Ralph's Pizzeria — Restaurant in Nutley

I would like to say that I had a nice experience at Ralph's "restaurant" for my Mother's repass, but unfortunately I did not. If I could give ZERO stars I would. I will start by saying that the head server was not qualified to handle an event of this size. In addition to openly mocking her bus staff with racists epithets, she was rude and ill informed. Prior to the repass, I dealt with the reastaurant's party booker over the phone who told me that she understood that guaranteeing a number for an event like a repass was pretty much impossible. I asked her pointedly if I would be charged if I did not get the number right and she said no.

The night of my Mother's wake, I stopped at the restaurant to adjust the number and reiterated that I could not give an exact value just a range (my range was 40-50 guests including kids). The day of the repass, the restaurant was set for at least 60. This made the layout awkward and crowded with chairs we did not need. My final number was 34 adults and 4 kids. I was presented with a bill for 50 adults and 4 kids. Almost a 50% markup from my actual number. When I disputed this the server told me that since I had said 50, they had cooked for 50 and I had to be charge me this amount. I was already overwhelmed with grief and was then forced to squabble with the server. She kept bringing me into the dishwashing room (how professional!) to "discuss" the bill and their policies, which were the opposite of what I had been told. I was told by the booker and then the restaurant manager that there was nothing they could do for me. I ended up paying the whole amount simply because I did not have the energy to argue with any more of their inept staff.

Ralph's succeeded in making the worst day of my life, even worse. I will tell every single person I know about this awful experience. As for the food, its standard Italian. Nothing fancy or creative. The pizza at Ritacco's (also in Nutley) is better as is the service. Do not book a party here or eat at the restaurant unless you enjoy being overchared and treated...

After reading a few reviews and checking the web site I was extremely excited to try Ralph’s for the first time. I went last night and was shocked to see the long out the door line for pick up orders. My friend and I wanted to dine in and was directed to the dining room. We received menus and decided what we wanted to order. My friend wanted a dinner and I wanted a pizza. Well… the waitress quickly said “We do not serve any pizza in the dining room on Friday nights and the weekend “. How disappointing is that when I drove from Clifton specifically for the pizza!! We were told if you want pizza you have to wait in line order it and eat outside on a few small tables on the side of the restaurant. We were instructed to leave the dining room and the waitress nastily asked if we wanted to speak w a manager!! There are no signs anywhere not even on the website that pizza is not served on weekends in the dining room. Also if that is the case why give a menu with all pizzas listed on the weekends? Have a weekend menu and indicate you have to eat outside. Well we were there and after a 25 minute wait got the pizza. To be honest it was ok not as great as people say. I ordered a sausage pizza and really didn’t taste the sausage at all. While I was waiting a lady who was in the dining room came up to me and said how shocked her husband and her were that we were asked to leave the dining room to eat outside!!! Wow. The pizza is ok but the rude waitress and service turned me off. I want to be appreciated as a customer. They have no place inside to dine on pizza on the weekends! You would think they can have a small area inside for this. Wow!👎👎 a lady outside said she’s been coming here for 30 years. I would think in 30 years they would be a little more hospitable to paying customers and one more thing. They are definitely over priced on the entire menu. Wow so...

This place was quite packed around 6pm on a Sunday. We came here after the seeing the cherry blossoms at Branch Brook Park. The pictures of the pizza on Google maps were really enticing. In NYC it’s hard to get “well done” pizza, especially super thin crust well done pizza. The dine in seating area is pretty small with a seating capacity of about 40 people. There was a grandma celebrating her 80th when we went and the small space makes for a boisterous atmosphere if they’re a large group. It took awhile for us to get seated so we had time to look at the menu when we sat. We got the shrimp scampi, thin crust large with half pepperoni and a small Italian salad. My wife described the Italian salad as wet which it was. Fortunately it tasted good, but it was definitely rather wet with a puddle of dressing at the bottom. They advertise “with romaine” lettuce, but it was primarily iceberg. The shrimp scampi looks unattractive but tasted really good. I would definitely recommend it. The pizza was what I came for. The well done cheese with the crispy pepperoni was spot on. It hit the spot after an afternoon of riding with a kid on my shoulder. Now for the most memorable part. The bread with the dipping sauce, or actually just the dipping sauce. It was this umami bomb of sun-dried tomatoes parmesan and olive oil, I think. I wouldn’t know. I asked the waiter for a small side of it togo but never got it.
Which is a good segway into the service. The service wasn’t awful but was inattentive. We repeatedly had to ask for water, we had to ask multiple times for additional napkins. And we never ended up getting the dipping sauce. The waiter was friendly though and it was busy so still 4 stars on service. I wouldn’t travel here for the pizza, but if you’re in the area, it’s worth...