Benny Marconi's — Restaurant in Roanoke

When you serve slices of pizza that are comparable in size to a newborn baby, you are doing something a little different than most other pizza restaurants.

Benny Marconi’s came to Downtown Roanoke last year. The original location is in Blacksburg near the campus of Virginia Tech and the owners decided to bring their restaurant concept to nearby Roanoke. Serving giant slices of pizza that are relatively inexpensive likely works great in a college town – I think the jury is still out on how well it will work in Downtown Roanoke. I’ve stopped in to Benny’s a few times for lunch and I hope they are able to succeed.

A slice of pizza costs around $5.00, but as I said, this isn’t a typical “slice.” One slice from Benny Marconi’s fits on two paper plates and I would say it’s at least as big as two slices of pizza from chain restaurants like Pizza Hut or Papa John’s.

There isn’t a great deal of variety in terms of toppings and maybe this is something they would change in the future. You can always order a slice of cheese and then they typically offer slices of pepperoni or sausage and then whatever the flavor of the month is. I’m not picky about pizza but I would guess there are people who’d like to be able to choose from more than three options.

I’ve tried the cheese, sausage, and pepperoni pizzas during the times I’ve visited. The pizza has a thin crust which can be easily folded for eating. Or you could use a fork and knife. Amateur. I liked the cheese pizza the most out of the three and I found the sausage to be disappointing. I prefer crumbles of ground sausage on a pizza but Benny’s used thin slices of sausage instead and I wasn’t a fan of the texture. I’ve yet to try one of the monthly specials because none of the flavor combinations have appealed to me but I hope to do that sometime in the future.

You can also order entire pizzas from Benny Marconi’s. I would recommend calling ahead so they have a time to prepare it but this would be really fun for parties or casual office functions. It’s a pie that’s nearly three feet in diameter and a few of these could easily feed a large group. I also dream of it being a Man vs. Food challenge for one person to try to eat the...

I love this place! Having a downtown studio means Benny's pizza almost every day. I mean, it's almost like an addiction. Whether it's lunch or dinner, or even a late night bite, I have a slice almost daily. The only way I can describe the pizza, is like beach, boardwalk pizza. And the slices are huge. All you need is one slice and a soda or beer (which you can get there also) and you have a meal. The top of the piece, hangs about an inch on each side of a paper plate. And it's two paper plates to hold the length. But it's the taste. The size is a bonus. $4 for a slice of cheese, $5 for a pepperoni, and a $1 for a drink, tax included. So, for $5 or $6, you can have a meal. Sometimes, I might be really hungry and think, "Maybe I'll have 2 pieces today". But, by the time I get to the crust of 1 piece.... I'm thinking, "No, maybe not". You just can't beat it. You see as many different ways of handling and eating such a huge piece of pizza as you can imagine. And from time to time you see people carrying a whole pizza with as many different ways of carrying one. As the night life of downtown winds down, the place is standing room only, but everyone still having a good time before going home. Some, having a better time than others are just trying to sober up a bit. Which causes what you see here. How can we expect to save the planet, when we can't even save a slice of Benny...

This my third and finally time frequenting this establishment and waiting extended time (missed lunch break ) waiting for plain slice of overpriced basic pizza. After being rudely handled and forced to tip I was yet again made to wait almost 20 minutes for a plain slice (I could not order over the phone cause for some strange reason you can only order a full over priced basic pizza pie ) . The cashier took my name and watched me stand as they served others well after I arrived until I went back to counter and was thrown a box that had been sitting for at least 10 minutes . I was never called up for my order the pizza was barely warm and I missed my entire break FOR THE 3rd time . My family and I frequently against my better judgement have opted for this place many many times unfortunately with the combined lack of customer service the rudeness and the extremely slow lax nonchalant attitude and over pricing has convinced us to cease being a customer . This is not a one off occurrence just the last we will be spending our money with this establishment. Be aware the people who work here are not welcoming they are far from considerate and will leave you with a feeling of wasted...