Riccitello John Restaurant

Excellent! old school Italian! The portions aren’t huge, but more than enough. The owner is always tending bat in one of his many vests. I guess you could say he has a «vested interest»!

We went for the first time last night and the food was delicious!!! This is a cozy little family owned/​operated place serving great authentic Italian food. Their menu offers a wide variety of choices and additional specials each night and you will definitely leave there feeling satisfied. We started off with fried calamari and chunky marinara… That could have been a meal in itself!!! I ordered the broiled scallops which were cooked to perfection! My daughter had the shrimp scampi which was also delicious! The sauteed greens and roasted sweet potatoes were my sides and were a great choice. I can’t say enough about this place… The food was cooked to perfection and the chef even came out to our table so we could thank him personally for the great meal. I would highly recommend this place and we will DEFINITELY be coming back again!

This is good old school Italian. I kinda felt like I was eating in my grandmother’s basement. Not a bad thing, if you can relate. Old paneled walls, 60s style light fixtures, cloth tablecloths. Nothing super fancy on the menus but the basics were good. I had eggplant parm. It was decent but a bit on the greasy side.
The one issue I have is the location. This restaurant has been here since before GE bailed on Schenectady. The neighborhood is kinda now — the hood. So, I personally wouldn’t go there after dark.
Would be great if they could move downtown.
Overall, not a bad meal for a decent price.

My husband and I found this restaurant due to Unilocal,and were very glad we did. the food was excellent, especially the sauces on the pasta. We tried both the red and white sauce between us, and could not believe how tasty they both were. we thought the red sauce was slightly superior in flavor. The clams casino to start was delicious. The location was a bit surprising (it seems to be in a house on a residential street) but the smell walking up drew us in. Inside is a nice little bar/​restaurant, with good service.

Old School neighborhood Italian… and that’s a very good thing…
Great Food… Friendly

I don’t frequent this place the way I should since I live in Troy. But every now and then I take the drive. I happen to love eggplant parm and the version served here is probably the best I’ve ever had. Everybody has their favorite way to prepare it. Riccitello’s slices it very thin and, I believe uses an egg wash. No thick crumb coating that later turns to mush. Not overly doused in sauce or buried in so much cheese that you can’t find the eggplant. Just perfect, in it’s own way! It’s ridiculous to admit it, but eggplant is all I have ever eaten here. This is a wonderful old fashioned, neighborhood red sauce Italian restaurant, friendly and bargain priced.

It’s a great old-​school, East Coast, Italian restaurant in the heart of Schenectady. The food is good, the service is friendly, and the prices are right on the money. I’ve been there twice so far this year and now that I’ve moved back to my home state of New York from California, I’m sure I’ll be at Riccitello’s at least once a month.
Favorites included Chicken Riccitello, the calamari, and the caprese salad special. Although I normally prefer larger thin slices of fresh mozzarella so it’s easier to get a cut with the tomatoes on my caprese salads, the balls of mozzarella they served were still really great!