My husband and are staying at Massanutten and we were having trouble finding good places to eat. We stumbled into Ciro's when we were at the grocery (Ciro's is located in the same parking lot as the Food Lion grocery store in Elkton). What a pleasant surprise! We have been at the resort only 5 days and have been to Ciro's twice already and would go again if we had the time. The salads are obviously freshly cut (not bagged salad) with a nice amount of fresh vegetables included. My husband said he wasn't hungry and was not going to order a full meal.... He tried the lasagna. It was a huge portion, but he ate the entire plate and scraped it with bread to get every drop. I ordered the spaghetti, which is my specialty at my own café in Ohio. I also ate all of my meal(which was also a large portion), and enjoyed every bite. The flavor was different than my own, but I feel just as good, in a different way. (and I am a real critic usually, especially of spaghetti!). This place is a must if you want a really good meal, for a really good price, and want really good service. A++++++
Review Source:Ciro's was recommended by friends who live in the area. Â It's just about the closest restaurant to the resort we were staying in, but I thought it was going to be overpriced because of that proximity. Â Our friends told me it was very reasonable, so off we went for our last dinner during our stay in Massanutten.
This is a big place, with at least three different dining areas. Â We were seated at a table in one room, and I was freezing. Â In addition to the AC, ceiling fans with lights were projecting a strobe effect on all the tables. Â Both my daughter and I thought we'd have epileptic attacks if we stayed there, even though thankfully we don't suffer from that condition. Â We moved to the next dining room, and the problem was solved.
We started with calamari, which we ordered only because my husband won't touch the stuff, so I never get a chance to have it. Â And it was delicious - light, crisp breading and a light but tasty red sauce for dipping.
I noticed on the chalkboard at the entry that the evening's special was Chicken Pizzaiola, for $10.95, and it was served, like all the entrees, with spaghetti, salad and garlic bread. Â Our waitress wasn't forthcoming with any of the specials, so I was glad I'd seen it, because it was exactly what I wanted after the fried and breaded calamari. Â My daughter and I decided to share it. Â We were also overjoyed that we could order a single slice of pizza for the little guy and not have to deal with yet another "children's menu" dinner that he'd decide not to eat as soon as it was served. Â Feeling fizzy, we also ordered a bottle of Riunite Lambrusco at the very reasonable price of $11.
The kitchen split the entree for us, and what a surprise: Â I thought I knew what Chicken Pizzaiola was, but this had the delicate red sauce from the calamari enhanced with capers, which gave it a stupendous flavor. Â The dinner salad was fresh and covered with cheese, provolone I think . The spaghetti was a bit softer than I'd like, but not overly.
The pizza slice was the biggest I've ever seen, and my boy scarfed it down, pronouncing it the best he'd ever eaten.
The only thing that marred this wonderful dining experience was the presentation of the check. Â That dinner special, unusually priced lower than the regular chicken dishes on the menu, was listed "Special - 12.95" Â on the check. Â The waitress didn't blink when I pointed this out, and returned with a corrected check, saying "Gee, I don't know how this happened." Â Over a lifetime of restaurant meals, sure I've been overcharged before. Â But what made this seem particularly egregious - and deliberate - was that we were the last people to leave the restaurant. Â It was an electronically printed bill. Â You mean no one else throughout the evening ordered the special? No one else noticed they were overcharged? The original check also had the bill's total repeated on the bottom, listing it with the notation that this was the amount on which to leave the gratuity, and that amount included the tax. Â The revised check, also electronically printed, recalculated the tax, but never changed the amount to tip on. Â Very strange, indeed. Â Why should a restaurant with such a lovely atmosphere and such good food play around with the bill? Â And because I do not think that this was accidental, I'm reducing what would have been a five-star rating to four. Â Though only a two-dollar mistake, it was one that left a bitter taste, instead of the sweet one it should have.
I don't want to give it a 5 star review, but what could I take points off for? The calamari was perfect. My pasta was perfect (mussels, shrimp, and lobster...lobster? There was lobster in my pasta!). My wife is still making yummy noises from her chicken masala. And when one of my kids didn't want salad with his pasta, the waitress offered up garlic bread smothered in melted mozzarella. Oh, yeah, and the bread. Great bread. Better than it had any right to be.
Oh, maybe I could take off points for having to see two guys (at different tables) eating pizza with forks. That wasn't fun. Â But, our waitress was beautiful (beautiful enough that my wife kept mentioning it) and charming, so she made up for the other guests. :)
Oh yeah, not for nothing, but I grew up in my best friend's Italian restaurant in Brooklyn...which is why I can't believe I'm giving 5 Stars to an Italian restaurant in the Shenandoah Valley. But I am.
Why are you still reading? You should be halfway there by now.
Ciro's was recommended to us by a local couple while we were staying at Massanutten. We were pretty thankful as this was the 'meal of the week' for us last night. Food was delicious, menu was diverse with some original items, and service was great - friendly & attentive. We wish we had heard of Ciro's earlier in the week. Their gravy (red sauce for you non-Italians) was spectacular - reminded me of my Nonni's when I was a kid.
Review Source:First of all, I won't even pretend that this is an objective review. I grew up in Shenandoah and this is the pizza that I grew up on. It is also the pizza that I compare all others to.
Thin, delicious New York style pizza (which, sadly, is really hard to find here on the West Coast) with the perfect ratio of crust to sauce to toppings. Plus delicious subs and pasta dishes.
This restaurant is family-owned (and a lot of the former employees/family members have gone on to open other Italian places in Rockingham and Page Counties) and it was always awesome going in and seeing the same guys working behind the counter who had been there when I was a kid (when they were in the shopping center on the north end of town).
The service has always been friendly and I've never gotten any food from Ciro's that wasn't delicious.
This is probably the first place I will go to eat the next time I come back to Virginia.
Between me and the rest of the family, we shared: Fried calamari appetizer, salad, sausage and lentil soup, XL pizza (1/2 Ciro's special, 1/2 Hawaiiana), and then dessert: tiramisu, ice cream with raspberry syrup, and cannoli.
When the pizza first arrived at the table, it looked like it might be a little on the soggy side for me. However this was probably just the style (Neapolitan?), and it was actually very tasty. The calamari wasn't really my thing; it reminded me of "tempura" style, whereas I like more of a crispy breading. The soup was really hearty and tasty. Of the desserts, I preferred the ice cream the most.
I will be back to try some of the other menu items.
This is a cute pizza place in Elkton, VA. Â We stopped in here for lunch after a morning of hiking in Shenandoah. Â It's the kind of place where everyone knows each other.
The pizza was tasty, fresh and not greasy. Â Prices and service were good. Â I would go here again if in the area.
We grabbed lunch here one afternoon during our stay in Shenandoah. Â It was well worth it. Â The menu is typical italian fare with subs, calzones, pizzas and pasta. Â The service was good. Â No complaints here.
We ordered a veggie pizza, which was a little hard to pin down. Â The crust was reminiscent of greek-style pizza, but wasn't at all oily. Â The toppings were all fresh and the sauce was very light, with uncooked diced garlic mixed in for good measure. Â The cheese wasn't oily either, and there wasn't a ton of it. Â All this added up to a pizza that was perfect for a quick lunch that didn't weigh us down later on when we started hiking.
Rolled into town on a Thursday night after darkness (and deer) chased us out of Shenandoah. Driving around looking for someplace to eat, we saw that this was the only place with a lot of cars in the parking lot. Â We assumed that if all the locals were going there, it probably would be good food, friendly staff, comfortable atmosphere, and a good price. Â
And yes, it did turn out to be all that. Menu was more extensive than you get at your typical cheap Italian joint. Portions were huge and hugely satisfying. Got an excellent shrimp and vodka sauce pasta. Most wonderful was the friendly and folksy service I miss living in the city.
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