Amalia's Authentic Italian Restaurant

Gaetano at Amalia’s restaurant was sensational; he provided an extraordinary dining experience, combining authentic Italian cuisine with outstanding hospitality that makes every meal special.
Gaetano’s professionalism, and deep menu knowledge guided us through dish selections, offering thoughtful wine pairings. The personal attention and enthusiasm elevate the experience that we had.
Gaetano’s recommendations for a Sardinian wine was truly outstanding with our dinners lead to stand-out dishes like veal and pork and a yummy lamb and pasta.
Gaetano is a reason that we are returning with close family and friends; He is genuinely passionate for what he does.🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟+

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Excellent service
Food was exceptional

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

It appears the service may have diminished since the last visit. It's a pricey restaurant to start with but I don't believe the quantity served equates to the price of the restaurant

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 3

Amalia's has the best atmosphere and food of any restaurant in the Wake Forest area. The new pasta dishes are outstanding. We personally interacted with Chef Jason and found him to be warm and very driven to provide outstanding service.

We completely enjoyed dining at Amalia's, the food is top notch as is the excellent wine list. Staff is friendly and accommodating as is the kitchen. Brava!!

Our server was wonderful and made the experience even better. The drinks were spot on, and every dish was delicious. The octopus, in particular, was probably the best I’ve ever had!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Went here last night for my birthday & it was absolutely AMAZING!!! The food is delicious, the atmosphere was intimate I was blown away with the service. So sweet and informative.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

First impressions.... not so authentic Italian. After being seated for an 8pm reservation at 8:30, we were finally seated only to sit there for another 30+ minutes waiting for something good to eat. They brought us bread with nothing. No oil, no parmesan or chili flakes to dip what should have been crispy bread.
I had a shrimp app which was ok. 24 dollars for 6 jumbo shrimp. And my wife ordered some goat cheese app on the bread they should have served us from the beginning. A little burnt on the edges too. It was like biting into a brick.
I only tried one thing since it was my first time. The branzino. Anyone who had ever eaten this knows is a whole fish with the head. Authentic!!! Nope. I got a poached piece of fish with 5 sautéed mushrooms on top and a so called garlic broth that tasted like garlic dish water. And to top it all off, I found 3 spine bones in a 54 dollar piece of a portioned fish with no head. There shouldn't be any bones in that at all. Just saying.
My wife had some ravioli which weren't terrible, but didn't knock my socks off for the 35 dollar price of 5 ravioli.
Also on her birthday, no cake, no pie, no dessert whatsoever for my wife's birthday.
They brought us 2 glasses of gas station champagne. It was nasty. 228 dollars was the bill.
Service was pretty good, we had a very nice waitress. And we tipped her well. The so called Italian authenticity was something to be desired.
I am from an Italian town in South Jersey. I have Italian cousins. I've eaten at some of the most authentic Italian restaurants in Philly and Manhattan. I sure would spend that money there, but this place..... let's just say, I don't feel like I need to try anything else. Wasn't great at all. Beware, overpriced, and mediocre at best.
Just one guys opinion.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 4

A special occasion restaurant did not disappoint. Fine food, wine and service set in a quaint, quiet atmosphere.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Veal Chop

This was our 2nd time dining at Amalia’s. Our first experience was remarkable and we wanted to share that with our friends who appreciate fine dining so we met them there last night. It started out wonderful and then took a turn. Our server, an older gentleman who had a lot of knowledge on everything, was very helpful in the beginning and then we felt as if we were forgotten. We enjoy taking our time, but we were sat at 6:30 and our dinner did not come out until 9:00. By that time all we wanted to do was get home. We had to ask for drink refills which should not have been the case. Our server was paying a lot of attention to the table behind us which was just a table of two. He couldn’t remember who had what dish and was often reaching over one of us to get something to another person. One of our guests was drinking club soda with a splash of cranberry juice. She had two of these and they were served in a small rocks glass. She was charged $9.00 for each of them! When she questioned that, our server just said if that’s what the bartender charged then that’s what they cost. That was absurd in all of our minds but by this time we just wanted to get home. The food was wonderful, however the service or lack there of was disappointing. When we are paying close to $300 a couple, the service should be outstanding to go along with the food. Unfortunately, our guests who frequent fine dining restaurants said they would never be back and we probably won’t be either. We always told people how fabulous our first experience was and were really looking forward to going back. Instead, we left frustrated and disappointed.

*After sending our review the owner did reach out to us to apologize and he is making things right.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 2

An amazing night of culinary delights that brought us back from Tuscany where visited recently.
First time dining at Amalias and we were astonished at the food, cocktails and wine.
Our server Gaetano was spectacular with the suggestions all the way to wines.
Every dish was more amazing and his service was TOP NOTCH!!!.
An experience that cannot be found easily.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Food was prepared perfectly. Loved the warm welcome we received when walking in. The rooms were quiet and quaint. Our server, Shannon, was so professional and engaging. Service was 5 star +.

We had high hopes for Amalia's but left disappointed. In the end it was a $40-50/person meal that cost us over $100/person.

The food was well prepared, but the service was confounding. We had an incredibly elaborate description of everything on the menu from our server, detailing the quality of the ingredients, their provenance, and the great care they took in sourcing them. But the same server consistently could not remember who ordered what, drinks arrived out of sync, and one of the entrees was entirely wrong. Our meal took nearly three hours.

And the bar... One other diner and I ordered the Old Fashioned that was on special based the server's recommendation. All of the cocktails on the menu are $14-18 (not unusual). The drink was no better than average. When we got the bill I realized why the server recommended it - they were $30 each (more than the price of an entire bottle of the Buffalo Trace they were made with).

Finally, you should never be surprised when you receive the bill at a restaurant. If there are specials and they are priced at 2x the other items on the menu, the restaurant should disclose the price - when they don't, the appearance is that they are deliberately gouging, which is exactly what happened here. There is no other rational way of arriving at that price for that drink.

In the end, this is the kind of experience that leads me to dine at home.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 2

This was our 2nd time dining at Amalia's. Our first experience was remarkable and we wanted to share that with our friends who appreciate fine dining so we met them there last night. It started out wonderful and then took a turn. Our server, an older gentleman who had a lot of knowledge on everything, was very helpful in the beginning and then we felt as if we were forgotten. We enjoy taking our time, but we were sat at 6:30 and our dinner did not come out until 9:00. By that time all we wanted to do was get home. We had to ask for drink refills which should not have been the case. Our server was paying a lot of attention to the table behind us which was just a table of two. He couldn't remember who had what dish and was often reaching over one of us to get something to another person. One of our guests was drinking club soda with a splash of cranberry juice. She had two of these and they were served in a small rocks glass. She was charged $9.00 for each of them! When she questioned that, our server just said if that's what the bartender charged then that's what they cost. That was absurd in all of our minds but by this time we just wanted to get home. The food was wonderful, however the service or lack there of was disappointing. When we are paying close to $300 a couple, the service should be outstanding to go along with the food. Unfortunately, our guests who frequent fine dining restaurants said they would never be back and we probably won't be either. We always told people how fabulous our first experience was and were really looking forward to going back. Instead, we left frustrated and disappointed.

This experience exceeded my expectations and I’m so glad that we have this fine establishment in our hometown Wake Forest. The quality sourcing of ingredients brings tremendous flavors. The service was impeccable. This place is special!