Ralphie's Cafe Italiano — Restaurant in Salem

Our waitress today (Kylie/Kayla/Kayla- I don't remember) was very unattentive. When she did come to the table, she was very abrupt, dealt with one issue at a time and quickly turned around before we could ask for anything else. When we were done with our salads and bread, she never took the small plates or bread basket away. They stayed on the table for our entire meal. She did not offer a second round of drinks, despite our cups being close to empty for some time- we had to ask for them. She brought us 3 containers for leftovers. I had to ask for a bag(s) to put the containers in to prevent sauce from spilling in the car on our way home. After we packed up our leftovers, she still had not offered dessert. I called her over as she was briskly walking past avoiding eye contact and asked if there was a dessert menu, which then she told us it was in the booklet on the table, which did not catch our eyes in the dark. We were there much longer than we needed to be, waiting for her for many things. We needed to leave kind of in a hurry after ultimately being there so long. When the dessert arrived, I asked for the check, knowing it would probably take some time to get it, which it did. When she did bring it, I said to her (with my debit card in hand), "Can I just peek at it quickly, then you can take it?" She said, "Sure!" AND WALKED AWAY. Coming back about 10 minutes later. Maybe she is new to the restaurant industry, but you should know how the customers are being treated and are feeling about their experience there. This post can be a teaching moment. Now, on to the food. I consider myself a foodie. I will travel to eat and find delicious new restaurants. Your red sauce was the best I've ever eaten. The same with your meatballs!, which we got a side of just one meatball. Seriously, the best. My marsala was also the best I've ever eaten, and I have tried it countless places. Your sauce was PERFECT. Just the way I like it. Brown, like it should be, not light brown and buttery. It had a strong marsala taste. So, so, so good! I was slurping the sauce with the big spoon. The chicken in the chicken parm dish had a weird texture. The smaller chicken pieces in my dish and my daughter's Basil dish was dry, overcooked, with some pretty crispy (not in a good way) edges. I joked that I felt like I was eating a piece of mulch. We could not eat it. I'm not sure if you pre-make the chicken, or what the problem is, but the chicken ruined my otherwise perfect marsala dish. Also, the sauce with the meatball was thick and rich and delicious, however, on the chicken parm with pasta, it was watery. Obviously the pasta was not drained well. We will most likely be back to try some other dishes that do not include chicken. Only because we loved your sauce and meatballs. We will opt for lasagna and ravioli next time. Hopefully the ravioli will be...

Wow, wow, wow! How did I not know about this place? Just like mama used to make, literally! I'm ½ Italian and my mom was 100%. I was wondering which of my siblings SOLD mama's recipes to Ralph, lol. The food truly was amazing. The Italian bread was as fresh, soft, crusty, and delicious as possible. I'm not a drinker, but all around us, people were enjoying incredible-looking cocktails. I could see the smiles and hear the oohing and aahing. Soon after the bread we ordered small Italian (garden?) salads. Perfect size, excellent presentation, and all the right fresh, fresh garden veggies. (Like the vegetables were picked today) The problem was that somehow Ralph got his crafty little hands on my mom's secret salad dressing. Mama would have loved it, I know we did. Butter was quickly replaced with the dressing on our bread. It was a very hot day, and we were in the middle of a heat wave. I opted for a large bowl of seafood chowder as my meal (with the bread & salad) to keep things on the light side. Oh boy was I mad and happy! Again, somehow Ralph had gotten his talented hands on Mama's chowder recipe! It wasn't close to my mom's, it was exactly like my mom's, and she made the best. I mean, my mom's chowder was legendary, and hundreds of people have had the privilege of having it. Ralph had gotten the chowder recipe down to perfection! Heck, I didn't know if I should eat it or cast a line and hook into it. It was packed to capacity with delicious seafood. Any more seafood in it might have been too much! My sister decided on the shrimp scampi. She claimed it to be delicious, and again, like Mama used to make. (Hmmm, Maybe she sold the family secret recipes to Ralph. After all, coming here was her idea) Also, the portions range from the perfect size to gigantic. Like my mom's house, you ain't leaving Ralph's hungry, and you'll probably have leftovers to take home. Anyway, I'll wrap it up with this: If you're one of those crazy, fussy foodie people, GO EAT AT HOME ! But if you want a damn good, home-style, delicious meal, priced very fairly, that will fill you up and make ya leave with a smile, GO EAT AT RALPH'S ! AAA+++ My...

I've dined at Ralphie's dozens of times over the last 15 or so years, starting at their previous location further south on 28. Ralphie's, to me, has always been a surefire good place to go for a consistently good home-cooked Italian meal. To be candid, it's not a place I go expecting incredible food, but rather a place I go when I crave just a solid, satisfactory, no frills good meal.

I recently dined at their new (current) location after many years since my last visit. Overall my experience was satisfactory. However, the quality of both food and service has faltered a little from what I remember of this restaurant years ago.

I remember a more dimly-lit, quieter, more intimate dining room less crowded with tables, and a meal that was of a quality that exceeded what one would expect from its price tag. After my most recent visit, it seems to have lost a little of its quiet Italian restaurant charm and is instead moving in the direction of the kind of environment I'd expect from a pub.

The food is still quite good. I got the Fra Diavolo (a favorite Italian dish of mine) and what I was served was tasty and satisfactory, but was very mild in spice and the portion had me feeling it was less a value than I've come to expect from Ralphie's (whether the blame falls on the restaurant or hyper inflation, I'll let you decide). Additionally, my meal arrived on a plate that had a large chip in it the size of 2 quarters. So, not the best presentation of a meal.

My server was plenty friendly and attentive, but spoke very casually/informally to me. I would have appreciated a little more formality and less "hey" and "yeah" as the informal communication made me feel like I was at counter-serve pizza shop rather than a restaurant that seems to strive for a dining "experience".

Overall, I feel Ralphie's is still a good bite. It's a little less of a value, and less "homey" and intimate as I remember it being, but it still offers a satisfactory experience I feel, albeit not all that impressive. You can't go wrong, but you probably...