Delicious ice cream and cookies. I had a flight of 4 small scoops of ice cream and a cookie. I…read morehad Maple Pecan, blue Vanilla, Pumpkin Pie & ??? (lol I forgot the 4th one) with a snicker doodle cookie. Every one of the ice creams were so flavorful and delicious. The cookie was great! Nice and chewy. The inside is a bit dirty, the bench cushions look like it has seen some kids with ice cream drippings. It wasn't unsanitary however. Service was great. The girl behind the counter was very nice and pleasant to speak with. I highly recommend giving Rookies a try.

I first reviewed Rookie's (Handcrafted Ice Cream Sandwiches) when it opened at the Patrick Henry…read moreHistoric building in Downtown Roanoke; just across the street from the Social Security building and the Roanoke Public Library - Downtown Branch. I did so after having visited it several times, having had their ice-cream and homemade cookies, and having talked to and interviewed their store employees as well as their truck driver who brings their ice-cream and cookie dough from Lynchburg, Virginia. Now that Rookie's has relocated from their Downtown Roanoke store to Cave Springs, at 3549 Electric Rd, Suite D, I have decided to visit their new location, and write an update review. I urge all the readers to this review to also go back and read my first review and accompanied photographs to learn more about the history of the company. For Rookie's is more than just an Ice Cream Parlor. It's a place where desserts and friends meet to create something memorable. Their employees are encouraged to establish conversations with their customers and answer questions about their company and their products. And their comfortable ambiance and seating area contribute to the enjoyment and extraordinary sweet dining experience while people socialize with family and friends, and share quality time with them. The new location is more family-friendly and has more parking than their previous location. The residents of Cave Springs have welcomed Rookie's with open arms and have become steady customers in a relatively short period of time. I was impressed to find out that it is located in thr same Shopping Center as Cafe Asia 2 Restaurant, one of my favorites Asian Restaurants. Rookie's continues to offer different flavors of cookies, homemade ice cream, and signature ice cream sandwiches, in a clean and simple interior design relaxing environment, and with excellent customer service from their warm, knowledgeable, and friendly staff. Today I visited the new location with a friend and both of us interacted with the servers and had ice-cream sandwiches. Mine was Mint Chocolate Chip cookies with Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. The combination of the two made the perfect sweet snack or dessert. During the time we were there chatting and enjoying our ice-cream sandwich, we saw many other customers come in and do the same. It seems that Rookie's made a great strategic move for a win win situation between the company and its customers. A quote from the owner of the community I feel best describes it best: "We believe that community is built on a foundation of celebrating something good and we believe our handcrafted ice cream sandwiches. Ice cream, cookies & milk will bring you together! We're all about the memories made and the nostalgia we hope you feel whenever you tuck in to a treat with friends and family." All of Rookie's ice cream is handcrafted in Lynchburg, and they offer vegan and gluten-free options. Rookie's hopes to continue expanding to other locations, with some customers even asking for a location in North Carolina. I highly recommend this business and its products, and consider it one of the City of Roanoke's gem.

Absolutely a must go! They're ice cream is delicious (note, they do not seem to have soft serve -…read morewhich I LOVE). They do have an opt for ice cream coffees/frappes(?) which is awesome. The cones were a bit hit with our entire group

Stopped by with friends while in the area recently. This little creamery has it going on. The…read moreafternoon of our visit, the place was packed. The interior is open with walk up counter service. A large family style table with chairs and a few small tables along the window to the left of the counter and register area. The staff are all friendly and engaged, there were multiple staff helping folks in three different service lines and that made the wait on line minimal and the service fairly quick. A nice selection of ice creams for most tastes, with a menu board of the daily offerings is posted overhead. After giving the menu a look over, I opted for a two scoop bowl - butter pecan and vanilla. Both were very good and a nice sized serving. My friends and I grabbed a seat at the large family style table and enjoyed our frozen treats. All in all a solid choice for frozen treats and worth the wait if its busy. Its often busy. 4 Stars - recommended 01099

A nice place to stop for a quick dessert. It's not a big store but the ice cream was yummy even on…read morea cold rainy day.

I thought this would be a cute little cafe/ creamery to go to with my grand mother. It was not. It…read morewas very very over priced and the prices aren't shown inside the display case. Further more, there's no "customer" restrooms. There's no refunds and the ice cream charges for toppings. Here's a pic of the $6.50 Dubai chocolate.

The other day when I happened to be in downtown Roanoke, I decided to dine at the Inka Grill as a…read morefollow-up to my first visit. I love the decor of this restaurant. It's more modern and elegant than that of their first restaurant on Brambleton Ave. Although the service there is superb. When I arrived a young lady greeted me, took me to my table, gave me the menu and asked what I wanted to drink. After consulting with her on what they had, I asked for a mango drink. It was mighty good, like a mango juice served in a tall glass. For appetizer I order an Avocado Salad with Sea Salt. It was just slices of an avocado with salt on the side. It would have been better with some oil and vinegar as well. For ma main entrée I order.one of my favorites on their menu the Bistec a lo Pobre. This is basically a steak with a special rice, a fried egg, and fried ripe plantain. Inside of the special rice I asked for white rice and black beans. My server goes to the kitchen to see if this was possible, but comes back saying it would be a $2.95 extra to include the black beans. I told her to go ahead. When the food comes out she puts it on the table and leaves. I thought she went to get the black beans but they never arrive. The food looks great but when I cut the steak it was well done and I asked for medium rare. When she goes to bring something to another table I called her and tell her about the steak and the black beans that was missing. She offers to make me another steak but the piece of meat tooked so well and I was so hungry that I decided to eat it like that. She repeated that the black beans would be an extra charge. I told her I didn't mind. She finally brings me the black beans. The beans themselves were a bit hard and not as tasty. The ones I had at Panera Bread the other day were 100% better, but I pour them on top of the rice and eat them like this. For dessert I ordered a Passion Fruit Mousse. It was good but a bit dry and lacked sugar. I still enjoyed my meal but can't understand why they always overcook the steak when medium rare taste so much better. When I order it for delivery via Door Dash, most of the time it arrives well done as well. I still love the Peruvian cuisine of this restaurant, they should just train the new servers better so they can better communicate with the customers and chef. And I think the manager should have come out to at least apologize for the confusion. For this reason this time I'm only given them 4 stars.

While in downtown Roanoke, we decided to try this. The seating was immediate and we quickly…read morereceived our drinks and a small dish of cancha (fried corn) and Peruvian green sauce. We ordered the whole chicken with yucca and plantains and a side of black beans. The food was good and price was reasonable. With all of the choices in downtown, not sure I would make a special trip to eat there again. But if downtown and want to try a Peruvian meal, it is worth a visit. As I was reading the other reviews it reminded me that we, also, had to ask for the black beans after the rest of our food was brought to the table. They were good, nothing special.

This cafe is a small location but a prominent one in Roanoke's downtown. It was open when not a ton…read moreof things were, and had an impressive menu including numerous vegetarian and vegan options. Sometimes it's the simple things in life, though, and rather than go for a more complex platter when I found that you could get a bagel with falafel in it, I found my breakfast. There is a za'atar bagel available, which adds an extra flavor note to what was a compelling and filling breakfast. Their display of desserts was sufficiently impressive (and several of these were labeled vegan as well) that I decided to sample a baklava labeled as the Burma flavor. I couldn't figure out what the sweet pistachio mix had to do with Myanmar, but whatever was in there was good. I did not get a beverage in part because I didn't read the whole menu; maybe I missed out. Regardless, the food they offered was great for vegetarian diets, substantial, and delicious, and you'd struggle to find better in this part of the country or in most other parts of the country.

The desserts are amazing!!! The many different variations of baklava are simply delicious. Reminds…read moreme of when I was in bakeries in Greece. An absolute must and I'm definitely picky about my baked goods. Their fries are also perfectly crisp and thin. Delicious.

Betty & Veronica's makes the BEST cheesecakes! We have tried their Blueberries & Cream but our…read morefavorite is their Banana Pudding Cheesecake. It is AMAZING!!! They are working on finding a business location but will meet up with you once you order. Their service is excellent and they schedule a time and local pickup. It is worth it, but looking forward to seeing them with a shop window so the rest of Roanoke can see what they are all about. Their customer service sets the bar for any other bakery in Roanoke and beyond. In short - they are wonderful! Forget any other cake - make your birthday, anniversary or other special event cake a Betty & Veronica's Cheesecake! They have a full menu with plenty of exquisite choices on their Facebook page! The best desserts in Roanoke! You MUST give them a call! Tell them Tom sent you!

The downtown, brick-walled space has charm, and the baked goods appeared to have quality. My…read moreexperience left something to be desired. Arriving several hours before closing, I found only a couple of loaves on sale, and a long line to get with them. I managed to snag the last one that wasn't plain white bread, and thought I'd add a slice of pizza as it looked appealing. While the ingredients were there, the little toaster oven they used barely warmed it up at all. I ate it there, but I'd suspect it would have been much better if I'd gotten it to go and cooked it properly myself. They don't open all that early on weekdays and I've struggled to make it in, and on the weekend, they struggled to meet expectations. Perhaps on a different day, they could do a better job of getting the right baked goods into my hands.

For some time now every time I passed by this bakery located on Market Street in the heart of…read moreDowntown Roanoke, I would try to look inside the store, but the screen doors and the reflection of the windows didn't allow me to, and I never saw anyone going in or out the bakery. So I never thought anything about it, and never had an reason to. But today I said to myself, I have to take the road less traveled and go inside. And when I did, I discovered the best kept secret of Downtown Roanoke. A bakery that brought me back to years ago, when I visited Paris, France. With beautiful original hardwood floors and exposed red brick walls, high ceilings, and wonderful lighting treatment, the restaurant projected a warm and cozy feeling with the right ambiance to relax and have a cup of homemade coffee accompanied by a piece of freshly baked bread, bagel, or danish; or even better, the creative discovery of the Sweet & Spicy Bacon with Caramelized Onion Scrambled Egg Pizza. Which I definitely ended up ordering and enjoying with a large cup of Cafe Mocha, which was only 25 cents more than the small cup. And was one of the best Mochas that I have ever had in any coffee shop, yet along in any bakery. The solid white with tones of black marble tables and black chairs, contributed to make the ambiance of the bakery the right place in which to enjoy a breakfast none other than those I once enjoyed in Paris, France. As I enjoyed my breakfast dining experience, steady customers came in to have breakfast as well, and many others to order takeout. One even came to order a beautiful made cake which they also pride themselves of having, as well as one of my favorites, the Peanut Butter Pie. And last but not least was the young lady server behind the counter. She warmly greeted me when I arrived and answered all my questions about this quaint local business, and many of its products, which were many. And who prepared the amazing Cafe Mocha. And brought it to the table of my choice, together with the amazingly delicious, first time discovered, scrambled egg pizza. I also had an "Asiago Bagel" with Cream Cheese and a Cherry Cheese Croissant. The other employees and one that I think could have been the owner, I was able to greet with my eyes and a smile, seemed so friendly and also contributed to make me feel at home. I highly recommend this cozy Bakery Cafe who also has wraps, hot paninis, sandwiches, soups, and salads on its menu to enjoy for lunch. What an extraordinary dining experience! I will never again walk by an unknown food establishment without stopping by and walking in. For it is those who take the road less traveled who discover and enjoy the best in life.

The food was good although it seemed to take a while to get to the table. Service was good, very…read morefriendly. It wasn't crowded when we were there, so not too noisy.

Loved the ambiance, food, and beer was great! I would recommend this restaurant to anyone!read more

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.

The place I live has no good bread bakeries, so it was delightful to find Bread Craft while…read morevisiting Roanoke. We were only in town for a few days, but we made it our breakfast place for our entire visit. They have excellent pastries in addition to fantastic-looking bread, and great coffee. I had their strawberry bostock (which in this case is a sort of brioche-based confection with strawberries and powdered sugar) and a blueberry Danish. It's a cozy yet spacious place. The staff were super friendly. I'll miss them!

One of the most beautifully creative gift shop in Roanoke, Sugar Magnolia seems to amaze me every…read moretime I visit it. Today, Black Friday, I was fortunate enough to meet the owners of the place, a husband and wife team who came up with the idea of this store and very successfully have made it come true. The husband deals with the numbers, while the wife is the creative mind and buyer of all the one of a kind interesting gifts displayed in the store. This store has so many categories of gifts that it would be impossible to mention them all in this review, but take a look of the photographs accompanying the review and you will be able to get an idea of them all. After all, it is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Two of the main categories are Chocolates and Ice Cream. I went there today to purchase a box of hand picked chocolates which I myself selected and one of the friendly employees arranged very neatly inside the box. Some other categories of gifts include very lovely, quality Greeting Cards, very nice Souvenirs of the Star City of Roanoke, Stuffed Animals, Magnets with Quotes that touch the heart, Pottery such as mugs, plates, pitchers, cookies jars, and during this special time of the year, Nutcracker, Christmas decorations and ornaments, and other festive items that celebrate the Holiday Season time of the year. There is also an area with Purses, Jewelry, scarfs, soaps, incense, and a diverse variety of other beautiful items, that the wife and co-owner of the store has hand selected on her trips as Buyer. But if all this seems amazing and spectacular, what is even greater are the hand picked and well trained employees of the store. Immediately after you enter the store they make eye contact and greet you with a smile, making you feel comfortable and at home. They help you with any questions you might have and in locating that perfect gift for a family member or a best friend. They serve you that special ice cream behind the counter, for you to enjoy while sitting at one of the small tables or while browsing around the store. The customer service they provide is absolutely amazing, and they are key in providing the ambiance that make this store so special. I highly recommend this store to all. Go in and browse around. Enjoy the beauty of the store and the diverse gift items in stock. I am certain that it won't take long for you to find a gift for that special person in your life, for your best friend, or maybe even a gift to get for yourself.

Great staff, amazing ice cream and adorable shop. My brother and I shared a banana split and my…read moredaughter got some of the chocolate truffles out of the case.