Mark’s Score 9.1
Ripieno’s new restaurant in Salisbury has been a long time in coming. When I visited their restaurant in Ocean City back in March of 2024, I was told the Salisbury location would open the following April. It was obvious that Ripieno’s had never had to deal with Salisbury/Wicomico County’s slow and torturous construction approval process. Ten months behind schedule, the Salisbury restaurant opened this February.
Ripieno’s, is an Italian Bistro/pizzeria in Ocean City. It is owned by the DiServeria family and has become a well-known and loved pizzeria/bistro. They position themselves as a casual, family-friendly restaurant offering well-crafted classic Italian comfort food in a relaxed atmosphere. They are famous for making their pizzas in traditional wood-fired ovens, giving their pizzas an authentically Italian crisp, and charred crust.
The Salisbury restaurant represents a new concept that goes beyond the original in Ocean City (see my review). Though the menu and style of cooking are the same, the Ocean City location is an unassuming (though pleasantly designed) restaurant, offering food ordered at a counter, with a tiny dining area. The Salisbury location is full service, situated by a pond, with an outdoor patio, and several large dining rooms. Though the food is the same, unlike Ocean City, Salisbury is fully licensed with both a full and a separate wine bar. There are also banquet rooms for private parties. But most importantly, in my view, the Salisbury restaurant, like Ocean City, plays the “rat-pack” background sound track.
I think it would have been nice to sit out on the patio by the pond, but it was a cold winter’s day when I visited. The interior design is sleekly modern, with warm woods, stone-work, and pressed copper ceiling. It is certainly a step above their OC location. I sat at one of the high-top tables, which was a mistake, I found the stools uncomfortable, and the faux leather slippery.
To compare like to like, I ordered the same pizza I had ordered in Ocean City a year ago. But unlike Ocean City, in Salisbury I could order a Peroni Beer to go with the pizza. Peroni and pizza are like mac and cheese, or fish and chips. It is inconceivable to think of one without the other. There is nothing quite so satisfying as a hot pizza accompanied with cold Peroni, and Frank Sinatra singing in the background. The service was excellent and friendly, and the pizza was fired to crisp smoky perfection. This is how pizza is supposed to be served, thin, crisp, and right out of the fire, with Sinatra crooning in the background.
For my money, Ripieno’s perhaps offers the best pizza on the peninsula, and certainly the best pizza in Salisbury. I have to admit that I was nervous that Ripieno’s may have bitten off more than they could chew with the expanded concept in Salisbury. But my fears were unwarranted, I can’t wait for warm weather to sit out on the patio, with a hot pizza, a cold Peroni, and Frank Sinatra.
What else is there to do in Salisbury?
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