Gennaro's Ristorante Italiano

Scratch pastas and wood-fired pizza now fill the old RR 12 Supper Club space, live oak and all

Wimberley has had a few lives at 13900 Ranch Road 12 — Hildee's, then the glitzy RR 12 Supper Club, and now Gennaro's Ristorante Italiano, an Italian scratch kitchen from the family behind Gennaro's Trattoria and Elio's Pizzeria in Canyon Lake. It opened this summer and has quickly become the kind of place neighbors are already bringing out-of-towners to show off.

The story. Owner Gennaro DiMeo has been in restaurants for decades, with two Houston-area spots plus his Canyon Lake pair; his Wimberley expansion came after partner Dino Taccogna kept pushing the idea following a visit to town. Gennaro's Ristorante Italiano, an Italian restaurant serving classic dishes and items from south Italy, opened its doors in Wimberley on June 24. It's owned and operated by the DiMeo and Taccogna families, offering diners made-from-scratch cuisine, including classic Italian dishes. The families bought the building and reworked it rather than starting from scratch — a kitchen addition was built to accommodate a double La Bestia pizza oven, painted a specialty Ferrari Red, which took six months to arrive. The restaurant spent weeks training kitchen and wait staff before opening, with an executive chef who's been with Gennaro for 28 years and a combined 45 years of kitchen experience among the chefs, according to co-owner Dino Taccogna.

The vibe. The building's bones are doing a lot of the work here. Building and renovation plans worked around the trunk and limbs of the heritage 400-year-old live oak that anchors the dining room, and outside, the stone patio was expanded for easier walking, the fountain was restored, and the existing firepit was kept. Expect a mix of date-night quiet and family-table noise — reviewers have singled out the service as much as the food, with one recent diner calling out a server named Isaac as "fantastic- very personable, knowledgeable and attentive," on a visit where "the food was delicious."

What to order. The dinner menu leans into both comfort and splurge. Start with the Burrata Caprese (fresh tomato, mozzarella, homemade pesto and basil) or the Calamari Fritti with marinara. For pasta, the Lasagna Della Nona layers traditional noodles, beef and four cheeses, while the Lobster Ravioli comes tossed in a light lemon cream sauce — a dish Yelp reviewers have already zeroed in on, paired with a side of garlic knots and sourdough that one diner called out for how the "chicken parmigiana was set apart from anywhere else." If you want to go bigger, the Bistecca Fiorentina (14 oz) or Veal Osso Buco anchor the steakhouse side of the menu, and there's a full wood-fired pizza list — Margherita di Bufala, Piccante, Toscana — plus a kids' menu for the family crowd.

Good to know. The restaurant is closed Mondays. Per the Wimberley Valley visitor directory, hours run Tuesday 4–9pm, Wednesday and Thursday 11am–9pm, Friday and Saturday 11am–9pm, and Sunday 11am–9pm — worth double-checking directly before a special trip, since Friday/Saturday close times have varied slightly across listings. Takeout and online ordering are available through Toast. The space sits right where Old Kyle Road meets RR 12 in Wimberley Square, so parking can get tight on weekends.