Monte Carlo Italian Restaurant in Lynchburg, VA

Basic Information:

Pizza: Monte Carlo Italian Restaurant

Number of Locations: 1

Location Reviewed: 3230 Old Forest Road in Lynchburg, VA (across the road from Wal-Mart)

Website: https://www.montecarlova.com/

Date of Review Visit: May 2014

What I Ordered: Large (16”) pizza with Italian sausage and pepperoni

Price: $15.65 (pizza only)

Photos:

Summary Review: 5 stars (out of 5)

Detailed Review:

Crust: This restaurant may be in Virginia, but the style is as New York as you can get.  The floppy, thin crust will not hold the toppings unless you fold it.  The only real gripe I have about this crust is that the pizza was somewhat underbaked: the crust was even slightly doughy in places.  The underbaking might be due to the fact that I was sitting in the lobby waiting for the pizza.  Overall, New York style pizza, welcome to Lynchburg!  Score: 9/10.

Sauce: There is not much sauce on this pizza, which fits with the ultra-thin crust.  What sauce there is has good taste, consistency, and seasoning.  The sauce does not stand out on its own, but it goes well with the rest of the pizza.  Score: 7/10.

Cheese: The cheese tastes excellent, even aged, and it appears in good quantity.  What’s not to like?  Score: 10/10.

Toppings: Both the pepperoni and sausage have good taste, and the freshness of the sausage is evident by the fact that it is hand-sliced.  Only a slight skimping on quantity prevents a perfect score.  Score: 9/10.

Overall Taste: The pizza is a little greasy, but overall it tastes like a good New York style pizza.  I like it.  Score: 8.5/10.

Pizza Appearance:  The pizza appears a little bare due to the lack of toppings, but otherwise the appearance is fine. 

Dining Atmosphere: The dining room is exquisite: it looks like a 5-star dining room, or as close as I ever get to 5-star dining.  I used to dine in at Monte Carlo all of the time just to sit in the dining room.  

Customer Service: The take-out service is slow: I had to knock on the counter several times to get someone’s attention.

Monetary Value: The quality is very high, and the price is reasonable given that this is a 16-inch pizza, not the 14-inch pizza some pizzerias call a large.  Thus, the value grades out well.

The Final Judgment:

Owned and run by an immigrant from Sicily, Monte Carlo has much going for it and little going against it.  Monte Carlo is not quite my favorite pizza in Lynchburg, but it is very good.  Score: 89/100.