Angelo's Italian Pizza — Restaurant in Midlothian

Decided to try this place after driving by for years and always wanting to. Well I wish I would’ve kept on driving past it because to say disappointed would be a severe understatement.

My best friend & I popped into Angelo’s Thursday night (12/21/2023) to check out what all of the great reviews were about as I’m a total foodie, and I’m with any excuse to try some great food.

1st we decided to just try mozzarella sticks as our appetizer just to ‘test the waters’ so to speak. They came out fresh & hot, with a nice crisp on the outside and ooey gooey cheesy goodness with lots of stretch on the inside! They were served with what appeared to be and tasted like freshly made marinara sauce, that also had a good flavor.

OK so now we’re hype and totally assuming, it’s only gonna go up from here…Right?? WRONG, OH SO TERRIBLY & UTTERLY DISGUSTINGLY 🤮 WRONG 😢. I ordered one of their ‘Specials’, the lobster 🦞 ravioli in red pepper sauce. I’ve had this dish at a well known Italian restaurant (just in a different sauce) and it was completely different.

Firstly it took so long to come out that even the host apologized and went back to the kitchen to check. But when this dish finally did arrive to our table, it looked like a bowl of slop. Like seriously looked like they just threw something on the plate and said “here you go”.

I immediately expressed my thoughts on the absolutely horrid presentation with our server, she apologized and asked if I at least wanted to try it. Obviously I ordered this dish in hopes of having a yummy dinner, so I give the benefit of the doubt and figure ok, I’m sure it tastes way better than it looks. WRONG AGAIN 👎🏽

The ravioli were not cooked completely through and felt like raw dough. The filling was grey in color, bland and there were ZERO traces of lobster in the bite I took. I immediately spit it right back out into a napkin and called over our server.

She apologized again and asked if I’d like something else…. NO MAAM She took the plate away and a few minutes later out walks this older woman with dark hair holding the plate of garbage I just sent back.

She was asking me how could I not like the ravioli or the sauce as it’s their most popular, and guests basically BEG for this dish when it’s not in the menu. 😆😳😬 So she’s going and on about this dish and seriously bewildered as to how can I not love this??

My best friend and I immediately shut her down and advised her that she is clearly delusional; the food SUCKED, it was bland, with raw dough and no lobster to be found. I told her that I’ve had lobster ravioli elsewhere and it was delicious and worth every penny, but hers was horrible. PERIOD

She finally said “ok fine, I’ll take it off of your bill” shrugged her shoulders and walked away.

I did this in detail review because not only were we completely disappointed in the food, but also irritated at the fact that she had the nerve to actually approach our table holding that plate of pig slop looking nonsense, but like seriously.. how unprofessional can you be??

I travel the world 🌍, and have been fortunate enough to have eaten at some pretty fantastic places, including locally owned small diners & restaurants. But I have NEVER experienced what I did the other night at ; not with the terrible food nor the rude / unprofessional service that followed.

I’m usually game for a 2nd chance in most cases as everyone is entitled to a bad night. However, I may not be able to guarantee some things, but I guarantee you 💯 that I will NEVER EVER step foot inside of Angelo’s again a day in...

#1 Italian Spot in RVA at this price point. This 30+ year, family owned business wholistically captures the warmth of eating in Italy at your families Villa. Large portion, tasty food, with amazing dessert (better than we had in Italy) and a great wine selection. The atmosphere is nicely appointed with murals of the families history everywhere.

TLDR: The muscles marinara are a must, along with the tarimisu. Every dish here is a fantastic representation of classic Italian food. Go for the specials when available. Quality ingredients and care go into the dishes. Pizza is top notch as well. Stop in for a drink and dessert late night on the patio for a romantic night cap.

I've known the owners Angelo and Josephine for 5 years now. They are some of the most generous and warm people you'll ever meet. They treat customers with great respect.

Food: It's all good. Prepare for leftovers for sure. Very large portions here. Quality olive oil, seasonings, and wine reductions go into a lot of the dishes. Seafood is better than the turf options here in my opinion. My favorites are the muscles, carbonara, and lobster ravioli. When there's a special fish option I go with that every time.

Appetizers: Have I mentioned the muscles... whatever you're in the mood for, go with. Big enough portion to serve as a meal for one.

Dessert: Tirimisu is the winner. Hands down. House made by Angelo. He orders the canoli shells and lemoncello cake from an Italian bakery in Jersey. Makes the canoli filling in house. So amazing and better than anything we had in Italy. Some of the best dessert in RVA. Especially at the price.

Drinks: Great wine choices. One of the largest sellers of Bocelli wines in the US! Bar drinks are well made and generous. Beer is a little limited. Generally 1 new local choice seasonally.

Atmosphere: Often busy, but plenty of space. This is a new building for the restaurant and is well decorated and wonderfully Italian. Plenty for the wye to catch.

Staff: Angel served us last time wonderfully! Everyone here treats you like the family you want to be around. Enjoy...

My family and I dined at this restaurant last Friday. It was a 45 minute wait but we thought it would be worth the wait since everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Not so, the only reason I am giving this restaurant 2 stars is because the bread was pretty good and the beer my husband ordered was very cold. Other than that, the white pizza I ordered was soggy due to the excessive amount of garlic oil they added (mind you the menu said "light oil"). The pasta my husband ordered was also sitting in a soup of oil. It was terrible. My oldest daughter ordered the penne with vodka sauce and chicken and instead they brought her penne with meat sauce and a pile of chicken on top. I mean, I have never waited on tables before but common sense would call for me to ask again or maybe ask the chef to fix the dish before I take it to the table. I mean, who the heck would order a dish with meat sauce and chicken on top. My youngest daughter ordered the gnocchi with vodka sauce and it was so bland and the gnocchi was overcooked. The cherry on top was one of the times the waitress refilled our cups, and she reeked of cigarette smoke. It just wasn't a good experience. Prices weren't cheap either, which could be expected at an Italian restaurant, but at least if the food would have been great, I don't mind paying the high...