I can't find the words to begin to describe my dining experience at this Italian restaurant. It is…read moreone of those very unique restaurants that far exceeds the highest of your expectations. After having been selected as number 4 of Yelp's Top 50 most prolific Elites of 2025, a year when I was also awarded the Yelp Triad Squad Photographer of the Year Award at their Yelpies 2025 Award Ceremony, an event that honored the highest-performing Yelp Elites, and where last year I was awarded the Yelp Triad Squad Yelper of the Year Award, I decided that this year, as an All-Star Yelp Elite, I not only wanted to be the first to discover new restaurants and businesses, and bring them to the attention of the public, but also to uncover those found in hidden paths that for one reason or another have not reached the public in its totality. And Sal's Italian Restaurant in the Bonsack area of Roanoke, Virginia is a perfect example. Located at the Kroger Bonsack Shopping Center, it sits just off US-460/Orange Ave East, in the northeastern part of the Roanoke Valley. Locally-owned and operated by the Scotto family, who originally came from Italy, this unasuming yet award-winning restaurant serves authentic, homemade Italian food in a warm, family-friendly entertainment, offering dine-in, dine-out (in its beautiful outdoor patio), take-out, and catering services. After arriving and parking my pearl white Lexus in their very convenient parking lot, I walked over to the restaurant which had colorful balloons near the entrance with a sidewalk blackboard announcing its Sit Down Buffet (Mon - Fri), all you can eat from a group of items, brought to your table. All for $14.99. I've always dreamed of having a buffet where you wouldn't have to get up, and here they had it. Once inside, they had a small foyer/waiting room, with the walls filled with framed Award Certificates, together with magazine and newspaper articles about the restaurant, its genuine food, and its local family ownership. As I entered through another door to the restaurant itself, one of the sons of the founder of the restaurant (who passed away on July 3rd, nine years ago) gave me a warm greeting, took me to one of the booths, and placed copies of the menu on the table. The background music gave the place a festive ambiance together with the oak hardwood floor and well lit dining room. Soon after, my server Ashley arrived with a friendly smile, to take my order. To drink I ordered an Iced Rootbeer. And to dine, I started out with a Fried Calamari appetizer; followed by a house salad, Italian garlic bread, and as the main entrée their Homemade Meat Lasagna. The fried Calamari was lightly breaded and fried so you could actually taste the fresh Calamari after dipping it in the mild marinara sauce. One of the best I've ever had! The house salad was good but only had one cherry tomato and one slice of cucumber. The tomato based salad dressing was amazing. Their Italian Garlic Bread tasted wonderful. And their Homemade Lasagna was truly one of the best if not the best I've ever had. The pasta was freshly made. The ground beef was perfectly seasoned. The tomato sauce was just the right flavor. And the cheese which covered it helped make it amazingly delicious, like none that I ever had before! My server served all the items at the appropriate time and provided drink refills every time my drink was low. For dessert, the "Grand Finale" of my meal, my server brought a large round tray, with all the desserts so I could visually see them as she described them. I picked the Chocolate Bomba: a vanilla and chocolate premium ice cream ball with a cherry inside and surrounded by a chocolate shell. It was really something extraordinary and sweet. But what was greatest of all was the human touch by this family-owned restaurant. The wife of the late founder of the restaurant as well as her other son and chef made it a point to come to my table to say hi, introduce themselves, and have a short but meaningful conversation. I highly recommend this restaurant where I had an extraordinary dining experience and am already looking forward to returning to taste some other amazing items from their menu.

DW and I went in for dinner on a Friday night around 1830. After waiting for a table for half an…read morehour or so we were seated. Clearly they were busy, think it's a popular local dinner spot. We ordered from a comprehensive menu organized by its protein inclusion. Meal was fine, garlic knots were a bit disappointing. Our plan is to go back on a calmer night.

Want to know why the pizza is so good at Mama Maria's? Because the owner/chef is from South Jersey!…read moreAnd Jersey knows it's pizza! Mama Maria's is the pinnacle of Italian food in Roanoke County. The pizza is great. The bakery is great. The service is great. Anytime I find myself driving down I-81. I always stop at Mama Maria's. And you should too.

Dinner one night while we were in town. We were greeted walking in and seated within the same…read moreinteraction. An old school eatery, pretty basic on the inside, nothing fancy just good food and kind service. We started with the Burschetta Napoletana appetizer. It was a traditional style serving. With a slice of toasted bread, fresh diced tomato, onion and chopped basil, with a little evoo drizzle. Very simple and good. Refreshing and tasty a good start. They had Oysters Rockerfeller on the special menu the night of our visit, so we had to give them a try. They were again very traditional, well made and flavorful. For my entree I went for the Salmon Portofino. A beautiful portion, vibrant and full of flavor. A large bowl, with a nice piece of salmon cooked in a wonderful broth. Line caught fish, pan seared and cooked with cherry tomatoes, capers and artichoke hearts. It was a very good meal. 3.5 Stars rounded up for the kind staff. 01266

Really good pizza spot I highly recommended such a perfect pizza me and my girlfriend both enjoyed…read morethe pie also shout out the man running the front excellent customer service he even gave me a tea on him. 10/10 recommend.

Villa Pizzeria is an authentic family-owned Pizzeria, Italian, and Mediterranean restaurant,…read moreproviding fresh Pizzas, Calzones, Subs, Strombolis, Garlic Knots, Pastas, and other Italian and Mediterranean dishes such as Bruschetta, Cannoli, Tiramisu, and Baklava, just to name a few. This restaurant serves the Blue Ridge, Bedford, and Roanoke communities, as well as the Route 460 trafic customers passing through. The owner and chef Sherif opened this restaurant on April 4th, 2019. When I walked into the Restaurant, I found the place to be very similar to the Italian restaurants I dined in with my parents when I visited Rome as a young man. The decor was very eclectic and with a very warm and cozy ambiance. It had two large screen TVs. One in the dining area and the other at the bar sitting area. There was no one around for a few minutes. But all of a sudden, the restaurant's owner/chef Sherif, came walking out of the kitchen and gave me a friendly greeting and a warm welcome. It was very genuine and he made it a point to know, memorize, and always address me by my name. I ordered a Dr Pepper to drink and after having some time to look over the menu I ordered a Works Supreme Pizza and asked if he could make it a 12" small size. This pizza contained Pepperoni, Sausage, Beef, Mushrooms, Onions, Green Peppers, and Roasted Red Peppers. The owner was truly wonderful - very polite, welcoming, and attentive. I very much appreciated the great customer service and the positive atmosphere he created. While the service was excellent, the food did not quite meet my expectations. I believe there is room for improvement in the flavor and overall preparation. The thin crust pizza was over cooked, making the outer crust hard and burning some of the meat ingredients, thus retracting from their flavor. However, I did enjoy the magnificent flavor of the roasted red peppers in the pizza. And the Tiramisu that I had for dessert, made in-house, with fresh strawberries on top was amazingly delicious. I hope this feedback is helpful, as the owner's hospitality was outstanding and I would love to see the food quality match his level of service. I'm sharing this respectfully, as the owner's hospitality was excellent and deserves to be recognized. Also, the owner's friendliness and attentiveness enhanced my dining experience significantly.

A new restaurant has risen from the ashes of another. After a period of closure and renewal, the…read morespirit of Aly Baba Restaurant is reborn as Zico's, like a Phoenix rising from the ashes to offer an elevated dining experience. After being awarded the Triad Yelper of the Year 2024 Award at the Yelpies Award Ceremony last year, an event that honored the highest-performing Yelp Elites, I decided that this year, as an All-Star Yelp Elite, I not only wanted to be the first to discover new restaurants and bring them to the attention of the public, but also to uncover those found in hidden paths that for one reason or another have not reached the public in its totality. And Zico's Restaurant in Salem, Virginia, is the perfect example. Zico's is conveniently located in the corner of 4th Street and Roanoke Blvd in Salem, Virginia. Immediately after hearing of the change, and attracted by its new name and logo, I drove to this location to experience first hand Zico's cuisine. The restaurant has a nice size parking lot right in front of it. Its owner and chef, Zico is a native Egyptian, with a warm and friendly personality, who specializes in authentic Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, and Italian cuisines, as well as Pizzas. As I entered its door he was the first one to give me a warm greeting and welcome me to his restaurant. It had one red brick wall, imitation hardwood floors, simple ceiling lamps, and a very interesting movable large TV screen with a beautiful outdoor Cafe scene. The background music perfectly complements the relaxing and cozy environment. In the main dining room it has very elegant and comfortable booths all around, and in a separate banquet room it has tables and chairs all lined up. The menu has an excellent variety of items representing the different cuisines. I ordered a Beef Shawarma Platter that came with a salad and Pita Bread with a special in house salad dressing and cream for the Pita Bread. The salad was so fresh and moist that it was a pleasure eating it. The Beef Shawarma was cooked with a special sauce made with cooked onions, green and red peppers, and some seasons that gave it an amazing flavor, one only equivalent to high-end restaurants with sofisticated and award winning chefs. The rice was also a good quality rice with wonderful flavor. I enjoyed the food so much that till the last grain of rice and savored evey minute of it. For dessert I ordered their only in-house made dessert, the Tiramisu. It was amazingly delicious. Like no other that I ever had. What an extraordinary dining experience. I have dined in the best restaurants and yet this restaurant's cuisine is exceptionally outstanding to the point of exceeding even the highest expectations. I highly recommend it and am looking forward to returning to try it's Italian and Greek cuisines.

You HAVE to try Zico (or Aly Baba, as I knew it!). The food…read moreis consistently top-notch. I highly recommend the kofta, which is perfectly seasoned and cooked, the incredibly flavorful shawarma, and the magnificent mussakaa--it's rich, comforting, and authentic. Beyond the delicious food, the standout feature is the service. The owner is the friendliest you will ever meet, always taking the time to make you feel welcome. It's that kind of genuinely warm, inviting atmosphere that keeps me coming back again and again. Whether you're a long-time fan of Aly Baba or discovering Zico for the first time, you won't be disappointed! This is a must-visit spot.

Really good pizza spot. Staff is very nice. Pizza slice is huge and good price. Very good flavor…read more Dough and crust was the best part. The ambience is pretty cool as well with old pizza shop vibes.

Stopped in for a slice yesterday with my nephew while visiting the area. Definitely large slices…read moreand the dough was perfect. The sauce was good and the cheese ratio was lacking a bit for my taste. Great service & had a cream soda for the first time in 10+ years. The long table in the middle was dirty, so we decided to take out food to go when it was done.

The first time I saw a copy of the colorful brochure with solid black background of Porta Bella…read morePizza, I was curious to find out more about this Italian and American cuisine restaurant with a Mediterranean flair. Located in an old house at 1132 Salem Ave SW, Roanoke, Virginia. It's front is creatively painted with the colors of the Italian flag, in such a way that it can't help but to stand out in the middle of this eclectic neighborhood. This laid back restaurant is the creation of some Egyptian entrepreneurs who decided to put together a menu that included pizzas, calzones, stromboli, pastas, salads, burgers, sandwiches, and added some Mediterranean items such as Gyro and Falafel Platters, and Baklava for dessert, among others. And something that I discovered while at the restaurant was that all the meats used there are 100% Certified Halal Premium Quality. In other words, this means no pork products are used. The inside of restaurant was nothing fancy, but natural polished hardwood floors and original ceiling, gave character to the place, that even being old was very clean and organized. When I arrived I was greeted with a warm and friendly welcome by what I think was one of the owners of the restaurant. I ordered a Dr Pepper to drink and a small Super Supreme Pizza to eat. The pizza tasted delicious, especially with the cheese that was used to prepare it. Another customer eating there at the moment was eating and Cheese Calzone, and he allowed me to photograph it for me to include in this review. I recommend this restaurant, especially for those who don't eat pork or pork products, because the taste was so good you couldn't tell that the ingredients were of this nature. They are also available for catering special meetings or gatherings at very reasonable prices.

The absolute best calzone I have had in a long time. Made fresh to order & a small is only $10,…read morelarge enough for 2 people. Came out in 15-20 mins

I stopped by last night to pickup some takeout while in the area for work. I enjoyed a beer while…read morewaiting. Everyone was super nice and the chicken Parmesan sandwich was excellent. I got a mini which was the perfect size. Definitely recommend stopping here.

Friday evening after hiking in Clifton Forge, I walked into Cucci's. I ordered a chicken cheese…read moresteaksteak. Red sauce on the side, with chips and a pickle. The chicken cheesesteak was large! There was a ton of chicken in the roll. I used a lot of napkins! At first I asked for French fries and they didn't have any, so I asked for onion rings. She said we dont serve French fries or onion rings here. So I went with the chips and pickle. I haven't eaten potato chips in Years due to personal reasons but I ate what was on my plate. The dish was really good. I did need to salt and pepper the sandwich and I did the same to the red sauce and sprinkled a lot of Parmesan on it. It tasted a little acidic and needed some seasonings. I dipped my chicken cheese steak in the red sauce and I enjoyed it. I was happy with the service and the food. (They also have a salad bar! I didn't know until after I already ordered) darn!

We had a wonderful night with a party of 6 after a dance recital. We were seated and greeted…read morequickly! Our server Terry was on the money! Never had to ask for refills, food tasted fresh and hot, she kept our table clean, and was such a sweet person! Restaurant was clean, good taste in music and ambience. We hope to visit again highly recommend. Food wise: scallops delicious, pizza awesome and salads super fresh and I believe all in house dressings.

Lunch, dinner, drinks, takeout, it's all fabulous. Wine selection is great. My favorite menu items…read moreare the charcuterie board, spin artichoke dip, and goat cheese & sun-dried tomato pizza. Truth be told, I've never had a bad meal here.