Revello's Cafe

Okay. My GF kept telling me "Rivello's is the best, Rivello's is the best. When we go there we'll try it". Im from South Philly so ive eaten a lot of different pizzas and everyone says theirs is the best So I took her enthusiasm with a grain of salt. Ive worked in 5 star restaurants and enjoy dining out so this will have to be some pretty damn good pizza to impress me. We go to OLd Forge b/c her cousins live there and I said ok, lets try this pizza for dinner Saturday night. We go in the place is packed. We almost leave but there's not a whole lot else going on in OF on a Sat night. We sit at the bar and order 2 red pies. They come. They dont look spectacular or anything. So here goes. Im ready for my first bite. If you are reading these reviews trying to decide let me tell you this: Oh My God! This pizza was the best tasting pizza I ever had! The cheese makes the pizza. I dont know what ingredients they use. It reminds me of a Crab Cheese dish or a really good gourmet cheese dip. This stuff is to die for. Now when I think of pizza, there is only one place i think of for the best and that's Rivello's. If you dont try it you are missing out on something special that you will never have the opportunioty to try again. mIt is that good.

My family of 5 went to Revello's on a Sunday night for dinner. We had never been there before and I researched online to find the best place for pizza in Old Forge. We walked in around 6:30 pm and it was pretty crowded. We were told to seat ourselves so we found a booth to fit all of us. This place is very basic, there is probably little overhead here. The booth we sat in was torn, my son almost cut himself on the exposed spring. The menu is a printout in a plastic stand,tiny paper plates were given to us to eat our pizza, napkin dispenser on table stuffed w/ tissue paper... very basic place. But these types of places are our favorite so this didn't bother us at all. We ordered a tray of red w/ meatballs and a tray of white w/ broccoli. Also a pitcher of Coke which was RC Cola, fine with us. This place also doesn't take debit/cards so bring cash if you go. Our pizza arrives in a timely fashion. My husband took one bite of the white and I thought he was in heaven LOL. It is like grilled cheese between a crispy crust. Not sure if I would classify it as pizza but it was still delish! Then I tried the red w/ the meatballs. WOW! The sauce was sweet, the cheese was not mozzerella but some sticky, gooey concoction that tasted awesome but the meatballs were the star! I haven't had meatballs that wonderful since my Italian mother made them before she died. While I think it was a bit pricey (our bill was $33) it was worth it and we would return again. It's not your run of the mill pizza, it's very different but delicious none the less. I would like to try the other places on the main street but Revello's will be hard to beat. It's not fancy but the pizza was great.

Pizza-5 Stars; other meals & service-2 Stars
Twice a year I make the 1 1/2 hour trek from central PA for pizza at Revello's. My husband hates the pizza, but had agreed to travel with us and try one of the meals.
We walked in Saturday at 6:30 PM, and half the tables were empty - something I have never experienced in 20+ visits; and not a good sign. I was comforted by the pizza - distinctive and tasty, as usual, and the typical service - barely acceptable, as usual.
My husband ordered a salad (very lackluster, and no "house dressing" at an italian restaurant?) and Spaghetti with Sausage ($7.25), - half the size of the salad, served in a shallow 6" diameter bowl, mushy pasta, topped with seven 1/2" sausage slices. After eating the side-dish sized meal which did come with bread and butter, he ended with two slices of the pizza he can't stand, which he touted as better than his meal.
My daughter's and my trip to the restroom was accompanied by a very nice conversation with another employee, who was taking her cigarette break.
That will be the last time my husband sets foot in Revello's . Frankly, except for take-out, I'm not sure if I'll return. I've defended the terrible service for years; when I first started going there in college, I was invited by regular customers, and we always had a great experience. When returning years later by myself or with my family, we never had our order taken in less tham 20 min. after sitting down (except this visit), and were pretty much ignored throughout our stay. Three occasions with my family it took more than 1 hr. from being seated to receiving pizza - especially bad if you're with children.
I love their pizza - I've never had anything like it, but perhaps will have to explore dining in other Old Forge restaurants. How disappointing.

Comments (3)

Old Forge Pizza - 01/17/08
I would just like to say that normally the service is top notch at Revello's. I work in the food service industry and let me tell you. If you walk into Revello's (or any other hugely popular restaurant) on a Friday or Saturday at prime time 5-9pm, then expect a wait. As for the "other food", well it's a pizza place, enjoy the main course. The pasta dishes are all homemade and are considered some of the best in the area. And don't get me started on the salads. As "bland" as you think the salad was, you probably didn't get the special, which is covered in their secret blend of pizza cheese, and most around this area and abroad consider the salad one of the best around.

pjs - 09/21/08
Oh, secret cheese... uhhh - American cheese. Duh. Don't get me wrong, I love the pizza. It is very near the top of my list of favorite pizza's. But anyone who works in food service AND defends Revello's service must have always worked at places with awful service. I have had Revello's pizza at least 100 times over my 36 years and have never had service I would even classify as decent.

SMc - 09/22/09
I've been going to Revello's for 39 years and although the service is not what it was when Mary was around (who could ever be that fast?!), the people are decent and if you made half an effort to get their attention (not that you should have to), I'm sure someone one would gladly help you. When I have looked back in the kitchen I think Grandma & her sisters were working in there, and even if it takes an hour (give them a break) it's well worth the awesome taste of this unique pizza. Revello's will be my pizza place for life. And I drive an hour 1/2 each way for it. : )