Ripa's is a great Italian restaurant in Lancaster, NY. They serve lunch and dinner daily and have a banquet room that can accomodate up to 300 guests. My 202-guest wedding reception was here. The most expensive part of any wedding reception is the food. If you want quality food for a reasonable price in a family atmosphere this is your place. They only have one wedding per date, so no running into other brides on your special day. Making arrangements was easy. I worked with one contact so we were always on the same page. I added some last minute requests like, wine served at each table and passed after dinner cordials. Both were accomodated. The food! My goal was to serve something I would actually want to eat on a normal day, let alone a special one. We chose their family style meal where everything is served on platters at the table and people can take what they'd like, just like at home. The pork roast was perfectly tender, the pasta al dente, the vegetables fresh and the service was outstanding and fast. My guests raved! My family has had birthday, first communion, graduation, wedding, and funeral gatherings here. We come back again and again for the great service, fair prices and good food. Ripa's nails the restaurant business making every encounter a pleasure.They make it a point to make hosting a gathering easy. read more

I travel all over the country for business and Ripa's has made it into my little gold book for dinning in Buffalo. You have to try the Italian Ruben Sandwich, it is truly magical. I have tried to make this at home but cannot capture the magic from Ripa's... read more

Ripa's has been a wonderful radition for decades. I remember when it was a simple building on the corner of Walden and Pavement. Over the years it was remodeled and is a wonderful spot to have a meal. Very good service and wonderful atmosphere. Staff is very gracious when making reservations. Ripa's is very popular for weekend evenings. We will going there Saturday night with friends. The menu is varied and will satisfy you whether you are going Italian or more American. http://www.ripas.com/menu.asp The local phone book often has a coupon for $5 off two entrees. Will have to see if that tradition continues for the 2010 year. read more

We recently sent our friends here. They said: WOW!!!! We were greeted by the hostess and about 4-5 waitresses. They lead us to a table that was nicely set and was super cute!!!! The owner (I think, or manager) came to our table and chatted for a bit. We were EXTREMEMLY impressed. We had never heard of Ripa's but I don't doubt that we will make the trip there again. EVERYTHING was out of this world from the food to the customer service. Our waitress, who was AMAZING, I think her name was Jess, really was top-notch.....really she was that great. Attentive, friendly, she chatted with us and answered questions (although we didn't have many because she was so thorough with the menu). This was a GREAT way to end the day!!! read more

I've had a few parties here. The food is always good and the banquet room was decorated nicely! I would choose Ripa's again in the future!

We recently moved back to the Buffalo area, and my husband couldn't wait to get to Ripa's. YUCK! The place was filthy the night we went - the ceiling is filthy from the air-conditioning and there was food all over the floor. They have white tablecloths on the table, but I guess they don't want them dirtied, because they put white PAPER over them. He couldn't wait to have the stuffed shrimp, but they had ONE!! How does a restaurant of this caliber (so I'm told by reading other reviews) run out of food??? So he ordered the scallops provencal - WOW - four scallops on a plate of heavy, not-so-tasty alfredo. Maybe they ran out of scallops as well. I ordered chicken parm, and asked for gnocchi instead of linguine. We were never told there would be an up-charge, but it appeared on our bill. So why wasn't I given my linguine which I paid for with the meal, as well as the gnocchi for which I also paid. And then to find out they weren't worth the up-charge - tough and doughy. I'm glad he has this place out of his system. We will never return, and never give as a recommendation! read more

My "honey" and I went there this past week. Was surprised at the variety of the menu. You can get appetizers, sandwiches, and dinners. They have half and full portions. They also have a nice kid's menu. So you can spend around $25 for two people, or go up from there will great dinner selections. Place was nice and warm (I don't like when restaurants are cold that you have to keep your jacket on). Nice selection of desserts also. Very clean and decorated for Christmas. Waitress was very good. Nice bar area also. Will definitely be going back soon. read more

I have a top ten list for foods prepared for me at area restaurants and this place has two menu items in my top ten plus an appetizer. The Char-Broiled Haddock Italian Fish is 2nd to None when it coms to fish in Western New York. The way they marinate it and bake it it unmatched. They also have a porch chop dinner that sizzles when it comes out of the kitchen and as Mr. Food would say " Oh it sooooo Good! " The appetizer although alil pricey now is the Pano Italiano Garlic Bread. I know the secret behind this dish and have tried to duplicate at home but can not match it. Kudo's to the Ripa's to last in this business for all the years. I think 70+ and counting... Thanks... read more

just great food!!! peppers are just teriffic! service is always great and ask for tony's blood ceaser!!!

I recently had an 80th Birthday Party here for my wife. Banquet Manager Tony Ripa provided our family group of 18 with an absolutely perfect and wonderful glitch-free affair. The banquet waitress was outstanding and attended to every single need and request. Our children, their spouses, and our siblings all raved about the quality of the food and had an especially good time. Most special, though, my wife says it was an unforgettable experience for her and that is exactly what I had hoped for. We have had family wedding receptions and class reunions here in the past and have never had a single problem. read more

I have been here several times and have always been happy with my meal. I think it is the best Italian food in the area . Their chicken melts in your mouth, love it! They make the best sauce and homemade pasta! My daughter says the meatball is the best! We will have many more meals here! read more

My family was at Ripas to celebrate my daughter's recent wedding. We were well taken care of and the food was excellent. The staff couldn't have been nicer. Ripas is our "go to" restaurant not only for Friday night fish but other celebrations. read more

We dine out at Ripa's about once a month and it is always delicious and very reasonably priced. We have never had a bad experience and the food has always been top notch with the freshest and best ingredients. The char broiled fish is superb and the pork chops are amazing and the daily homemade pastas are so good (even the next day for lunch if you fill up on all the delicious food) We always leave very full and satisfied. I have seen some people here complaining about price. I don't know where they are usually dining McDonalds??? We recently went to Applebee's and had terrible chain food and it cost more than dinner at Ripa's. They will always be our go to restaurant in Lancaster. read more

I made reservations for 2/4 for a party of 11 to celebrate my mother's birthday. We were greeted and seated right away. The waitress approached us quickly but it took a long time to get our beverages. The waitress was giving another table coffee while 3 of us were waiting for our first cup. When we asked the waitress she said she was waiting for the coffee to brew. We had 3 children with us but waitress never mentioned children menu. We had to call the server back to the table because she forgot to take one of our orders. When the food finally arrived it took the waitress 4 to 5 trips and the pasta was cold. The server ran out of grated cheese, never went to get more, no fresh pepper, asked for more bread, never brought it. We asked another worker who was refilling water for more bread but she said we had to ask the waitress. Waitress never asked how the meal was, couldn't get a refill on coffee. I didn't want to order dessert but felt like I had to because we were celebrating a birthday which we made our server aware of. I could understand if it was a busy night or if the reservations were not made, but this was not the case. The food was cold. Overall experience was terrible, had to leave a 17% tip for a night I'd rather forget. read more

I went here for lunch. They had a good variety of sandwiches on the menu but no pasta or common Italian options. Their special was turkey and gravy...not what I expected going to a place like this. I do end up ordering the steak sandwich, the most expensive lunch option. I was hoping to have some Italian food but figured since this wasn't going to happen, this was the best option. It says right there on the menu that this sandwich comes with fries and a pickle. When it comes out there are no fries or pickle, just the smallest ramekin of not very good looking fruit. I told the waiter I had ordered this because of the sides and asked where they were. He said they changed that recently and if I wanted fries or anything else I had to pay for them. The thing of it is, the menu was just print outs they inserted in plastic sleeves. If you are going to change it, change the menu. Or at least mention to someone who is ordering that what they think they are getting has been changed and is not what it says! The sandwich was just alright, nothing special at all. I would save my time and money and just go to a Denny's or sandwich shop for lunch. I hope their dinner menu is better and maybe includes some Italian dishes but I will not be finding out. This was my first and last experience with Ripa's. read more