Johnny V's !!!

Colleen and I just tried this new place that has taken over the former Hero's location in the "heart' of Jeffersontown next to the corner of Taylorsville Rd. and Watterson Trail.

Today(Sat, January 10th), was the first day they opened for business and I think they will be around for quite some time.
Having been a HUGE fan of the former tenant, I had my hopes set pretty high and Johnny V's didn't disappoint.

The place has been remodeled with more flat screen TVs and some new pub style tables in the bar area. They also boast a full service bar, something Hero's didn't have.

The menu is brief with NY style pizza and a few apps, salads, and sandwiches which include the signature "Spiedie" sub. they also offer pizza by the slice.

After looking over the menu Colleen ordered the Garden Salad with a slice of cheese pizza while I ordered something on the menu called the S&P 500 which came with a Spiedie and a slice for only $5.00

The Spiedie comes with your choice of chicken, pork or beef skewered and grilled with provolone cheese and mushrooms or lettuce and tomato on a 6" sub roll.

There was a nice sized crowd eating and watching the Uof L game and this being the first day and all, I was pleasantly surprised by the brief wait.

The service was good up until this point when everything (including Colleen's salad) was brought to the table at the same time. Not that big of a deal, although Colleen ordered the salad hoping to munch on it first while waiting for her slice.

The slices were piping and not bad...I say this because we ordered slices, so they came from the slice pie. I'm certain if we ordered a whole pizza it would be considerably better.

Nice crispy crust although I found it to be a little "chewy" but the sauce was nice, herby and savory; without the sweetness that some places around town have. A good amount of sauce and ample cheese made for good eating. If you liked Hero's, it's not quite the same but still tasty none the less.

Now for the Spiedie...A pleasant surprise! I ordered the beef version and it came out with about 5 oz. of what appeared to be tenderloin tips nicely marinated with something I couldn't quite place, (but suspect to be ground oregano) on a metal skewer. It sat atop of a nice soft sub roll filled with shredded provolone and sauteed mushrooms. On the side was a portion of shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes tossed with a little Italian vinaigrette. It was one of the better sandwiches I've had in a while, and for only five bucks with a slice of pizza, I can see this becoming a great place for a good cheap lunch!
The owner stopped by the table and introduced himself and seemed genuinely happy that we we there.

All in all, outside of a single service misstep, I highly recommend checking out Johnny V's.
They are open daily from 11am to midnight and the phone number is 267-0900

[Robin Garr]

Great review, thanks, Dan. We all knew that Hero's was going to be an awfully hard act to follow, but it sounds like Johnny V is getting off on the right foot.

Hero's definitely had a NYC-style pie. From your description, I'm wondering if Johnny is aiming more for the Louisville style ... but either way, it's worth a try.

They are open daily from 11am to midnight and the phone number is 267-0900

Even on Sundays? I would like to stop by tomorrow to check the new place out.

According to the take-out menu, It is open on Sundays.

We went last night and the place was packed, so we opted to carry-out. The service was genuinely friendly and the owner spoke to us a couple of times during out short visit. The 'nostalgic family-themed decor' matched this level of service. Even on a busy night, the carry-out order wait-time was only what we expected.
Now for the most important piece: how was the pizza? It was outstanding. I think we have found our new favourite pizza place! We ordered the "guido," an all meat pizza and it was awesome. The topping amounts were just perfect--enough of each yet, thankfully, not overloaded like some (gross) chain versions of the same. We will definitely be returning--Thank you, Johnny V's!

We tried Jimmy V's this afternoon-- 2 thumbs up. Maybe not quite the NewYork fold over style 100%, but very tasty. The owner was friendly, and the chef came out to check on us as well. Sorry that they don't deliver, but was worth going to JTown. We will go back soon.

I'm going to have to give this place a thumbs down.

We checked it out last night. Our first problem came when ordering. I saw white pizza by the slice listed on the menu, so I ordered a slice, only to have the server come back and tell me they didnt do white pizza by the slice. So I settled for just cheese instead. We also ordered some garlic knots which didnt show up until after the slices did. Being this was billed as NY Style pizza I expected large foldable slices, sadly these were not. The cheese was burnt and the crust was a tad hard for NY Style pizza. I'm guessing the slices came from a 12 maybe 14 inch pie. The knots arrived as we finished our slices and the server had them comped due to the delay. The knots were good, I will give them that, soft and flavorful. Overall though I dont think I'll return.

Johnny is still working on his 'white' pizza, and did not want to serve it.

I suppose you could say he shouldn't have it on the menu, then. But, he & our server both gave us that notice as soon as we sat down.

Our crust was a little soft & chewy, so we had them run it back through for a better 'char'. The flavor was excellent though, and the 'Spiedi' sandwich was awesome. We went w/ the 'Jax 3 Cheese' pizza, and added pep.


We were his very first customer, at just after 11am on Saturday. He told us to "expect a few glitches", and there were. However, we'll definitely be back.

Johnny is still working on his 'white' pizza, and did not want to serve it.

I suppose you could say he shouldn't have it on the menu, then. But, he & our server both gave us that notice as soon as we sat down.

This is not the story we were told. We were told we could only get the White Pizza as a whole pie and not as slices. We asked why it was on the menu for slices and could not get an answer other than "it is only served as a whole pie".

^ weird.

Johnny told us as soon as we sat down "We're still working on the white pizza recipe, so steer clear of that. We hope to have it down soon."

But yeah, sounds like a good reason to never go back!!! /rolleyes

Speaking as someone who works in a restaurant that serves (very good, btw!) pizza - chances are good that they found that a white pizza doesn't hold as well as a marinara pizza, and decided to ditch the by-the-slice option. And reprinting brand new menus is expensive. Still, they could perhaps have been clearer about the reasons for the deviation from the menu. Most patrons would be happy with the above explanation (if that is in fact the reason).

^ weird.

Johnny told us as soon as we sat down "We're still working on the white pizza recipe, so steer clear of that. We hope to have it down soon."

But yeah, sounds like a good reason to never go back!!! /rolleyes

I listed more reasons aside from that as to why I wasnt going back. This was just the very first thing that dug a hole quickly with not only me but the other people I was with.

I'm sorry I didnt have the same jovial experience you did so keep your eye rolls to yourself.