The Ravioli House — Restaurant in Wildwood

Ok, let me start by saying we have been around great Italian food for years. I’ve read the reviews here and with every negative review the owner gets defensive and gives us a line about 50 years the same recipes and blah blah blah. We get it, you’re been around a long time but that doesn’t mean you know how to make good Italian food. We stopped here because we heard it was decent and the reviews were fairly decent too. We were on vacation from CT where there is a plethora of good Italian places to eat.

I couldn’t agree more with the negative reviews here about how bland the food is. We ordered the ravioli and chicken marsala and a side of sausage. The marsala came with a a side of pasta. The food had zero taste and the sauce was watery and of poor quality, very similar to what others said that left negative reviews. While we thought the pasta itself was fairly fresh, there was just no taste at all to it and the cheese inside the ravioli had a store bought quality to it with such a blah taste. The sausage was overcooked and had a horrible consistency and taste to it and the chicken was dry with a weird after taste from the sauce. We were so disappointed but aren’t the type of people to complain and try and get a freebie.

Speaking of freebies, the table behind us was given a couple “freebies” as the waitress told them part of their meal was on the house. We listened to the conversation prior to the freebies and the gentlemen in the party kept saying this was the best Italian food he’s ever had and the best sauce. He was also about 350 pounds and a self proclaimed “diabetic guy” as he said. We figured he liked food in general and wouldn’t know good Italian food if it hit him in the face. Point being, we were annoyed the owner decided to offer some freebies to him because he’s been there before and blew hard about how great the place is. That didn’t sit well with us and it wouldn’t with anyone. Should everyone get a freebie then if they say it’s amazing when it’s terrible?

Bottom line here is, while I respect the fact that this place has been around for decades and 50 year recipes etc etc it’s not good. Every negative review has been spot on with the fact that the food is bland, the sauce is watery garbage and the quality is lacking here. Find another Italian place in this area if there is one. When is the last time the owner actually tried the food? Sit down and do that one day soon. Of course the owner will respond and tell us they eat the food every day and give us the infamous “we’ve been around 50+ years with our recipes” “you didn’t tell us you didn’t like the meals or we would have remade them or given them for free”. Again, we don’t complain, the reviews speak for themselves, we wouldn’t have wanted a discount and we wouldn’t have wanted the meals remade. Same ingredients and same recipe doesn’t change the lack of taste...

I have never been into a restaurant where as soon as I walked into the doors I felt like I was home. Theresa the owner is so kind and so generous I would honestly spend money there just knowing it goes to the empire she created and would be perfectly fine knowing that not even spending it on any food. However I will say it is extremely easy to spend your money on her tasty creations because everything is mouthwatering and delicious. I’m not even a person that eats chicken and I would order her chicken franchaise every single day of my life Aand never get sick of it. The sauce or gravy as us Italians call it was exceptional and her stuffed shells are out of this world. This is the kind of restaurant where no matter what you get on her menu it will be amazing. Her hard work, dedication, and most importantly passion for her restaurant truly shows and has evidently paid off. One of the best parts of my experience there was coming back the next morning for pastries and Theresa took the time to greet us again and was kind enough to take my three-year-old daughter behind the pastry counter and let her hand pick out cookies to take home. I have been in the restaurant industry for all my life and have never met an owner so kind, so generous, and so humble. Her kitchen is pristine and everything she touches is remarkable. The majority of owners I have worked for rarely even put in 20 hours at their restaurant… This woman who just recently turned 80 puts in 70 hours a week and does it with a smile and because she wants to not because she needs to. The admiration and respect that I have for her is astounding and can not be put into words. This is the kind of restaurant that everyone needs to go to at least once in their lifetime, it’s not just about the food this is a true experience and I’m grateful me and my three-year-old daughter were able to...

I'll give 3 stars because the food was good. But that's about it. They don't take reservations, but when we called a few days ahead of time to get a reservation for a 10 top, they said that they don't take reservations but they would be ready for us, we may have to wait 5-10 minutes. Well they wanted to put us at 2 five tops which is not acceptable so we waited about 45 minutes to get seated. Don't say you'll be ready for a 10 top if you don't take reservations. Then we were seated and it took 10 minutes for the waitress to come over to take a drink order, then another 10 or so minutes for the drinks to come out. The menu says the salad is family style, but you had a choice between creamy Italian and oil and vinegar. The salads didn't come out family style, but individually, which was fine. But the creamy Italian salads were dressed and the o/v weren't. The waitress said she would be right back with the vinegar, but I saw her bring food out to 3 tables before I was able to get her attention to bring the vinegar, and by that time everyone else was done their salad. Also we asked a few questions about the menu and she couldn't answer any of them. How can you sell food you don't know anything about? The only saving grace was that the food was good. But I won't go back again. The service left a bad taste in my mouth. To think you could put a 10 top celebrating a birthday at 2 five tops is not acceptable. But the food was good, so you have to decide what is more important. Good service or good food. One was good, the other was not. Train your staff, what I experienced was not acceptable for $20+ a plate. It was...