Pino's Pizza

We spent an overnight at the KOA in Emporia and didn't want to cook. Emporia is sort of a food desert filled with chains and fast food, neither of which we are our favorites (not when you have Yelp!). A place called Val's looked good from the reviews, but it was closed (on a Saturday?), we really didn't have many other choices in town so we figured we'd head to Cracker Barrel. Bad experience waiting in an almost empty restaurant, so we figured why not here? We've eaten here before, and liked it.I'm guessing they are under new ownership or something? Gone are the ladies we have seen before, and they do a robust take-out business, though you can still eat in and the service is just as fantastic.We weren't in the mood for pizza, so Italian entrees it was. First off, everything comes in take out containers now. It's not great for the environment, but I get it. In this economy it's tough for restaurants. If they can save some money not having a full time dishwasher, then so be it.We started with side salads - Hubby had the Ceasar, and it was good. Fresh ingredients and the dressing was pleasant. My side garden was the same - fresh, with plenty of cucumber, red onion and tomatoes. The blue cheese dressing surprised me, as it was filled with chunks of blue cheese. I'm sure they do t make it themselves, so I was not expecting that. Nice!Hubby had Manicotti and really enjoyed it. The sauce was balanced, not too sweet, plenty of ricotta stuffed inside and a ton of melted mozzarella on top. My baked spaghetti was the same. HUGE portions for a really reasonable price. And the garlic bread was so good! Crunchy on the outside and oh so soft on the inside. Lots of garlic butter, too. I almost purchased more to take back to the camper!All in all a nice experience. This is not a Michelin star place. As long as you keep your expectations realizing that, you'll enjoy it. It's a reasonably priced red sauce joint with a really nice staff. The next time we need to eat in Emporia, we'll be happy to stop here.

"Decent Italian near intersection of I-95 and VA-58 in Emporia"Right beside a gas station and a motel on VA-58, right off I-95 in Emporia, sits this little spot. I'd driven by it many times and usually hit up the decent Mexican place in the motel next door, but my family wanted Italian, so we tried it. It did not disappoint.The place has pizza and lots of Italian standards, and it's very brightly lit with a few of much of the kitchen from the entry counter. As we entered, it was a little unclear whether we were supposed to order at the counter or be seated, so we ordered at the counter and then they asked us to take a seat and pay afterwards. The folks were friendly, and service didn't take too long. I ordered a chicken parmigiana, and my family got similar dishes. Food came out in maybe 10 minutes.The quantity was LARGE. I got many pieces of chicken, a heaping amount of spaghetti, and a side-salad with bleu cheese dressing. The salad was pretty standard -- nothing fancy. I liked the chicken parm and spaghetti sauce. The sauce was a little sweet, which I like, but my wife was less pleased with the sweetness of the sauce on her dish. Price was fair-- it's not dirt-cheap Italian, but it was also better quality than that. The chicken parm was something like $17, which for the quantity and good quality, is reasonable.This'll be in our rotation when we drive through that area in the future!

I tried the white pizza without garlic and ricatto cheese and add pepperoni,and it's the bomb...10/10

Pizza was super hot and cheese was very cheesy and melty. We also got a sweet potato cheesecake that was absolutely delicious! I would highly recommend to try that cheesecake. Family style service and great for a quick stop to grab something to eat.

Pretty good pizza, at least for Emporia Va.Taste was good Crust was a tad thicker than I prefer but ut was still well cooked and good Toppings were generous Staff was friendly You can sit and eat but I believe that much of their business is take out.When in God forsaken Emporia again I WILL go back again

I want to give a 3.5 star but can't and I can't give a 4-star. Moving on - On the drive home to NC the kiddos asked for pizza and we decided to try Pino's. Definitely a locals place-they had a steady flow of customers while we were there. This gave us hope for our meal. We ordered a medium pizza (move like a large), Caesar salad, cheese steak and onion rings. The pizza was messy, tons of cheese and toppings. Wished the crust was cooked a little longer and the sauce was a little sweet. The cheese steak offered good flavor, tons of cheese, roll didn't hold up though. The onion rings were onion rings and the Caesar was good. I'd try again and I'd recommend over Pizza Hut for sure!

Passing through on I-95 and stopped for the night. Lights on at Pinos and several cars. Two girls serving and one man in the kitchen. They had a steady stream of dine in and takeout. We had an order of onion rings and each had the Italian sausage with cheese and peppers hot sub. Those onion rings were unlike any I've had. Really crispy, crunchy coating and not greasy. Hot subs were very good. Excellent melting mozzarella. Next time passing through we will try their pizza. They do a big take out business in takeouts. Only down side was they don't serve any beer or wine. Bummer.

Food was good. Service was good. Ambience not great. I appreciate that they sent me out with packets of crushed red peppers, parm, plenty of napkins, and plastic eating utensils. Even asked if I needed paper plates. Prices were fair.

the waitress got my order wrong. I only realized after I ate it! i asked for tortellini and she gave me ravioli! I should have known! It had about a pound of cheese on it!! terrible and no apologies

Excellent pizza and the service was superb!We certainly return in the future and highly recommend this establishment.