Zeppolli’s

This is where I like to go for special occasions. The wine list is impressive and the pasta dishes are spot on. The staff has impeccable customer service and are so friendly. Definitely a must go to spot when you want to celebrate of get a true Italian experience!

Very good Italian food in small restaurant in shopping center near Virginia Tech. Good wine list although better wines are only available in bottles.
Valpolicella wine was excellent; salad was fresh and ravioli was very tasty and well spiced.
With Frank Sinatra crooning in the background, this was a genuine family owned Italian restaurant. Informal, home made décor, good service and good food.

We went with our daughter and son-​in-​law. We really liked the atmosphere and friendly service. All the food was really good. For appetizers we had the olive bread burrata flat bread. For the entrees we had the homemade ravioli with marinara sauce, lasagna, meatballs and sausage, and a past dish with shrimp. All were very satisfying. The server was very knowledgable about the wine and she steered us to a very good Carménère. And it is nice to be able to order wine and not pay restaurant prices for the bottle.
The food was very satisfying and we would definitely return. The only minor issue was that water was not bout until we asked for it. Not sure if that is a new thing now.

Food poisoning anyone? Yesterday was our first time at Zeppolli’s. Generally we don’t eat out in Blacksburg unless it is at Gillies usually (Freshest food, everything else is kinda of college-​divey-​not-​fresh). I was craving a veal parmigiana– the kind i had when I was a kid. Not a good idea. My stomach was acting up last night. And I shared with my daughter. Diarrhea this morning and puking in school so I had to take her out early. Funnily enough, my daughter’s teacher’s family was also there last night, and I just got an e-​mail from her: «our daughter was sick to her stomach last night around 11pm!» I will never ever go there again. and I don’t suggest you go either. Kitchen Nightmares should probably do a story on them :-P Just because you make your own pasta doesn’t mean you’re good or sanitary!
Update: Saturday 5/​21, it has been 3 days and our daughter still has regular diarrhea. Never again

Completely average. Service was good, food was not at all. Also ordered espresso at the end of my meal and received half a cup of coffee. I work at a coffee shop so I know what espresso taste/​looks like.

Recently just visited from out of town and had one of the best experiences I have ever had. I visited Blacksburg a few years ago and I liked to see what the new management had done to the place. They have created a patio, incorporated the wine room with a more intimate dining room for private parties and they have definitely been doing some new interior decorating. The food is great and well worth the price, I would definitely recommend stopping by when you are in town.

I’m not sure what took me so long to try Zeppolli’s. I guess I was afraid of disappointment because nothing depresses me more than bad Italian. NOTHING.
Well, I shall fear no longer! Zeppolli’s is a perfectly good Italian restaurant. It is slightly more on the Italian side of Italian-​American cuisine, which is great.
Portions are appreciably generous and the garlic is fresh. You won’t find squid ink pasta, but where can you get that in Blacksburg anyway?

Had a wonderful lunch date here this week. The restaurant wasn’t too crowded and the service was really fast. Our host was really nice and told us the specials for the day. My boyfriend enjoyed the veal and I had the shrimp pasta. Huge portion sizes and lots of warm bread and olive oil. Nice and relaxing lunch. The prices are a little steep for a college budget, but with deals on hooked, they can be pretty reasonable.

Came with high reviews from coworkers but left disappointed. Hard to mess up lasagna but they succeeded by serving it still frozen in the middle. They tried to make it right but failed again with a plate of tasteless cannolis. 2 stars instead of 1 for the sake of decent service.

Not that the food was bad or anything… It just wasn’t worth the price. I got spaghetti w/​meatballs for close to $ 13. I’m still not sure why I paid that much because it definitely was not worth it. It seemed to me like all the other items on the menu were inflated too.
The service was decent, and the ambiance is alright. Definitely has a more upscale feel when it comes to local Blacksburg restaurants, but the prices didn’t match the true cost of the food and the service didn’t particularly make up for it.

I made a reservation and arrived on time, I was greeted with an 8 minute wait to get a drink while the table next to us was waited on twice by the person that turned out to be our waiter. I payed 17 dollars for undercooked noodles 3 pieces of over cooked veal and a server that decided they cared more about the table next to ours than mine. It gets 2 stars because at least my date enjoyed her ravioli alfredo.

The fresh ravioli is great. Dessert selection was only OK and the service was mixed. Still the cheese, sauce and pasta make up for it.

I haven’t been here in years but my wife and I had a hankering for something different from Sals. Place was quite empty, only 3 other tables occupied. Wine list was small but prices were surprisingly good … A decent Chianti for under 15 bucks? Sure, hit me. I had the swordfish special, wife had chicken Alfredo. Well, my belief that you can’t get good fish in Blacksburg was underlined here, although the accompanying vegetables/​sauce was good. Wife’s Alfredo was good, but uninspired. Fruit flies were out of control and I fished 4 out of my wife’s wine before she started leaving a napkin on top. Décor was tired and dark. Plastic table coverings that belong on a cheap Mexican place. Bread was just OK, but olive oil in dip was oxidized. I know oxidation and I know olive oil. Tasted like a mix with other vegetable oil or a poor quality oil. Service was good. They need to hire a new manager and completely redo this place from top to bottom, décor to menu.

This place has some great things going for it — and I want to love it! — but the service suuuuuuucks. I’ve been here 4 or 5 times and each time I prepare myself for a long meal with bad service. But I really like the fettuccine alfredo so I return for the punishment each time.
On the way there last night I said to my husband, «Okay, just be ready to wait» to which he replied «It’ll be fiiiine.» Well, after being seated and not being greeted by our waitress for 15 minutes, my husband wanted to walk out. I went up to the hostess stand and asked for a server, who came by about 5 minutes later.
Another memorable experience was when a visiting professor came into town and we were given 2 hours to take her to lunch. Lunch! I thought for sure we’d get in and out quickly but I was wrong. Even after telling the waiter that we were in a rush, we had to push back her afternoon meetings because we were late getting back to campus.
Food is pretty good but I agree that it is overpriced, especially since I, the patron, have to go out of my way to find this place. Wouldn’t the rent be cheaper in such an off-​the-​beaten-​path location?
Tip if you go: Order a carafe of wine off the bat because no one will come by to give you drink refills.

Good food, bit pricey but worth it. Fresh bread and creamy smooth pasta! I tried the broccoli alfredo con pollo with Cajun on the side and it was pretty good!

I am a Tech alumni and I was recently in town for a conference on Virginia Tech’s campus. When my friends flew in and had eaten that day (I suggested we walk over to Zeppolis. It was mid-​afternoon so we were one of two occupied tables. The young man who waited on use was friendly and eager. He did a great job. He was present just the right amount of time. With so few people there, he could have easily disappeared or hovered, but he did neither.
Twice, the woman who was in charge yelled at him in an unreasonable way. The first time seemed to be because he’d offered us the specials when it was too early to do so. This was not a quiet correction. This was YELLING and insulting. He calmly came back over and explained he’d be mistaken about offering us the specials. At the end of our meal, she began yelling at him again, threatening to fire him or take ‘it’ out of his salary.
I am not saying this employee did not deserve correction. He may have made multiple mistakes and may have deserved to lose his job. (Although to be clear, there was nothing I saw that indicated that.) I have two significant issues with the situation. First, I would characterize the way she spoke to him as border-​line abusive. I severely regret that I didn’t intervene during the second incident. Nobody should be spoken to that way. Second, as a customer, I don’t want to hear an employee being corrected at any point. I’d had a wonderful meal, and after listening to this horrible exchange my stomach curdled.

Great place to frequent for good good with great company. Super service– helpful and friendly.

Great wine selection and prices. Excellent Italian food for the area. The ambiance leaves a bit to be desired, but the service was good and the portions were large.

Nice place for lunch. Service seemed to struggle with the lunch crowd, resulting in a very long wait, but the food was perfectly acceptable. Nothing of a «home run» caliber, but very nice. I’ll have to go back and give them another shot with the service and I’ll update when I do.

Here with friends Lorie, Anne, Bill and James. Anne, who teaches here, recommended the place — it was a wonderful recommendation. The food was good, the wine was good, and the prices were reasonable. The service was excellent (Thanks, Zach!). And it has an attractive, clean and friendly vibe, just right for yakking about kids or math or whatever is on your mind (or not). A very good value overall and a nice place to be, and Anne and other friends say it’s consistently this way. Go there!

There are certain things I love on their menu that keep me coming back. This time, it was the baked scallop dish. Divine.
However, I keep hoping this place will get a make over. The green walls are just puckish and the décor is simply outdated. Some of the wait staff needs revamped; if they aren’t the best, don’t keep them. This place has too much potential for me to see too much cleavage and deal with a person that doesn’t know their wines. If this issue were addressed, I’d become a regular instead of an occasional twice a year pop in.

Food rating: 4, Logistics rating: 2… hence the 3.
I will report back once I’ve had the opportunity to sit down here for a meal, but so far, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of take-​out at Zeppoli’s. I am not sure that eggplant parmesan requires an extremely high degree of culinary prowess, but I will commend Zeppoli’s for the flavor nonetheless.
The only shortcoming was the fact that our takeout order was missing both side salads that we had ordered. We were in a rush and did not realize this until we sat down to eat… =(

erica is the best host/​waitress/​person ever!!!
made my experience so delightful, i’ll be returning again!

I was pleasantly surprised by how delicious the manicotti was here. They definitely used freshly made crepes and the marinara sauce was slightly sweet and still had some texture– it wasn’t completely pureed which I liked. Our party had about 12 people, so we did call ahead and they had our table reserved and ready to go as soon as we walked in. The server was attentive and got all our orders/​bills right. The olive bread was wonderfully warm, served on a cutting board with olive oil and butter. The menu was quite extensive with many options. The prices were fair– my 2 good-​sized manicottis were $ 8.99. I will definitely be coming back when another Italian craving hits!

Reliable and consistent. Always relaxing and inexpensive for what you get. Get the carafe of wine, $ 12.99! Great deal.

We came here for dinner last night because I was really craving some pasta. It was an interesting night to say the least. It was our first time dining at the restaurant and our waitress was in training.
Though the service wasn’t bad at all, I think that it definitely could have been better. I know she was new so we cut her some slack, but I just feel like the other waiters and waitresses at our surrounding tables were more on top of things and checked on their diners way more than she came to check on us. Again, I don’t blame her because she’s new so we let it slide.
After we ordered our drinks, we got a loaf of bread with garlic dipping sauce that was really good. My one gripe about the bread was that every table had the choice between an Italian or Olive loaf and we didn’t. The waitress didn’t ask us what we wanted and just brought us a loaf of white bread. I would have preferred the Olive loaf… but again, we let it slide.
For dinner, I ordered the Spinach and cheese raviloi in their Mushroom Rose sauce which was AMAZING! The sauce was really really good — I enjoyed it a lot.
My fiancé ordered the lasagna which looked incredibly overcooked and didn’t really taste all that special. I had a bite of his and it really tasted like what I make at home. Typically, when you go out, you expect your entrees to taste better than something you can throw together at home so that was a huge letdown. He didn’t eat the bottom piece of pasta on his lasagna because it was stuck to the baking dish and burnt pretty badly. I think he would have liked it a lot better if he got a different entrée.
All in all, it was an okay experience. It wasn’t the best Italian we’ve ever had, but it wasn’t bad either. I thought the entrees were a touch over price for what they were. I mean this isn’t exactly fine dining or anything even though I think they try to come off as a fine dining establishment…
Given the choice, I’m not sure if I’d come back or not. I think just because it was our first time and we got a new waitress, things just weren’t as great as they could have been. It’s no fault of her own, it’s just I don’t like to be the guinea pig when I go out to eat you know?

Zeppoli’s is a hidden Italian restaurant in the shopping center across from the Math emporium, and I’m sad I only discovered it about a year ago. I don’t usually crave Italian food, but now when I do Zeppoli’s is the spot. I haven’t gotten the chance to try many of their dishes but the best one BY FAR is their eggplant parmesan! I’m not even vegetarian but I got this the first time I went with a girlfriend and it has been the only thing I’ve gotten ever since. What can I say? Once you know something’s good, it’s good! And I love the olive bread they bring out to you while you’re looking over the menu, it comes out warm and toasty and just delicious. Their spinach artichoke dip is also fantastic!
Downsides? Entrees come out with a small side of spaghetti, which in my opinion could have more flavor and taste better considering that it’s an Italian staple. I also was not impressed with their fried calamari or ravioli — Olive Garden quality, if at best. And although I didn’t have a bite of any of my other friends’ dishes to vouch for their experiences in the past, they never seemed as enthusiastic about them as I about that delicious eggplant parmesan.

I was really surprised to find a place like this anywhere near the MATH EMPORIUM!
The food was surprisingly good and so was the ambiance of the place. It’s definitely a place you can take a date and have some nice ambiance without overdoing it.