Billy’s is nearly worthy of its prime location

Downtown Roanoke is evolving into a destination dining spot. Besides the locally owned food stalls inside the revamped Roanoke City Market Building, there are several independent restaurants in the vicinity offering a wide variety of cuisines, from Cajun to Thai.

The newly opened Billy’s adds to this scene. The restaurant is finally welcoming patrons for lunch and dinner after five years of construction. It, too, is an indie restaurant owned by restaurateur Roger Neel and attorney Neal Keesee.

The exterior facade recalls an earlier era when the restaurant’s predecessor , Billy’s Ritz, held sway at the corner of Market Street and Salem Avenue. Now, just the name “Billy’s” announces its presence for a delightful, nostalgic experience.

The vibe

The new entrance located on Market Street immediately brings guests to the hostess stand. Big changes are readily visible in the handsomely renovated interior. Long, one-way windows open up the main dining room with sunlight, scenes of people coming and going, and views of the market building.

This lovely room has a gracious feel without intruding on the vintage look, especially evident in the bar, which is still in its customary location, and in the wrought iron design at the top of the windows .

Further down the meandering first floor is a dining area for private parties, a second bar, and a charming outdoor courtyard complete with fire pit, comfortable chairs and its own bar.

The menu

The oversized dinner menu at Billy’s presents myriad selections of starters, salads, pasta dishes, burgers, sandwiches, and “land and sea” entrees offered at reasonable prices and in generous portions. The menu offers selections for every palate, from the commonplace grilled wings ($9) to the unusual ahi tuna and seaweed salad with eel sauce ($7).

The extensive, well-rounded wine list offers domestic and imported wines, with several priced by the glass ($6 to $12) and the remainder by the bottle ($23 to $249).

The food

I visited Billy’s three times with different groups of friends, ordering an assortment of dishes to experience a full picture of the offerings. The limited lunch menu lists four entree salads ($8 to $11) and four sandwiches and wraps ($7 to 10), enough for a simple lunch, but with the option of ordering from the dinner menu, as well.

Two of us began one meal with the colorful vegetable-kale soup of the day ($6). The first spoonful startled our palates with the abundance of salt, making it almost bitter.

The burger-sized Billy’s Ritz appetizer crab cake ($10) was attractively presented in the center of a plate, surrounded by a ring of succotash and topped with remoulade sauce. It had a well-seasoned, fluffy interior with only several visible pieces of crabmeat , so it turned out to be a show-off disappointment. Fried oysters ($12) were served with a mix of fresh baby spinach, crisp bacon, pickled onions and some delicious boursin cheese, but some of the oysters lacked the expected fresh, sweet taste .

A Southern soft shell crab BLT ($10) needed more thoughtful plating. It came in a big soup dish filled with a side of succotash that crowded my sandwich and left it hanging halfway off the side of the plate. These two crisply fried softshell crabs, sitting on thick pieces of toasted sourdough with a slice of hard, unripened “heirloom tomato,” was a job to eat with a knife and fork. The succotash lacked any defining flavor of onion or herbs. The crabs were all right.

I recommend trying the steak salad ($11) with grilled tenderloin, tomato, blue cheese, and crisp onion curls, or the freshly made Caesar salad ($6). A delicious entree, tomato penne ($14) comes sauced with chopped heirloom tomatoes, chicken and Italian sausage.

Two other excellent selections are the delectable bourbon-glazed, double-cut pork chop ($16) and the shrimp and grits ($15). The latter contained at least a dozen medium shrimp with country ham and chopped tomatoes in a plateful of smooth cheddar-laced grits.

Treat yourself to dessert at Billy’s, especially the decadent Limoncello cake ($7) or a creamy chocolate mousse cake ($7). The bag o’ doughnuts ($6), brings a delicious, crumbly mess of confectioners’ sugar-covered fried balls of dough with fudge and raspberry sauces for dipping.

The bottom line

With its charming new interior and appealing menu designed to fit most budgets, Billy’s is a prime downtown gathering spot for good times.

It has the potential to be known for good food, too. However, the chefs must be attentive to balancing their use of seasonings — especially salt — and display thoughtfulness in presentations.

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