Stephen L.

Joined 10 months ago

Live in NYC now, grew up in Philly. Recently went back for the first time in years, and it was better than ever. They seem to have caught up on the times a bit with their new specials, but it's as classic as ever. Best Italian food in Philly or NYC hands down.

Doesn't Recommend

mrcdsmith

Joined 6 years ago

Lousy, Don't waste you time or money. Bland tomato sauce, water soaked poorly drained pasta, boring uninspired menu. I don't know why this place is considered an "institution". I could make better spaghetti sauce at home - and I do.

Recommends

MercedesRich

Joined 2 years ago

BEST VEAL AND ARTICHOKES SINCE MY GRANDMOTHER!. Since Ralphs added Valet parking and made it easier to enjoy a fantastic dining experience, I feel more people need to try REAL italian food and stay away from &^%$#% holes like the Spaghetti Factory etc.....My girlfriend and I would walk to Ralphs from Jersey to be treated like a king and thats just what they do...

Recommends

Maria Leone

Joined 2 years ago

Can you Say MEATBALLS!!!!. I love this place -- they have the best Italian Food in South Philly! I was there the other night to celebrate my mom's 65 bday and it was just great!! The pasta was soo good and the meatballs were as good as my mom's!! The food, the service and the people couldn't have been better!! We all had the best time!!! The is the real deal!!!

Recommends

Philly Native

Joined 3 years ago

Italian food like my grandmother made. Step into Ralph's and it's like stepping into my grandmother's dining room. The smells from the kitchen make your mouth water. This is a "red gravy" place -- nothing fancy shmancy about this menu. No reduction-sauced-goose-egged-herb-encrusted nonsense. Instead, what they serve is oh-so-wonderful. We've eaten here many times. The veal, chicken, pasta, meatballs, everything is prepared to perfection. (You can cut the veal with a fork.) The wine, the service, the atmosphere: Takes me back to my Italian roots. This is the real deal in Italian food in Philly. If only they had a parking lot next door ...

Recommends

musicnutz

Joined 4 years ago

Best Spaghetti and Meatballs!. Ralph's has everything going for it. A quiet dining room with exceptional food. My husband and I went for the first time last night and are still talking about how delicious the food was! We went traditional- spaghetti and meatballs and my husband got chicken parm. It was FANTASTIC!!! Had a real "old world" style to it.. really nice to have this since all Italian restaurants are trying to be so damn contemporary these days. We will definitely be back! Oh yeah and the wine was delicious too!

Doesn't Recommend

gstnj

Joined 4 years ago

Horrible. Went to Ralph's last night. with 6 of us. I had the worst Veal Malsala ever. It was in a thick beige butter sauce, looked like turkey gravy instead of a deep rich sauce as it should have been. Escarole was mushy and overcooked. Waited forever for our meals. Red sauce in other dishes was watery. Bread was stale, no olive oil or cheese on table. Never asked if we wanted appetizers. No one said good night to us or thanked us - we spent over $200. We will never go back.

Doesn't Recommend

nunnayerbizness

Joined 4 years ago

Worst Italian Food I've Ever Had!. I feel like the victim of a sick joke. I was told by a co-worker how great Ralph's is. So, I went there this past Saturday with a lady friend, and hands down it was one of the worst dining experiences of my life.

Let's start with the food. We ordered the antipasto as an appetizer. There was very little meat and cheese on the plate. The olives and beets were from a can. And the lettuce was friggin' iceburg lettuce!

I had the lasagna, and it was awful. My date got the chicken cattiatore, which she wasn't all that pleased with. Her entree came with a side of spaghetti and marinara sauce. She took one bite of it and it was overcooked. We also got a side order of broccoli rabe. This was the most offensive part of the meal--they actually BOILED the broccoli rabe, not sauteed it! I had to send it back it was inedible! Last, the bread they served was like Wonder bread...and no olive oil on the table?!?! Gimme a break!

The service was reprehensible. Our waiter had a nervous tick thing going on, and it was disturbing to place our order and watch him violently move his head back and forth. The bottle of wine we ordered costed $40; afterward, we went to a liquor store and saw it on the shelf for $16.99!

I have no idea how Ralph's got a good reputation, but it's my opinion that anyone who eats there and likes it has never had a good Italian meal in their life! One thing I will say is that Ralph's lives up to its name--IF YOU EAT THERE, YOU WILL *RALPH* UP YOUR MEAL AFTERWARDS! AVOID THIS PLACE LIKE THE PLAGUE!

Doesn't Recommend

fredrickcb

Joined 11 years ago

Very Dissapointing. ThisThis may be the oldest family owned Italian restaurant in the U.S. However, the younger generation seems to have missed their lessons in Italian cooking and presentation.

Iceberg lettuce? No olives? Very un-Italian gravy! Bread with seeds served with butter? Lasagna served piled in a bowl. For someone who has lived in Italy I found nothing Italian about this restaurant other than the photos on the walls.

The capochino was like American luke warm coffee mixed with milk and the expensive desert with the fancy name - something like "over the moon something or other" was nothing but a small slice of chocolate cake, nothing special at all.

Service was so, so. Nothing to complain about but nothing to recommend it either.

This was my first and last visit to Ralph’s.

Doesn't Recommend

nicole_dido

Joined 11 years ago

WORST FOOD EVER!. I had dinner here tonight with my husband. This has been the worst meal I had in a long time. We ordered the salad special (which has tons of salt on it), the buschetta (which had absolutely no flavor), the soup (which tasted like it was straight out of a can), the lasagna (no flavor and horrible). They have the nerve to charge per soda. The bill with no alchol drinks was $65.00 and CASH ONLY. Good way to for your restaurant to "doctor" their tax returns at the end of the year. No transactions to show with cash.