Reviews of Roko Italian Cuisine (Restaurant)

Kelsey Virginia

The steak special and lobster tail was delicious! Our waiter, Boban, took GREAT care of us and was very knowledgeable on the menu and specials and had great suggestions. My table was always clean and glass was always full. 10/10 definitely will be coming back!

greg muse

Love it, Love it. The Family that Owns, Operates, and cooks at this Restaurant are beyond Wonderful. Their Genuine hospitality is apparent, along with All the the Staff...so gracious, and polite. You truly have to Experience this venue to fully understand. But, as for the meals they serve, trust me, they Will be some of your best. The Atmosphere, the Super Staff, and the Plates from the kitchen are what other restaurants should strive to be. Such Wonderful Chefs. Do a Treat for your Loved ones and yourself, but as their business has grown, reservations are encouraged

Erika Lawrence

The food was good but I have had better food for the price--- The chardonnay at $13 per glass did not warrant the price and nor did it live up to the expectation of fine wine-- The service was mediocre and our server was not well informed--- The bread served was stale and after we complained the second batch was not much better---The manager was rude and condescending it is unbelievable that the owners of Roko selected him to be the face of their establishment--- This turned out to be a very disappointing dinning experience!!

Christie Bonacci

Best Italian in Wilmington! Sweetest owners! Get the scampi appetizer, you won't regret it

Thomas Reynolds

Great atmosphere, service and food. Reservations suggested

Jwt1986

Quiet and quaint ...a little romantic. Very feel at home staff. Great place for date night or a glass of wine for a night cap!

Charles McKay

Great atmosphere ,the food was wonderful and the service great.All of this made for a very nice evening with our family,

walter stowe

Our service provided, exceeded any expectations we had before coming... (our first time)...THEN ~~~ OUR FOOD CAME...OOH...MY.GG....FANTASTIC. WE WILL BE BACK..WITH FAMILY AND FRIENDS. .

Kimberley Shelton

We absolutely love this restaurant. Fantastic Italian food with spot on service. Monday night martini special is a winner.

Marianne P.

The food was good but the service was terrible. Our waitress was so rude and abrupt. She rarely visited the table and when she did she never smiled and acted like she couldn't be bothered. We actually had to ask other servers for bread and drinks. I was very excited to try this place and was so disappointed. I will not go back.

Robert Joyce

always a pleasant and relaxing meal with delicious food and wine. The owners are very gracious and make you feel a part of their family. service always superb and the food is spectacular with lots of flavor. one of Wilmington's gems

Neill Currie

Fine if you like their menu. Do not expect exceptions. I came in two days early with a dietary request. Said they could accommodate. Did not and when leaving was told their chef had his recipes...

Margo Colicchio

Best Italian food in Wilmington

Sam Robison

My wife and I had a marvelous time at Roko tonight. From the atmosphere to the staff to the decor to the food to the music to the lighting, it was one of the best dining experiences we have ever had in Wilmington. Particular stand-outs were the escargot, lamb chops, and our AMAZING server, Domino. 10/10 would go back any time we can afford it. (it is a wee bit pricey, but so worth it!)

Chase Schwinn

Absolutley great! The soup and the mushroom ravioli were amazing! Highley recommended

Daniel Dempsey

Great food..excellent service...love this place

Nancy Barkalow

Introduced to this gem by friends and have been back with other friends since then. Food is excellent; service is exceptional. Good value for money. Not your local pizza restaurant but place is small. DO make a reservation.

brian enoch

Our waitress was very nice and helpful. We started with bruschetta and it was great. My wife had the mushroom ravioli, which she loved. I had penne with garlic, oil, broccoli and sun-dried tomato- it was amazing! Can't wait to go back. I would recommend making reservations. We went on a Monday night and had to sit at a high top by the bar!

Robert Braren

Always great

Mary Barr

My husband and I feel this is the best restaurant in Wilmington. Consistently A+ with food, drinks and wait staff. Superb.

Bryan Rafael

One of the finest restaurants in town.

Charline Meeks

Delicious & Authentic Italian food!!

Howard Atkinson

Italian food, yeah, so tasty. definitely worth a return trip. it has a great feel to it. similar to a cafe in las vegas i loved.

Chip Williams

Small, intimate Italian spot with solid standards and great service. Be prepared to wait at the bar as it can get busy. As it should.

Linda Smith

Have never had a bad dinner. Food is great, service always excellent

chipper0311

The staff and owners go out of their way to make every dining experience exceptional. Thank you for all the wonderful dinners and respect you show your patrons

Don Hickey

I've been going here for years it's one of the best restaurants in Wilmington. I celebrate my birthday there every year.

Rick Schoch

Christmas Eve dinner. We had more people than our reservation, and they were able to accommodate us. Service excellent. I had the Lobster Bisque and the Shrimp ala Roko, both excellent and reasonably priced. Heartily recommend.

Pur Salon

Lovely little hidden treasure.. the ambiance was that of more than a restaurant in a shopping mall! The food was wonderful, I had Bolognese which had wonderful flavor and my husband had the Chicken Marsala that he loved. Our waiter, Jason was friendly, knowledgeable and gave impeccable service...without great service it's "just another meal"...thank you Jason! You'll see us again :-)

Patricia Farrand

Food was fantastic! Service great@!

Chaunte Grady

Very authentic most pastas are made fresh. Everyone loved their dish and especially the desserts

Dustin Frye

Roko sets the standard for small restaurants in Wilmington. The quality of food, price point, and most notably, the level of service elevate this establishment above most in Wilmington. Be sure to get a reservation early if you plan on dining here. They fill up fast and for good reason. It’s rare in a small town that doesn’t (for the most part) understand quality service, to find a gem tucked away off the beaten path delivering such an experience. You will not go wrong dining at Roko.

Julie Cordora

We loved this restaurant so much that we went both nights that we were in town! Special shout out to our server, Domino, as she was outstanding! The grouper piccata special was prepared perfectly with roasted cherry tomatoes that provided additional depth of flavor. The bruschetta, french onion soup, portabella mozz stack, and stuffed artichoke apps were all delicious. Reservations are helpful.

Gordon Dalgleish

Unquestionably one of the consistently best restaurants in our area.

Mike Hughes

Food was decent, took an hour and a half to get out food.

Danielle Haney

My favorite spot for quality Italian food. This place does it for me. The staff was very friendly and attentive. This place has a great feel to it.

Janet S

It is a small upscale restaurant with delicious food and a great staff!! Be sure to make a reservation and enjoy!

Peter Pappas

It's not olive garden, but it'll do lol

Robert Mudd

Awesome food and excellent service

Karen Clarke

What a wonderful restaurant - delicious food and excellent service. Staff are very attentive and friendly.

richard tracy

The food was excellent

Rich Rudzinski

the ROKO salad and the Caprese salad were great for starters so was the shrimp scampi. The veal parm with angel hair was awesome. could cut veal with your fork. good marinara. martini's were good as well. will go back most definitely.

Jay Tarrer

This is truly one of the finer restaurants in Wilmington. We enjoyed another great meal last week with four other friends. Everyone loved their dinners. We all plan on going back soon.

Ton Bel

Average bland food..but they play the Italian card good if you're a real Italian you could see the fakeness here

Tiffany Rice

A group of us went here for an Admin. Day lunch today. After the five of us were seated, it took approx. 10 minutes for anyone to bring us menus and another 5 to take our drink order (we had to ask for drinks). Upon ordering food, we asked if we could have some bread before the meal (it is an Italian place after all!). Our server told us that the bread was on the plates with our entrees, so no. OK.... at this point, I had a feeling that this was not going to be a good experience, so I set the stopwatch on my phone to see how long it would take to get our food. 49.7 minutes. In a restaurant that was not busy, at table of 5 people, who didn't ask for anything special. Our drinks were never refilled (I take that back, one person's was refilled, the rest of us got the shaft). I ordered a salad and the lasagna (I had to order a full size salad because "they don't have side salads", and then they forgot my salad. The food was ok. Not great and certainly not worth the wait. My bolognese sauce is WAY better! Of the hot dishes that were ordered (Manicotti, Lasagna, Risotto) only one was hot, the other two were warm, but we were not about to send them back and have to wait another hour....we were starving, had no bread pre meal, and they don't offer appetizers at lunch. My friends Cesar salad was tiny and had only 1/4 of a chicken breast on it, and the Mahi wrap that was also ordered was stale, the mahi was dry and overcooked. Oh, and the bread that was "on the plate with the entree"... it was three very small crostini. When the check was finally brought over to us, for some reason, without asking, the server split up the check and we were paying with a single card. So we had to wait again, while he put the checks back on one tab. When he came back, he explained that it was their first day that they were open for lunch and they didn't have enough servers. There were 3 or 4 servers there and probably only 7 tables. He told us "it must have leaked out that they were going to be open for lunch" and they were overwhelmed. It was on their website, not exactly leaked. I can honestly say, the best part of this lunch was when we drove across the street to Boombalatti's and got ice cream (because after 1 hour and 45 minutes and some of the worst service I've had in a long time, we didn't dare ask for the Roko dessert menu).

Megan Haney

Roku is the best of class, Italian cuisine. The staff is always warm. The dishes cannot be compared. I ordered from another local resturant and was beyond disappointed. Who serves Texas toast thinking it will pass for a good Italian bread? Insulted to say the least. Roku turned a dinner around and I Knew I should have gone there First!! Always will from now. The Best! Thank You!!

Sam Allen

Exceptionally great food and service

Jim Stevens

Food was good but very long wait between appetizers and entrees

Pat Asbell

My husband and I call Roko our favorite place. We celebrate our birthdays, valentines, anniversaries and New Years at Roko .The food is simply amazing. Atmosphere has a hint of intimacy and we are never rushed. Highly recommend this Italian restaurant.

Jeff T

Made a reservation for 8. Took 20 minutes to be seated. Waited at our table for another 40 minutes without any of the wait staff even coming by to take a drink order. By this point there were several empty tables in our vicinty. Had a few bad restaurant experiences in my life but being completely ignored before having a chance to order is a first.

Eric Lee

Wow! Everything I expected from a high end Italian restaurant. Not disappointed in the least.

Eriko Sesto

Absolutely the best food and service! The veal was the best my husband ever had, so tender and full of flavor. My mushroom ravioli was equally good.

James Grogan

Great food but long wait times

Sarah Quinlan

Roko did not disappoint! Great food, atmosphere, and waitstaff. We'll definitely return.

Steven D. Griffin

My wife and I always make dining at Roko one of our first events whenever we come down to the coast. They serve the best Italian food we recall ever having in NC - even better than all the restaurants we tried last year in the Little Italy area of Boston! We're going back tonight for the Chicken Parmesan. Their French onion soup and salads also rank among the best! Great atmosphere, food, and service! The staff are always kind and professional. I highly recommend! but always call ahead for a reservation.

Nicholas Buja

Really nice place. Definitely going to be going back for dinner again. I do have one suggestion and that would be if your going here and don't have reservations, call to make reservations before you go. We got there 10 minutes after they opened on a Friday night and they were fully booked until 9.

Dean Guite

Best sauce ever had. Great atmosphere and friendly staff!

Josh Lee

To give this place anything less than a 5 star would be sinful. Amazing. With a capital A and Z. Deeeelish. Service, food, spot on.

Parks Tarlton

Shannon was great

Kevin Graffius

Excellent food and service.

Deanna Perez

Yesterday was my birthday, so my family and I went to a movie and then dinner. My husband had reservations 30 minutes away, but our kids were hungry so we decided to try Roko. It was a bad decision. We had terrible service. We ordered our oldest son a salad and mussels as his dinner. After all of our food came out, we asked where the mussels were. Our server told us we never ordered them. That was all my son would eat there, so I'm positive we ordered it and he knew it. My husband had a beer and I had a glass of wine. He took the glasses but didn't ask if we wanted another round. When he finally came back and we asked for them, it took so long! We then watched as they were just sitting at the bar. We watched 2 servers stand up there, neither one ours, but apparently they don't run other people's orders. Therefore, I went up myself and got them from the bar after asking the bartender if those were for our table. My husband ordered the special, and he disliked it and hardly ate it. My youngest got pasta, and he wanted parmesan cheese on it. After 10 minutes of waiting after he received his food, we asked the hostess if she could get it. So she did. I ordered eggplant, and the spaghetti noodles underneath were cold. My guess is it had been sitting like our drinks. It was a nightmare. My husband is in the restaurant industry and doesn't ever complain. But after paying they realized we were unhappy and said since we had already paid, they'd like for us to have 10% off our next meal. TEN PERCENT? That didn't even cover the tip of the terrible server. We'll never return and wouldn't recommend others to go there. It was unfortunate because my husband felt bad about his choice for my birthday dinner. It wasn't his fault they didn't get much of anything right during our visit. We had to stop and get my son food on the way home since they only gave him a salad!

Lana Stanley

Great food and service.

David Pearce

Great Italian food, the price is a little high but it matches the quality.

Mike Edmonds

The Shrimp ala Roko and service were both excellent tonight.

Linda Wells

We always love Roca for a special occasion. It was our Anniversary, so we knew we couldn't go wrong. It's restaurant week, so we chose the special veal parmesan, salad and dessert. Very yummy! Reservations recommended.

Stacy Gaddy

Food and service is excellent

Things Icy

Great owner and employees!

Beverly Clark

Delicious and great service! Just be sure to call ahead. Small restaurant that fills up fast during peak times

Michael Hagler

Excellent Italian food with attentive but not intrusive service. Highly recommended

Michelle P.

The food was AMAZING! The soup and the wine was the best thing ever. It was so good. The main course was truly divine. I'm vegan and they were very accommodating. I highly recommend this place.

Jeff Hetzer

This is our favorite spot to celebrate special occasions. The wait staff is always patent, helpful and attentive. Been here countless times and ordered lots of different dishes and the food is consistently excellent. Portion sizes are large. It's hard to get in without a reservation and there's a reason for that. It's our favorite place for finer dining in town.

Patrick Manning

Small, intimate restaurant. Excellent food, especially the Shrimp Scampi. Wait staff a bit inconsistent.

Gene Whipple

Tucked away, Roko offers a great selection surf and turf type foods. Service was fantastic! This will be a weekly place I visit forsure.

Drew Richard

In my top 2 Italian restaurants in Wilmington, and may just barely edge out the OC for my favorite Italian meal I've had here. Nicola's is also up there, but our food was just sooo good here. We will definitely be returning even though it's on the other side of town from us.

Paul Zaidel

Can't remember the place. But the food must have been good!

Linda Rouns

Wonderful food and service at a affordable price

Michele Sundermier

Expensive but awesome food!

Sean Gainer

Here's the long and short of it. Went there tonight with my girl. We didn't have reservations, I asked the hostess if she had anything available. She politely said you can sit at a bistro table at the bar. It was pretty busy there and everywhere else, so we obliged. The service, was crap. We had one bartender serving roughly 10-12 people. If she wasn't as busy it might not have been so bad. The drunk geriatrics at the bar didn't help the atmosphere as they were talking and laughing loud enough the entire restaurant could hear. Food was tasty, wine was decent. I'll try again when they are slow.

H C

The New Zealand mussels in garlic and white wine sauce were delicious, so good that we ordered a second plate. Pleasant atmosphere and the owners were very friendly and attentive.

Kacy Cosentini

Yum, yum yum!!!! We were in town for one evening and our friends wanted to try this restaurant. The food was absolutely delicious everybody's meal was spectacular. The wait staff was a very attentive and friendly.

Carl Hammond

The food and service was excellent on our short vacation visit!

The Beach House at Surf City

Great Italian food. Make a reservation!

Bruce Lang

Did take out. It was very good.

Angela heath

We could not have been happier with the food, atmosphere and accommodations to our large party of 10.

Ben Colenda

Once again my wife and I had an exceptional experience at Roko. The service and food is top notch across the board. A must try for locals and tourist!!

Joel Wexler

My veal marsala was excellent as was the service. We came in without a reservation, and the hostess was very accommodating.

Megan Stewart

The mushroom ravioli is worth every single bite. Make sure to keep bread to sop up the sauce with. Stary with a grilled caesar salad and end with cannoli and you will see why I love eating here every time I come home for a visit!

Marjorie Wallace

Great scallop scampi and rissoto. Wed is $5 house wine day. Excellent red blend. Yummy marscapone cannolli too.

PAPI LOCO

Great Staff n food

Kristina Perales

Had the lobster ravioli and this cake. Absolutely amazing, best cake I've ever eaten.

Michael Erickson

My father has been going here for a few years now. The staff has treated him so wonderfully that I cannot even begin to say how much I am thankful. They know how he works, what he likes, and how picky he can get on the silliest things. Thanks so much guys for keeping his head on straight throughout the past 5 or so years. Although I've only eaten here 4 times in the 4 years I've lived in the area, all of the visits have been memorable. The food is incredible and absolutely a staple for Wilmington. If you are looking for one of the most genuine and great-tasting meals in the area, Roko is the way to go. The Roko salad is one of the greatest salads ever, by the way

Terry OConnell

Outstanding! People, food, atmosphere, wonderful night!

Delphine Fernandez

Fantastic dinner, great service but make a reservation!

Alan Day

Service and food were spectacular! Clint took care of us and is a fantastic server.

Holly Brown

Simply put it's the best place in town! The food is incredible! We always ask for our waiter Jason because he is awesome, just the best! Make sure to make a reservation because they fill up quick! The salmon is always perfect. The roko salad with the strawberries will have you spoiled. I get the clam appetizer just for myself because no easy I'm sharing plus it's only 5-6 so it's great for 1. I don't drink but they definitely have a huge selection of wine. Just beware if you go once you will definitely go again!

Karen v

Everyone raves about this place so I went to celebrate a birthday with some friends. 2 of us got fish which turned out to be a little off. Instead of the owners saying ,"I'm sorry" they were rude, arrogant, and downright abusive.

Becky Buja

Absolutely delicious. Got there around 5:15 on Friday and found out they were booked til 9pm. Thankfully there was a bar table open. We'll definitely go back but this time with a reservation!

Jose Quiles II

Mussels and escargot where amazing. I have had escargot in france and let me tell you wow simply wow roko definitely is top notch a must visit if you enjoy fine food

Oliver Acheson

Our group of 4 adults was quite impressed with the food quality and service at Roko. Certainly this is one of the best Italian restaurants in the Wilminton area in our opinion.

Lynn D Norris

Veal was excellent. Green peas were excellent!! Service was super. Money well spent!

Gary Rumbolo

Always enjoyable, the food is fantastic, quiet atmosphere, very relaxing and the wait staff is friendly. Highly recommend this Restaurant if you want real italian food. Pasta is house made. And the Sauce is mouth watering delicious.

Cutlar Moore

Great food and the staff is incredible as well.

Robert Lewis

A . 1wesome food and service !!!t

Dianne Hey

Perfect meal outside on a beautiful evening

Star Sosa

Just enjoyed a fabulous meal. Reminded me of fine Italian restaurants I used to frequent in San Francisco. Everything was delicious. Sat outside in good weather felt like the big city. I'd go back.

Anne Cerrano

One of the best places in town for Italian food or a nice meal, period. I have heard people complain that the owners are from Croatia. This is completely rediculous because Croatia is right across the Adriatic and is much closer to Italy than probably most of the Italian restaurateurs in this town will have ever been to Italy.

TAREK ABDELAZIZ

This was our first time trying Roko with our friends. The appetizers and the main dishes we ordered were just fabulous. We ordered a variety of dishes including chicken, scallops and pasta and all were incredibly tasty. We will definitely be going there again and I would highly recommend this place for fine authentic Italian cuisine.

Bobby W

Amazing restaurant, atmosphere, service. Delicious Italian cuisine. The first Italian restaurant we've ever visited that didn't have lasagna and spaghetti on the menu, which was surprising. Also only unsweetened tea.

Jay Forbes

The guy serving water was more on top of it over the waitress. Service was slow, food was good. Sat outside so can't speak for the dine in experience.

Gregg Drennan

Wow! The food was a little different from what I was expecting but oh so good...

Tom Witchey

Very good food and great service. Grouper special was delicious. Would definitely keep this in the rotation.

Clark Wheeler

Very nice experience. Good, solid Italian dining.

Tom Royce

Get a reservation. Always busy for a good reason. The food is amazing and the service is professional.

Amanda Hansen

Excellent service. Warm friendly atmosphere. Great ambiance and wonderful food. Best date night in a long time!

Sheri Drake

italian food and the feeling at this location is super good. Entered near ten, it was not crowded. This place has a nice feel to it.

Grout Guys, LLC

Excellent!!! The atmosphere was quiet, romantic and you can take your time without feeling rushed. Jason is amazing as a server and the food is by far the best in the area. A must visit restaurant in Wilmington.

Harriett Hunt

The flounder was delicious and service very good Would recommend.

Lyle Reiss

Great food, reasonable priced wines. Fantastic service.

eddie_ baby_68

Food was amazing, time waiting for food after ordering somewhat less so.

Jaybee Baez

The owner is super rude..my husband and i went for valentines day where he specifically asked we reserve a booth 3 weeks in advance. We arrived and she had reserved signs and told him the reservation did not specify when he knows thts wht he requested. All the while we sat there with literally 4 empty booths around us the entire time and finished our meal and still no one ever got seated at any of the empty booths. We felt like we were being treated some type of way. Def being profiled... so we will never return even though the food was good sadly several of the nicer resturant in this town treat people of color this way.... the owner is loud and rude when queationed abt getting the booth so we decided it was best to eat and leave since i was prego starving.

sean alston sr

Ate at the bar, and it was great! That will always be first choice. Drinks were perfect

Ethan Pierson

You get what you pay for, amazing authentic Italian food. best in town!

Joe Sorbello

Absolutely the best Italian cuisine you can find around Wilmington. Rivals NY Italian restaurants.

Michelle Howe

Everything is delicious! This place is always packed so make sure you make a reservation.

Tracy Dougherty

We had an excellent dining experience. The waiter was attentive and knowledgeable. The food was delicious. Definitely will return. Only negative was there was 6 of us squished into a booth (with reservations).

Karen Bird Walshe

Not consistant. Service varies by servers

Carol and Mac Todd

Very good food and even nicer people. We were visiting family when we had dinner at Romo. The restaurant staff and owner made us feel like we were part of their family as well. A very nice dining experience.

Emily Forgey

Fine dining at a great value. The food is amazing, with so much to choose from, and the service is exceptional. The owners are there nearly every night, they are very friendly, and they add a nice personal touch to the environment. Probably the best restaurant in Wilmington, NC.

Bill O'Bryan

This place never ceases to impress. We shared the mussels. I had a martini, a Caesar salad and the veal marsala with a side of linguine aglio e olio and a glass of the house Merlot.

Sharon Calla

Great great

Judy Gossage

Lunch was a total disappointment. What is on the menu is not necessarily what you get.

Jackie Knutson

Great food, great service. Can't wait to come back!

Seth Roberts

The food at Roko is absolutely amazballs!!! My family and I loved every bit of it. I had the filet, it was perfectly cooked and the flavor of everything was amazing. Also, the service was good, the waitress was attentive and polite. I really have no complaints. I can't wait to go again! You should definitely try this place. It's a little pricey but not ridiculous.

John Goldner

All our meals were terrible. FISH was mucky. Chicken overcooked. Reservation was for 7 got seated at 7.45.

Darci Upham

Chicken Florentine was excellent.

Jon H

What a wonderful dining experience, we made reservations and asked for an out of the way table for two, not at all disappointed with the small two top we were given. Food was to die for, apps were tasty and there was a proper amount of time between delivery of appetizers and the main course which was very nice. Waitress was perfect, attentive without being in the way, the hostess stopped by to check but again was not obstructive. All in all my wife and I enjoyed a nice, relaxed and extended dinner. If I had any recommendation it would be to find a stand alone building with a little more room, but then again that might detract from the quality of the food.

Ricky dworsky

Loved it... Great gluten free options

Joel Aiken

Update on Sept 1, 2018 Roko still worthy of all the praise it received. It is definitely living up to its lofty reputation. My wife and I dined on two different grouper entrees which were delicious and prepared to perfection. I had a seafood bisque which was a flavorful as any I’ve ever had. We also share dessert, a Teramisu... magnificent! We went without reservations at 5pm and they were booked til 9 pm. We were ables to dine in the bar area at one of the small tables for two. It was actually very pleasant and we may request that small table again. There are two such tables, be sure to ask fir the one in the corner. It’s further from the doorway and as private as any if their larger booths and tables. I’m adding a fee pictures —-//————- Best restaurant in Wilmington. We always go for special occasions. Fabulous lineup of great menu choices. I always start with the superb French Onion Soup, best in town and inly $5. Excellent in every respect, small and intimate dining experience. Be sure to reserve a table in advance or risk a long wait.