The wait staff is a lot more impolite than I remembered from last year. We came in as a party of 10 for our yearly trip to Shenandoah and since they told us the wait would be about an hour, we thought we would make the most of our time and have drinks by their bar while we waited. Wrong.
We all sat around the bar discussing drinks and making choices about what to have while various staff walked by carrying drinks and orders and pouring drinks behind the bar. Not once did they acknowledge that one of us may want a drink but they did find the time to tell us to keep from behind the bar (we reached behind the bar to show the difference in carafe sizes to someone else in our party).
By the time we sat it was service as usual. The food was great but it didn't seem as special as it did the year before. Maybe this year we didn't starve ourselves long enough beforehand to think this was the best place on earth.
Traveling through to Rhode Island and stopped here for dinner. I have to say after spending a week in Tennessee this was the best meal we've had all vacation. I ordered the Rosa pasta with penne and it was excellent. Wish I had saved more room and finished the meal. Look forward to stopping  at this restaurant next road trip.
Review Source:Appetizers:
mussels - were overcooked, the sauce was pretty good though
salad Caresse - tomatoes were not ripe, there was no fresh basil, no balsamic vinegar. the only tasty ingredient was cheese. Â Presentation was pretty bad as well .
We also tried their lentil and pork soup that was good.
Main Dish:
My husband and I decided to split  Seafood Lovers pasta with Gluten Free pasta because my husband has gluten sensitivity.  When the food arrived, the waitress had split the dish onto 2 place, which was nice considering we did not ask them to do that. When I tasted the pasta I had concerns that it might be regular and not gluten free. My husband ate about 1/3 of his plate before the waitress came back and he asked her if she was sure about the pasta being gluten free. Our waitress said that she is sorry she messed up and pasta was in fact regular. She said she was sorry and that was it, she did not offer to comp it, or anything of that sort.
Our friend ordered pasta with sausage and he said the sausage did not taste good .
Dessert
we had Tiramisou - it was not great, but not bad.
Now to the fun part - my husband was sick with horrible pains from that pasta until the next morning due to his gluten sensitivity. When i checked the  receipt I noticed a $3 charge for splitting our dish. The waitress never mentioned this charge, and we never asked her to split the dish for us. Â
Needless to say we wont be coming back there. Â I gave a 2 star review because i liked the bread and the soup. Â But honestly simple inexpensive Olive Garden has better food.
A little bit of Little Italy off of I-81. Okay, okay, I thought I was making this great find, revealing a hidden gem to the world. Well umpteen reviews have beaten me to it. This place was great. Coming from NY, I already had my nose turned up as we cruised that really sweet town. I was so surprised at the tasty, tasty food for such affordable prices. The calamari appetizer was very lightly fried and served in a surprisingly pleasing citrusy sauce. My partner had the chicken special which was filled with capers, mushrooms and a delicious sauce. My 3 yr old demolished the ravioli and couldn't stop talking about it. I recommend the mediterranean salad filled with fresh greens, crab meat, and chicken (if you like). Driving back from Atlanta, we made it a point to stop here on the way back. I ordered a wonderful seafood combination special. I actually asked the price (which I don't in NY because I know that it's going to be ridiculous) and it was surprisingly under $12. WHERE DO YOU GET A FISH DISH FILLED WITH MUSSELS, SHRIMP, AND STUFF FOR UNDER $25!!??!!? Second time around was just as good. Now I'm going to have to find an excuse to drive 200+ miles to back.That's Amore!
Review Source:Service was excellent and the food was delicious. Our waitress was friendly and attentive. I had a "bistro cheese steak" and my husband had a pasta dish. Both meals were top notch. The bistro cheese steak comes with bacon and a few additional goodies. I've had my fair share of Philly cheese steaks (I'm originally from that area), so I won't debate authenticity here. I wasn't looking for a "real" cheese steak, just a tasty one. They bake their own bread, and it shows. It was excellent: crusty on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside. The bread elevated my sandwich from good to truly great.
Review Source:Just went with 12 other people to have dinner at Sal's . I have never been disappointed with a meal there!!! Â This time was no exception. Everyone there loved their meal, including the kids. The appetizers are "to die for" and the vegetables were fresh & absolutely delicious!!!! Â The pasta, oh the pasta, was out of this world!! Â If you want an exceptional meal every time, you must go to Sal's !!!!
Review Source:We love Sal's -- and we are vegans!
They make the best pizza you can imagine. We order it with sauce, garlic, mushrooms, tomatoes and spinach. No cheese. Our non-vegan/vegetarian friends who share it with us have all agreed that it is sooo tasty, that they don't miss the cheese at all. Not at all. Honest.
And the pasta dishes, such as Gypsy, are out of this world. The portions are enormous - I can never finish - and wind up with a second meal the next day.
We feel extremely lucky to have such a fantastic restaurant in the little town of Edinburg. Wish there was an Italian restaurant in DC this good!
Stopped in on my way thru town and so glad I did! Â A nice little gem just a few minutes off the highway. Very nice ambience ... Simple but classy. Quick seating and very friendly staff set the tone for an unexpectedly good dining experience especially given some the curiously marginal reviews here. Â Couldn't decide between the stuffed shells and the meat lasagna so I too the waitress' recommendation and went with the lasagna. Glad I did! Although the sauce was a bit watery, the flavor and generous portions made this an enjoyable meal. Overheard another patron asking if she could buy some of the bread it was so good! Â Came in hungry and left happy. Â Definitely try this place if you happen to be hungry for a classy and fulfilling dine in Edinburg.
Review Source:Was very pleasantly surprised to find a great Italian restaurant in a small town in northwestern VA. Â Sal is from Naples & comes from a family of fisherman. Â Had the grouper special, which included shrimp & muscles in a flavorful red sauce. Â I'm a food snob & was very impressed. Â travel to the area for business, can't wait to go back!
Review Source:Unfortuntaly when I think of authenitcate Italian cuisine I think of great al dente paste. Â Both myself and my date had very over done pasta. Â I also think of great fresh ingredients, the ceaser salad had shaker cheese, the vegetables in the pasta dish were canned and flavor less. Â The service was good and did ask about the entrees which neither of us finished.
Review Source:We have a weekend place nearby and Sal's is just o.k. Â You can do worse. Â The meals we have had have not seemed particularly fresh and one visit left me with an upset stomach. Â They have a broad selection which is good if you have a large group with different food tastes. Â They do seem to always have customers, but we are not regulars.
Review Source:First I won't let the kid from Hell in the booth behind me with a parent who thought it made more sense to just ignore him as he ran back an forth from room to room and stand on the seat peering over my shoulder, take away from the food rating.
Before the kid came in, we were greeted and seated quickly by a young man eagerly waiting to seat the soon to be constantly flowing crowd.
Ok, 545 on Friday and we beat the rush. Â Great front booth. Â The Italian aroma of garlic and sauce was mild and the Italian music was softly filling the room of quiet conversations. Â The menu is loaded with good eats. Â We decided on the garlic bread and crab on bread...that is not what it's called. Â Simple and mildly flavored. The garlic bread was nothing like anything I had had. Â They must brew the garlic butter with herbs then poor it over the bread then bake it. Â Incredible experience with the bread.
For a main course we ordered shrimp and scallops in a white wine sauce and the special, flounder scallops with crab over linguini with a lemon butter garlic, I think. Â That was was just ok. Â The lemon was a little over powering and the seafood was not seasoned at all.
But, the shrimp and scallop dish was brought with a red sauce. Â The very funny waitress, who reminded me of a great mom, she told me to finish my food when I was giving in. Â I finished it. Â That was during the appetizer. Â Back to the shrimp scallop dish. Â As she brought the dish she apologized about it not being prepared to order. Â She then said, try this with the red sauce, Sal's cooking and this is his special sauce.....
One bite and it was clear, she was not going to need to replace the dish. Â This is the reason all should visit. Â Do not miss the red sauce. Â Fresh and delicious. Â It alone changed this rating from a 3 to a 4.
Well worth the visit when traveling pass or staying close.
Quick service, good food and a very quaint homey atmosphere. Â
Thumbs up.
It's gonna be a 3.75 for you, Sal. So very close to a full 4 stars for this local Italian restaurant. Not like a certain unnamed Italian chain with hopeless food, not a stuffy fancy place, but rather a casual restaurant to bring your family for some very good Italian dinner.
Getting the "bad" stuff outta the way: their garlic bread was just ok. I would've been happier with something outta the freezer section that I could throw in the oven at home. What they should really focus on is theirs soup - they really have to step it up. I HELD the salt shaker over it, let it pour, and that still didn't help these little chunks of chicken, celery, and carrots.
The good stuff: Wonderful and flavorful entrees one might expect from a more up scale restaurant served by a super nice wait staff who make you feel right at home. When you're outside your comfort zone known as NoVA out in the middle of who knows where, it's nice to feel welcome. All of us had a chicken dish, one order of Francese, one order of the Cacciatore (which was better than the Francese), and one order of the Firenze (which was better than the other two dishes!) We also had a side order of the sausages which were delish. Everything was served nice and hot and was just really very good food.
I wouldn't hesitate coming back to Sal's if I end up driving down 81 again.
My wife is a fan of their gnocchi. Sal is very personable with all his customers and usually manages to slip out to say hello. The small town is charming and attractive from the main drag. Never have an issue parking. The interior has become cozier over the years. The food is good, the pasta affordable, for entree types, it's up to you how much you feel like spending. The service is usually prompt and courteous.
For dessert, if you have the time and the weather permits, consider heading north on 11 a few minutes and checking out Krystals Custard/Putt Putt (the clubhouse).
This place is a great stop for road-weary travelers looking for a good meal.
We were heading back up to DC from Roanoke and decided to try to find something to eat. Â As a vegetarian, my highway food options are limited. Â We saw the sign on the highway for this place and decided to take a look. Â We're glad we did.
Edinburg is a cute little town with a charming main street. Â The menu offers a variety of pasta dishes for $10, which includes bread and salad. Â Servings are plentiful. Â They also have pizzas and some baked dishes, too.
We each had penne pasta dishes with sauces that had olives and artichokes (i recommend the 'gypsy'). Â They were quite tasty, if somewhat on the oily side. Â I imagine the marinara dishes would be less oily.
Service is friendly and it didn't take too long. Â There were just a few other people there on a Wednesday night at 8:30pm. Â The riverside dining room, which is around back, is nice if it's light out, but the main dining area seemed more charming in a way.
Our group of six ate at Sal's Saturday night. Â The weather was bad, so we were able to get a table right away. Â I think this was the first time I didn't have to wait because the restaurant was full.
The meals we ordered were chicken parmigiana, pasta with "Tre P" sauce, pasta primavera, veal piccata, and chicken firenze. Â All of them came with salads and there were rolls for the table.
The salads were good. Â The odd thing was that one salad had red onion and black olives, but none of the others did. Â We called that salad the "supreme"!
The main courses all looked yummy, and the portions were generous. Â My chicken was crispy, not dry, and had just enough pasta and sauce to hit the spot.
For desert the table split a tiramisu and a slice of Pear William (yellow cake with sliced pair and cream in the middle). Â Both were good. Â The espresso and cappuccinos were ok, but not great. Â Both lacked some punch.
All in all it was a good meal and a nice evening out despite the weather.