The restaurant was easy to find and there was plenty of parking and it looked really nice. I had…read moregreat expectations. The young lady who served me was very friendly. But the spaghetti was overcooked almost to the point of being inedible. And the meat sauce just didn't have much flavor. In fact, it tasted a little bit sour. I gave up after a few bites. The salad, though, was very good.

Located in a beautifully designed building, with a majestic stone accent entrance and both cement…read moretall stairs and side ramp leading to two impressive large black doors with glass and ornamental iron rod details, on Riverview Drive, in Salem, Virginia, Lydia's Italian Kitchen's was named after the owner's young daughter. The interior design of this exquisite Italian restaurant is very simple and contemporary with stone accents in the host station and bar. The furniture is also light wood contemporary with light wood and black chairs. And the decor is some paintings on the walls and some framed photographs. As soon as my friend and I entered the restaurant, the host, a young lady with a big smile welcomed us and took us to one of the tables in the main dining room and gave us copies of the menu. The room had large windows all around which let the light in, as well as plain builtin ceiling lights. It also had some contemporary ceiling fans. While we were reviewing the menus, our server, Hannah, arrived and gave us a warm welcome and took our order. We both had glasses of Iced water to drink, and Chicken Parmigiana as our main entrée. This included a house salad with poppyseed dressing and a basket of garlic bread. The salad ingredients were very fresh and the homemade salad dressing was amazing. The garlic bread was soft and very tasty. And the Chicken Parmigiana was cooked to perfection with a marinara sauce and melted mozzarella cheese that were delicious, as well as the accompanied spaghetti and sauce. Our server came by at the appropriate times to check on us and fill our glasses with Iced water. For dessert my friend had the Salted Caramel Cheesecake and I had the Tiramisu. Both were made in house and amazingly delicious. I highly recommend this Italian restaurant. The ambiance was very elegant and comfortable at the same time, the food was amazing, and the service was excellent.

The food was amazing and the service great and very friendly. There was about 4-5 tables and a…read morepickup for to go orders. There were also great lunch specials that were very reasonable

This place is in a pretty dead shopping center far away from anything. There are a couple of tables…read moreif you want to eat indoors, but I got takeout. I came seeking an arepa, the South American grilled corn sandwich of note that is hard to find in this area. By getting takeout and taking it home with me, I probably waited a bit too long on it, but the arepa was still quite satisfying. The best thing in it was the beans, warmly spiced with a note of bay leaf, but cheese and plantains made for a rounded flavor experience, of course accentuated by grilled corn. Their more conventional pizza and garlic bread delivered basic satisfaction. I also enjoyed a cake slice with finely chopped nuts the next day. The arepas are far more notable that the pizza, but if offering pizza and locating themselves in a mall next to a karate studio and an orthodox church is what it takes to get some diversity in the local culinary scene, I'm for it.

Great pizza good staff was hot and staff helpful and friendly was quick and hot would recommend to…read moreanyone who loves piazza like me

Sometimes it is in the least expected places where we find the most amazing food. So today I set…read morecourse to 7th Street, Salem, Virginia, in search of that little restaurant in an alleyway producing some very unique quality pizzas. 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 Gusto's Pizza in Salem, Virginia, is the perfect example. I arrived at their parking lot first. It was located on the left side of the restaurant's building and had a mural of a caricature of a pizza with a slice coming off of the pizza. On the left side of the colorful mural was painted the Salem baseball field and scoreboard and on the fence of the field the words "EAT LOCAL" were printed with white paint on it. As I parked my car and walked around toward the front of the restaurant's building, I noticed that it had a patio with outdoor seating up front surrounded by a natural color wooden fence with the letters of the name Gusto's in black glued onto the fence. I reach to an open area of the fence that lead to the entrance of the restaurant after passing by the outdoor dining patio with outdoor tables and chairs. Inside I discovered a newly remodeled, clean and cozy restaurant with a small bar. It had the main dining room and then another small open one a couple of stairs up in the back with booths and tables and chairs. The restaurant had a very pleasant and relaxed environment and you could tell that most of the customers eating there were locals enjoying a Friday night out. The hostess/server young lady, Marisa greeted me with a friendly smile and gave me a warm welcome, and walked me to my table and handed me a copy of the menu which contained a nice variety of items. I was undecided whether to have the Meat Lasagna or a Deluxe/Supreme Small Pizza. After consulting with her, she recommended that I have their New York-style pizza because they make their own pizza dough from scratch, fresh ingredients, and cooked in a stone oven. It did not take long to convince me. I also ordered a small house salad.with their very own made Ranch salad dressing. I invite you to view my photographs and video clips accompanying my review to get a better sense of the place and the freshness of the food. As I waited for my pizza, I ate my salad which was fresh and delicious, and observed how the restaurant was filling up, and many customers were stopping by to pick up their To Go orders. When the pizza arrived, it was like no other I've ever had before. Their in-house made dough made the crust taste very special and very gourmet and all the ingredients tasted fresh and top quality, including the cheese. I enjoyed it so much that I ate it all. My server came by at the appropriate times and brought me a refill of my Cherry Coke which she had made at my request with Coke and a cherry syrup. In conclusion, I highly recommend this place for an amazingly unique and delicious pizza and other good food, an excellent customer service, and an extraordinary dining experience. I definitely plan to return.

Frank's is hands down one of the best spots in Salem. The pizza is classic New York-style, thin…read morecrust, perfectly cooked, and full of flavor. Everything is always fresh and the service is quick and friendly. We've tried pizza, wings, calzones and subs and it never disappoints. Portions are generous and it's such an easy go-to for takeout or a casual meal. If you're searching for the best pizza near me in Salem, VA, Frank's is the answer.

I was really looking forward to dining at this pizza place, especially because I was led to believe…read morethey had the best New York Pizza in the area. But what I discovered was it was nothing like a New York style pizza, and not at all the best pizza around. The fact is I lived for over 25 years in Boston, Massachusetts, and frequented the Italian neighborhood of Boston which is called the North End, that it is also widely known as Boston's Little Italy, due to its rich Italian-American heritage and abundance of Italian restaurants and bakeries. There, at the pizza place next to the Little Italy Market, I've had the best genuine New York style pizza ever. And I also visited New York frequently, and have actually eaten a New York style pizza in New York City often, so I guess you can say I know first hand the look and taste of a New York Style pizza. I arrived at Franks Pizza on East Main Street, Salem on a Saturday early evening, and parked at the City of Salem Farmer's Market Parking lot, conveniently located across the street, and where you get 2 hours of free parking, Monday - Saturday, 6AM-6PM. As I entered the place I saw an open window on the wall with one of the cooks making a pizza, I stopped there on the way to the main counter to ask to be seated. The person making the pizza was kind of rude and asked me to move on, not allowing me to see how he was making the pizza. When I arrived to the main counter, the server, who was a very nice gentleman, greeted and welcomed me and asked me to sit in any booth available. Practically all the booths were empty except one where two older ladies were dining at. I found this a bit odd, on a Saturday early evening, when good restaurant are already beginning to get full. The gentleman treated me well, handed me the menu, got me my softdrink, and took my order. I ordered a House Salad with Balsamic vinaigrette dressing, and a Special 12" hand tossed NY Style Pizza. As I was waiting I noticed there was no music in the background to make for a relaxing ambiance. Instead you could here the cooks back in the kitchen talking loud in Spanish, which I guess they didn't know I was understanding all the nonsense they were saying. That loudness coming out of the kitchen didn't create a relaxing ambiance. The salad arrived shortly, inside a plastic black bowl, and it was the highlight of the meal. I invite you to watch and listen to my video clip and photographs accompanying this review to get a better sense of the place and its food. Then the pizza arrived. My servered delivered it by placing it on a stand. At first it looked good, but a bit too white on top. It hardly had any sauce at all, and thus hardly any flavor from the lack of sauce and quality meats. The Italian sausage and pepperoni lacked flavor probably due to the low quality. It was full of cheese, that's for sure, but also lacking flavor. The dough of the crust was bland and burnt, not at all tasty. Some customers, for whatever reason, might like their pizza this way, and might not mind the loud noise coming from the kitchen, and the lack of music creating a relaxed environment, and I respect that. But in my opinion, with so many other good pizza places around, even in the least expected alleyways, I would not waste my time and money here.

Dinner one night while we were in town. We were greeted walking in and seated within the same…read moreinteraction. An old school eatery, pretty basic on the inside, nothing fancy just good food and kind service. We started with the Burschetta Napoletana appetizer. It was a traditional style serving. With a slice of toasted bread, fresh diced tomato, onion and chopped basil, with a little evoo drizzle. Very simple and good. Refreshing and tasty a good start. They had Oysters Rockerfeller on the special menu the night of our visit, so we had to give them a try. They were again very traditional, well made and flavorful. For my entree I went for the Salmon Portofino. A beautiful portion, vibrant and full of flavor. A large bowl, with a nice piece of salmon cooked in a wonderful broth. Line caught fish, pan seared and cooked with cherry tomatoes, capers and artichoke hearts. It was a very good meal. 3.5 Stars rounded up for the kind staff. 01266

My favorite local restaurant in the entire southwest Virginia region. Primarily family-owned…read more Delicious menu items that sre consistent every time and friendly staff. I've been to Italy and this restaurant is the closest to going to Italy anyone will ever get, from flavors to ambiance. At lunchtime this restaurant also offers a buffet which is a great idea if you're a first-time diner. ALWAYS save room for their homemade gelato!! Their gelato is best I've ever had outside of Italy itself! We love, love, love this place. (Also, squeaky clean bathrooms)

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.

My steak and cheese was delicious and my husband's pizza was good too…read more Always get good service. Take out gives us quiet ambiance.

Stopped by for a bite during a drive from DC to NC... what a great find (thanks, Yelp!). Incredible…read morestuffed crust pizza for sale by the slice... and warmed in their pizza oven very quickly. No wait... wonderful staff... clean restroom. The sauce is simply out of this world... wanted to drink the side sauce! Yummmmmm. Thank you for the wonderful service. Bon appetite!

Great food and great service would highly recommend this place if you like to traditional and…read moreauthentic Mediterranean food

Ordered to go. Started with the Greek salad and the Grilled Chicken Pita Wrap. The salad was a…read moregenerous serving, fresh and well prepared. Feta, olives, salad greens with tomato and some peppers with sliced onions. A decent salad to start. The Grilles chicken was cooked nicely, stuffed in a fresh pita with lettuce and tomato along with a nice yogurt dressing. This is a large wrap and totally splitable. I had half a wrap leftover for my lunch the next day. I wanted something sweet too, so ordered a slice of Baklava aling with a piece of Pecan Pie. Both were okay, the baklava was the better of the two. The pie was okay, on the small side for what was charged. This is a decent place to grab some mediterrean style food, served its purpose. 3 Stars it met my needs and was pretty good overall. 01022