Candela’s Pizzeria & Ristorante Italiano

So glad to find this when my kids were younger! Family friendly! My husband has been searching for a pizza that will rival NY pizza. This pizza he considers ok – that is huge! Happy to recommend this — wish they had sautéed spinach as a side. Small arcade is a kid pleaser!

My husband and I have eaten at this location for many years. Average food, nothing exotic but the cost is fair given its mediocrity. I called in an order for a small pizza and the person who took my order stated I was calling the Midlothian location. Not realizing they owned 2 restaurants, I went to this location by accident. When I walked in to collect my pizza, they told me I did not have an order ready. They asked if I had called the Midlothian location and I said yes. This extremely rude waitress stated they would not allow me to purchase a pizza as I had called the wrong location. When I offered to pay for both pizzas, I was told that wasn’t how it worked and to drive to the location where originally ordered. Don’t waste your money there. There are at least 5 other Italian options within a 3 mile radius with much better food so spend your hard earned money where they appreciate it.

I think this is by far the best NY style pizza in the Richmond area. Their crust is incredible as is the ratio of crust, cheese and sauce. We’ve gotten pizza here when we had out of town guests from all over the country and they also raved about the pizza. Some even asked to get it again on a return visit. This review is only for their pizza. I’ve tried a sub there before and it was good but nothing special. Same could be said for their other food — according to my wife. I’d like to see them get better chicken wings (sometimes I go to bailey’s Irish pup by candelas and get wings to go and then pick up my pizza). Also, their regular mushrooms are canned. To get good fresh mushrooms you have to pay more for a premium topping. We usually get takeout but it’s a fun family type place to eat. They have a small arcade area for kids.

Candela’s is a fantastic place. Highly recommend! Rocco and family are great people and produce some amazing food. Best Pizza in Richmond Area hands down.

Best pizza in Richmond other than Mary Angela’s. Ana is an amazing cook who was born and raised in Italy. Rocko makes the pizzas and is phenomenal. This isn’t somewhere you go for ambiance, but if you want some amazing pizza this is the place for you.

Just because it’s that good… the salad bar continues to make me happy, the on tap beer is great and the pizza is still great.

Candelas has the BEST pizza in Midlothian! Their pasta and other dishes aren’t really anything to write home about but pizza is great! Huge slices and just the right amount of grease!
I like the pepperoni and mushroom pizza the best! A small pizza is enough for 3 people. Their Caesar salads are also above average.
Candelas can accommodate large groups so often there will be parties of sports teams there.
Prices are good for the amount of food and service is usually pretty good. When I was growing up in Richmond, I came here all the time and service was great! The owners serve and cook themselves! Since then, they’ve sort of redone the place and service isn’t as good.

I’ve been going to Candela’s for years after a Saturday night meeting, with a regular bunch of folks. I’m not much of an Italian cuisine person, and to me, it seems like everything tastes the same here. Might just be the smells tricking me into believing this.
Pizza, pasta, calzones, subs, salads, wings, cheese sticks… Extensive menu, Ok prices, I suppose, if you really like Itialian.
The waitresses are very friendly and have learned most of the names of the people in our group. Service is fast. Rocco, the owner, is very friendly and talks to all the customers.
Really, I go here because this is where my peeps enjoy going. It can accommodate our crowd of anywhere from 5 – 25 on a walk-​in basis, which is a big plus.
So, yea… I don’t know that MY review is helpful because I seem to be in the minority among my friends when it comes to liking the food. Eh… it’s OK.
I say GO eat here, even though I don’t care for it so much.

Always great food here. Pizza is perfectly greasy. Great prices as well. Good place to take the kids as well. Perfect for takeout if you’re close. The remodel was a bit strange.

Yummy. Was visiting from out of town and read other Unilocal reviews about this place and decided to try!
Good decision
Recommend calling first and seeing if they have any specials.
We ordered a spinach-​tomato pie (they marinate the spinach before they put it on the pizza… extra delicious), and a meat lovers.
Will order again when I’m back in town

My famly has been going here for decades… we even had the same waitress for more than ten years unti she retired. I’ve celebrated each of my birthdays for about the past 20 years here as well.
The owner is always visible, the service and waitresses are awesome. Food has always been consistently good! A real gem!
It’s the type of place where parents take their trophy generation kids after every game if they win or lose. It’s a busy place. If you don’t like kids, then you’re probaby better off in a classier Italian restaurant that doesn’t serve pizza.
I’m not fond of the renovations they’ve completed… they’ve divided the restauarnt in half, and made two smaller party rooms on the side. The flow of the resaurant seems to be impeded. The salad bar is pretty pathetic. But that has not effected the quality of food or service.
I’ll be there in nine more days for my next birthday! (They’re closed Monday which is my actual birthday). ;-)

Ok Pizza, convenient for pickup, The dining room is great for kid’s birthday or soccer parties, now that my kids are older its a good place to avoid for dine in because of the noise and rogue little people. The pizza tends to be bready, and the sauce a little bland for my taste. Never had a service issue like some of the other reviewers.

We go here all the time because the pizza is amazing — best we have found outside of going downtown to Tarrants. Candelas gets very busy on Friday & Saturday nights but the staff moves quick to keep up and are very friendly. They love our son & kids in general and always accommodate us bringing in an umbrella stroller. Trust me — you’ll love the pizza!

Incredibly poor service and the food was AWFUL… Used to eat here all the time as a kid and the chicken was horrible and they made us pay for a redo! Never again!!! Dont eat here!

Go here for soda, bad service, and a stomach ache
Stay away if you like good Italian food.
I ordered the chicken Marsala and when it reached my table it smelled and looked like fish… once myself and my boyfriend tried it, we couldn’t tell if it was fish or just really spoiled chicken. Not wanting to feel even further nauseated, I called our waitress over (took a while) and politely asked for the chicken pram sandwich. She proceeded with an attitude but once I received this meal the chicken was yet again stinky and so tough I could barely chew it.
She ended up charging us for both the Marsala and the pram and that night I got extremely I’ll from the little bit I ate.
Between the filthy floor, the waitress and her poor attitude, and the sickening spoiled chicken, I’d rather go hungry than have the displeasure to eat here again.
Steer clear my fellow Italian food lovers.

This place is great. The food is amazing. The owners and waitstaff are so friendly and helpful. This is a frequent stop for my family and me. This is what happens when owners work in the shop and take complete pride in their food, recipes, and customer satisfaction!!!

11/​11/​2011
I just attended a soccer pizza dinner for my kids soccer team at Candela’s. Service was really slow. Worst part about it, a waitress seemed frustrated at the kids and actually grabbed my 5 years old sons arm. Pretty hard yank. Before I could talk to her another parent who saw it started to lecture her about touching someones child. When I got to her she lied and said she was moving him away from some hot food. Problem was there was no hot food near my son.
Went to speak to the owner/​manager, but he was behind the counter yelling «why are all these kids running around». «Where are the parents»?
Hello, end of the year soccer party? There must have been 40 kids in the place!
Next season we will find another pizza place to have our party!
NO ONE TOUCHES A CHILD!

Outstanding in every way! Very friendly place and their pizza has a perfect crust in my opinion — not too thick but not super thin. Perfectly crispy on the outside but able to be folded for eating (as a pizza should be.)
We were there on a Saturday afternoon between the lunch and dinner crowds so it was empty but they were well-​staffed so we were seated right away. Legends on draft… big plus! One please.
We started off by splitting a big Italian salad that was topped with all kinds of great antipasto over a bed of lettuce. The house dressing was also delicious and a great accompaniment to the salad meats and vegetables.
We ordered our typical «test» pizza, which is either pepperoni/​ham or pepperoni/​sausage. Like a typical foodie-​geek, I asked about their sausage. Sausage in a lot Virginia pizza places confuses me. I believe sausage on a pizza should be zesty; almost spicy but I have yet to find a good representation of this in the Commonwealth. Not only do many places do this slicing thing with their sausage, it’s often so bland in flavor that it doesn’t add anything to the pizza. I don’t think I should have to add pepper flakes to make the pizza have flavor. Our server said they have 2 kinds of sausage: one where they take the sandwich sausage and slice it, and the other, which is more of a ground pork (her words), they crumble on the pizza. She said their sausage is pretty mild. Well, I just don’t get it but OK, pepperoni and ham with extra sauce it is.
The pizza arrived in less than 10 minute! Steaming and great looking, we let it sit while we finished the salad to avoid the 3^rd-​degree burns so common with anxious pizza eaters. I still only lasted a few minutes before I had to dig in. Delicous! The perfect crust base and mild but flavorful sauce were a great foundation for the toppings. The crust was cooked through the middle (unlike some places where the middle is still a hybrid crust/​wet dough.) Typical of most pizza places, the ham was just deli ham sliced into bite-​size ham wafers, but it had flavor. The pepperoni was also good and provided a bit of zestiness.
I really liked this place and will definitely be back. The service was very attentive, the food was all very good, and the pricing was reasonable.