Southern Belle in Training

Fashion, Travel & Lifestyle Blog || Est. 2012 || Virginia Beach, VA

August 30, 2018

TRAVEL GUIDE: Great Restaurants in Virginia's Blue Ridge!

     Since I moved to Virginia back in March, I have eaten well. This state is just full of good restaurants and fun spots to grab a meal at. Last weekend, I had the chance to visit Roanoke, and the nearby towns/counties in the area, through a press trip with Visit Virginia's Blue Ridge! This part of the state did not disappoint in terms of meals. My friend Cara from Caralina Style accompanied me, and we both thoroughly enjoyed our meals during the weekend. I'll be sharing a longer and more detailed travel guide next week about our accommodations and activities in the area, but I thought it would be easier to separate the restaurants that we visited into a separate blog post. Enjoy- and let me know if you have any questions!


      Today's post was written in collaboration with Visit Virginia's Blue Ridge. Thank you to Visit Virginia's Blue Ridge for hosting me on this trip, and providing complimentary meals, activities and accommodations. 

Best Restaurants in Virginia's Blue Ridge




     The Regency Room at Hotel Roanoke (110 Shenandoah Ave. NE, Roanoke): Hotel Roanoke is a beautiful (and huge!) historic hotel, located conveniently in Downtown Roanoke. Cara and I didn't stay here, but I'm so happy that we were able to arrange a visit to this historic property. The hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places! We stopped their restaurant The Regency Room for breakfast, and enjoyed the weekend buffet. The Regency Room offers both a menu and buffet option for weekend breakfast. Being 100% honest (as I always am on the blog!), while I adored the ambience of dining at the hotel, the buffet itself was not my favorite. At the time that we were there, some of the food options had already run out, or were going a bit cold. I will say that it looked like the buffet had a great omelet bar, (however I don't eat eggs so I didn't take advantage of that). If I'm back in Roanoke, I would absolutely dine at The Regency Room for breakfast again- I would just probably try the menu items instead.








     Ballast Point Brewery (555 International Parkway, Daleville): Did you know that Virginia's Blue Ridge is an area known for their abundance of breweries? I went to college in Charlotte, and moved to Vermont last year for my first job- two places becoming known as a brewery destinations. However, I sadly never really took advantage of this while I lived either place (I think I went to one brewery during my four years in CLT, and two  in Vermont!). Now I live in Central Virginia, which is wine country all the way! I've been loving checking those out, but I still haven't had a chance to explore many breweries. I was really excited to visit one of the prominent ones in Virginia's Blue Ridge! Ballast Point is located in Daleville, just a short drive from Roanoke. Cara and I went for lunch and beers after our morning adventure. Ballast Point is huge- there's seating both downstairs and upstairs, and they have a large patio with great mountain views as well. Cara tried a Moscow Mule Beer and I had an Orange Vanilla Cream beer- we both loved them! For lunch, Cara had the Chicken Caprese sandwhich and I ordered the Street Corn Tacos. They were great meals, and we both really enjoyed them. Ballast Point is a great spot to visit in the area for not only good beer, but also good food!
     I recommend: The Orange Vanilla Cream beer (if you're 21+)









     Fortunato (104 Kirk St. SW, Roanoke): I'm going to start with the only negative about this restaurant. Cara and I had a really hard time finding it! We parked in a public parking section in another part of the downtown, and decided to take a long walk before dinner. When it came time to find the restaurant- we had to use both our phone GPS's, and retrace our steps a few times! This restaurant really is tucked away. Anyways- once we found it... WOW! We were so impressed with Fortunato. Fantastic craft cocktails (and the waiter was extremely knowledgable about the drink menu), delicious pasta dishes, and a lovely dessert to finish it off. This would be a great date night spot! I can't remember the last time that I had Italian food as good as here. I looked up this restaurant on TripAdvisor, and I was shocked to see it's not in the Top 10 for the area! I would 100% recommend eating here.
     I recommend: The orecchiette pasta dish with sausage









     Scratch Biscuit Company (1820 Memorial Ave. SW, Roanoke): I think it's safe to say that if a restaurant has "biscuit" in the name, I'm going to be very excited to eat there. Such was the case for Scratch Biscuit Company in Roanoke! This spot is very popular on the weekends- there was a line almost to the door filled with people hungry for brunch (a good sign!). Cara and I both ordered the same thing- the chicken doughnut waffle. This breakfast was extremely filling- I could only eat half of mine! The highlight of the meal though was getting to try one of Scratch's famous homemade biscuits. They were fluffy and delicious!
     I recommend: The butter biscuit with a side of homemade strawberry jam







     Steak n Shake (1309 VA-101, Roanoke): Okay okay... I know what you're thinking, this isn't a local restaurant! I'm guilty as charged. 😊 Steak n Shake remains one of my favorite chain restaurants since I first discovered it in college back in Charlotte. Good burgers, good fries, GREAT milkshakes, and at very budget friendly prices! Yes please. Charlottesville sadly doesn't have a Steak n Shake, so I was excited to get my fill while in Roanoke! If you've never had Steak n Shake before... oh you're missing out!







     Have you ever visited Roanoke or Virginia's Blue Ridge region? If so, share any restaurant recommendations in the comments. I can't wait to share the second part of the travel guide next week!




     God Bless,



     xoxo Annaliese



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19 comments

  1. Okay, I need to go to Scratch Biscuit Company! I haven't been to this part of Virginia but any place with chicken and waffles is a place for me!

    -xo, Azanique | www.lotsofsass.com

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  2. Yummy! Those drink look AMAZING. Definitely have to try out your list when I visit.

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  3. I'm so hungry now!! All that food looks so yummy!!

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  4. A chicken donut waffle sounds insane - I would love to try that!

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  5. All of these places look so good, but especially that little Italian restaurant!

    xoxo, SS


    Southern and Style

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  6. The Orange Vanilla Cream beer sounds amazinggggg - that's something I'd 100% love!

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  7. I enjoyed the pictures! I want to try the orange vanilla cream beer!!!

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  8. I should not have opened this post because now I am starving and all of this food looks so delicious!
    Xo, Kelsey | www.bleuandwhit.blogspot.com

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  9. Wow these look SOOO cute! Now I'm sooo hungry!

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  10. I want to go to all of them!!! everything looks SO good! Scratch biscuit is like the cutest name ever too lol

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  11. Great list! Everything looks so delicious! I want to try them all!

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  12. I LOVE the Scratch Biscuit Company!!!! It's so good :) . If you're ever in Harrisonburg, swing by Kline's Frozen Custard - it's a Blue Ridge landmark LOL. Their ice cream is amazing.

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  13. That food looks soo good! I've ever been but need to get there, it looks so fun! So many things to do!

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  14. All of this food looks absolutely delish! If only I could come to VA for lunch.

    xx Tatyanna
    http://www.apopoflife.com

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  15. Everything looks so yummy! But those corn street tacos are calling my name!

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  16. Everything looks so amazing. I need to go on an adventure and find cute places to eat at in Madison.

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  17. I've never been to Blue Ridge but I really should - all these yummy foods!!!

    xo Deborah
    Coffee, Prose, and Pretty Clothes

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  18. It's 7:30 in the morning while I'm reading this post, and I want that pasta SO BADLY. You know it looks good when I'm ready to have it for breakfast!
    Tori || Victori Media
    https://www.victorimedia.com

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  19. Okay I was totally going to recommend Scratch biscuits if you didn't eat there when you visited Roanoke! It's definitely one of my favorite spots! Also, I'm cracking up because you guys couldn't find Fortunato, and I'm a local and literally have never heard of it! So it truly must be hard to find! I love eating at the Hotel Roanoke! Definitely a special treat, we always have special occasion brunches and dinners there! Also, surprised I didn't run into you at Steak n' Shake, I go there way to often! Lol Glad you enjoyed your trip! I love that you visited Roanoke because honestly I've never seen a blog post on it!

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