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    Ralphie's Cafe Italiano

    3.2 (349 reviews)
    ModerateItalian
    Open 12:00 pm - 8:00 PM

    Ralphie's Cafe Italiano Photos

    RALPHIE'S CAFE ITALIANO ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Ralphie's Cafe Italiano

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    Chicken Soup
    Janet D.

    Another great dinner at Ralphie's. They don't take reservations so we waited about 30 minutes to be seated. Bar was full and there were many waiting to be seated at the bar. First they serve Tripoli bakery bread and that's an added bonus. My choice was their lasagna special which is only served on weekends. For $20.95 you get a cup of soup or salad and a huge plate of lasagna ( enough for 2-3 meals depending on your appetite). I went for the chicken soup that looks like Italian wedding soup and it was full of meatballs and delicious. The lasagna is my favorite dish at Ralphies. I love their sauce and it has a lot of meat. It is a lively place and can get loud as people are enjoying the food and the tables are close. We had the fantastic Thalia for a server. Although she had many tables to take care of, she made sure to give all individual attention. Drinks were never empty and she came back often to check in us. Parking can get full but you can park across the street.

    Mozzarella sticks
    Eric R.

    Definitely a solid red sauce, Italian joint. Welcoming old school vibes and the portions are huge. Everything about here is like a warm Italian hug. It's right behind the Salem Mall. They have a backlog parking lot that's pretty ample.

    Mike C.

    Real old school traditional American-Italian food, look and feel. The pictures on the wall, the neighborly service, the tables with the red and white checked tablecloths. The food is what you want and expect, plenty of it and what your 80 year old Nonna would make! This place touches a spot on your soul.

    Gigantic portion of Chicken Parmigiano
    Irena K.

    They always give generous amount of food. U are guarantee to have lunch for tomorrow. Their meat sauce is so good, i was feeling adventurous last night, even the carbonara really good, once i nibble my husband's, i regret my decision not to stay with my regular option. Last night we had a very young waitress and reminds me of Energizer Bunny, never stop long enough, sometimes we have to catch her to get her attention. My suggestion is dont come between 5-6 its mad house.

    Northern Dork X.

    We checked out Ralphie's as neither of us had ever been. The wait was reasonable, the decor was warm and welcoming. One thing to know, if you get a pasta dish like chicken cacciatore, if you don't want two different sauces, let them know. You can't really combine your pasta with the rest of the dish otherwise. But, without even a flinch our waitress swapped out the red sauce for plain so it could be combined. That was top tier. She didn't even have to think twice. In the photos you can see what I mean as we took them before the change. Honestly, the experience made us fans and we'll be back

    Chicken Eggplant Parm
    Laura R.

    Real Italian food, great service, we're going again!! Place is decorated old time Italian restaurant...they give you so much food you will have leftovers.

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    8 days ago

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    7 days ago

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    11 days ago

    Nice atmosphere. Music softly playing in the background. Large portions of food. Delicious.

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    1 year ago

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    1 month ago

    Huge portions. Great quality. Daytime bartender Diana is the best in the business. The atmosphere is warm and friendly

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    4 months ago

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    11 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    1 year ago

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    9 months ago

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    1 year ago

    Calamari was great, sausage rabbi was awful super salty, ,gnocchi tasted like cinnamon Wait staff was great

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    1 year ago

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    Page 1 of 9

    Ask the Community - Ralphie's Cafe Italiano

    I have been going to Ralphies for many years in Salem n.h.and have always been more than satisfied with the portion food side and great chicken palm.dinners. But the last 4 times the sauce tasted like plain tomatoes.are there new owners?

    I have not heard or read of any new owners but the sauce that you described is consistent with what they've been serving for years. It always looks and tastes like thin, unseasoned, straight out of the can tomato sauce. We never understand why… 

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    Tuscan Kitchen Salem

    Tuscan Kitchen Salem

    3.2
    (1.1k reviews)
    0.2 mi
    $$$

    Please do not order the carbonara. It's not good, had to ask to swap for another dish instead. We…read morealso ordered the picante pizza - good sized pizza and good flavors! Shout out to my waitress Alaynah! She made out experience wonderful - appreciate you!

    Mother's day reservations were all booked but they were accepting walk-in's at the high tops. Well…read moreone hostess said they weren't but I told her 5 minutes prior I was told this by her colleague so she asked and was told by the manager "yes at a high top"....awkward but that's ok. We sat and were greeted by our server, she was nice and attentive despite being busy. I ordered a glass of the May Rosé special, and my mom got a nonalcoholic rosé. We both liked ours. Then we split the crab cake appetizer which we liked, although small...one piece for almost $20. We also were brought bread which was tasty paired with an olive oil mix. I ordered the butternut squash ravioli. There were only 6 of them but a good size, I opted out of a protein since they were a little pricey. I loved my meal, the sauce was creamy and paired nicely with the filling of the raviolis. My mom ordered the scallops that came with a lobster risotto. She liked hers as well and the scallops were a pretty good size. I will say the food was good and the overall experience was enjoyable despite having a high top even when I expressed to the host and manager it would be uncomfortable for my mother. We did see other moms receive a rose but my mom did not, I think only for the reserved tables and not any paying customer. Pricey but lovely inside and food quality was good just a little on the smaller side for portions. It's in a great location at the village so you can grab a bite to eat and walk around before or after. It made for a good Mother's Day meal.

    Photos
    Interior
    Interior
    Bread
    Bread
    May Rose all day

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    May Rose all day
    The Colosseum Restaurant

    The Colosseum Restaurant

    3.1
    (254 reviews)
    1.6 mi
    $$

    First time in this restaurant the food was excellent. Fresh great service the shrimp scampi was…read moreawesome the shrimp is huge good portions the chic palm is very good

    The ambiance is very sophisticated with a nice sense of hominess too that makes you feel…read morecomfortable. You can tell from the front of house to the back that the beauty of a family owned restaurant is the care and love that is able to exist without the hustle and bustle of a mainstream restaurant. They make you feel like one of their own with how personable the staff are! I've met a lot of regulars that have been going for years which that and in itself shows value in what this place has to offer! The martinis are sooo good and they definitely don't under pour which is nice since you feel that you're getting your moneys worth. The serving sizes are huge - many other places you are paying the same or more for half of what the Colosseum gives you! The chicken parm is soo thin and it's hard to find that anywhere else! Their homemade tomato sauce is perfection. I love their eggplant alla romana (rolantini), calms casino, and their Italian (French) fries! My favorite dish is the chicken vinegar and fries which you can't find anywhere but deep in the north end- typically it's made with a pork chop which they also have but it's nice they offer the chicken because I prefer that. They also have a special salad only posted online and it's their version of a chopped salad called the Sal-ad and it comes over their amazing chicken cutlet!! So so good! Can't say more about this family or the restaurant in total!!!

    Photos
    The Colosseum Restaurant
    Chicken and eggplant Parmesan
    Chicken and eggplant Parmesan
    Peroni Draft

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    Peroni Draft
    Tuscan Market at Tuscan Village Salem

    Tuscan Market at Tuscan Village Salem

    2.7
    (428 reviews)
    0.2 mi
    $$

    Naya was amazing! From the moment I sat down, she was friendly, welcoming, and attentive. She…read morerecommended a dish that I probably wouldn't have ordered on my own, and it ended up being absolutely incredible. It was easily one of the best meals I've had in a long time. She checked in at the right times, made sure everything was perfect, and her positive attitude made the whole experience even better. Great service and a great recommendation. I'll definitely be coming back, and I hope Naya is my server again. Thank you for making it such a great experience!

    It's confusing why this place has such low ratings. I get that the items in the market can be…read morepricey, but they are primarily imported from Italy and a good quality (like Locatelli cheese & taralli crackers). They also have interesting items like filled gnocchi. I've been a couple of times now and had a very good brunch with my family. My breakfast pizza (without prosciutto to make it vegetarian) was excellent! It has cheese, spinach, hollaindaise sauce and a runny egg, with a nice chewy crust. I ate the whole thing which was very filling and I easily could have taken half home (it's pretty messy so more of a fork and knife deal). I've also had a vegetarian kale salad with chickpeas candied walnuts cranberries & cheese. I also got a side of roasted sweet potatoes. One person's eggs Benedict was a little overcooked, but others liked the frittata, the HUGE chicken parm (with a whole ball of burrata on top), and sandwiches on focaccia (my husband couldn't even finish half of the Salumeria). I also noted the bread that comes w/the hummus & ciabatta loaves looked great. The chocolate espresso cake and the apple crumb bar from the bakery were pretty good. We got the sfogliatella to go, which wasn't crunchy on the outside sadly (maybe it wasn't fresh?), but had a nice citrus ricotta filling and wasn't too sweet.the nitro cold brew was too strong for me, but the iced Americano was good. The Semolina raisin bread that they use for French toast wasn't for me. The classes offered sound interesting (like pasta alla Norma) and are reasonably priced. There is cute inside & outside seating with live music on Saturday for brunch (it can get a bit loud). They don't currently take reservations. The shops nearby are nice too!

    Photos
    Outside patio area covered in snow.  Pretty ambience on a snowy night.
    Outside patio area covered in snow. Pretty ambience on a snowy night.
    Meatball pizza
    Meatball pizza
    Tuscan Market at Tuscan Village Salem

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    Buono Bistro

    Buono Bistro

    3.6
    (268 reviews)
    6.5 mi
    $$

    Overall, the food and service experience was good. The pasta has great flavor. The restaurant gave…read morea homey local vibe. However, unfortunately one of the individuals from our party experienced food poisoning the day after following the meal.

    Had an interesting experience at Buono Bistro in North Andover and want to see if others have…read moreexperienced something similar. Have never been there before. Got a Groupon that made the risk of a first time experience very appealing. Went during a weekday - we thought the food was good. We had calamari as an appetizer. I then had the Bueno Land sea chicken (very good) and my wife had chicken broccoli penne (it was ok). Service was very very slow and the waitress was nonexistent when we needed her. She also never checked in on us after we got our food that someone else dropped off. But here was where it got odd. After waiting about a half an hour for the bill we told the waitress we had a Groupon. It had a have a cash value of $40. When she brought over our bill, it was not itemized as all. It had the total supposedly after removing the $40. it also had a spot for the tip and it had the standard recommended tip percentages pre-calculated below. After looking at it for a bit things seemed the total amount was too high . We asked for the itemized bill and after about 20 minutes, we received it only to find out that she had added a tip already to the total amount. there's no way we would've known that to me this smells like a scam. She purposely did this to try to get a double tip. I find it odd that it would be the policy of a restaurant to add a tip for just two people And not let them know about it by not giving them an itemized list of what was ordered. Below is the only thing that came to the table when we asked for the bill. The Groupon of $40 had been removed but she hid a tip in it.

    Photos
    Cannoli
    Cannoli
    Halibut over risotto with mango salsa
    Halibut over risotto with mango salsa
    Buono Bistro

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    Salvatore's Italian Restaurant

    Salvatore's Italian Restaurant

    3.2
    (293 reviews)
    6.2 mi
    $$

    We contacted Salvatore's regarding a bereavement meal. I spoke with Marci about our needs. She…read morereserved the 'Caesar' room based on the number of guests we expected and emailed several meal options they offer for private events. Once we had chosen a meal package, we spoke again on the phone where she asked for some additional information (such as how many 'littles' would be part of the event) and forwarded a contract to me via email to sign. On the day of the event, there seemed to be a bit of a misunderstanding with staff on duty about the timing of our event. Our contract stated 4:30 but when people began to arrive the doors were still locked, the bar was not yet set and the coffee service not yet out. By the time we arrived from the funeral home about 5pm they had most of these things addressed. In the meantime, guests were able to purchase drinks at the restaurant bar. The room was set with seven tables of eight seats. Each table had a white cloth, silk floral center piece, flatware, cloth napkin and water glass. The room itself has high ceilings and large windows overlooking the river. A buffet station was set up at one end of the room near the bar. The staff did a wonderful job serving the buffet. Bread, butter and salad were self serve while entrée options were served by staff. Once everyone had received their food a staff member came around to each table to be sure everyone was happy with their meal. He very much wanted to be sure everyone was satisfied. The hot food remained available throughout the event and take away containers were left nearby for those who wished to take home any left overs once an appropriate amount of time had passed. Cannoli, cookies and brownies were laid out near the coffee urns (regular and decaf, along with hot water and tea bags) for dessert. About thirty minutes before departure, take away containers were left on this table too. We paid the bartender the agreed upon amount for our event before departing. All of the staff were very helpful, considerate and kind. All of our guests were very happy with both the accommodations and the meal, as were we. Salvatore's is located in a renovated mill building with shared parking. A ramp leads up to their door for wheelchair access. Gendered restrooms are located off a hallway between the entrance and the event room. The temperature inside was quite pleasant, neither cold nor hot.

    This was our 2nd recent visit to Salvatore's. We were in the area last week and decided to visit…read moresince we hadn't been to Salvatore's in several years. My wife had the Steak Tips and I enjoyed the Braised Short Rib, and both meals were so good that we made up our minds to share this great place with friends. We did just that last night. Donna had Steak Tips again and this time I had the Steak Tip Salad. Our friends had a Salmon Salad and Veal Saltimbocca. I heartily recommend sitting outside around sunset to enjoy the brilliant sky with your meal. And oh, the drinks were great, and my only disappointment is that they don't use large ice cubes for the Old Fashioned. I ordered mine with ice on the side but enjoyed it straight up. Our server was very attentive and made some excellent recommendations.

    Photos
    Dining Room
    Dining Room
    All sorts of pizzas!
    All sorts of pizzas!
    Bread

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    Bread

    Ralphie's Cafe Italiano - italian - Updated August 2026

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