Ripe Restaurant — Restaurant in Greater Sudbury

It was one of the best meals of my life.

After a long, arduous campaign of wedding planning (the casualties could not be counted, may their souls find peace), my fiancé and I decided to celebrate (recover) with a proper date. Normally we can't make decisions, but that day it was as if the ghosts of our ancestors guided our drive down the Kingsway. "Ripe Restaurant" they commanded.

Weary and shell-shocked, we stumbled into the door. Gently, we were guided to a quiet table and the healing began. We shared a starter of heirloom tomatoes, hearty toast, and a smooth, sweet ricotta. Every bite was like another distant relative sending a sincere apology, but "we cannot make your wedding, here's a wad of cash in our stead". It was everything we wanted, but didn't know how to ask for.

When our mains arrived, I swear I saw the light of life return to the eyes of my beloved. A perfect pizza was placed in front of her. The glistening of the cheese matched the tears of joy in her eyes. I had the mushroom gnocchi and it changed me. Each piece of beautiful, pillowy, potato pasta stirred my soul. My fiancé, who does not like mushrooms, bacon, or cream sauces, would have eaten the mushroom, bacon, cream sauce on my gnocchi like soup had I not defended it.

All through the night the server apologized for being new, but there was nothing to apologize for. She was a server in whom no fault could be found. After a week of ruthlessly cutting out aunts, uncles, and I swear even grandparents should they not hold their tongues, we nearly invited her to the wedding. We even said yes to dessert (as children of frugal parents, this went against every ethos and edict instilled in us by generations of family, but hey, it was that kind of week).

As the night wound down, the owner came to our table. "How was everything?" How do you tell someone you've never met that they have fixed you...that they have taken all the angst and conflict and struggle in your life and replaced it with food and warmth and love?

"Really great, thanks." It wasn't enough, but what could we say that would be.

To summarize, my fiancé and I had the best meal of our Sudbury lives here at Ripe. I can't stop talking about it. I won't stop talking about it.

Until we eat again, it was really...

This restaurant not only hit the nail on the head but exploded its standards and expectations. After a 6 hour trip this restaurant held up to its reputation. The food was incredibly priced for what you got. The effort and flavors were unbelievably unique and mind blowing. For dinner I had to try many options to get the experience as recommended by my server, which we will get to this delightful young lady in a minute. To start i had Brussle sprouts, which i usually am never a fan of, but the way these were cooked..... incredible. The BFF pizza was one that was a shocker in its amazing look but unique blend of flavors that really made your mouth and brain work together to comprehend the blends. The pasta dishes.... now that's where this chef made magic happen. With this hand-made gnocchi and love prep put into this dish was to die for. Both the Muchroom Gnocchi and the Marsala Gnocchi were incredibly amazing. Now, onto Miss Millana (my server/waitress) like her unique name, so was she. This refreshing young lady was a sea of information and the details of the items. She really took the time to dive into the menu as she described what the flavors would bring for you to really decide what best suited your mood. Her recommendations and honest experiences with the flavors were above and beyond what I expected. This young lady was overall incredibly passionate and thoughtful. This restaurant, without a doubt, earned my review because of Millana. It is hard to get great service and food that actually reflects its price. Well done, Ripe...

My wife and I dined here last night and really enjoyed our experience overall. We’ve been here before and loved it and will keep coming back.

On this occasion, we started with a Caesar salad, the arancini and a French onion soup. The salad was delicious. The arancini was served luke warm (disappointingly) and tasty. The French onion soup was also not very hot and, for me, it was underwhelming... very little cheese on top and not many onions. This was also disappointing. However, our mains were out of this world!! My wife’s gnocchi was fantastic (according to her) and my Canadian stone fired pizza was amazing! It was exactly what I was expecting and why we chose Ripe on this night.

Our waitress was polite and pleasant but not as attentive to our needs as I’d expect. She never asked how everything tasted after we started eating and she didn’t bring a straw for my wife’s Caesar, and then forgot about it when we asked specifically for one. I had to get up and ask another server for one.

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed dining experience except for these few minor things, and will return...