#131: Juliano's Pizza

Date Visited: 22 June 2012

Meal: Dinner

Diners: 3 - Me, Wendy, & Andy

Experience: Back in September 2010, I gushed about our visit to Kabob & Falafel. Now, Chef Rida and crew have reinvented/rebooted their restaurant into its latest incarnation: Juliano’s Pizza. They advertise as primarily a pizza restaurant, but offer many other items, such as appetizers, wings, hamburgers, gourmet subs, and salads; they still have kabobs and falafel too. This is the same location as Kabob & Falafel, which was originally the Fractured Prune.

There is a lot of competition in the Leesburg pizza market, which currently includes Giovanni’s, Rocco’s (ex-Joe’s), Manhattan Pizza, La Villa Roma, Pizza Hut, Pizza Hut - WingStreet, Pizza Hut Express, Ledo Pizza, Andy’s, CiCi’s, Domino’s, Vocelli’s, Fire Works, Papa John’s, and Little Caesar’s (not yet reviewed). Many other Leesburg restaurants include pizza on their menu, but not as the main thing. It’s obviously a crowded market, but I think Juliano’s has established a unique niche for itself in Leesburg, as you will see.

On this visit, Chef Rida was not there, but Chef Ayman was in charge. Because he knew me (from the Kabob & Falafel review and later visits), he came out into the seating area and loudly greeted us and introduced us to the other patrons: "This is the guy who writes about all the restaurants in Leesburg!" - thus blowing my cover. :-)

Wendy and I both started with the House salad, which had a great tangy (homemade, I’m sure) house dressing. A very promising start.

For our main dishes, we shared a Grilled Chicken Brie gourmet sub (“Grilled chicken, warm Brie, honey, basil, pesto, red peppers, avocado, bacon, and field greens”). It had an amazing taste; the honey really made it pop! Wendy commented that it presented as layers of flavor, all distinct. I concurred, and proceeded to devour my half!

We also shared a large No Kissing Tonight pizza (“Ricotta cheese with pesto sauce and tomatoes, bacon, red onion, mozzarella cheese, chopped garlic and seasoning”). This was another amazing creation. I really liked the way that the ingredients were piled high, but remained light, not dense. The large pieces of shaved parmesan on top were a great finishing touch. I also loved the light but crisp-on-the-bottom crust, just perfect. We had plenty to take home for lunch the next day.

Andy was not actually with us on this visit, but we ordered for take-out a large Pepperoni and Bacon pizza for him. Of course, we got to share in this one too. One of Juliano’s special touches is that their tomato sauce has just a little hot spiciness to it. I asked Chef Ayman what it was, but he laughed and wouldn’t divulge the secret. He did talk about how he perfected the amount of spice in the sauce, enough for you to tell after the first bite, but not so much to overwhelm you.

So there you have it, another gushing review of a locally-owned Leesburg restaurant. But I think Juliano’s has earned and deserved this praise. The restaurant itself is small and inviting, and the hospitality of the chefs and staff is welcoming and honest. Reviews on Yelp are overwhelmingly positive, and they also got a nice write-up from a fellow Leesburg restaurant/shop blogger on There’s Something About Mary’s List. Please do visit Juliano’s, and tell them I said hi!

Location: 828 S. King St., Leesburg, VA, 20175, 703-777-2218

Web site: http://julianosleesburg.com/

Total bill: $54.83 + $15.00 tip = $69.83

UPDATE - 14 April 2013:

We went to lunch and Juliano’s has apparently changed hands - chefs Rida and Ayman are not there. The menu and food quality also seems to have changed and no longer has the uniqueness that I originally wrote about. It’s too bad; the food is now OK but nothing special.