Bob Evans — Restaurant in Dover

I keep trying. Mainly because I have a tradition with my kids where I take them to "daddy breakfast" on their birthday. Just us. Which is a big deal because we're a large family, so it's a special thing. Two or so years ago, my third oldest chose this is her spot. It was a disaster then but I was still mentally writing off a lot of restaurant issues to them all adapting to a post COVID world.

Well, not here. The greeter doesn't really greet you. Throws your menus on the table while walking away and telling you to "enjoy your meal." And the overall service this time was so horrible that I'm pretty sure it will be my last. It seems like this place just never got it back together. Or maybe they never had it together. I've had food at other locations of theirs and been fine, but this location strikes out time after time.

Myself and my son were sat at almost the same time as a couple directly behind me in the booths and I could hear them having similar issues and later, across the aisle, an elderly couple who had enough of a Bob Evan's history that they already knew what they wanted. No one seemed to have their order go smoothly. Didn't seem to matter the server. You just kinda got whatever variation of what YOU ordered that THEY felt like bringing.

Took three tries to get a soda order right (got root beers twice at first). My son ordered a new "fancy" coffee, tasted okay but looked like his 5 year old brother put it together. Everything in it was just slopped in there. No other term. No drizzles of anything. Just slopped.

Our server continued to forget to come take our order after the drinks finally got straightened out. And she came back twice after taking our order to confirm what we had ordered. Wrote nothing down. And not in a way that inspired confidence. When the time came for our food to actually get to the table... I reminded her that we had no silverware still. Five minutes later she came back to check how our meals were, and I had to remind her that we didn't know because we still didn't have silverware. So now it was cold and wrong. And I could hear the people behind us and across from us all having issues. Three tables but two different servers, BTW.

Everything had already been going so horribly wrong by then that I didn't bother to mention that my eggs were leaking yolk as she brought them to the table... even though I ordered them over hard. I had ordered the loaded home fries and it literally looked like someone threw a handful of shredded cheddar on them at the last minute because they forgot. The French Toast, bacon, and pancakes they got right. But for a $20 plus per head meal with sides... I wasn't happy. And this is the third birthday breakfast in a row here that has gone many ways sideways.

I don't expect some kind of Michelin star restaurant service. I'm not disillusioned about where I went. But my money would have been better. Spent a few blocks down the street at McDonald's, and then taking pancakes home for my whole family and sprinkling some confectioner sugar on there. It was just one thing after another and there wasn't even any point to saying anything because anytime we tried to get something corrected it just got worse. I'm sorry to see this place just cannot function and this is not a one-trip opinion...

FIRST TIME AT A BOB EVANS....

Hostess: THE HOSTESS WAS AMAZING!!!!! She was the best part of Bob Evans today!!!!

Atmosphere: SUPER SLOW SERVICE. The tables were empty and about 10 workers. It still took what seemed like forever to be seated. Then order. Then food finally arrived......

Food: We ordered off the regular menu. One of the dinners was the sirloin steak. The one who ordered it said it was better than Applebees. Another meal was the fried chicken breast. The one who ordered it said it was a bit over fried. The side of broccoli had dark spots on it. Another meal was the Turkey Breast dinner with stuffing, mashed tators, and carrots. The two things on that plate that were edible were the turkey and mashed tators. The stuffing was hard as a rock, and the carrots looked like they were cooked a week ago and then reheated today. The fourth meal that was ordered was the Alaskan Cod. The one who ordered that food stated they misread the menu, thinking it was going to be grilled. Anyways, they took the coating off and stated the cod itself was absolutely delicious!!!

Drinks: PEPSI ONLY products. The sweet tea was pretty good. The cup of water was a little off.

Deserts: Did not try :( thought about it, though.

Bathroom: EXTREEMLY CLEAN!!!! At least the women's. Did not check the men's.

Cleanliness: The tables were spot on. Floors had food and straws from previous guests. Chairs were clean.

Time of day arrived around 2 and left around 4... ...

We have visited Bob Evans many times and loved the service and food, not this particular one however. I must say, it was absolutely the worst experience I have ever had in any restaurant, ever. We went today 8/1/21 around 10am.

First I witnessed a guest fall horribly in the front entrance way, I actually had to help her up, it was wet and slippery and she fell and I had to ask an employee to put up a wet floor sign before another patron was hurt.

We were told 25 minutes, and an hour and a half later we were finally told by the staff that the management (Heather) said that “no guests are to be seated until all the take out orders are filled.” I shared a picture of that for your review.

Then another employee came out and said to all the waiting patrons. “Well, we can start seating you, but it it may be 45 minutes until you get your order of food.”

I get being short staffed, if that was the case, but to allow guests to sit there for hours at a time and not even apologize or update them on the status of their seating? I could have went elsewhere to eat my breakfast. It was like a bunch of teenagers without direction or supervision wondering around aimlessly not knowing what to do. That Bob Evans should be embarrassed on the service they provided today. Poor management was the...