It is said that valuable things come in small boxes, but never in my wildest imagination did I…read moreconceive of a place like Stellina. After having been selected as number 4 of Yelp's Top 50 most prolific Elites of 2025, a year when I also was 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 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 Stellina, in Downtown Roanoke, is a perfect example. Stellina (which means "Little Star" in Italian) is a secretly hidden little bar within the very popular Italian Restaurant Fortunato, but with its own entrance through a door on the right of the restaurant. Its only indication of its name is a small letter board behind one of its front windows, stating its name and hours of operation. This bar was constructed with reclaimed wood from the Old Crow distillery and opened in December of 2016. Since then its gain a reputation as the ideal spot for hand-crafted cocktails in a cozy and intimate atmosphere. It seats only about 20 people, with 7 at the bar. Not that long ago it gained recognition by being featured in the New York Post as one of the world's best small bars. All that I can tell you about this place doesn't do justice to the experience of visiting the place for the very first time. After stepping inside, I was mesmerized by the simple yet effective, elegance of the establishment, complimented by the beautifully dressed young lady, server/bartender. Her elegant style and mysterious personality contributed to the character and ambiance of this one-of-a-kind relaxing place. The very hospitable young lady welcomed me and handed me the drink menu, while asking me if I also planned to dine there. I answered in the affirmative and asked her if they had any Mocktails. To my surprise, she pointed out that one side of the Drinks Menu were all non-alcoholic drinks, including mocktails, bottled mocktails, wine by the glass, and beers. I ordered one of the mocktails and by the end of my meal, I think I must have tried a few. She then brought me Fortunato's menu, and I ordered the Fritto Misto as appetizer and the Pork Milanese as my main entrée. I enjoyed both course immensely. A lady employee brought me the food from Fortunato's Restaurant through a door that led to the restroom area of Fortunato's Restaurant, pass the kitchen. For dessert, that Which I consider the "Grand Finale" of a wonderful fine dining experience, I ordered their Tiramisu and Hot Chocolate. They were absolutely mouthwatering. I highly recommend this place and can't wait to return in the near future.

Tried to get reservations at Fortuna, but could not. Stellina offers their menu and is right beside…read morethem. Stellina is small and on a Friday they were packed in. Scored at the bar which worked fine for me. Service was lukewarm, but still ok. Service started out slow and improved. However, no check-ins were performed at all. I was given a cocktail and food menu. I knew I wanted an Old Fashioned and dropped an order for their lamb meatballs. Shortly after I decided on the eggplant Parmesan main. My drink with Rittenhouse Rye bourbon was tasty, just not much of it price at $17 steep too! I also ordered a specialty hot rum drink with pumpkin spice at $10 that was amazing! The meatballs hit quickly and were devoured! So yummy! About 15 minutes later the main dropped and was huge! Really quality and flavorful for a vegetarian dish. Overall the food was better than the service and prices were stretched. 3.5 rounding down due to service.

First time trying Lucky and I'd give it a 4.5 rounded up to a 5. The menu is local farm based so it…read morechanges seasonally and is a bit limited. I was disappointed because I was hoping to try a soup or scallops I'd seen in Yelp pics but they weren't in the menu this time. Which is the roll of the dice you pay for fresh creative menus. Dining area and bar have a nice vibe with attractive art work. Dim lighting and smaller tables make it cute for a date or a solo business diner like myself. The lucky cube drink was creative and tasty. Brussel sprouts were also unique with a tahini sauce on top and perfectly crispy chickpeas. I'd seen "Smoke in Chimneys Trout" on a few menus in Roanoke this trip but never heard of that before. Looked it up and learned something new. They are trout that are local and prized for living in a lime stone aquifer rather than a river. Giving them a clean light slightly sweet taste, no essence of mud that can come with other river fish. I've never ordered trout in a restaurant, But when in Rome... Lol. The fish itself and the portion was really good. Wish I could remember my waitress' name. She was knowledgeable and just had a really warm, friendly energy.

I came in for the fried chicken because other reviews were very positive .. the coating was v…read morecrunchy , plus , however it was really burnt ! Ir was really over cooked ; plus had little flavor . Needs a little salt and pepper .... Better chicken at Popeyes or Bojangles .. Mashed potatoes were excellent . I wa not impressed with the Kale and still think there may be fatback in it ... even though the server swore there was no pork on the dish .. anyway you can try for yourself .. maybe I just came on an off night . My server was very nice ( Alyssa ) BTW.

Not a fan of big families for any number of reasons. I prefer the way plants reproduce, like by…read moregerminating seeds or even better by grafting. Seriously, or nearly so, think how much better, as compared to standard issue childbearing, grafting would work for humans, like first of all no more Lamaze breathing classes for dads (after all of which are done, many moms go for the drugs anyway). then as one generation runs out of things to do in life, rather than uproot the whole parent just insert the next generation into the trunk, thereby hopefully eliminating adolescence when most of the body develops. Fungi and molds are even better as they mature in hours, are much more resilient and easier to distribute plus they're totally anonymous: parents don't have to see how their best intentions didn't bear fruit, and their offspring have no one else to blame. the spores of these life forms are quite durable, even tolerate the conditions found in outer space. Future myco-human lifeforms could be launched by the billions from earth unceremoniously, hoping a few might land somewhere favorable to germinate rather than being sucked into and incinerated by a star. And no alphabet or arithmetic to learn in grammar school. Being a family mammal on the other hand has major downsides. an example being that if you're known to be ever-ready to venture wherever someone will buy your plane ticket, they call upon you to go see how cousin Luke or uncle Amos or whoever is doing. The boring relatives stay put back home but the black sheep migrate over the years to places you would likely not otherwise go. So it is that I was driving through central Virginia on a moonless night, on just such a family mission and frankly need a roadie, a restorative for my lagging spirits, which is why I turned off the state highway and onto a county road to see where it went, and came to this town which is how I happened onto rocky mount's finest establishment, The Alley Cat Bar. It's great to find places like this and is the reason I prefer to drive in unknown territories using old outdated AAA maps instead of gps. Not every side road exit brings you to an historic and quaintly cool town like Rocky Mount, but it's the occasional one that ends in Rocky Mount that keeps you in the wanderlust game. It' was just what I was looking for at this moment, a break from driving the dark rural Virginia roads, local music and a friendly beer crowd. I was ready. Most small towns, not much to do, so can't be too choosey but lucky here to have this place, among others by the way but none so much my kind, live music potentially a little rough around the edges crowd but, after all, it's central va. Incredible selection of beer. I missed the Tuesday nite trivia contest as well as a visit to the moonshine distillery but I had miles to go before I slept.

Awesome atmosphere with a heck of a drink/food menu! Live…read morebands, trivia nights! Worth a visit!

Best bar, best service, in greenbrier Valley.....10 stars live music and 10 tv's for sports.... a…read moremust see place....Queen of hearts contest as well.....win.$$$$$$$

We got the weekly special on carry out. The atmosphere was really awesome but not as awesome as the…read morefood!! Especially when ramp season is in!!! When you want something great to eat, don't count them out!! They have a full time menu , don't forget to follow them on Facebook for weekly and daily specials with pictures!!

We wanted to eat breakfast here during the week since we expected it to not be so busy. We came by…read morepontoon boat. We did not end up eating here, because there is no place to park a pontoon that we could see. I gave a 3 star because I don't want to drag down the overall rating because their food might be great, but I wanted to warn others thinking about coming by boat, that you can park a speed boat here, but not a pontoon. Maybe next time, we will drive there and try their tiple berry pancakes!

One of my favorites! Cool little spot for hotdogs and hamburgers! Great breakfast too!read more

Great beer, great food, and some of the nicest people you're going to run into. We've been to this…read morerestaurant twice coming into town for for a marathon and both times it's been fantastic.

We stay in Douthat park for thanksgiving week and Jack Mason's is a staple in our dinner rotation…read morefor the week. We love to sit at the bar but there are tables and booths for those who don't prefer that. It's very rustic with license plates all over the wall of the bar. I always like my mixed drink. The bar tenders are always really nice but sometimes you have to wave them down. We love their burgers, BBQ sandwich, chicken Caesar wrap and chicken sandwich.

A very unexpected swanky bar in Floyd,Va. It'll throw you for a loop if you're not ready when you…read morewalk in, we were. Think prohibition. The joint takes you into the prohibition era. The staff play into it very well. The bartender was super cool. The lady at the front door stayed in character (so cool). Helpful hint ... buffalo nickel. Once in, it is a super dark and cozy classy place. Great selection of wine and cocktails. Small selection of beer. Had the very tasty Chef burger. The Mango Habanero cheese curds were tasty. Checkout the upstairs... I'd revisit this place again.

A place to go back in time! They are a prohibition…read moreestablishment theme/vibe. Fun wall decoration and art. Makes you feel like you are on a different timeline. Food was great! We ordered the seared ahi tuna, filets, and ravioli. Everything was delicious and fresh. Id recommend if you are quiet hungry and want to order the ravioli to perhaps order something else to pair with it as it only comes with 4 raviolis. Let's talk drinks. They are seasonal so they had an apple smoked old fashioned which was delicious and a whole experience as they bring it in a container with the smoke in it 10/10 recommend! They have a yummy spicy orange margarita and really good non alcoholic drinks that taste like alcoholic drinks! Service was great! Our server had really good suggestions and was attentive and up front with items that where not available.

We were seated outside with 28 people. The manager gave us one server. The sender was great, but…read morealone. Meanwhile inside they had many more servers. It took over 45 minute to get drinks and 90+ minutes for food. The manager should be fired for not distributing servers for a larger group. Do NOT come here with a group and do not come here if you have less than 90 minutes to eat. I had to give a1 star, wanted to give a zero.

Food was great and service too Chili burger was big and…read moredelicious Fries had good seasoning Chicken wings were good also

It has been years since I have been here. I usually went because a friend dragged me with them. The…read moremusic was always mundane. The DJ seemed like he only knew how to play a very select few of songs (the majority which were already overplayed and terrible). The food was subpar. The drinks were a natural disaster in a glass. They were either so strong they would knock the wind out of you after each sip, or they were so weak and flavorless that watered down tea has more flavor. There were hardly any decent people ever up there. Just about everyone there looked/acted like they were hooked on drugs. Fortunately I got rid of my trashy friend and I haven't been back to that place since. If you want decent drinks and music, my suggestion is to build a rock fire pit, make drinks yourself and invite your friends over for a bon fire.

I was told to leave because I complained about the smell? I tried to explain to them that something…read morewas stinking up the place.

I have been visiting M&A since I was just a kid. Its a FAMOUS take out spot, call ahead of time and…read moreget your order hot and fresh by the time you arrive. Because they are famous, call ahead by 25 mins or so. Jose is wonderful, so kind, so friendly. Its a small old country store but stocked with selection and if you want an item back, just ask and they will get it done.

Love the food!!! Get the sausage poofs or biscuits and gravy. French fries and great too!read more