of Bramhall). The latter has had a long, steady rise from bus-boy/waiter at the original Cinque Terre where he often left you with the refrain “excellent.” I think he still expresses that lilting phrase, but, in any case, he’s a delightful young man whose restaurant visions have brought him here flawlessly.
The building, 767 Congress, is owned by Burt’s Bee’s founder and woman of consequence, Roxanne Quimby who might also be the wealthiest woman in Maine from her savvy maneuverings of making lip balm into a mega industry. When she bought the building, she gave it her gold-plated touch. She turned the old Roma kitchen into a masterpiece that could easily have served the fabled kitchens of wordly-wise gloire.
