Restaurants in Roanoke
Recommended Restaurants by Groupon Customers
Sicilian and New York-style pizzas—topped with a choice of more than 15 toppings such as sausage, bacon, and pineapple—headline the culinary show at Frank’s Place, but chefs complement the Italian staples with other food from around the globe. Beyond calzones and baked ziti, the kitchen team prepares tortillas, rice dishes, burgers, and hot dogs. It’s not just their Mexican, Italian, and American foods that draw in visitors; the casual, family-friendly neighborhood eatery proffers a big-screen TV, a pool table, and arcade games—entertainment more reliable than teaching a hen and her chicks not to put their wings on the table.
Beyond its unpretentious decor and unassuming exterior, Crab Creek serves up a slew of fresh seafood specialties. Cooks toss Diablo shrimp in a vodka-tomato-cream sauce and mix Caribbean shrimp with andouille sausage, salsa, and spices. Diners can dig into housemade crab cakes or enjoy fresh catfish, tilapia, or salmon served pan-fried, broiled, blackened, or grilled. According to the Roanoke Times, a fireplace warms guests as the waitstaff bustles about, "brimming with friendly service."
The chefs at Bull Branch marry local and international ingredients in a menu of salads, shareable tapas, and entrees that strikes a balance between succinct and eclectic. Served in a intimately lit Bohemian setting that The Washington Post describes as "that perfect blend of casual and sophisticated, elegant and honky-tonk," dishes such as hummus, curries, and pulled pork harness the flavors of the Mediterranean and Middle East, Southeast Asia, and down-home America. Occasional live music in the evenings complements the pan-continental cuisine, as does a serving staff of UN delegates who, upon request, sprinkle borders of salt and pepper to delineate your entree and sides.
Kimchi and bruschetta don't seem like a natural pairing, but the chefs at Rivermont Pizza regularly couple the two for an appetizer plate that also stars korean pulled pork. They take the same creative bent with their wood-fired pies, such as The Hutcherson, which arranges caramelized onions, cheddar, granny-smith slices, and virginia country ham over a layer of red sauce. Upscale ingredients such as pancetta, cremini mushrooms, and goat cheese regularly top crusts, and hoagies hug fillings of locally made tofu, cherry peppers, or thinly shaved roast beef. Committed to local harvesting, the basement-level eatery plucks nearby ingredients whenever possible, and though its wood-burning oven only holds five pizzas at a time, guests are invited to pass the time listening to live local bands, participating in trivia contests, or playing tiddlywinks with the roasted sweet-potato medallions on the wilted-spinach salad.
Outside of swimming laps in chocolate syrup, smoothies at Smoothie King are the tastiest way to improve your health. Smoothie King smoothies combine fresh fruit, natural juices, and special nutritional enhancers into more than 90 flavors (you can customize, add, and subtract the extras), all of which focus on achieving one of seven nutritional goals. Try an antioxidant-rich Pomegranate Punch with pomegranate, bananas, blueberries, apple juice, soy protein, and Turbinado sweetener to stay healthy. Weight-conscious en-smuthiasts can trim down and float away with the Celestial Cherry High, packed with bananas, black cherry, papaya, Turbinado, and honey, and unpacked with fat. You can also customize any smoothie by adding enhancers or “make it skinny” by cutting out the honey and Turbinado.
Within Cafe Mangia’s deep orange walls, servers cart around steaming plates of hearty Italian food, piled high with fresh basil and traditional recipes. In the evenings, platefuls of fresh grilled salmon or new york strip steaks grace the granite tabletops inside the softly lit dining room, or out on the wraparound porch. Chefs top steaming pastas with traditional pink vodka and white wine butter sauces, and can swap out standard noodles for whole-wheat or gluten-free ones upon request. They also warm up griddles for crepes and pancakes at Sunday brunch, and stuff grinders and sandwiches for lunch.
On certain evenings, Cafe Mangia breaks out the grape-tasting bibs for wine dinners that pair a five-course meal with complementary libations, like most sommelier-run dating services.
