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.

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.

Great pizza - pretty good prices - can't beat it. I've been going there for carryout for about four…read moreyears. And never had a disappointing pizza yet.

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.

I've eaten at many family-owned restaurants, many of which have been Pizzerias, but never have I…read moreseen such a close family relationship, of family members working closely together in the successful operation of their business. 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 Lil' Cucci's Pizzeria, now located in Roanoke, Virginia, is the perfect example. I met the head of the household, co-owner Maurizio "Joe" Cucci, right after placing my order for the very first time with his daughter, who works at the cashier counter, taking the orders and charging for them. As I went down to the open kitchen large window to see them working making the pizzas and other Italian delicacies, Mauricio warmly greeted and welcomed me and introduced himself. He is originally from Sicily, Italy, and came to this country in 1978 when his late brother Victor brought him over. And together they created this Pizzeria which they kept all about friends and family. But then he immediately asked me for my name and where was I from, just as two friends who meet for the first time and begin establishing conversation that will later turn into friendship. This is the difference between this pizza shop and others. Here the owners and employees are genuinely interested in their customers and treat them as friends of the family, and the business just comes naturally from that warm relationship that he establishes and maintains with his customers which he knows and greets by their first name. After being in business for many years, they had the opportunity of purchasing this land and build their own pizza place building. And their customers enjoy the friendly relationship he has with them as much as they enjoy their pizzas. And their loyalty is such that they are open only 3 days a week: Thursdays Fridays, and Saturdays from 11:00AM to 8:00PM on Thursdays and from 11:00AM to 9:00PM on Fridays and Saturdays. But on these 3 days the place is continously full. His son is by his side making the pizzas and his wife helps out making sure the orders are handed to the right customers. I ordered a House Salad to start with and a Small 12 inch Lil' Cucci's Special Pizza, together with a Dr Pepper softdrink. And waited in front of the window watching Maurizio making pizzas, and directing the whole operation, and at the same time talking to me about his family and business. I invite you to view my photographs and videos that accompany my review for a better sense and feel about the ambiance of the place and look of the food. All I can say was that my salad was so crispy and fresh, and my pizza was so good that I ended up eating the whole thing. I left after saying goodbye to Maurizio and his family having discovered the secret to their success. Their convenient parking lot was almost completely full by then, and more customers were arriving, picking up their To Go orders, or dining in or in the outdoor patio. I highly recommend this place not only for their amazingly delicious food, but for you to see for yourselves and experience first hand the epitome of customer service.

Our favorite spot for good NY pizza! We come here all the time. Extremely friendly!read more

Very friendly people great value for the price and owners and staff are very welcomingread more

We just found Frank's At Brambleton a few months ago, and we've returned several times already…read more The food is always good, and the service is excellent. The place is BUSY all the time, which means that it's GOOD. The staff is pleasant and our server and my wife and I were making each other laugh the whole time. Love it!!!

This place was good. I am visiting for the Mtn Bike National Championships and it was hard to find…read morean Italian place. This place came up and the food was super fresh and was good quality. The server was extremely nice and friendly.

This used to be my go to pizza place but the last pizza I ordered will probably be the last pizza I…read moreorder. The man on the phone sounds like an authentic New York accent which added to the charm of placing a to go order. But the recipes have changed and the quality of the ingredients is sub par at best now. It was a simple cheese pizza (I had to order a large because I was told I couldn't order a medium on this particular day, strange). The crust was like cardboard, the sauce tasted like a can of tomato paste with no seasoning whatsoever. The cheese was not real cheese because despite being cooked it still was in its shredded form and not even melted, just sitting on top of the sauce in an oily sheet. I hardly see anyone eating inside this place, the roanoke location seems to be busier but the ingredient quality must be improved.

I dared to go off the beaten paths in search of an Italian family-owned restaurant where they made…read moreNew York style pizzas; and literally across the street from the well known and famous Montano's International Gourmet Restaurant, I discovered this small, nothing fancy, Italian Eatery owned and run by an older couple husband and wife Italian immigrants. 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 Tony Avellino's Italian Eatery is the perfect example. Located in an old but clean, small restaurant space off Franklin Road, in Roanoke, Virginia, with an ample parking lot, Tony Avellino's stands alone there, that for unknown passers-byers could seem not to be open if it were not be for its well lit red "OPEN" sign behind one of its windows. As I arrived and walked in, the place looked empty, so I walked around and looked into a what seemed to be like a storage room that doubled as the dishwashing room and office. I heard some voices and said: "Is anybody home?" Suddenly, this delightful older couple who were Italian immigrants, and the owners of the restaurant came out to warmly greet me, and as they did, the place suddenly acquired another dimension. It reminded me of the trip to Italy that I took with my family when I was a boy, and the beauty of that country, and its people, who made you feel at home in their home. I enjoyed talking with both the husband and wife, and seeing them work together running their family-owned business. They had a colorful menu published but the wife ask me what I felt like eating today: a pizza, their Special Cheese Steak Sub, Pasta, or one of their Half-Pound Burgers. I definitely wanted to try their New York style pizza so I ordered their 12" size Pepperoni and Mushroom Pizza with a Root Beer. The husband quickly started making my pizza and allowed me to record the process with photos and videos that I could include in my review. The Pizza tasted amazing. There are times that in simple, quality ingredients, one can uncover an extraordinary flavor. While I was eating, other customers started arriving. Some to eat in, some to take out. What a beautiful site of a couple earning a living through the labor of something they enjoy doing and are good at, and their customers enjoying the fruit of their labor. I highly recommend this restaurant. Go there, support this delightful couple, and enjoy their warmth and wonderful food.

3.5 Stars Great…read morepizza for a local spot. Beware - a little pricy but the pizza had better flavor than a National chain. $31 for a 12" stuffed pizza & order of cheesy bread. WOW! The stuffed pizza w/ pepperoni & sausage had fresh mozzarella which was tasty and the crust was cooked well. Cheesy bread seemed like a hoagie roll sliced up w/ melted cheese - not sure it was worth $8. Store itself looked run down and in need of some renovations. Maybe that's the ambiance they are looking for - the vintage or "we been here forever" look. The staff was friendly, smiling & looked to like their job! I would probably give them another try but would definitely look for specials or coupons to make it all worth while.

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.