Papa Dubi's — Restaurant in Albertville

If I Could Give 10 Stars and a Standing Ovation, I Would

Named after a great-great-grandfather and clearly infused with every ounce of his Southern charm, Papa Dubi’s isn’t just a restaurant. Though it had humble beginnings in a strip mall, it's proven that one can rise above and ascend to glory. It’s a full-blown culinary revival, and I’m considering nominating their coconut shrimp for a James Beard Award and possibly sainthood.

Let’s start there. The coconut shrimp was so good, it reset the coconut shrimp bar for the rest of our lives (family of six with thousands of coconut shrimp tails in our wake). We’ve had coconut shrimp at beach shacks, fancy bistros, three years in Louisiana, intentionally, and this one just took the crown, the throne, and the scepter. I honestly felt like I should’ve stood up and saluted it.

And the sauces. Oh. My. Word. These were the kind of sauces that make you question every decision you’ve made up until this point. The pineapple sauce had the table doing the wave, and the marmalade? I’m convinced there’s something illegal in there because we could not stop. I started looking around the table for things I could dip in it. A napkin almost made the cut. One of us suggested they’d eat it straight off a spoon like it was cough syrup for the soul.

While I would never suggest outsourcing it to mass production, I do think it would be amazing if they gave people the option of taking a bottle with them. But with the understanding it's made fresh and doesn't have any preservatives. That means you have to eat it quickly (certainly would not be an issue for us).

Now, onto the rest of the feast. One of my picky eaters, who usually edits menu items like she’s revising a novel (not really), made a few custom requests on her wrap. Not only did the kitchen nail it, but our server came back to double-check that it was perfect. And it was. Bless her.

Then there was the chicken basket we ordered half fried, half blackened because we like to keep it spicy and crispy. They actually did it. I wouldn't bother asking for that combo at a dozen other places because it would usually get a confused look or a flat-out “no.” But Papa Dubi’s said “yes” like it was the easiest thing in the world.

The onion rings? Massive. Flaky. Deep-fried perfection. Imagine a Texas-sized halo made of golden batter and love. That’s what you’re getting.

The hush puppies had some debate at the table. One person thought they were just okay. Another one slathered them in butter and entered a transcendent food state (confession: it was me).

On the way out, we even noticed that there's a convenient drive-thru for ordering pick up. That's a lot better than taking it out. Bunch of stupid spaces out front like so many other restaurants do.

Oh, and we waited nearly an hour to be seated only because our friends picked the place. Knowing what we know now, we would gladly wait an hour at any point in time to eat here.

As if all this wasn’t enough, Will (one of the owners) came over and spent time talking with us like we were old friends after deducing we were there for a State Swim Meet. He asked about our group, what brought us into town, and genuinely seemed to care. That kind of personal connection is rare these days, and it sealed the deal.

Bottom line: I’d drive back here from another state just to have dinner again. Papa Dubi’s isn’t just good. It’s literally “cancel-your-other-plans-and-come-hungry” good. At a minimum, we'd easily add an hour to a cross country drive for an excuse to stop. Ten stars. Two thumbs up. One full belly. And...

My family and I are fairly new to Alabama and have enjoyed trying new eateries between here and Huntsville. My job is here in Guntersville and my employer gave this place a good recommendation. My husband and I have tried coming here a few times and it has been closed. Our son was visiting here on vacation and we found it a good opportunity to take the 45 min drive since it was going to be open. We were sooooooooo disappointed. I had the jambalaya. This had to be the least flavorful jambalaya I've had. The sausage is sliced paper thin and only a few pieces were in the dish. The chicken was dry. It was mostly a tomato flavored dish with no Cajun/Creole spices. My husband had the red beans and rice. He said those were the weirdest beans he's had more like pinto beans. It also was less desirable on the flavor. We had the crab cakes which were good but comparable to another local restaurant didn't compare on size or flavor. The crab claws were ok. Of course the ones we had in Gulf Shores and FL were more desirable. Our son had catfish and said it was fine. The waitress (a young Hispanic girl) was below average. She was kind I'll give her that. She whispered most of the time, couldn't get our order right we had to keep correcting her and failed to report our disappointment to the management. I've waited tables before. When someone takes 2-3 bites and leaves the rest you report the disappointment to the manager to decide what to do with that. She didn't. Instead she told me, yeah some people don't like it. Last week she had someone not like the gumbo. That's not the proper way to deal with that. Plus, they don't have tap to pay. I told her I don't carry my card and she just said "ok". There was no resolve there. I tipped her because I'm not a jerk but she didn't get the full potential. I'm a very generous tipper. We won't come back. I feel like I took $100 and threw it out the window. Oooh, I put $100.23 on my total transaction and we were charged...

We have been going to Papa Dubis for years now. They have always had great food. We visited the new location last night, in Albertville. This location has a little more seating, I don't think too much more though. We arrived with a party of 4. The new building is beautiful. They informed us it was a 30 to 40 minute wait..... not a problem. The place was PACKED! We waited about 30 minutes before being seated, WELL WORTH THE WAIT!!! We had the fried pickles and the onion rings for appetizers. They were so delicious and the onion rings are HOUSE MADE!!! 😋 Yummy!!! I got the coconut shrimp basket and the red beans and rice; always a favorite of mine. I can't remember what everyone else ordered because I was bust stuffing my face. Everyone loved their meals though and kept commenting how wonderful it was. My son and his wife were visiting from out of town and said they can't find good food like that where they live and said it was the best meal he has had in a long time. Our server was Ansley. She was absolutely AH-MAZ-ING! I would definitely recommend asking for her. She was so kind and had such a wonderful smile. Even though they were at max capacity, our drinks never ran short, the service never lacked and all of our food was hot and fresh! Ansley definitely gave us the customer service that is lacking nowadays. She was just perfect! The establishment is new and clean. The table was clean when we sat down, the bathrooms were kept up during the rush, and whatever they are doing, it's helping things runs very smoothly! We will definitely be back to the new location and I recommend this place to anyone and everyone! Oh..... they also have a beautiful outside...