I was in town for an appointment with the VA and decided to look for a pizza place close by…read more According to Yelpers, Papa's is some of the best pizza around. And once again the crowd didn't let me down. I swung in, ordered a meat lovers medium (leftover pizza is fantastic) and it was sooooo good when they brought it out. The toppings and cheese were the perfect combination. The crust was crisp without being burnt and very tasty. Overall, one of the best pizzas I have had in a long time.

Tucked away in an unassuming strip mall on Electric Road in Salem, Virginia, Papa's Pizza is truly…read morea diamond of an Italian restaurant and one of the best kept secrets of the City of Salem. After having been selected as number 4 of the Top 50 most prolific Elites of 2025, a year when I also was awarded the Yelp Triad Squad Photographer of the Year Award at the 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 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 Papa's Pizza in Salem, Virginia is the perfect example. This family-owned and operated Italian Restaurant, located in Ridgewood Farms Shopping Center is one of those rare gems of the City of Salem, Virginia. For some time now, on my way from Roanoke to Salem, Virginia on Electric Road, I would ride by this "Pizzeria Italiana" in my Lexus wondering how its cuisine would be. Then today, while I was driving, took the turn that lead me to the Pizza shop. As I arrived, a beautiful blue sky with white clouds framed the building where the restaurant was located, almost like warning me that I was up to something good. Inside, the place was clean in a relaxed environment, with the dining room in the shape of Virginia and containing both tables and booths, behind a low was that led you through the ordering line. They had a couple of tvs with videos showing some of the items on the menu. And the main decoration items were framed American and Italian flags next to two pizza paddles with Best of Virginia Winner and Readers Choice Award. Behind the ordering counter, a friendly young gentleman greeted and welcomed me and provided me with a menu. I ordered a House Salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing and a 10" Personal Supreme Pizza. And l had a softdrink to drink. I went and sat at a table and the order taker / server first brought me the salad and then the pizza to my table. The salad was so fresh and delicious. You have to see it to believe it. I invite you to view my photographs accompanying this review to get a better sense of the place and the quality of their food. And the pizza, the pizza was amazing! From the perfect crust cooked to perfection, to the fresh ingredients placed in generous amounts, to the splendid tasting pizza sauce and cheese. I then went to their dessert refrigerated display case and ordered a slice of their Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake. The perfect dessert for the Grand Finale of an extraordinary dining experience.

At first glance, it looks like any pizza place in a small shopping center. BUT, do not let that…read morestop you from having a slice or two! The young lady that took my order, was fantastic, courteous and very nice. The place was absolutely clean and cute. Confession time... I'm a full-blown pizza addict, and I'm perfectly okay with that. Wile visiting the VA medical center in Salem, I just had pizza from Tivoli Pizza in Salem, and wow... absolutely fantastic! Great crust, great flavor, and every bite reminds me why pizza is my favorite food. Will I ever apologize for my love of pizza? Not a chance. Life's too short to skip great pizza. If you're anywhere near Salem and haven't tried Tivoli yet, you're missing out. #PizzaAddict #NoApologies #SupportLocal #TivoliPizza

Located off the road less traveled and housed in a cute little place, in Salem, Virginia, Tivoli…read morePizza prides itself in having the best Halal Pizza around. And rightly so. 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 Tivoli Pizza, in Salem, Virginia, is the perfect example. As soon as I entered this Pizza Shop, I was very impressed by its cleanliness and cute interior design of the place, as well as by the flow of satisfied customers eating inside the restaurant, and others making Take Out orders. A friendly young lady greeted and welcomed me at the counter and explained to me a little about the restaurant, its owner, and its menu. It was a family-owned restaurant and the owner was Egyptian. They have a variety of excellent items on the menu but they are best known for their pizzas. I ordered a House Salad and a small Supreme Pizza. And for dessert I ordered a Tiramisu. They were all delicious. The salad had fresh ingredients. The pizza crust was very good and the ingredients, especially the cheese were amazing. You could tell the owner/chef took pride in his cooking. This was actually the second time I've eaten from an Egyptian and both times they have far exceeded my expectations. I highly recommend this place for its relaxing ambiance, amazingly delicious food, friendly staff, and excellent customer service.

After looking at their menu on line , we ordered the 14"…read moreRonnie's Pizza . It was delivered very quickly.The pizza arrived warm! Loaded with mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. It's the typical thinner crust that restaurants serve in the area with the difference that it is perfectly cooked . Not dry at all! Will definitely order again and try to their other dishes .

I was staying in downtown and read reviews about Leonore and they were really good, so I decided to…read morestop in on a weeknight. When I got there, they were dead, but by the time I left, they were packed. So, clearly it's a popular joint. The staff was helpful and very friendly. Prices are decent there too. They offer a nice mix of Venezuelan and Italian food... seems like an odd combo, but they did a decent job with the items I tried. I love arepas, so I ordered a Pabellon Arepa and a small veggie pizza. The food came up pretty quickly; the pizza was perfectly hot. The crust was the right thickness and had plenty of cheese and fresh toppings on it. The only issue was there was hardly any tomato sauce on it. I asked for a side of tomato sauce to dip into. The sauce was very thin and lacked much tomato flavor. The arepa was packed full of meat. The beef was seasoned perfectly and tasted great. The bun though was kind of tough, sort of like it was stale. The venue is small, but clean and welcoming. Their menu is loaded with many options too. Overall, it was a nice dinner.

All of their food is great, AND they have the best wings in Salem. They are big, juicy, and…read moreflavorful. And they are LESS than the other wing spots in town. Better and less expensive. What more reason do you need to give them a try!

We wanted a little snack after the Ridge Yaks game and a friend suggested Gusto's and WOW it was…read moreperfect! We did the pizza dumplings as an app and split the pizza flight and it was perfect! We have a 2 year old plus a wine, cider and IPA drinker and everyone had options. Our server was friendly and attentive, we enjoyed sitting outside and we highly recommend!

For Nowheresville USA, the pizza was pretty dang good. I was in town bustin a few lips and needed…read morea large pepperoni to seal the deal. Not bad for a one horse town. I was highly satisfied. But the old timer who left a crappy review cuz it wasn't like his Baston' pizza back home, needs a straighten out. When you leave a review that's a small novel and include where you parked your car and the hours of said parking lot, then you apparently got nothin but time on your hands to say you didn't like the food cuz it wasn't like "back home". Well this ain't back home. This is the South. And Frank is a good man.

I was really looking forward to dining at this pizza place, especially because I was led to believe…read morethey had the best New York Pizza in the area. But what I discovered was it was nothing like a New York style pizza, and not at all the best pizza around. The fact is I lived for over 25 years in Boston, Massachusetts, and frequented the Italian neighborhood of Boston which is called the North End, that it is also widely known as Boston's Little Italy, due to its rich Italian-American heritage and abundance of Italian restaurants and bakeries. There, at the pizza place next to the Little Italy Market, I've had the best genuine New York style pizza ever. And I also visited New York frequently, and have actually eaten a New York style pizza in New York City often, so I guess you can say I know first hand the look and taste of a New York Style pizza. I arrived at Franks Pizza on East Main Street, Salem on a Saturday early evening, and parked at the City of Salem Farmer's Market Parking lot, conveniently located across the street, and where you get 2 hours of free parking, Monday - Saturday, 6AM-6PM. As I entered the place I saw an open window on the wall with one of the cooks making a pizza, I stopped there on the way to the main counter to ask to be seated. The person making the pizza was kind of rude and asked me to move on, not allowing me to see how he was making the pizza. When I arrived to the main counter, the server, who was a very nice gentleman, greeted and welcomed me and asked me to sit in any booth available. Practically all the booths were empty except one where two older ladies were dining at. I found this a bit odd, on a Saturday early evening, when good restaurant are already beginning to get full. The gentleman treated me well, handed me the menu, got me my softdrink, and took my order. I ordered a House Salad with Balsamic vinaigrette dressing, and a Special 12" hand tossed NY Style Pizza. As I was waiting I noticed there was no music in the background to make for a relaxing ambiance. Instead you could here the cooks back in the kitchen talking loud in Spanish, which I guess they didn't know I was understanding all the nonsense they were saying. That loudness coming out of the kitchen didn't create a relaxing ambiance. The salad arrived shortly, inside a plastic black bowl, and it was the highlight of the meal. I invite you to watch and listen to my video clip and photographs accompanying this review to get a better sense of the place and its food. Then the pizza arrived. My servered delivered it by placing it on a stand. At first it looked good, but a bit too white on top. It hardly had any sauce at all, and thus hardly any flavor from the lack of sauce and quality meats. The Italian sausage and pepperoni lacked flavor probably due to the low quality. It was full of cheese, that's for sure, but also lacking flavor. The dough of the crust was bland and burnt, not at all tasty. Some customers, for whatever reason, might like their pizza this way, and might not mind the loud noise coming from the kitchen, and the lack of music creating a relaxed environment, and I respect that. But in my opinion, with so many other good pizza places around, even in the least expected alleyways, I would not waste my time and money here.

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

A good friend of mine invited me to dinner for pizza at Highlander Pizza. Located in a strip mall…read morein Cave Spring, Roanoke, Virginia, the restaurant is small and cozy, very clean, with hardwood floors and wth very cute artworks of animals decorating it's wall. The menu is a colorful one sheet of laminated paper They specialize in Halal specialty pizzas, salads, subs, strombols, and calzones. When we arrived the owner greeted us with a warm welcome, took us to our table, and handed us the menu. We ordered a 14 in Steak BBQ pizza to eat and Iced water to drink. When the pizza arrived the pie was fresh and soft, the cheese very cheesy, the BBQ sause just right, and the steak cut in little pieces. After we finished eating it we felt full but not too stuffy. We then each ordered a slice of Strawberry Cheesecake. It was soft and creamy and the strategy sauce on top was very sweet and tasty. The owner was very friendly and came by to check on us at the right times and to fill our glasses with water. This is a wonderful place for when you want to have a very special, one of a kind pizza, or other items, in a relaxed environment, with excellent customer service.

In an attempt to "support local" I settled on Highlander Pizza for the evening. Immediately upon…read moreentering, I realized I should have left as there was no air conditioning and the heat was unbearable given the 90 degree day outside. Strike one, but again, local, so I decided to overlook the extreme heat and hope for the best with the food and service. The server/counter person was not very personable, but not outright rude...indifferent might be a good term...but I contributed it to the heat. Strike two, because a welcoming environment is important. Upon ordering, the server brought out plates, utensils and drinks. Two of the three plates were dirty and there was something floating in my drink. Strike three without question, but the final never again came when there was no care or concern from the staff at all that their dishes were not clean and there were foreign objects in the drinks. Lastly, after a very long wait, the food arrived. It was just ok, not worth the heat, the filthy environment, the dirty dishes, the excessive wait, or the foreign objects floating in the drinks. I generally love to shop and eat local, but it will not here.

My steak and cheese was delicious and my husband's pizza was good too…read more Always get good service. Take out gives us quiet ambiance.

Stopped by for a bite during a drive from DC to NC... what a great find (thanks, Yelp!). Incredible…read morestuffed crust pizza for sale by the slice... and warmed in their pizza oven very quickly. No wait... wonderful staff... clean restroom. The sauce is simply out of this world... wanted to drink the side sauce! Yummmmmm. Thank you for the wonderful service. Bon appetite!

Looks very abandoned when you walk in. Dimmed lights and no one but one person working. We thought…read morethey only ordered takeout because no one came for a good 5 minutes after we went in and we had already looked over the menu. We already knew what we wanted by the time we were seated. The dining area was dark. There was a large TV on screensaver. All of the tables had silverware but we really thought maybe it was only takeout until dinner service or only opened on certain days. Bottom line, don't let the dim lights deter you from a dine in experience. Of course I got the cheesesteak and he got the beef shawarma. He said his was too salty and nothing special. It came with some rice, salad, and a side of bread. Mine came with... American cheese. This is a first for me. Sad because it could have been good had they used the correct cheese. The fries were odd, unseasoned, and dry. We both think it could have been older oil used for the fries. I didn't finish them. We skipped the store bought dessert that was in the display. I think they're from Sam's if that makes a difference. I suppose someone would like them. I prefer something that is homemade with my restaurant desserts. Friendly service albeit absent. We got our food and never got a chance to order drinks. It's tough to be a one-man show! I might go back and try something else. I'm on the fence. He says we should try again another time. He definitely wouldn't reorder the shawarma and wanted to try the pizza. The parking lot was private so there's plenty of parking. You can't miss the green, white, and red signage and pillars decorating the building.

Ordered to go. Started with the Greek salad and the Grilled Chicken Pita Wrap. The salad was a…read moregenerous serving, fresh and well prepared. Feta, olives, salad greens with tomato and some peppers with sliced onions. A decent salad to start. The Grilles chicken was cooked nicely, stuffed in a fresh pita with lettuce and tomato along with a nice yogurt dressing. This is a large wrap and totally splitable. I had half a wrap leftover for my lunch the next day. I wanted something sweet too, so ordered a slice of Baklava aling with a piece of Pecan Pie. Both were okay, the baklava was the better of the two. The pie was okay, on the small side for what was charged. This is a decent place to grab some mediterrean style food, served its purpose. 3 Stars it met my needs and was pretty good overall. 01022

Quite honestly was disappointed by this order. Was told that this was one of the better local…read moredelivery places in the area... Yet the order was put together haphazardly, items were not described accurately on the menu, nor by the person taking the order, and food quality was mediocre. If someone is ordering a to go order over $25 like they INSIST -, it's downright stingy and mean spirited to not provide any napkins or silverware whatsoever. I understand Restaurants like to claim that they are struggling, but that's hardly a reason to be mean spirited and allow someone to spend over $30 in food and not put a single napkin into their delivery order. Let alone utensils with which to eat the food. That's just either lazy, stingy, greedy, or unthoughtful. The pita and hummus is hardly pita, whatever that giant baked dough mess was that got shoved into the bag, unsanitary without any proper protection - was bland, and fat to doughy and heavy to be proper pita bread. They don't have lemon for the seafood or shrimp, and the cocktail sauce is in little ketchup packets made mostly of chemical ingredients, no real food content and not healthy. And again with the stinginess, they provided two little tiny ketchup packets for 10 shrimp. So not enough even for the shrimp that you've ordered. It basically allowed me to dip for shrimp. Was told that "everything is made fresh" but I think that they're deceiving themselves that this is wholesome, edible food. The cannoli was soggy and inedible. We threw out half of it. The bread mess was bland and again, not proper pita bread, shrimp was fine but with no lemon or cocktail sauce, just bland fried shrimp. Nothing special. On top of that they had a seven dollar delivery fee despite the fact that they are five minutes away from where we were??!? In NY and Boston delivery upcharges are three dollars or five dollars, so seven dollars in Roanoke Virginia just feels again, unnecessary and greedy. So for approximately $25 worth of food, if you're also paying the driver, you're spending a $12 + upcharge for mediocre food with no utensils or napkins or proper condiments. Definitely do not recommend. Thank you.

The pizza was s amazing good! The restaurant is very clean and the staff is on top of attention to…read moredetail.