Three stars for Ralph's tavern. Maria and I were looking for a place in Albany for dinner, we happened upon Ralph Tavern which had a very full parking lot, and a bustling business. We knew it would be good. We were not disappointed. The service was excellent and the food was good. It's a great atmosphere. We had the pizza, which between the two of us, we could only finish half. It was a bit on the salty side, but then again we ordered the anchovies with it. I like anchovies. I would go back if I am in town again. read more

Ralph's Tavern - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

I Ordered Mozzarella sticks from them , it was very dark and grease soaked because they were sitting around and just reheated from sitting in grease who knows how long. I brought them back and instead of waiting to ask what i wanted , the hostess took em back to the kitchen and 3 minutes later brought out another batch just as grease soaked (takes longer to make mozzarella sticks )and falling apart when picked up cause they were also soaked in grease. And was told when i order next time to specify i want them a lighter shade. They dont come in a darker shade. You look at the menu and getting them from other places they were always lighter and Firm and cooked properly. And the price of their pizza which much smaller than they used to be and Overly priced is discusting. Ralphs has gone way down hill. Higher Prices and less nasty product. People should move on to a better family and better italian food restaurant and away from that garbage. read more

No frills, no BS just fantastic food and great personal service. The menu was big but also on point. I tried the Chicken Francaise and it was great. The sauce was thicker and less greasy than others I've had. A large portion served with a choice of pasta and fresh bread and side salad or soup. So many things I want to try I think I need to come back for wings and pizza. Review to follow. Hopefully I'll get Tammy again as a server. She was attentive, pleasant and helpful. read more

Ralph's Tavern - Chicken Francaise - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

Got a few recommendations to come here so I checked reviews and looked legit but still was worried it would be more bar food than restaurant food. We arrived and got sat right away our waitress was very kind and attentive. We ordered the mushroom soup to start with and we've never have had it before but it was fresh and delicious, then we ordered the shrimp scampi and a supreme steak sandwich. So glad we stopped by both our entrees were delicious fresh and great portions i deff would recommend this spot, felt at home thank you guys for having us! read more

Great food! Mozzarella sticks are supreme! Hot chicken wings were out of this world Blue cheese was great which is a very important factor to me Triple decker cheese burger and fries were excellent.. No free refills which is really the only downside to this amazing establishment read more

Ralph's Tavern - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

Stopped for a late lunch, early dinner. The restaurant is simple but welcoming. The staff, friendly and knowledgeable. We started with the house made mozzarella sticks. Delicious! Be sure and try raspberry jelly to go with them ! Next we had a supreme pizza. Sheet style pizza, prepared perfectly. I would recommend Ralph's if you're in the Albany area. They have a great menu ! read more

Love this place. Haven't had a bad meal here. From dishes like Shrimp Scampi, Chicken Parm, Chicken Francaise (my personal fav) to pizza and wings (the best in the capital district) this local tavern makes everything perfectly. Service is always quick and friendly and portions are huge while the prices are low. You have to get the Mozz sticks with rasp sauce. They are homemade and the best you will ever taste. If you think ahead call for reservations because they are kinda small and there is usually a wait. read more

Ralph's Tavern - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

Based on Yelp reviews, the title of "best wings in the capital district" (and the fact it was the nearest place to eat) I gave Ralph's a try. It was full of people, many on a first name basis with the staff. I had to try the "Best Wings in the Capital District". They are very good! I ordered them Hot and spent the evening trying to hide my running nose and burning lips Service was friendly, welcoming and fast. I approve. read more

Ralph's Tavern - Wings - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

If I could rate 0 I would, I had an extremely terrible experience tonight, they should not call this restaurant Italian, it is a disgrace to Italian cuisine, if I wanted frozen meatballs, I'd heat up a frozen pile of sh!t and still have better quality food for less money, it was 8.25 for 6 shrimp and a tablespoon of cocktail sauce. Our waitress was Kelly and she sucked at her job, she barely came to our table and never offered refills she also never asked how we wanted the steak, came out looking like a rubber brick. Horrible experience, never coming back again. read more

Love Ralph's. Super good pizza but I'm really disappointed in their potato skins, which I was excited to have my gf try who had never had potato skins before. But the ones here are just smothered in cheap velveeta cheese. Like, a gross amount of it. I had one and told her not to base potato skins off these. Do better Ralph's read more

I've had worse, but I've certainly had better. Much better. Stopped by a couple weeks ago because I was craving mozzarella sticks and I saw that they supposedly had good wings as well. Place was relatively empty, but that's not surprising because it was a couple hours before a snowstorm hit. Took a few minutes to get seated and I ordered the homemade mozzarella sticks (with raspberry, of course) and an order of hot wings. Mozzarella sticks came out first and they were quite good. Definitely had a homemade quality to them and the cheese was perfectly melted. I'd prefer if the raspberry sauce had fewer seeds (a few bars in Albany have sauce without seeds), but it was still good. The wings were meh at best, bordering on bad. Undercooked and soggy. I actually didn't have more than a bite of 2 of them because of how undercooked they were. I don't know how these were voted "best wings in Albany", because I've had better at multiple bars in the Albany area, several pizza places, and a certain chain with "wings" at the end of their name. The menu said "fresh", but the texture made me think they were frozen. I may just be spoiled from my time at SUNY Buffalo, but the wings left much to desire and my search for Buffalo-quality wings in Albany continues. I can't speak for the other items on the menu and this is certainly one of the relatively-few remaining places you can get Albany's iconic mozzarella sticks with melba sauce. But if you want good wings, this isn't the place you should be going. read more

If you want good Italian food, efficient service coupled with reasonable prices go to Ralph's. The menu isn't just pasta and pizza. You'll find plenty of homestyle offerings of seafood, steaks, chicken and ample hot and cold sandwiches to go along with the previously mentioned homestyle pasta and pizza. On a recent mid-week visit it was time to stick with traditional spaghetti and not overly hot sausage. The plate was of ample size plus the meal comes with a sizeable salad and warm from the oven crusty Italian bread. A doggy bag and a 10-cut pizza to go provided for two more meals over the next two days. All of that plus 2 cold beers and the tab was only $40 give or take. Another dish to consider -- scallops parm. Fish done the Italian way. read more

First time here, it was random but a great experience. I tried their mozzarella sticks with Melba sauce which was amazing! It was a warm cheese-oozing explosion for my palate. We tried the pizza which was a huge fav for my fellow yelpers who accompanied me that night. It was nonetheless nothing short or great it, we were able to have double pepperoni the crust was both soft and cripsy the great balance of thin/regular crust. Will definitely be back!! read more

Delicious italian-american food. The tomato sauce is delicious and does not have a from-a-can taste as someone else claimed. The veal cutlet was tender and scrumptious and I would get it again and again and again. The menu is extensive and I have yet to try anything else. Decent selection of bottled beers too. The vibe is casual old school american family dining. This is not fine dining. Not all the chairs at your table are going to match. The bar is on the other side of a wall which is a nice partition and both sides work well to serve both casual and better-dressed patrons. Highly recommended. read more

Ralph's Tavern - grab an ice cold Genny with your pasta! - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

Did an $85 take-out order that was delivered. When it arrived it was missing 4. items from our order! The food was packed and Styrofoam so the fries were wet and soggy. When we called the restaurant to complain, they weren't very apologetic for missing four items in our order. We wound up driving to up pick up the extra items and when we got there we had to wait to get them when she said they would be ready. read more

My girlfriend and I got takeout for dinner tonight. When I got home, I realized they didn't give me the soup or vegetable that came with my entree. We had also ordered their sizzling hot fries, but they just gave us regular fries. When I called to let them know of their mistake, they offered only to either come back and get it (no way, it's a half hour round trip) or credit us for next time. Needless to say, there won't be a next time. I asked them to instead just take the price of the fries off the order but they would not do so. As for the food, it was mediocre. My fried haddock and our fries were just okay and my girlfriend's personal pizza was subpar. However, the wings were good and so was the rice pilaf. read more

I've been to Ralph's for good Italian food in the past. Sad to say I never tried the mozzarella sticks until this week. I've only ever had Melba sauce on a monte cristo sandwich but man when I tell you that sauce left a tasty mark on my tummy. So much so that we jumped in the car and went back the next day for some more! We had quick polite service and got to enjoy our glutinous meal before the shame if not going to the gym set in! Perfect timing! read more

I enjoyed this place. I sat at the bar (which I always do) and thought the bar tenders were fantastic. I ordered the special..."Rigatoni" (2 meatballs included) and it came with an amazing salad (huge) and of course Italian bread. (why the west doesn't do this escapes me). The rigatoni came and the sauce was really good. The meatballs, however, were ...well.. "blah"... no seasoning at all. I'm giving this 4 stars because I believe they have a great brand. The people were soooooooooo friendly. I'll be back.. but next time for the steamers and pizza. read more

great food the veal parm is great and the chicken parm also the people are great also.

On the road, as we are in Albany, New York, it is sometimes very hard to find good food for dinner (although YELP is making it easier). Based on the recommendation of the hotel desk clerk, we decided to try Ralph's Italian Restaurant and Tavern. Further, the previous posItive YELP reviews helped cinched the deal for us tonight. Just so you know, the look of the place leaves much to be desired. Upon entering, I started to have second thoughts. However the warm welcome by our server "Michelle" calmed my initial concerns. Lets order a glass of wine....trouble is the list of the wines by the glass (a bottle is too much for the two of us) is very short, but we found a pretty decent Malbec. We ordered the highly touted fried mozzarella - the previous reviews were correct - it was absolutely delicious. Try it.... you will like it! (We did get both sauces as has been recommended by previous reviews, and a light mix of both was just yummie!) I also ordered the tomato ditallini soup and it was perfect! Just perfect. Not too salty, not "cornstarchy", not bland.... just really, really good. Both of us ordered chicken parmigiana for dinner, which was so wonderful. I cook Italian a lot (because my husband is Italian and I am a darn good cook) so I am a terrible critic of sauces that are immature, too salty, too bland, and too sweet! Their marinara sauce was just perfect and the chicken was tender and not overly encrusted. The bread that accompanied the meal was crunchy and delicious and obviously fresh. All in all, the meal was truly delicious, the portions were huge (most came back to the hotel with us) , our server Michelle was wonderful, and even if the place was shabby as all get out, it was a very positive experience. Go there for the delicious food and ignore the ambience, or lack of it. It is because of the ambience that I gave this place 4 instead of 5 stars. read more

Ralph's has Been around as Kong as I can remember. Never had bad food. Great people working there. Felt like a chicken parm sub, ordered and picked up easy. Great place to eat once we can start eating out again.. read more

Great wings and tasty pizza! Passing through town and opted for delivery to our hotel. Definitely would order again next time in town!

Don't know the quality of the food- the wait was too long! The lot was packed leading cars to block each other, and no desire to return based on the viewing alone. Loud, cramped dining room, and not at all pleasing to the eye. In fact, as dirty and rundown as it appears on the outside follows through on the inside. Very unappealing and made the decision to leave a good one! Clean up Ralph! You're doing something right to have that crowd in food quality, now get up to standards with the rest! read more

Walked in and it was packed. Good sign! Hostess said it's 20-25 minutes or we can go to the bar. I asked if kids can eat at the bar (ages 8 & 10) and she said yes. So we head in. Boys hit the head and we order drinks at the bar - when they come over the bartender advises kids can't eat at the bar- (sigh ok). So we wait for a table to open. Clearly it's a local place - people know each other. I'm hopeful. Maybe we just ordered poorly but nothing was delicious. My meal was warm but not hot (meatballs). The broccoli had cheese sauce which was hard & lumpy. Fish had tartar sauce from a jar. Staff was nice but overall disappointed. Won't be back. read more

Ralph's Tavern - Bad cheese sauce. Store made tartar sauce. - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York

Will NEVER eat here again..let's start off by saying I ordered a sandwich : garlic toast, roast beef gravy on the side. THERE WERE 2 PIECES OF PAPER...yes big square paper MELTED ON THE SANDWICH. When I brought this to a waitress's attention , I said excuse me... she looks and I said look there's paper in my food she goes it's just from the meat no big deal.... Then she said I will bring it in the kitchen .. (without asking me if I wanted to replace my meal not one .. I'm sorry... The 2nd part of my story is one of my colleagues had a chicken sandwich and has been violently ill all night. read more

I travel for business all the time. I live in hotels and eat at restaurants more than I am home. I much prefer supporting local family businesses vs. going to chains...which explains why I ended up at Ralph's Tavern which is basically across the street from my hotel and I keep going back This place is NOT fancy. It probably hasn't changed in 30 years or more. If ambiance and decor are your hot buttons for a restaurant....DO NOT COME HERE. The menu is a mix of Italian Classics, burgers, seafood and Sirloin or Prime Rib. To me...stick with the Italian Classics...the veal or chicken parmigiana or pasta with clams...really good. The steaks are OK, definitely not bad at all... but I would not come here to have their steaks. Their sweet spot is the Italian Classics. They make stiff drinks and have a small but good wine list with some good choices by the glass. The servers are very friendly without hanging on you. You can tell they want to take care of you. To me this is a good neighborhood joint. I would not hesitate to come here again but it isn't a place I would rave about. Just a good place to have a meal and relax without a lot of pretense. read more

Great find! When I drove up I was like "uh oh", when I walked inside I was like "UH OH" but I took a chance and I'm glad I did. The place was packed but we called for a reservation for the 6 of us. The service was great, the menu offered a good variety with decent prices. The cocktails were very generous and the food was delicious. Everything we ordered was cooked perfectly. We had several appetizers: Fried Mozzarella with raspberry sauce was amazing; the fried calamari was cooked correctly and the Clams Casino were rich and buttery. All the entrees looked and tasted delicious, not one complaint and the portions were huge! This is a place to keep on your radar and check out! read more

Just ordered a cheese and pepperoni via grubhub and was told that it would be ready by 7:24pm. I showed up on time (7:20), was handed my pizza and returned to my home which is about three minutes away. I opened the box and saw a pizza that looked like it was ready 40 minutes ago. I called Ralph's and asked politely if they could make me a fresh pizza and I was pretty much told to go f@$k myself and that was between me and grubhub despite the fact they could have easily called me to let me know it was ready. I guess I'll have to find some another pizza place that doesn't smell like cat piss in the future. Also take a look at their health score (50 out of 100). I'll be going to PJ's pizza from here on out. read more

I have had great meals there, but any take out has been sub par. It will be a while until I try again.

Stopped in on a Friday night with two friends. Busy place but we were seated quickly. Despite the hectic workload, our waiter was super friendly. We had burgers and were not disappointed. Delicious and reasonably priced. A perfect place for good food and conversation. Next time we will try the pasta. It looked great being delivered to other tables. read more

Really disappointed, I was very excited for my order, really hungry and the food was shockingly subpar. I ordered a meatball open face sub... side note, not sure why someone would change a classic and then do it very poorly. The meatballs were completely flavorless. I would compare them to giant balls of meat tofu, which actually has more flavor than these meatballs. The meatballs should be the feature of this meal and they were just terrible. My brother tried them and actually spit it out. Unfortunately, the tomato sauce was also very bland and there wasn't even enough of it to cover the meatballs or to penetrate the extremely thick bread. To top it off, this was all on top of old, cheap Texas white toast, which completed this very disappointing and underwhelming meal. read more

Food is definitely not the same as in the past. On Mothers Day, Ordered 2 linguine with white clams amongst other dinners and apps. Menu states it comes with 6 while clams. Picked up the food and came home. No clams, so I called and they stated that due to the pandemic they dont sell enough clam sauce dinners to purchase the clams and use them before they go bad. OK I get it, but either put up a warning or charge a little less for the meal. They didnt ask how they could make it right either. The mozz sticks seemed off and were not crispy at all. They definitely lost a longtime customer with this family. read more

After hearing many great things about Ralph's, I finally made my way here. For an appetizer I ordered the mozzarella sticks and they were delicious. The cheese was fresh and not hard to swallow. The breading was flavorful and the spaghetti sauce brought it all together. They could have been cooked a little bit longer, but they still were great. For dinner I ordered the ravioli with marinara sauce. It came bread and a soup. The soup was pepperoni vegetable. It was tasty and the pepperoni was fresh. The ravioli was tasty, the cheese was flavorful and the raviolis were cooked perfectly. The marinara sauce was homemade and had great flavor. The bread was light and tasty, it went great together with the ravioli. Overall, Ralph's was delicious, and I hope to be back soon. read more

The wings and pizza here were phenomenal!!! I believe I got the lemon pepper! Must try!

What happen to this place? Ordered chicken francaise over linguine. Received chicken francaise over penne. The chicken was nothing but gristle and you could not even cut it. One piece was about the size of a quarter and the other was about 3" in diameter. I asked for the chicken to be put over the pasta and did not ask for extra sauce. When the waitress finally came back to the table I told her I could not eat the chicken because it was so tough. She told me she would take 1/2 off tHe bill. Yes, I ate probably 15 pieces of the penne because this was going to be my dinner but most of it was left on the plate. I wasn't looking for a free meal but, after waiting 15 minutes for the waitress to return, I no longer had any appetite. My husband ordered chicken parm and could not get over how tasteless the sauce was. The carrot cake ordered for dessert was not moist and appeared to stale. Taking 1/2 off of a meal that was not edible seemed shocking but the worst part was that I was charged an extra $2 for extra sauce that I did not ask for nor want. I have been coming to this establishment for over forty years but, unfortunately, I will no longer consider Ralph's when I am looking for a good meal. read more

I love Ralph's. It's the perfect Quintessential American pub/restaurant. Simple food at simple prices. I can't say I've ever had a bad meal there. It's a great place for a low key night with family or good friends at the restaurant - or to watch a game with friends at the bar. read more

There chicken Parmesan is like rubber. Boy have they changed! Waitress knew that was the problem. " she said it was rubbery right. Yeah the chef is pounding it down . We have a lot of people who don't like it." They refunded but that's not why I went. Bummer. read more

Never had the chance to eat. The hostess should find a new job. She sat multiple other parties prior to ours and when confronted about it simply said "oh, sorry" in a very no apologetic tone. I know her hostess job is difficult so I don't hold it against her. Is that mean? Oh, sorry. read more

Food is delicious, drinks a reasonably priced. Maddy is an amazing bartender, she greets everyone as if they are family!

Took my family to try Ralph's last night. Lesson learned is that when in a bar, order the bar food. Atmosphere was comfortable and enjoyable. Not too fancy, but clean and not run down. All good. Service was pleasant, polite, and quick. In fact, I would give the service a 10 out of 10! Food was meh at best. Clams casino were shells filled with oil-soaked toasted breadcrums. Really quite bad. Don't order these. Salads were good sized portions and very nice. Chicken wings weren't anything special, but they were just fine. Fried clams were really bad. HUGE amount of batter/breading around each clam. Sat like lead in my stomach. Don't order these. Veal sorrento was not so good. Sauce tasted like it came from a can, and again the breading was over abundant. Looks good when it comes, but disappoints when tasted. Burger was really good. Cooked perfectly medium with a nice sized patty (1/3 lb?) and presented well. Definitely order the burger! We didn't try the pizza, but saw several being delivered all around us to smiling patrons. It looked delicious and is probably worth trying. Best to stay with the bar food, though. And maybe try the pizza. read more