This review is mixed but overall this is one of the healthier choices we have here in the area…read more I had the beef and horseradish feast with the potatoes and Mediterranean salad. Everything was super fresh and delicious. Ingredients were fresh and served with perfection. I wish I could have this more frequently. My wife had the Kypelos pasta bowl with chicken. The cashier could not pronounce the word when we asked him how it was pronounced - he said didn't know. That should be a prerequisite to work there. My wife enjoyed her bowl but didn't think it was nearly as good as my entree, which we always sample each other's orders and I would have to agree - for once I got something that was better than her selection... The hummus was not as flavorful as I would have expected. There was also not enough pita bread for the dish. The mint tea was great and so was the soda bar. It was clean and neatly arranged. The cashier was otherwise very friendly as were everyone working behind the counter. Restrooms were neat and clean. Very nicely decorated and arranged and it was obvious that someone keeps an eye on cleanliness. If not for the minor things I've mentioned, I'd have given them 5 stars. My entree was 5 stars for sure and everything was flavorful and looked great when they plated it. I figure next time we visit I will get this again and I'm sure my wife will get a feast entree as well. Just a side note on an observation from the menu: I noticed on the menu the Baklava was listed as vegan. Does that mean that honey is not used in the recipe? Vegan by definition means that nothing of or derived from living things are used. It's inconceivable to think of baklava without honey... I wonder what is used instead? It is not a big deal but real baklava uses honey and a dish containing honey is not vegan. Overall, this was a very wonderful dining experience and the food was great. We will be back soon, and I plan on trying the Baklava. Give them a try!

Meh- Went for dinner on a Friday night about 5:00. Quite empty and still dirty (tables not bussed,…read morefloor still had food on it, food under tables) from lunch crowd. It's a fast food cafe- trying to not be one. Read the menu in the corner, move along a half wall to the register and order, it's brought to you. Wife ordered a falafel and quinoa bowl with roasted vegetables. I ordered a lamb gyro with tomato and cucumber salad. Both plates tasted like they had been prepared for lunch and we were served leftovers. Falafels were large, but very spicy. This was not mentioned anywhere. Vegetables were very mushy and mixed in with quinoa, almost unrecognizable. Pita was a pita chip, hard and crunchy. Wife did not finish it. Gyro was what I consider a half sandwich- half a dense pita filled with a few shreds of lettuce, a few tomatoes and some dried, char-tasting lamb. I still have the taste of charcoal in my mouth. If there was tzatziki sauce on the sandwich I did not taste it or see it. The sandwich came with an embarrassingly small amount of ridge potato chips, and my tomato-cucumber side salad. The salad was the only truly tasty item- everything else was relatively cold and blah. The owner (I assume the mature woman was the manager or owner) was friendly enough as we walked in, but never spent any time with us developing a customer relationship- although she talked to three singles. The cashier took my order and told me I was not correctly pronouncing something. A $40 meal that left us saying ,"We miss Athens Grille." Doubt we will return, not recommended.

A nice specialty grocery with deli counter…read more I was too late to catch the deli counter but browsed and got a loaf of sourdough from a vendor. From my limited experience I would return.

Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined such an extraordinary Grocery and Cafe that opened…read moreits doors in 2019 after quality extensive renovations to Tinnell's Finer Foods, when it closed its doors after 82 years of serving the South Roanoke community. When I came to visit this place for the first time I had no idea that it had a close relationship to the River and Rail Restaurant which I reviewed last year, giving it the highest rank of my Five Star reviews ever. When doing my research for this review I found out that the long-time Roanoke residents, Whit and Lauren Ellerman, the owners of Crystal Spring Grocery, are also the owners of the River and Rail Restaurant, located on the same block as Crystal Spring Grocery. The Ellermans clearly have an eye for recognizing the possibilities of vacant buildings and the talents of others and a vision of how they can come up with something as wonderful as this establishment. Gourmet grocery store and Cafe is a short definition of what Crystal Spring Grocery Company is all about. But I must go more in depth of what makes it so special and unique beside being gourmet. First of all I was very impressed with the interior design of the building space. Simple yet beautiful in its simplicity. I particularly loved its shiny whitish gray floors, and the green furniture and design, throughout the Grocery as well as Cafe. Also, I was very impressed with the windows and lighting treatment of the place. Second, I was very impressed with the quality and organization of the food items and wines, in the Grocery area. Third, with the menu items and quality of the food coming out of the kitchen of the Cafe. I had an Iced Sweet Tea to drink, and a Chicken Sandwich with Fries to eat. Everything was amazingly delicious. And last, but not least, I was highly impressed with the quality of your employees; with the ones behind the counter up front and the ones taking the orders and handing them out in the Cafe area. They all were so friendly and welcoming and at the same time so knowledgeable and organized, providing exceptional customer service individual and working as Team players. I highly recommend this Grocery and Cafe to everyone reading my review and viewing my photographs accompanying this review. This place is another gem in the this neighborhood.

Great pizza!!! Loved the thin crust and choice of tasty toppings. Incredibly good tavern style…read morepizza (look that up--it's the other Chicago style). We had brussel sprouts as an appetizer and two pizzas for three people. The sprouts were not only delicious but a big serving--plenty of food for the three of us. Who knew that Roanoke would have such good pizza? Plus a delicious old fashioned made with Woodford bourbon. Check it out!

We visited the Yard Bird Tavern in downtown Roanoke. Finding a spot can be a bit of a gamble;…read moreunless you're lucky enough to snag a space at the curb, you should expect to pay for parking. ​Atmosphere & Menu ​Upon entering, we found the restaurant pleasantly sophisticated, though it was nearly at capacity. While we opted not to explore the drink menu, we were eager to see what the kitchen had to offer. The menu itself is concise, focusing primarily on wings, sandwiches, and pizzas, supplemented by a few small appetizers. ​The culinary style is quite eclectic. They feature several unconventional toppings and flavor combinations that might seem a bit eccentric at first glance. ​The Culinary Experience ​I decided on a flatbread-style pizza topped with: ​Smoked chicken ​Pickles ​Peppadew-style peppers (which resembled small cherry tomatoes) ​A tangy, zesty sauce reminiscent of an enchilada base with an extra "zing." ​My wife opted for a "build-your-own" pizza featuring red onions, pepperoni, and bell peppers. Although she realized too late that she had forgotten to request light sauce, she noticed the oversight immediately upon the dish's arrival. ​Service Observations ​The service was a bit of a mixed bag. Our waitress was professional but remarkably brisk. She lacked the usual pleasantries or "small talk" one might expect, focusing instead on efficiency. While her haste felt a bit impersonal, I couldn't complain about her attentiveness--she was incredibly prompt at refilling my iced tea the moment my glass was empty. Make sure you bring your pocketbook this pizza brings a sting at the register.

It's a toss up. When it is good it is four stars when it is not it is two, but it is hard to know…read morewhat you are going to get when you sit down. There are multiple food options for anyone and nice options for dessert. The space is kind of dark and laid out weird and service makes us feel like we are in the way.

We liked Wildflour's Sunday brunch so much that we went two Sundays in a row. The pancakes, Wagyu…read morehash and Chesapeake Benedict were all delicious: perfectly cooked and well-flavored. Micah was an excellent server. We are adding Wildflour to our Sunday rotation.

I wasn't expecting much from Rainbowl, but the chef's special burrito bowl was delicious. Perfect…read morefor quick, easy, on-the-go dining. The place is clean and the owner was really friendly. Customer service from the staff behind the counter wasn't the friendliest. Still worth a stop if you want something fast and tasty.

So good and fresh. Love poke and I am glad I was able to find a good spot around my hotel in Salem.read more

Just the other day as I was driving around doing some errands, and looking for a place to have an…read moreearly dinner, I discovered this fresh casual restaurant in the heart of Downtown Salem, in Salem, Virginia. At first, I was attracted by its white building front with light green awning and pink highlights around the building and its front door as well as around the restaurant's front sign. Its small patio in front with black iron outdoor dining furniture also attracted my attention. So I drove around looking for a place to park my pearl white Lexus, and I was lucky to find just across the street a few empty free 2 hour parking spaces. I parked in one of them and proceeded to walk to the restaurant. On one of its front windows it read: "Freshens - Fresh Food Kitchen." As I walked in, I immediately felt comfortable in this clean and bright environment with modern decor. The walls were brick walls painted white and decorated simple, with framed enlarged photographs of close-up of fruits & vegetables like tomatoes, corn, and strawberries, just to name a few. The floors were light color hardwood floors. Lit menus were located above, behind the counter, with items such as Smoothies, Grilled Flatbreads, Salads, Artisan Melts, Acai Bowls, and Rice Bowls. When I finally found the "Order Here" sign, located above an area of the counter, a friendly, young lady employee greeted me, and when I told her this was my first time there, she tried to find me a paper menu, but they had ran out. I ordered from the menu on the wall. To drink I ordered a Maui Mango Smoothie, that had mango, strawberries, and bananas. And to eat I ordered their a BBQ Bacon Chicken Grilled Flatbread. The Maui Mango Smoothie had just the right texture and tasted amazing.The mixture of its three fruits made it tast almost like guava, which is also one of my favorite tropical fruits. When my Grilled Flatbread was ready, they called me to pick it up. It tasted amazingly delicious! While I was eating, several other customers came by. Most of them had ordered already and just came to pick up their food "To Go." Others stayed and ate it there. The food and the smoothie were so fresh and healthy that I felt great after I finished them up. Oh, and for dessert I had a sliced of their Peanut Butter Pie and it was so soft and tasty, that made me want to return soon. After I returned home, I did my research and found out that this establishment was recognized as the 2026 leading Vegetarian Restaurant in Salem, Virginia. I highly recommend it and had wonderful healthy dining experience there.

They were really helpful on the phone with my call in order, walked in staff was super cool and…read morewelcoming and the smoothie is just what I needed. Stuff is really cheap I will definitely be back.

Came in Monday around 1:00pm. Not that great. Got my bowl, it had a black hair in it. I brought it…read moreup to the manager Leslie, she rolled her eyes and insisted it was mine. I've had my hair red, ginger, fire-engine red, since July. The hair in the bowl was black. Similar to the managers (just a reference, not accusatory). I was only offered a refund after I said I was leaving a review... overall disappointed. Very unprofessional. Definitely needs more training. Not only is she rude to the customers, but also her employees. As I was choosing my sides, she comes to the front and says to the girl making my bowl, "why are you using that many toppings, it's only one spoon. You should know this by now.". Then rolled her eyes and kept working. There's a Chipotle and Qdoba within 20 feet, that are notably less expensive, so I'll just give those a try next time. Plus they don't skimp on toppings! Imagine charging $13 per bowl, to only give out teaspoons worth of the sides. We literally get offered more sauces than sides . I only tried this place because it's newish and close to my job. The house-made drinks were good though. Overall, pricey for the value, poor customer service, wouldn't recommend. Especially with current management.

Despite being annoyed by their one scoop policy, the food is delicious. They don't have sunflower…read moreseeds nor do they offer you complimentary pita bread. I guess every location is privately owned.

We were seated outside. We sat there for twenty minutes and were never acknowledged by a server.read more

My boyfriend & I came for lunch & sat outdoors. It's such a cute place! We shared a house salad…read morethat was very fresh and I had the basil cheesy bread which was very good. We had a friendly server & it was great!

Located in Roanoke's Historic Old Southwest neighborhood, Evie's Bistro and Bakery is not your…read morecommon restaurant. It's a place where locals have gathered for years to spend some quality time with family and friends, in a cozy environment with an eclectic French bistro decor, and offering exquisite homemade food dishes and memorable in-house made desserts. Today, I felt nostalgic, and decided to go have dinner there. As soon as I stepped inside, I felt relaxed and the sign at the entrance that read "Please Seat Yourselves!", created an ambiance of feeling right at home. Shortly after I sat down at my chosen table, my friendly and welcoming server, Alyssa, came down to bring me the menus and take my drink order. I ordered an original Coke and asked her if she could bring me a glass with ice. Somehow, I find that any kind of drink tastes better drinking it from a glass. Alyssa, my server, had a warm and hospitable personality, and fit right in this neighborly establishment. After consulting with her on what to have from the menu, I ended up ordering a cup of Mushroom Bisque, one of the Soup Du Jours, to start off with. And as my main course, the Meatloaf Dinner, with the two sides of their special Potato Salad and Black Beans with Rice. The Meatloaf came with a delicious bordelaise sauce. The Mushroom Bisque soup was amazing! It had many pieces of mushrooms and was very flavorful. Next time I think I'll have a bowl. The Meatloaf was one of the best that I have ever had. Even better than the ones I've had at some of the most prestigious and expensive restaurants. Simply, exquisite. The Black Beans were perfectly seasoned, and the Potato Salad was also very tasty. For dessert, which I consider the "Grand Finale" of any meal, I had a slice of their exclusive cake named "Better Than Sex." It was amazingly delicious! I invite you to view my photographs accompanying this review to view the cake and read about what it was made of. I also ordered a slice of their Peanut Butter Pie to take home and have as a night snack. In conclusion, I highly recommend this neighborhood Bistro and Bakery. They have a wonderful menu with an amazing Daily Specials one as well. All these, together with a relaxed ambiance and excellent customer service, contribute to an exceptional dining experience.

Went with my daughter, who I was visting! Walked a bit to get some pastries and immediately was…read moretargeted with slurs and racist remarks. Don't know if it was my hat or shirt that set them off. Regardless, horrible people working at this miserable establishment!

Truly amazing food, everything seems made from scratch. Staff gets to know you and is very…read morefriendly. My two personal favorites are the chocolate croissant and the garlic rosemary sourdough. I could eat here every day and not get tired! Manager Brett also manages that place insanely well. Clean, organized, and efficient. Kudos to the team!

I have been to many bakeries in my lifetime, many wonderful ones located in cities like San Juan,…read moreMadrid, Rome, Paris, Brussels, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Miami, and Washington, DC, among others. I have truly enjoyed dining in each and every one of them. But Bread Craft, located in the Star City of Roanoke, is in a class of its own. After being ranked 4th among Yelp's Top 50 Most Prolific Elites of 2025, a distinction recognizing my consistent community engagement and high-quality contributions, I decided that this year, as an All-Star Yelp Elite, I not only wanted to be the first to discover new restaurants, businesses, and establishments, and bring them to the attention of the public, but also to go back and write follow-up reviews on those places that impressed me the most during 2025, and Bread Craft Bakery, located in Downtown Roanoke, is the perfect example of one of them. Bread Craft is a premier, artisan European-style bakery established in 2006 by owner Alex Eliades, who besides having a passion for baking, has over 25 years of baking experience, and leads the bakery focusing on traditional slow-fermentation techniques. The bakery is known for its high-quality, scratch-made sourdough, pastries, and Croissants. It evolved from a wholesale operation into a popular 6,000 square foot café on Church Avenue, also supplying local restaurants. The bakery specializes in Franch and German-style baking, utilizing sourdough as a natural leavener. It servers breakfast and lunch items, including sandwiches, salads, and some creative breakfast egg entrées. They are open Wednesdays through Sundays from 8:00AM - 2:00PM and are well known for running out of items before the end of the day. For this review I visited the Bakery / Café for breakfast on two consecutive Wednesdays. The first Wednesday I arrived too late to be able to have their Chorizo & Eggs Cocotte from their Breakfast menu. Breakfast is only served until noon, and I found out about this on that day. So instead I had a Cheese Danish and a house-made Mocha Coffee. Both items were delicious. On the second Wednesday I arrived much earlier for breakfast. Luckily, right before a whole rush of customers arriving to place Take-out orders. As soon as I walked inside I immediately felt comfortable with its clean and contemporary architectural design and decor, and an exposed red brick wall that gave it a warm ambiance. One can see that the owner spent a substantial amount in renovating the place when they moved here, and that they took good care of it, because it looked as if it had just opened for the very first time yesterday. While I was looking over all the baked items they had, I received a friendly greeting and warm welcome from a lady behind the counter who seemed to be the manager and took my order. To start I ordered a Chorizo Quiche which happened to be the Quiche of the day, and a house-made Mocha Coffee. Then since I was planning to turn this into a Brunch, for my main entrée I ordered their Chorizo Cocotte from the Breakfast menu. And for dessert I had a Chocolate Hazelnut Croissant that was simply irresistible. Everything tasted amazingly delicious, especially since I love Chorizo. The Quiche had an amazing crust with the eggs inside cooked with the perfect amount of chorizo. The Chorizo Cocotte was served in an elongated bowl with two poached eggs over Spanish sausage, accompanied by three slices of freshly made Baguette. And if all this wasn't enough, the Chocolate Hazelnut Croissant was the perfect ending dessert to this fabulous put together Brunch. Oh and the coffee was the best of the best. I invite you to view my photographs accompanying this review to get a better sense of the place and the quality of their food. What an outstanding dining experience I just had at Bread Craft. Wonderful ambiance, amazing food, and extraordinary customer service. I highly recommend this Bakery/Café whenever you're in the area. I'm absolutely certain it will become one of your favorites bakery.