Renato’s is a pizzeria in the town of Ridgewood, New Jersey. It’s a staple of dining in Ridgewood. It serves as a place for people of all ages to grab a quick meal for a low price. It also supplies pizza for the majority of Ridgewood schools. However, the food is not often viewed through a critical lens. Today, we are writing to present our thoughts on the restaurant, it’s food and service, through the eyes of Ridgewood students.

The mozzarella sticks are passable at best, the breaded exterior of the stick is nothing special and the cheese when cooled for a very short time, tastes like a cheese stick. When you bite into it the cheese pops out of the battered skin. A very popular dish to start out with besides the mozzarella sticks is the tossed salad. The salad contains lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, onions and olives dressed in a vinaigrette. The ratio of toppings is completely all over the place. There are more onions and cheese then lettuce, next to no tomatoes and cucumbers and the entire thing is soaked in a rich vinaigrette that dilutes the entire salad. While the first few bites of the salad are very good, the ending part of the salad leaves a lot to be desired.

The pizza comes in all varieties. From pepperoni, cheese to even salad pizza. Regular cheese pizza is a staple at Renato’s and when eaten straight out of the oven is very satisfying, the crunch of the crust and the savory cheese and sauce makes for a great slice. However, if it is let to sit or if gotten delivered, the pizza could get cold and tasteless very fast. The option to reheat is always there but the pizza should be able to be eaten right out of the box. 

The pricing at Renato’s is not particularly expensive. A regular cheese pie only costs $13.75 While a pie with toppings costs +$2.50 extra. Getting a pie at a place like Pizza Hut would run you about $12, almost the same as Renato’s. A regular tossed salad cost $4.50. Overall there is nothing more $15.50 and nothing less than $4.50, so the pricing is average for pizza, meaning it’s not too expensive. 

The service of Renato’s is fast and helpful. When going to eat there you have two choices, order upfront or have your order taken sitting down. We don’t know how they do it, but ordering is seamless either way. When getting drinks, you just get one from the cooler and they charge you accordingly. Besides the usual sodas like Pepsi and Sierra Mist, they also have a cooler of Snapple and another cooler of Stewart’s drinks. 

When food comes, it comes quickly and it comes hot, being a brick oven pizza place, the pizza is very hot and sometimes needs a minute before you can start eating. When getting a delivery, the service is super understanding of any slurred speech or things they can’t understand over the phone. It is a very fast-paced process and doesn’t skip a beat when giving information about the address or the order. When we ordered the woman on the phone said it would be about 40 minutes to arrive, which is a normal time when ordering food for delivery. When the delivery person arrived only 16 minutes had passed, almost a half-hour earlier of what they estimated. This quick delivery is super convenient, especially for those with much to do.

The atmosphere of Renato’s is not loud or obnoxious. It is quiet and you can easily be heard if talking to family or friends. It is a great place to have a birthday party, hang out with friends, go on a date, etc. If you’re looking for the loud music type restaurant this is not it. In fact, if you’re alone in the restaurant, all you most likely will hear is a small television that most of the time is playing soccer games from around the world. However, this is not always the case. Sometimes the restaurant becomes very packed and it’s hard to even hear yourself talk. Overall the atmosphere of Renatos is mostly quiet, but there is a high chance you will see at least a couple other people in the pizzeria.

In conclusion, Renato’s is the go-to place for a quick, hot meal. It has flaws, for sure, but in general, we’d recommend it for anyone looking for a quick and (mostly) quiet place to eat.