You rarely find a little restaurant in the middle of nowhere that makes you feel at home from the…read moremoment you walk in. Delicious food, a welcoming atmosphere, and attentive service, are the best words I can use to describe this gem of a restaurant. After being awarded the NC Triad Yelp Squad Yelper of the Year 2024 Award at the Yelpies Award Ceremony last year, an event that honored the highest-performing Yelp Elites, celebrating their contributions and accomplishments throughout the year, I decided that this year, as an All-Star Yelp Elite, I not only wanted to be the first to discover new restaurants and businesses, 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 entirety. And Lews Restaurant in the Hollins neighborhood of Roanoke, Virginia, is a perfect example. From the moment I parked my car in their small parking lot and walked over to this cozy little restaurant with a slanted shaped roof, I was first welcomed by one of their customers who held the door open for me when he was entering the restaurant and saw me headed that way. That particular gesture was so meaningful to me that I abstained from taking a photograph of the outside of the restaurant and hurried along to catch the door. As I stepped inside, the unique architectural design captivated me. The slanted wooden ceiling, peaking in a true cathedral style, lent the space a feeling of immense height while still maintaining a warm, inviting atmosphere."  It didn't take long for me to notice the sign that read: "Please SEAT YOURSELF." But almost at the same time that I had finished reading it, a friendly young lady, who ended up being my server, greeted me with a smile and a warm welcome, and invited me to sit anywhere I wished. I chose a booth next to a collage of photographs depicting major scenes from the Star City of Roanoke. I invite you to view my photographs accompanying this review to get a better sense of the place and its food. My friendly server came by to take my order. Given that they sold Pepsi products, I chose an ice-cold Pepsi. Then I ordered the Tavern Burger and requested they add bacon. This burger was topped with fried egg, mustard, pickle, and American cheese, and served on a sesame seed bun with a side of their Beer Battered Fries. From the fresh and soft sesame seed bun,to the freshly fried egg, to the juicy and quality beef patty, and the thick, satisfying bacon and pickle, every component of this burger contributed to an amazingly delicious final result. Needless to say, my server checked back to see how I was doing at the appropriate times and provided me with refills of my ice-cold Pepsi. To my surprise the only dessert they had was Fried Oreos and no ice-cream to accompany it. I realize that many restaurants hold on having dessert to expedite customer flow, but at least for me, a meal isn't a meal without a good, sweet dessert. And I make the recommendation of adding a few unique desserts special menu such as Peanut Butter Pie, Vanilla Ice Cream to the Fried Oreos, and a Mango Crème Brûlée. You'll be surprised, you may have customers attracted to eat here just for any of these simple but unique and delicious desserts. In conclusion I highly recommend this little and cozy restaurant for its warm and friendly environment, its wonderful satisfying food, and last but not least, its excellent customer service. All contributing to an amazing dining experience.

If you are traveling in the area or even live near by, this is the place to stop. We do not live in…read morethe area but have had several meals here when traveling and even booked our hotel close by so we can be sure to grab a meal. From the white veggie pizza to the sandwiches all have been delicious. The staff may be young but all have been extremely helpful, polite and always a wonderful experience. The cook always does a phenomenal job and we will continue to stop by when passing every time!

One of our favorite date night spots! The food is so so good and the staff is always very…read morewelcoming. The bolognese and fillet Oscar are our favorites

First time stopping in the food is Fresh homemade it's amazing owner is great and food is grown on…read morepremises

Unexpected find while we were spending the night in Roanoke during our travels. Great service,…read moreamazing food! Fish tacos were perfect! Wish it wasn't 4 hours from home!

The hostess was paying attention to her phone , twice I said good morning before she looked up…read more I told her we would be 4 people for the buffet . She took us to the other side of the restaurant where, without a word dropped off 3 menus for alcohol and left. After 5 minutes a waitress came in and directed us to the other side where the buffet is. The orange juice in the mimosa was rancid, no spoon was brought, just a knife and fork. I ended up having to use a straw to mix the cream and sugar in my coffee. No one but the owner behind the omelette station . The eggs are already mixed kept in a glass container and not kept in ice or any type of refrigeration. They were just kept out all the time as well as the ingredients. The water had a very strong taste, so I did not drink it. The only other time we were approached by a server was on the way out that we asked whom did we pay. It was quiet around 11:15 am. The price is reasonable but not worth it.

Just had the best experience and lunch at Drifters! Haleigh Vaughn was our server and she and her…read moremanager went above and beyond to make our experience incredible. They even delivered our friend's gluten free meal separately from the rest with gloves to assure our friend of a gluten free meal without any cross-contamination. Great view, great vibes, great food!

Great Friday evening on the water…read more We sat outside right on the water and enjoyed a beautiful Friday evening. The ahi tuna bites were a 10/10--definitely the highlight! The Carolina wrap was a solid 9/10, and the white sangria was excellent. The Carolina pulled pork sandwich was good, but about a 7/10 for us. The tables are a little older and could use some updating, but the friendly staff and relaxing waterfront setting made for a really nice evening. We'd definitely come back for the tuna bites and sangria!

Continuing alphabet series with V for V is for Vinny's. My girlfriend & I were at Smith Mountain…read moreLake the week of 4th of July 2024 as her parents have a home there. My g/f recommended Vinny's as being very good. Originally, we were going to go here for an early dinner on Thursday, July 4, but when we were driving from Franklin County, I exclaimed Prime Rib Thursday at Copper Kettle! So, I had her U-turn, and we tried that instead. Please see my 5-star of them from August 2024. We ended up going on Saturday, July 6. We arrived in this cramped front area, and someone sat us at a booth at a reasonable time. We sat in the booth over 10 minutes without anyone coming to even get us water or check on here. We were hungry, and I was already annoyed for this long wait and was looking on Yelp. I asked my g/f about trying Bella Vita, which she agreed and left about 15 minutes after being seated. It was a big disappointment. However, after my 5-star Yelp review of Bella Vita (which I got to reviewing in April 2025), my g/f said Bella Vita is a better Italian than Vinny's, so maybe for the best. Since I didn't actually eat at Vinny's in the end, wasn't actively denied water, or had some other terrible experience, it would be unfair to give than 1-star in this case.

We have eaten here 3 times since we moved - Sept 2025. I was afraid I would miss the other…read moreVinny's... NO way!! This place is awesome!!! The food is delicious and the people seem very genuine. I love pizza, I know it, being originally from the southwest side of Chicago and living in the suburbs, WE have the greatest pizza there! Vinny's is great and really satisfies! I also LOVE the tilapia Vinny - U must try, i just love! My Husband always orders the Stromboli and calamari - it's wonderful... love the food, salads, nice deserts - everything and the restaurant....love the high ceilings, decor, and the space... I don't feel jammed together! This is a great place to sit eat unwind and refresh! Thanx for exceeding things i love to enjoy! SEE you soon!

This was not a good experience. We had thought work would provide lunch today, but it had been…read morechanged. So we tried to call a pizza place we had been to several times before. Every time we called the number a machine answered.

The weather around here has been unpredictable lately. Today as I was driving to dine at a…read morerelatively new restaurant the clouds in the sky began to turn gray and a strong wind began to blow. So I decided to turn around and dine at home from a restaurant in DoorDash. I picked Leonore Restaurant, a Venezuelan imigrant-owned restaurant founded in 2012 by Miguel Liendo in Roanoke, and that now is located on Apperson Drive in Salem, Virginia. It was created to bring people together through food, and features a unique fusion of Italian and Venezuelan cuisine. I've had the privilege of dining at the restaurant when it was located on Campbell Ave in the heart of downtown Roanoke, and of ordering delivery via DoorDash several times before. Today, I ordered one of Venezuelan most popular dishes as well as one of my favorites: The Pabellon Criollo. It is a traditional Venezuelan dish made of shredded beef, black beans, white rice, avocado, a fried egg, and ripe, sweet plantains. I invite you to view my photographs accompanying this review to get a better sense of the high-quality and variety of the food this special dish contains. This time when I made my order on the DoorDash app it allowed me to have my order delivered via their expedited service for free, while normally it's an extra charge. The DoorDasher Elliott delivered the order on time and brought it inside a special DoorDash bag made to keep your food hot. He opened the bag at my door and handed a simple black plastic bag with my order to me. The food arrived well packaged and organized in a strong, Hefty plastic container with a see-through cover, inside a shining black plastic bag. The flavor of all the items contain in this dish amazingly stood out. The avocado was nice and ripe, thus bringing out its flavor best. Same with the ripe plantains, which when fried brought out their sweetness. The savory shredded beef was a great combination with the simple white rice and the egg to top it off. I enjoyed every bit of everything this dish contained, and highly recommend this restaurant for its masterpiece cuisine, and am looking forward to dine at its Salem location next time to also enjoy its friendly environment and satisfying customer service.

We stopped here on a whim after getting some work done in a coffee shop nearby. We were SO…read moreimpressed. Cute and classic interior with good music. Our server, Taylor, was so fun and energetic. She was helpful and quick with service. She seemed like the only hostess/waitress/bartender/manager on that day, and despite running around to take care of everyone, she maintained a great attitude and seemed to really care about every customer in the building. The drinks here are made with LOVE (Thanks again Taylor ). The food was fast and delicious. I recommend the fried pickles and the calzone!

We had a very disappointing experience. We ordered two pizzas, one pasta, and an appetizer and…read morewaited 45 minutes with absolutely no communication from the staff. During that entire time, no one checked on us or provided an update on our order. After 45 minutes, I went to ask for an ETA and was told by the hostess, Anita, that she had "no idea." Ten minutes later, I asked again, and she checked with the pizza makers, who said everything would be ready in five minutes. We explained that the only reason we ordered the appetizer was because we were hungry and expected it to come out before the main meal. Since it clearly wasn't coming first, we let her know we no longer wanted the appetizer. Ten minutes after the promised "five minutes," I went back to ask for another update. At that point, the hostess stated that our entire order had been cancelled and no food would be coming out. I explained there had been a misunderstanding...we only wanted to cancel the appetizer, not the entire order. We had been sitting there for over an hour waiting, so obviously we had not intended to cancel everything. The hostess repeatedly cut me off, insisted we had cancelled the whole order, and was extremely rude throughout the interaction. She then told us our food was sitting behind the counter if we wanted it. When she rang us up, she initially charged only for the appetizer part of the order. After I clarified again that we still wanted the pizzas and pasta, she re-rang the order for over $50. To make matters worse, the restaurant was uncomfortably hot (over 80 degrees inside.) My toddler was so hungry from the long wait that my sister had to walk down the street to Food Lion to buy her something to eat while we waited. The most frustrating part was that no one ever apologized, acknowledged the excessive wait, or seemed concerned about what had happened. After all of that, we finally got the food home only to discover that it was both cold and burnt. Delays happen, and we would have understood if the restaurant had simply communicated with us. Instead, we experienced poor service, rude interactions, no accountability, and disappointing food!

Local Favorite We…read morehad such a great experience here! The live music made for such a fun atmosphere, and it was especially nice that the owner came out and introduced himself. You could really tell he cares about his restaurant and his guests. The mango ahi tuna bites were a 10/10--absolutely delicious! The cheeseburger and fish sandwich were also both on point and cooked perfectly. Great food, friendly service, and a relaxed atmosphere made for a really enjoyable evening. My only suggestion would be to add a few more two-person tables and bar seating for smaller groups. Other than that, we really enjoyed our visit and would definitely come back!

Great location on the water with chill vibes and live music. Food is better than I expected but WAY…read moremore expensive than it's worth. Definitely a great spot for drinks and a bite after a full day on the water. Service is slow but mostly friendly. Would visit again.