Dobra Zupas — Restaurant in Beckley

I wanted to like this place more, I really did.

First off, I spoke with the owner, chef and brewer John who is a very friendly person...but therein lies the problem, one person has too much responsibility and it shows in the lacking quality of all items because the attention to detail cannot be given to each very important individual area.

This place has the potential to be great. It is in absolutely beautiful old home. I love the way the interior is decorated, adhering to its original roots. The employees and management are genuinely earnest in their desire to deliver a good product...but they are simply not achieving it yet.

Simple things could propel them further, such as: have chairs on the patio in front for people to wait for their tables. There is a beautiful patio outside on beautiful land, and it is wasted aesthetically and practically.

Have a better area than the veranda of past the main door for customers to wait.

Have a dedicated host, instead of whatever server has time to assist those waiting at the host stand in-between serving tables.

The menu needs help also. There is not enough variety, and if no variety, then there is no chef's special focus - thus not doing either, it fails at both.

The food which I had was well presented, but was not of the quality it could be.

The service was slow, but well-intentioned.

The brewery is a gorgeous stone building in the back which could serve as a special reservation area for customers, and the desire for to brew excellent beer exists, but the quality was lacking in nearly every beer I had.

This restaurant, and brewery, could truly be a destination and well known throughout the region with some help. It has the customers - people were (uncomfortably) waiting in a line which led outside to be seated, and then waited a long time at their tables to served, and then waited... because they need more waitstaff, with professional training.

I hope the owners read this review and use it to push themselves to a higher level which I know they want to be and can achieve with some more...

I'm a Google Guide, and I travel across the state of West Virginia extensively and have been a patron of hundreds of Restaurants, from fast food to high end. I have picked up lunch here many times for clients in Beckley West Virginia. Every single time has been a nightmare for takeout. Today, I arrived 47 minutes early to pick up lunch for a physician friend and his office . After waiting more than 50 minutes I finally had our food. It would be another story if I was informed on how late it was going to be, and the darling beautiful young girl working by herself in the freezing cold restaurant had other customers to attend to, but I was told they were bagging up the order when I stopped by 47 minutes early. That was not the case. Lastly, if this was the best food on planet Earth where you had an orgasmic experience with every single bite I might also overlooked the lateness, even though more than 50 minutes late is not acceptable. Under any circumstance, I might add. The food is good, but just a notch or two above what you can get at chain restaurants like Ruby Tuesdays, and I am a connoisseur of fine Cuisine. I know this, because of the hundreds of restaurants that I patronize for my business. One last point, and I don't know why restaurants of this supposed caliber do this, but the gratuity was already added in. So for a lunchtime order I had a nearly $30 gratuity added in of which the wait staff actually probably deserved $7 of it. If that.... There IS a penalty for poor service. Plus, & 23 for a project chop PLUS gratuity?? Snail Service??? If you need a lunch to go, and you don't have to go anywhere, then it's a great place. Very Charming. Albeit freezing cold in the winter time! But if you need something picked up on time it's best to go somewhere else and save a few...

Allen at the front desk of the Best Western said Dobra Zupas was his favorite mom & pop restaurant. While I had been looking forward to going to the Cracker Barrel for chicken and dumplings, I liked the idea of patronizing a locally owned mom & pop restaurant better. I am from out of town.

Dobra Zupas is in a former house which has two main restaurant areas to the right and left as you walk in. To the left is a restaurant area with the lively bar farther back.

I think there was only one person working as hostess, waitress, and bartender on Tuesday, since I had to wait about 5 minutes before the waitress came out to get seated. It took a while before she came back to take my order (Note: no more Reuben pizzas or sandwiches since she said the corned beef was in short supply. I had been looking forward to trying a Reuben pizza).

She did bring my microbrew craft beer out quickly which was a perfect blend with no big hops aftertaste. I ordered the Thai Chicken Wrap which had nice chunks of chicken, cucumbers, peanut sauce in a pita (delicious) and a good helping of thick french fries (which could have been a little hotter).

I liked the food and homey atmosphere. I understand being a small, local restaurant, there might not be a lot of staff during a week night. As a former hostess, waitress, busboy, sometimes dishwasher and cook helper, I understand what it is like to wear many hats and when things get busy, you can only do what you can do to keep up.

Overall, the menu had a variety of food from coffee rubbed rib-eye steaks, hamburgers, pizza, catfish po'boys,, and crab cakes. Something for everyone. Plus good microbrew...