Roko Italian Cuisine

One of my favorite spots to dine in 28 405. This is a must if you like great food. Service is efficient but not overly friendly. Hostess is warm and real.
This is a spot to add to your weekly list. Good wine list as well. Prices seem good for what you get.

Can’t tell you how the food is, but can say they don’t honor a reservation. We called two weeks ago for a table of four at 6pm. Roko confirmed and then reconfirmed several day ago. We drove all the way from St. James to be told «they didn’t have us in the books.»
Would we like a table at 5:30? (they needed back by 6:30) was their only response.
Are you kidding me? You double confirm a reservation and offer us a table for an hour! Who would accept this?
If you go to this place make sure you get the confirmation via email or our suggestion just don’t go.

I came here with my parents one night for dinner, and was pretty impressed with the quality of the food. First things first, make a reservation! Roko is super small so it can be hard to snag a table if you walk in (we made a Monday night reservation and still wound up waiting for over half an hour for a table, which the restaurant compensated for by giving us a 10% off coupon).
We ordered the clams to start, which were just okay. I thought the breading overtook the flavor of the clams. We also had the grilled Caesar salad, which was absolutely delicious. The Romaine lettuce with a smoky char is amazing, if you’re a Caesar salad fan, you’ll love this dish!
I tried the Scallops Scampi for my entrée, and it was excellent! The Scampi sauce is perfectly balanced with a touch of lemon for acidity, and the scallops were cooked perfectly and super tender. The risotto was rich and I was so full at the end of my meal. My mom really enjoyed her salmon dish as well, and my dad said the sauce for the wild mushroom ravioli was really great.
My mom also tried their Tiramisu for dessert, which definitely didn’t impress as much. It was a little dense for my liking, so I’d suggest you try something else! Overall, solid Italian spot in Wilmington for sure.

Amazing food. Not a ton of seating capacity so call ahead. Servers are knowledgable and accommodating. Get the the flounders Ana, never disappoints. Good wine list too.

Finally found a great Italian restaurant in Wilmington! The atmosphere was very comfortable and service was excellent. The food was AMAZING!!! The hardest part of the evening was trying to decide what to order — so MANY good options. Started off with a cappuccino and stuffed artichoke hearts — superb! I order Chicken Marsalla as my main course, my husband had the Sorentino — not certain what I liked better, but again, superb. Dessert was heavenly. They also had a nice selection of wines and a full bar with some very enticing dessert aperitifs. I am looking forward to going back and trying the Frutti di Mare and escargot, among many other enticing options. Hands down the best dining I have had since moving to Wilmington 2 years ago. I absolutely recommend this place!

I had chicken piccata, which was great! My husbands meal was fantastic also. The chef was amazing the waiter was not impressive. We felt like we were almost bothering him being there!

Absolutely amazing the escargot, shrimp scampi, Caesar salad and del Monaco steak so good. Great wine selection and service. Highly recommend.

Great Italian entrees and beautiful atmosphere! Also the entire staff is very kind and professional so you always feel very welcome! The food seems better and better upon each visit! Great date spot!

The food was just ok… very small portions. The wait was very long, approximately an hour until we were served. When we commented to the owner that the wait was very long, she became very defensive and didn’t apologize for the back-​up in the kitchen. Would not come back.

Fantastic food, everything made fresh. Excellent service and great value for your money. Classy restaurant overall.

Staying at the Hilton Garden Inn for business and while walking to Panera spotted Roko! Hostess told me she was seating people from the bar so there would be a spot. Nancy the bartender suggested a wine and the Flounder was fresh, cooked nicely with lemon sauce. Crisp tender vegetables. A very nice dinner and I was made comfortable to dine alone.

my fish was overcooked but i could tell it was a quality piece of grouper.
the eggplant parmagiana was too hard. ones ive liked in the past our cut real thin.
the wine, ambiance and service was impeccable.
id try somehting else next time.
shrimp scampi app was fantastic

Met friends for dinner. All of us enjoyed this very traditional/​classics Italian cuisine. Spanish salad very nice presentation and delish. I had eggplant parmesan — met expectations. Another had the grouper «catch of the day» and enjoyed. Not a lot if atmosphere. Easy parking.

We always enjoy our dinner at roko.
We had the grouper special and some pastas. Everything is great and you can tell its prepared with heart! Salads are also good.
$ 10 corking fee for wines not on the menu. That is a great deal.
The owner walks around and greets you during dinner. You don’t see that very often.

Nice !
Had a very enjoyable dinner at Roko yesterday. Don’t be put off by its location in a strip mall. Our greeting by the owner was warm and welcoming. The waiter was great, and the food terrific.
I enjoyed the veal sorentino and spinach salad. The desserts sounded great but I did not have room in my belly.
Love the white table cloths and napkins. If I lived closer, I would eat at Roko every few weeks. When I lived on Long Island we had a place like this in Fort Salonga that we just loved, and ate at regularly. I wish Roko would open a second restaurant in Shallotte.

What a nice surprise! Roko, tucked away in a strip mall, is small but inviting. Arriving on a Friday evening without a reservation was a mistake, as the dining room was full, but they were able to accommodate our party of three in a corner of the bar.
The very friendly and competent bartender was our server. After delivering a couple excellent martinis, we reviewed the menus. Nothing earth-​shattering, but a nice range of classic Italian offerings. We started with the calamari, which was fine, but nothing exceptional. For mains, I ordered the veal florentine, my daughter got gnocchi in red sauce, and my wife ordered pasta with grilled chicken. While I did not try either of their dishes, the feedback was positive. As for my veal florentine, it was fantastic. The veal was perfectly cooked, and the sauce was outstanding. I finished with a slice of homemade cheesecake, which I really didn’t need after the generous portion of veal, but it was tasty.
Overall, Roko was a solid hit. I would definitely return the next time we are in the Wilmington area.

This family owned restaurant is exceptional! It’s like we went back to Italy! We had the shrimp scampi app, which was awesome, we split the grilled ceasar salad which was awesome and it’s just a salad, except it’s much more, then for our entrée we had the homemade bolognese with homemade tagliatelle pasta which I will get more of next time since I got the half portion and my husband got the grouper special with a wine mushroom sauce and it was so thick and buttery! All of this with 2 bottles of wine and the tirimisu to go and let me tell you… that homemade dessert is almost exactly like the Aman grande canals tirimisu in Venezia italy!!! The menu is very easy to understand and you really want to make a reservation. We got there when they opened at 4 and they were booked til 8:30 so we just sat at the bar and had a GRAND time! Going back tonight…

This was one of those evenings that I won’t soon forget. This place knows what they are doing big time. Service was impeccable. Timing of courses was perfect.
We had the stuffed artichoke hearts and clams oreganato as appetizers. Both were amazing. The roasted garlic with the olive oil was such a great idea.
Husband had veal parm and said it was the best he ever had (many many times). I had the scallops with the incredible scampi sauce. Crème brûlée for dessert was excellent.
Highly highly recommended.

One of the few place that impress me by the cooking. This is not your regular italian restaurant where all tomato sauce looks the same, lasagna taste industrial or stuff like that.
Being from Europe, I finally find some taste that feels like home. Pasta are homemade, sauce are cooked a long time, you can feel the difference easily.
One of my «must go» place when I go to
wilmington, I also went for the NYE, the food was fantastic.
Give it a try !

Dinner review:
Locally owned, great beer and wine selection, and home made pastas-​what more could you ask for in an Italian restaurant?
Pros:
–fast and friendly staff that keep the bread basket and libations plentiful
–fresh pastas and ravioli’s that just pop in a way that only fresh made pasta can
–surprisingly cozy and warm décor for a strip mall
Cons:
Very small dining room — We’ve come twice to dine, both without reservations, and been seated at the bar because the dining room is packed. So make a reservation ahead of time!
The food:
–balsamic reduction with olive oil dipping sauce — holy food gods — we had to try and copy this ourselves at home
–tagliatelle with bolognese sauce — the sauce is very meaty and the pasta, well, just delicious
–escargot — comes out sizzling hot, with a great butter/​garlic sauce
–mushroom ravioli — if you love mushrooms– this is your dish! He makes these babies fresh too
–gnocchi — home made, delightful
Overall, Roko is our go to place in town for Italian food.