Jimmy Sardines Italian Pizza Shop

If you like eating at a place where the food is terrible and takes a solid hour to get to the table you should eat here.

Gross. Ive been told less than stellar things about how things hare ran. I don’t go by rumors, but the food isn’t all that great. The pizza is cooked in a rack type oven, not a brick oven. The pizzas though are just OK. The cheese is ok quality. The appetizers though are ALL covered in the ok quality mozzarella cheese which is hard to chew. We avoid this place now bc its been crappy too many times. I hear they are moving. Maybe they will put staff on valid payroll and tax paperwork bc we keep hearing thats an issue. I like the veggie pasta that is a good entrée. I cant wait to try them out at a new location, maybe things will be different.

The pizza is actually very good and probably exactly what pizza should be. Not too chewy, not too doughy and not too saucy. After our experience and reading other reviews however, they will lose all customer following if the kitchen just doesn’t care. None of the three tables occupied on a Saturday night received their food in under 45 minutes, and our one pizza (no salads) was an hour.
Some restaurant experiences you expect to take 1 – 2 hours. A pizza after a movie, never. There seemed to be no excuse; no customers, and no special orders.

I think that we are just going to finally end our relationship with Jimmy Sardines. We have gone about once every 2 or 3 months and it seems that it has gone down hill a little more with each visit.
We went last Friday night and the service was not that great. Actually, I felt invisible for a period of time. The server acted like we were a bother once she finally came to take the order. She didn’t write the order down so when the food did come it was incomplete. We waited for 45 minutes for 2 subs. We had a beer each there but were never offered another beer or a water.
After we paid our bill we walked to another bar and had another beer.

We were visiting Roanoke to go to Black Dog Salvage (which is down the street, btw) and were looking specifically for another local pizzeria which happened to be closed on Mondays. So we stumbled upon this local gem kinda by accident. It was full on a Monday night, looked inviting, and the reviews were pretty positive, so we gave it a go.
It’s relatively small inside with maybe 6 or 8 4-​top tables and a longer table which might seat 12. And the bar top which has about 8 stools. So on a busy night, you may have to wait. Once we got seated at the bar the waitress/​bartender quickly served us. They have a nice, but limited, selection of regional draft beers and some wine selections. No liquor.
They were running a special — Buy One Get One Free on a 12-​inch pizza. The pizzas ran in the $ 12-​$ 13 range which, for two, was a bargain. We ended up buying two and getting two for a total of 4 for a party of five. The kids plowed through them. Each one was custom-​made and delicious. They have the standard toppings and some less routine choices. The kitchen isn’t the speediest, but the pizzas were out-​of-​this-​world delicious.
If you’re looking for a quick, mass-​market pizza, head on over to the Caesar’s. But if you’re looking for a craft pizza and a nice beer selection and a warm evening in the hipster Grandin Village area of Roanoke, certainly give this little gem a try.

I’ve always enjoyed their pizza and the customer service has been outstanding but tonight was exemplary. We called in an order and unfortunately there was an error in preparing it. No worries. They quickly remedied the situation and went above and beyond. Even with a full restaurant of people. We were very impressed. My wife and I eat out a lot and have had great service and bad service. Jimmy and his crew are always impressive.

I take my family on a regular basis. We’ve been here at least 12 visits over two years. Consistently good food and great Beer selection. (Yes Beer should always be capitalized) bathrooms are usually kind of nasty but clean overall.

I don’t know WTF is wrong with other reviewers. Great service, delicious pizza (& I’m from NYC & Boston) and big, fab Pinot noir for $ 5 a glass. We’ll be back. (& BTW, it was PACKED, so we’re not alone in liking this place!) Thanks, Sarah & the folks at JS’s

The pizza was better than the two beers that had soap in them. And the beer was better than the food poisoning the day after. I won’t be back.

It seems the service has improved since some of these reviews where written, however there could be another waitress but the girl who is there is wonderful and attentive and quick. The pizza is so good, crust is nice and chewy reminds me of Villa’s (those of you who grew up here know what I am talking about). Prices are fabulous!!! Jimmy has the best specials for example 2 for 1 12“pies on Thursdays. Has a nice selection of beer with Roanoke Railyard on the menu. You may have to wait, the shop is very tiny, just a few booths and a couple of tables, but it is worth the wait or getting a pizza to go. I can’t comment on his other menu items other than they look really good.

Really long wait. I was hoping for a great pizza. I was disappointed. Crust was just so do. There wasn’t a char on it and it was simply bland. I ordered the Jimmy Sardine Special, and it was lacking depth.
I won’t be going back.

Before I get into the meat of the review, I just want to say that, while it appears that the service has been inconsistent (judging from the poor reviews), I received very good service during my visit. To be fair, I was there before the dinner rush, but my waitress was attentive without hovering and my order arrived in a timely fashion.
Now, on to the rest.
Pizza is one of those elemental foods that is virtually impossible to screw up. In fact, one almost has to start out with deliberate malice of forethought to mess up pizza. And even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good.
What separates a bad pie from a good one, and a good pie from a great one, is often the little things. For me, if the crust is right, I can forgive a multitude of other sins. And the crust is one place where Jimmy Sardines is spot on. Thin, but not crunchy, with a satisfyingly toothsome chew; sufficient to hold all the toppings level, but not «bready.» It is the main reason I believe Jimmy Sardines is making one of the best pies in the Star City right now.
I had the Antigua (roasted garlic, sea salt, balsamic vinegar and truffle oil), being a meatless Friday, and I was completely impressed. The mixture of sweet, sour, salty and savory was almost Asian in its consideration. The sauce was complementary, but not intrusive, though I can certainly see how it might be viewed as bland or sweet to some. It worked well with the blend of tastes on my pie, but I’ll have to give it a go on something with bolder flavors to see how I feel about it when matched with sausage.
The beer selection was well-​chosen, not overwhelming, and contained several beers I hadn’t even heard of yet (which is saying something). I had several different pints, and all of them arrived full and cold.
In my opinion, Jimmy Sardines is for those who are hip enough to try something new, but don’t feel the need to be different just for the sake of being different. It’s hip without being Hipster. If you want Pizza Hut, go to Pizza Hut; I’m not here to judge you. But if you feel like stepping out a little, give this place a try.

While I would love to echo the positive reviews of this place, I simply cannot. We recently went to Jimmy’s with the hope that it would be a welcome respite from the usual pizza places in Roanoke. Instead, what we found was a place with horrible service, warm beer and clueless, albeit amiable management.
When we went in there were three other tables occupied and a few folks at the bar. Nobody had food on their table and everybody had that look on their face that said, ‘I’ve been waiting a long time.” You know the one.
We started off with a couple of the Boston Lagers which tasted good, but were way too warm. The waitress traded them out for soft drinks which had no (and I mean NO) carbonation in them. We settled on water.
Pizza was delivered to a table next to us where the gentleman asked in a very calm, friendly manner why it had taken 40 min to get their pizza. The waitress was extremely defensive and started to actually lecture him on how they make hand made pizzas and if he didn’t want to wait he could go to Domino’s. Obviously, that didn’t go over well and the manager was called out to resolve the issue. EIther the waitress was completely slammed with work (three tables?) or she has some serious attitude problems and probably shouldn’t be working there. The thrust of the gentleman’s argument was that he understood why it took longer to make their pizza, but nobody came out to check on them and tell them of the delay while they waited. After the huffy waitress flounced away, other patrons echoed his comment that service was practically non-​existant.
Our pizza arrived in a speedy manner (about 25 min) and was underwhelming to say the least. Italian sausage that tasted like bologna, very bland sauce, and a crust that while thin, was doughy and tasteless. I actually would have preferred a chain pizza over what they brought out. Once again, a good concept, but very poorly executed.
At the end of the meal, the young manager came over and asked how our dinner had been. We were truthful and told him the pizza was pretty bland and the beer was warm. He apologized and said they had been busy in the back (once again — three customers) and that several other patrons had been complaining about the warm beer that week. Really? It takes a week to address warm beer?
While the place is decorated nicely and the concept of a slightly-​upscale pizza place is one that could make it in Roanoke, I think these guys have a lot of growing up to do before they’ll make it.

Food 4 stars, Ambiance 4 stars, Service 3 stars
Went to Jimmy Sardines for lunch over the weekend. My first impression was a good one. It was decorated very nicely with cool carved wooden fish all over the walls that appear to be done by a local artist. The floors were stained concrete and the lighting is trendy. There is a large bar with probably 10 — 12 seats and a handful of booths and tables.
The menu has a pretty good variety and we settled on the Antigua Pizza. It was really good! I’ve never had pizza with balsamic vinegar and it turned out to be a good gamble. Although I didn’t partake in any adult beverages, they had a Mocha Stout that sparked my interest and they also had Sierra on tap which is a plus.
The service was just o.k. At first we were the only table but then two more couples came in and our service dropped off a bit.
I will definitely be returning for dinner and look forward to trying more of their menu and maybe a Mocha Stout or two.