Excellent food, so relaxing. Love the bread and worth the long wait. The sauce is perfection.

With all the recent health news that high blood cholesterol levels is now deemed healthy and might extend one's life, last night I dragged my friend to Ralph's for some heart healthy eats, lol! We sat at the bar and ordered the highly recommended trinity of wings, mozzarella sticks and a pepperoni pizza (with onions and sans canned mushrooms). The pizza crust is puffier then my usual crust preference but it was so good. Crispy on the outside, squishy in a good way on the inside and full of flavor. Perfectly tangy sauce, quality melty cheese and the best pepperoni I've had on a pizza. The wings were just my style cooked perfectly crispy and sloppy with a nice tangy hot sauce. They ask if you want them regular or sloppy and I ordered sloppy, stack of napkins on the side and a happy face with every bite. And finally the shining stars, or logs, of mozzarella heaven. I've never been a fan since most places serve poor quality pre made frozen sticks which taste like rubberized cheese rolled in breadcrumbs with tasteless mystery green bits. Not here. The cheese is fresh and gooey and there's an actual well seasoned breading similar to a cross between a thinner fish-n-chips batter or a slightly thicker tempura batter. However they make these, they have reached cheese stick perfection. We ordered both the Melba sauce and the marinara sauce and both were full of flavor and perfect complements to the cheese sticks. Yay!!!! Another happy Yelp inspired recommendation. We got there before 5pm on a Monday night and the place was already packed. We waited about 20 minutes for a bar table but the bartenders happily poured us drinks while we waited even the actual bar was packed. read more

Typical Red-Sauce Italian place of yesteryear. My wife and I went here for dinner tonight, and it was simply not good. My wife and I are in our thirties, and my wife is 8 months pregnant, and had a craving for Chicken Alfredo. We sat down and after about 10 minutes a waitress finally came over to take our drink order. I ordered a Bass Ale. She then asked for my ID. I had forgot it at home I realized when I tried to reach for it. I told the waitress I forgot it, and even offered to have my wife order the beer. No dice. I get it, they are only following the rules. Must also be because the median age here was 65. The thing that aggravated me about this was a couple that was even younger than me were served at the next table with no ID requested by the same waitress. But alas, it was my fault for forgetting my ID. We then after a lengthy wait for my water, and wife's soda (No Free Refills, BTW) ordered our dinners, I had the Pizza, my wife ordered Chicken Alfredo over Linguini. After a long while, my wife's salad came out, all it was was tasteless iceburg lettuce with a blah Italian dressing. Exactly what you expect from a place that hasn't evolved in 40 years. After an eternity of waiting, with many other people who ordered after us being served, we finally received our dinner. The Pizza was quite good. On the thin side for pub pizza but a nice crispy crust. Unfortunately my wife's meal came out with Alfredo on Spaghetti, and no Chicken. This was not good for a Pregnant wife who had been craving this. Not wanting to wait another lifetime for them to refire the food, we told the waitress about the mistake, but didn't want to send it back (We just didn't want to be charged the upcharge for the chicken) .My wife said that the Alfredo sauce was too oily, seemed like it came from a can, and had no flavor. Maybe with the chicken on the dish it would help, but doubtful. My wife intends to take it home and add spices and things to it to actually give it flavor for leftovers. After we finished, we were ready for boxes. The waitress came over and I asked for 2 boxes and the check. She then turned to my wife who clearly had finished if she was truly done or if she was still working. That was a bit offensive to me, like she didn't believe that my wife was done so she had to confirm with her, my word wasn't good enough. We then waited another while for the boxes to be returned. In the meantime one of the other staff members asked if we would like it wrapped up, and took our plates, wrapped them up, and returned them before she even came back with the bill. This place is in our neighborhood, and we would like to make it a regular place, but using canned sauces and bad service take out pretty much the entire reason why we go out. Maybe I will get the Pizza to go in the future. That is the only thing that kept me from giving this review 1 star. read more

One word, three syllables. DIS-GUST-ING! Huge portions of bad quality food. I'm pretty sure they use canned tomato sauce. My chicken parm was awful!!!! No flavor whatsoever! My boyfriend and I both asked for doggy bags and tossed our food in a dumpster right outside the restaurant. Won't be returning. read more

Had take out last night! Man I love their food! My wife loves the wings and they did not disappoint! We also ordered the Egg& Pepper sandwich with stuffed mushrooms. Can't wait to go back! read more

Went to Ralph's Saturday Dinner was excellent accommodations were a little small we had a large party they got us in but it was very "cozy" Excellent Margaritas, excellent food things to try are Stuffed mushrooms, clams casino, wings are not on fire but yummy, Ribs were huge, steak was cook to perfection, mashed potatoes were real and very good, although veggies were frozen (disappointing) would I go there again? you bet ! read more

Ordered online through Grub Hub and was charged for my food and got confirmation email that my order was received. When I showed up they did not have my order. Instead of offering to make my food they said it was my responsibility to go through Grub Hub to get my refund because they did not get their money. It should not be on the customer to do the work because the restaurant has a broken system. This was my first experience and I was excited to try the food but I will never be back. read more

You can't beat the fish fry lunch special and the staff is very attentive! We come every year for lunch on the way to Saratoga.

Horrible Service! I have been going to Ralph's for over 15 years. The food has always been great. I was craving their mozzarella sticks so I stopped by yesterday to have lunch with my three kids. I waited over 10 minutes for the hostess to seat me. Mind you, there were only 2 tables seated in the dining room and there were 2 employees in there as we'll. No one even acknowledged I was there, finally I walked over to the bar and asked the waitress if I could get someone to seat me. She came over and spoke with one the employees in the dining room, who then proceeded to greet me. At this time I was told they had no high chairs for my 1 year old daughter...what type of family restaurant does not have high chairs? At which point I walked out, very unhappy. I can not image myself ever entering this restaurant again. I may order take-out and have my husband pick it up for me. Hopefully they realize how down hill their customer service has become and they take the time to fix it. I am a customer who visited Ralph's atleast 10 times a year and have ordered their catering for parties many times. read more

I attempted to go to the bar here with 3 of my friends. We are all above the age of 25 but had out of state IDs so the bartender refused to serve us. He claimed it was because he was unable to determine if they could be fake and he couldn't take the chance. This is unbelievable to me. I have never experienced such incompetence in a bar or restaurant. read more

Great Italian restaurant in Albany. Highly recommend the torpedo sandwich or 1/2 order pasta dinners for lunch.

Good food. Try the torpedo subs, the wings, the Italian dishes - everything was good. Had a sausage and pepper soup that was also delicious. To top it off, this place is cheap. It was packed on a weekday night - always a good sign. The place is divided into a bar and sit-down restaurant. Bar side has some TVs and a couple tables for no-wait seating. Check this place out. I'll be back. read more

If I could I would rate this place 3.5 stars because it was a long wait for a table but the food was very good.

My husband & I love this place--great food for the price. Their chicken sorrento is his fave; I've had other dishes that are just as good--chicken francaise,fried clam platter & chicken parm. Pizza & wings are excellent; the balsamic vinaigrette dressing is wonderful. It's a favorite place for the railroaders from way back. read more

Judging by these reviews, this place is very overrated. There is nothing special about any of the food here; it's a very boring mix of pastas, meats, and bar food for the most part - it's quite greasy and has a "mass produced" quality to it. The service has always been slow when I've been there, and the waiters aren't very helpful. You can do much better in Albany for the same price range. read more

Mixed feelings about this review...the wings were some of the best I have ever eaten (and I travel to Buffalo!) BUT...the cole slaw that came with my sandwich (meh) had a hair sticking out (good thing I don't eat cole slaw), and the plasticware looked like it had been used before. Granted it was a takeout order, and these things could have been corrected if I was eating there. read more

On a recent trip to Albany we were able to stop twice at this old neighborhood place. Happily it is still serving down to earth, hearty meals with excellent servers bringing the food. The soups are always good! read more

I'm FORCED to pick a star to POST yet NO STARS are deserving of this order! The Personal Pizza - What a joke! NOT like Ralph's GREAT pizza I was expecting in a smaller form of. You might as well called it a "Flat bread" pizza; HARD and crunchy around the edges, dry as it had only had sauce for color on a pepperoni/ black olive pizza. It had no flavor at all other than the pepperoni (with the few pieces they put on it) and olive taste when you bit into it. I shared my lunch, that small rectangular hard pizza personal cut into little triangle pieces, with my coworker so they could experience the disappointment of the cardboard pizza. Each and everyone of them stated they were disappointed as it was NOT Ralph's good pizza we love. Then on top of that nightmare lunch of mine we find out there is a $.30 per container charge added on top of the $5.00 delivery fee! What a SHOCK since this was our first time ever ordering for the office as we usually go there as an office when celebrating. Very disappointed in my pizza as was my coworker with her loaded potatoes with the little bit of "cheese wiz" filling! What happened to real cheese filling filled to the TOP when you call it a "loaded potato"...! read more

I finally got to eat at this place and I wasn't disappointed! I think I've been here at least 5 others times only to find that they had a very long wait for a table so we headed elsewhere. So on a Tuesday night in December, the stars aligned, the wait was less than 1/2 hour. My wife and I had an order of wings, an entree each (includes soup or salad), and 2 glasses of wine for under $40, a bargain. I wouldn't say the food is spectacular but when you put it together with the prices and service, I would say this place is hard to beat if you're looking for an Italian meal. Based on how busy this place always is, I think most people have figured that out, so be ready to wait. read more

I am from Massachusetts, about 2 1/2 hours from Albany, and when I travel there, I make it a point to get in one visit to Ralph's...... FOR THE WINGS. I admit I've only ever had the wings, and some of the appetizers, but oh man, I'm in no hurry to deviate from this routine. Three of us usually sit down to eat, and we order 40 wings. 20 mild, 20 medium- extra crispy, meaning they let those suckers bathe about 5 minutes longer in the fryer, no breading! We have come to anticipate the look of surprise/disgust from whoever is serving us, especially when we order an extra 20 wings to go after devouring the first 40. I might mention the mozzarella bruschetta bread is worth ordering too. read more

Great little pizza place in Albany. We were just passing through and craving pizza, and once again Yelp pointed us in the right direction! The service was great and the pizza was fantastic. We also started with the mozzarella sticks and yes the raspberry sauce is both weird and delicious. read more

Stopped in for supper based on Yelp ratings. The food did not disappoint. The mozzarella sticks really were delicious. Chicken wings were crisp and moist and the pizza was amazing. Prices were reasonable with fast, friendly service. A small, quaint place with great food. read more

All I wanted last night was Ralph's boneless garlic Parmesan wings, after having my first time at my holiday party at my job. So my boyfriend was like you want wings, I want wings! So we placed an order for pick up. Pulled in the parking lot covered in ice! Walking inside without trying to fall and break any bones! Reached inside, everyone was having a great time. Everyone was friendly but when my food came out you could tell it was dripping in grease thru the white containers. Didn't say nothing, paid and took the box of food to my car. Again walking with full hands on a sheet of ice in the parking lot. Tasted the food before pulling off, it was so greasy I couldn't finished what I started. Since there were no napkins in the bag, made it home to try to finish eating. I ordered two orders boneless wings, lemon pepper & garlic parmesan with fries and cheesy garlic bread! $26 wasted because all of the food tasted like no one took the time to shake the grease before packing it up! The bread had so much butter that I couldn't eat it. I am very disappointed that your cooks in the kitchen couldn't take more time to drain the wings before dumping them in the containers! I was too angry to drive all the way back to let you see what you sold me! I talked about coming here all day yesterday and to not enjoy my food was a big disappointment. I gave you two stars because the young lady at the register was really nice and the customers were very friendly helping with the doors!!! DO BETTER!!! Money does not grow on trees! Some of us look forward to great take out once a week and to not cook at home!!! read more

I've only been here twice, but have had good experiences both times. I lived right around the corner from Ralph's for over a year before I checked it out for the first time. The place smells AMAZING. I've been told that if this joint is along your running route, it's distracting. Even driving by, it just smells fantastic. I have gotten the same thing both times: Pasta with marinara sauce and chicken. The first time I ordered linguine and I was brought angel hair. Not a big deal, really, but it was a bit disappointing. But it tastes exactly the same...so I'm just nitpicking. I rather enjoyed the sauce and I really liked the chicken! It was perfectly cooked and flavorful. Also, I enjoyed that it was mixed into the pasta and not just served on top of it as other restaurants tend to do. The second time I went, my order (the same thing) was served correctly. Yay! Each time my dining companion enjoyed their meals. My friend got scallops the first time I went. They smelled delicious, but I didn't try any. She loved them, and told me that Ralph's clam chowder is amazing. I CANNOT wait to try it- I LOVE clam chowder!! The second time, my fiance ordered some sort of a steak sandwich. It was served on Texas toast and also looked really good. We were served bread before the meal each time. I liked it, but then again I have never met a bread I didn't like. The menu is pretty extensive. And there are a lot of dessert options! I am looking forward to going back and ordering something different - and a dessert! The staff is friendly, service was good and the prices are moderate. I am not understanding some of the negative reviews about this place. It's not the best, but I am really looking forward to going back. read more

Staying in albany for a couple of weeks and so far this is bye far the best place around. Pizza and wings are very good. The other night i had a chicken parm sandwich, and it was excellent. The place is dumpy but always packed and a great value. read more

One of those (increasingly rare) affordable, family, non-chain, Italian restaurants that make Friday nights fun. Good red sauce. Great wings. Hearty portions. Reasonable prices. Super-friendly staff. Worn interior - but adds to 'local joint' feel. Beware: not free refills and waitress pushed them without warning us. That was weird. But otherwise great experience. read more

Pizza was delicious, soft and crispy. Pepperoni was thicker than most we've had. Unique looking Mozz Sticks was the family hit. Place is smaller than we thought but everyone was friendly and attentive. read more

Very small place and very dark even in the middle of the day. Potato soup was really yummy and the marinara sauce on my ravioli was also delicious. Ravioli were just ok; a little doughy and inconsistent for my tastes. Service was pleasant. Disappointed that sodas did not have free refills as the glass was relatively small. read more

Great place for garlic pizza. Got to try the cheesesticks w/ raspberry sauce. Good food for the price.

This place is always packed when I go. Make sure you go when your not absolutely starving. I like the pastas here, good amount for the price. The pizza is alright, wings are mediocre. Service was a little sloppy, but I would go back again. read more

Nancy was are bartender. Extremely friendly and had perfect recommendations on the menu. We had medium hot wings and garlic parm wings. They were incredible and we also had open face meatball parm sandwich and the chicken parm torpedo. Everything was remarkable and I would make it a point to stop again if I was passing through again. read more

If you want bang-for-your-buck, go to Ralph's. The bread, mushroom/garlic pizza, chicken parmigiana, and house salad were all great. You definitely get what you pay for and then some. read more

This place is always packed with people and I can see why, they serve good quality food. Looking for some quality Italian food, not like Olive Garden, I decided to come here. I got the shrimp scampi and it was just simply amazing. The presentation of the meal was nice as well. Definitely would come back again. read more

Pretty basic Italian fare. You get ALOT of food for the money which is awesome. I always leave here with enough leftover pasta for two more meals. read more

We stopped in for a couple apps and a few beers - nice bar and the clams casino and stuffed mushrooms were great. We didn't have dinner - but I'd love to stop back again. read more

The food is not so great at Ralph's..Salads are just iceberg lettuce..Don't order chef salad..Clams used to be a favorite of ours, but we got stuck with very tough ones a couple of times. Drinks are great if Cho or Le are making them..(that's why I go) Why has the food gone down so much..The Italian favs are still good, but why only use hot sausage on pizza or other. Ralph's could do something to improve food quality.. read more

Good food ... plain and simple. Love their pizza and wings UGHHHH

Ralph's is a delicious, affordable, and low-key restaurant and bar. I've never ordered a meal I didn't love. They do a particularly good job with traditional Italian meals like lasagna. The sauce is nuanced and the bread is fresh. The wait staff is pleasant and serves the food quickly. I've taken my husband, friends and colleagues to Ralph's, and everyone has enjoyed it. read more

Ralph's is always busy for a reason: because it is excellent. It serves up Italian-American fare in an area with many Italian-Americans who demand high quality at a reasonable price. The pizza is particularly good. read more

Jen is here to serve you. She has a great attitude, a wonderful smile, great recommendations and service - Hot and single too!!! read more

Ralph's Tavern - Jen is the Best!!! - Italian Near Me - Albany, New York