Royal House of Roast Beef, Giovanni’s ~ JOEL’S METHUEN FOOD CORNER

This is the premier column from our new foodie columnist, Methuen City Councilor Joel Faretra. Each month Joel will visit restaurants in Methuen and rate their best dishes.

By: Joel Faretra – December, 2019

Since I was born and raised in Everett, I grew up on roast beef sandwiches. The two places we would go to were Mike’s Roast Beef and Kelly’s Roast Beef down on Revere Beach. So for the first column, I decided to hit up 2 different restaurants in the Methuen area and taste tested their roast beef sandwiches. I went to Giovanni’s Roast Beef in the Valley and Royal Roast Beef on Lowell Street. I will rate each restaurant on a 1-5 beard scale with 5 beards being the best.

logoGIOVANNI’S ROAST BEEF & PIZZA
127 Merrimack St. Methuen, MA
(978) 557-5588

The first stop was Giovanni’s. Got the Roast Beef dinner, which came with fries and a salad. Also got a side of buffalo wings. Service was quick as the roast beef dinner came to the table within 5 minutes.

I was very pleasantly surprised by the wings. Good size and was surprised that they had some spiciness to them. For the sandwich, I ordered it with extra sauce. The sandwich was kind of messy, which isn’t a bad thing.

The BBQ sauce did not have much flavor to it which made the sandwich average.

Rating- 3 beards

3 beards

 

 

 

 

ROYAL HOUSE OF ROAST BEEF
464 Lowell St. Methuen, MAroyal
(978) 794-4996

Next was Royal House of Roast Beef. I ordered the same meal, Roast Beef dinner with extra sauce. This meal came with french fries, onion rings and a side salad or cole slaw.

I would like to meet the person who can finish the dinner in one sitting since they are very generous with the fries and onion rings.

The sandwich was excellent, with the BBQ sauce having a bit of a kick to it, unlike Giovanni’s. The onion rings are a great addition to the dinner, they were crispy and didn’t fall apart as you ate them. I love the feel of the restaurant, reminded me of a throwback house of pizza with the numerous plaques on the wall of all the local teams they have sponsored over the years and the signage hand written with the newest specials.

Rating- 4.25 beards

4+ beards

 

 

 

 

 

Next month, we will be hitting up some sub shops in Methuen. If you have a favorite place or sub that you want me to try, drop me an email at jfaretra67@gmail.com. Merry Christmas and Mangia!!! ◊