Ralph’s Pretty Good Cafe

Ralph’s is closed permanently. A sign in the door says a venture from the chef at Blue Plate is forthcoming. Meh

Where locals go to catch up on the gossip. Food is consistently good. I think I know the wrap which the person below complained about, and it’s actually one of my favorite things on the menu. They have other wraps you can eat with your hands, if that’s important to you. But it’s the soups that I usually order. Unlike similar restaurants, Ralph’s soups are flavorful but not too salty and filled with fresh-​tasting ingredients (no soggy string beans here). I should probably be giving this a bad review, because while the weekenders and summer people are good for Ralph’s business, they make it harder on us locals, who don’t need a Unilocal review to tell us this is pretty good food.

Ralph is the most unfriendly, nasty, unpleasant old man I have ever encountered. This paired with his shitty food and terrible name for a restaurant makes the experience at his establishment unbearable. Ralph scares small children and is consistantly a Dick. God damn I hate Ralphs Sub-​par Nasty Café.

I really like this place. It’s not fine dining by any stretch, tables are self-​busk and the service can be slowwww but everything I’ve had was, well, pretty darn good. It’s a quirky place, very popular meeting place and second kitchen for the locals and does a brisk business every time I’m there whether for breakfast, lunch, or midday snack and caffeination. I’ve had the coffee and chai — both tasty; they serve a number of different types of ice cream which is nice in the summer. I stopped in for breakfast with a friend one day and was delighted to find out that they had gluten-​free bread available so I could have toast and plan to try some sandwiches. But the real treat on the menu for me is their supreme nachos — perfect size for a one meal day, or sharing with a friend. They’re loaded up with lots of cheese, and a plate full of cups containing salsa, sour cream and guacamole.

Ralph’s Pretty Good Café is awesome and a true asset to the Chatham community. I am surprised to see less-​than-​stellar reviews here, because I logged in today to express my complete satisfaction and gratitude for Ralph’s. The food is excellent — a nice simple menu of delicious food — everything is always fresh and perfectly prepared every time. And I base this opinion on about a twenty lunches that I have enjoyed at Ralph’s over the last year. The service is always friendly, the food is served with a smile, prices are very reasonable, and the place is clean and casual. There is even outside seating. I always figured that one of the reasons Ralph’s is so very good is because Ralph himself is always there. They also have great coffee and a nice selection of ice cream and sorbet. Ralph’s is an all around excellent café — literally, my favorite place to eat lunch. The vegetarian burritos are the best I have ever had anywhere. Seriously, the best I have ever had anywhere! Whenever I have friends visiting from out of town, Ralph’s is my go to lunch spot. Again, I really find it incredible that anyone here has anything negative to say about Ralph’s, which I personally think is a jewel in Chatham, but if you want great food and friendly service in a clean café at a great price, Ralph’s is the answer to your prayers. I heap this praise on confidently, as there is no way I can possibly oversell the best burritos I have ever had. In sum, Ralph’s Rocks!

Ralph’s is our go-​to place for lunch when we are in Chatham (and breakfast for my husband when the kids get up super early on the weekends). Nice friendly service and good food. I like the morning glory muffins and iced coffee, my kids love the grilled cheese and soup. Shhhh don’t tell anyone about the sweet potato pancakes on Sundays, they are great!

Maybe the people who do wraps at this restaurant are very good at what they do. In fact, maybe they’re culinary geniuses. Maybe long ago they inherited supernatural cooking powers from some cooking god. Maybe it told them that they now have the ability to create the most astounding food the world has ever been blessed to taste. Except that maybe once in a blue moon they might screw up because they’re only human. Maybe.
But it’s also possible that the food here is just plain awful. Because i ordered a simple vegetable wrap (which is not a very difficult thing to make), and it came out looking more like… a semi-​amphibious science experiment done by a 4^th grader. The thing was drowning in a deep puddle of ‘sauce’, and correct me if i’m wrong but shouldn’t a wrap be, you know… wrapped? This was completely open. it had a toothpick sticking out at the bottom end of a wrinkled tortilla. This gave the impression that whoever made it gave a half hearted attempt at putting it together possibly up to 8 times. Then on the 9^th time he decided to just leave it as an avant-​garde ‘open wrap’. «Bah, whatever it lacks in the wrap department, i’ll make up for it in sauce” he probably said to himself. Cause boy were they liberal with the sauce.
I use the word ‘sauce’ lightly because it was more like some wacky half-​and-​half mixture: half warm water, half soy sauce. And it wasn’t exactly placed over the ingredients inside, it was more underneath it. It’s like they took a plate, dumped a bowl of ‘sauce’ on it, then threw a tortilla down and some vegetables then tried folding it, gave up, putting the toothpick on the bottom as some sick ploy to deceive the viewer into thinking it was at one point an attractive dish.
Because in its current form, it would only be possible to eat it with a knife and fork, i tried wrapping it myself. Unfortunately there was so much sauce on the thing, i couldn’t! My hands became soaked! The tortilla was too at this point, and it started to turn into a weird tortilla mush with a quicksand effect: struggling only makes it worse!
Had i continued, my hands would no doubt have become wrinkled from being submerged in that… soup. but alas… i gave up. I ate it with a fork and knife and for some reason i left a tip afterwards. Why? Well… say there’s that off chance they really WERE given amazing cooking powers and this was just one of those blue moon days where they screwed up. THEN who would look like the fool for not tipping?

Very small, limited in their pastry-​dessert area during the middle of the day. Use a great bean on barrington roasters. Technique is ok for a cappuccino.
Would have liked the café better if the barista had better technique.

Ralph’s has the best coffee in town, by far! And while they’re breakfasts are good (I’m especially partial to the scrambled eggs on greens and their homemade scones), it’s the lunches that really rock. My favorites: turkey ruben, sloppy jose quesadilla, the homemade black bean chili and their outstanding chicken ceasar salad. But then again, everything is pretty (damn) good! I’m also a fan of the no laptop policy, because it means you can actually appreciate the place, the art on the walls, the food and the other patrons much more than you would if you were doing something on a computer…

My review of the Muddy Cup got me thinking of Ralphs which as Kake mentioned has a sign that asks that you not use laptops (which seems nice now that many places are overrun with laptoppers)…they have food, so it is more of a lunch place then a coffee shop, but the food is good and there are lots of options. I like places where you order at the counter and then sit down… it is more efficient than table service.

A friendly little coffee & sandwich shop, apparently very popular among the locals. Considering how small and isolated downtown Chatham is, I was delightfully surprised to find some strong, solid coffee/​espresso here. Excellent biscottis, too. The food menu is diverse, including salads, soups, sandwiches, and hot Mexican and Mediteeranean specialities. I’m sure they’re all «Pretty Good!»
It’s a perfect spot to catch your neighbors and friends. And you’ll love the «Thank you for helping us maintain a LAPTOP FREE environment» signs.