Bob Evans — Restaurant in Martinsburg

I'm updating my already horrible review of Bob Evans Martinsburg.

We ate there recently, we were hungry and it was convenient but it was a mistake.

The waitress was attentive and tried hard but it was obvious she was new and not yet fully trained.

After we had placed our order the waitress was walking past us towards another table and turned and looked back and asked us if we wanted flatware, and at least most of the time I use a knife and fork when I eat out.

I had a wildfire chicken salad and when it was delivered to the table the first thing I noticed was there was no wildfire sauce drizzled on it like it states in the menu. Then the waitress asked me what dressing I wanted with it and I said I would like to have what it said in the menu which was Wildfire ranch dressing. I don't know about the reader of this review but when I order it item which explicitly states what comes with it then I expect that that will show up at the table at the same time as the salad which has hot Fried Chicken on top of it and the salad won't go back to the kitchen where the chicken will cool down while they drizzle some cold sauce on top of it and give me the side order of Wildfire ranch dressing That was supposed to come out at the same time as the salad.

My wife got a steak and it was even smaller than we expected based on the size listed in the menu and she had a side order of green beans with ham except that they must have missed the ham part because there was not a trace of it in her green beans. The wife said there was not even a trace of ham flavor in the green beans, they're not living up to the customer expectations and just dumping a can of beans in a pot and warming it up. The beans did have some onions in with them but last I checked onions and ham were not the same thing.

We did like the pumpkin bread that was pretty good, but it did not make up for the rest of the meal.

This is the old part:

They used to be good, but...

We ordered dinner carry out on Halloween, it was supposed to be ready at 5:10, but we didn't get the food until after 5:50.

Here's our order with comments:

Slow Roasted Pot Roast Family Dinner with a large side order of mashed potatoes and six biscuits. They put the dinner for four in two containers and put the mashed potatoes in with the Pot Roast, they were generous with the potatoes, but skimped on the meat. (I guess our 30% off coupon was not just for the price). It had been a while since we ordered this, but previous orders had almost twice as much Pot Roast as this one.

Chicken N Noodles Deep Dish Family Dinner with a large side order of Broccoli and six Dinner Rolls. For this order they put the side of Broccoli in it's own container so the portions were acceptable but the dinner did not have enough gravy so it was on the dry side.

My wife is diabetic so and needed a Low Carb meal, she got a Blackened Steak dinner, the meat was tender but her dinner was stone cold, they probably let this sit for most of the 40 minutes we waited for the rest of the food.

We also ordered a Large Farm Festival Bean Soup and a Loaf of Pumpkin Bread. The Pumpkin Bread was good, but they forgot to give us the soup, (we should have checked, but by the time it was ready our pickup person was trying to get home before the Trick-or-Treaters were on the streets). We had to send someone back to get the soup which delayed their already late dinner by another 25 minutes.

Bob Evans did give us a few extra slices of Pumpkin Bread with the original order and a second soup free when we went back to pick up our missing item, but given the ridiculous delays and the order inaccuracy we will not be going back to this location anytime soon.

Our pickup person noticed that there were a few other unhappy patrons waiting for carry out and they had order problems too, of course since we waited over 40 minutes for food that should have been ready when we got there we had ample time for...

Came in for a late breakfast and had the honor of sitting at the counter. I love eating at the counter because you get a show with your meal. Today was no exception. The plot of today's show revolved around the pre-church, post-hotel-checkout rush... a sort of prelude to an even more epic event to come that I would gladly miss. Though while I sit in the parking lot, inspired to share my experience, I am witnessing the tide of families coming to eat and my thoughts are with the cast for their upcoming performance. Leading the brigade of dedicated servers and cooks was a seemingly kind lady in a pink sweater and a headset. I still don't understand the headset but she wore it well. She greeted everyone, myself included. She genuinely cheered on the staff around her. I assume she was a manager or shift leader or perhaps their mother. Like a mother she was quick to invite the cooperation of her little family and also to get her own hands dirty. She gave me my first cup of coffee (thank you, Lori was it?) My server was attentive, and checked on me often enough to insure I was content. She was gracious with her time, especially to a man who has eaten from this menu dozens of times in other locations and yet continues to struggle with his desire... breakfast or lunch? Hotcakes and eggs or pot roast and that cheddar potato soup (the recipe to which forged from some out-worldly miracle witchcraft)? I watched another server, in the midst of the organized chaos take a particular interest into a costumer I will assume was at least a regular if not a dear friend. He was also at the counter. What was most impressive was that everyone called him by his first name... Jim, I believe it was. The scene between this man and the rest of the staff was a favorite for me and had me almost jealous of his ability to frequent this place enough to have earned such a following. And mind you, at the counter you hear everything... comments, jokes, gripes and praises. He said hi to everyone that crossed his path and they in turn greeted him warmly like an uncle that doesn't visit often enough. Not a negative tone in the bunch save a brief moment between a cook and server over the age-old debate of whether or not this order of hotcakes was supposed to have strawberries. Brilliantly performed and even more brilliantly resolved with an understanding of disgreement and a few modestly flung strawberry pieces. Hilarious! I should point out that nothing about this exchange was tense or awkward... more proof of the cast's cohesive whole. People moving everywhere, offering to help one another, finding things to do behind the scenes to make the future a bit more smooth. Executed majestically. To me, a diner experience is one of the last true observable moments in the world around us. One of the few ways you can quickly surmise the fate of a society... and I left encouraged. In these wonderful moments they were busy, stressful, sweaty... and kind. And all of them moving far too quickly for anyone to acknowledge those moments for the beauty they possessed and the hope they inspired. Corporate blah blah blah... I get it's not a small business and there are other diners in the world with just as much America in them. But as with so many things these days... it's the people that matter. People work in chains too. Eat where you like. If you're near this one though, eat here. My food was cooked as expected, tasted like what I wanted and was thoroughly enjoyed. I recommend this place... the counter at least, to anyone considering the state of the world, or at least their place in it. Come see a group of people working hard to do a tough job for oblivious hungry people and see them do it gracefully and with heart. Order the hotcakes too... with or without...

If you've seen my past reviews you know I've been to many Bob Evans' restaurants across the East Coast. I have loved all of the ones I've visited barring one, now, two stores.

The worst Bob Evans is in Watertown, NY for cleanliness & service issues. This store is 2nd.

Granted, we did stop in on a Sunday during prime hours (12-1p).

Service (Host/ess): We put our names down for a small party of 2. They stated 15-20mins/+. "That's fine, I don't mind waiting for quality food", I thought. We sat in the foyer so the elderly could sit inside the building where it was warmer. So, we were still in the building just not right inside next to Host stand. At one point the Hostess came looking for a larger party while we sat out there. We talked to her, she acknowledged, etc. We waited. We waited some more. A considerable amount of lengthy time had passed by the time we got up to inquire where we were on the list to getting a table: 30 minutes! When we arrived at Host stand she turned around to go somewhere else & didn't return for a while. If she was running personal errands, fine. But nobody else on the staff acknowledged us to help her while she was busy elsewhere. When she returned we told her about passing over us even though they didn't check the foyer like she did for the larger party. She apologized & sat us. She did the same to 2 other couples- we overheard their conversation while they were being seated but she profusely apologized to them, not to us. I don't know why she did more for them than she did for us, perhaps because it was the 2nd & 3rd issues, nonetheless, the staff could be more organized & helpful.

Food: It was ok. Generally no matter what I order there I love it & you can't go wrong w eggs. I ordered scrambled eggs, well. They were overdone & dry. I also got blueberry pancakes but they came w.o blueberries. So I ate a little bit but I had to wait to begin eating my food until the entire order was prepared. Yes, mistakes can be made, especially when it's busy. But that's why there's the cook who checks the order, someone else checks the order against the final result, then the waitress checks before serving. None of those things happened before presenting. In conclusion, the eggs were not good, the homefries were not good, either. The links were good. The pancakes were good - once they were presented to me in the way I requested.

Service (Waitress): I also ordered No compote, nothing for topping the cakes, no butter, no syrup. She brought syrup anyways. I also wanted lemon for water & had to remind her. Still, none of these were absolute disastrous events so I can return to see if it was just 'not great' (not bad but not good, either) service because of the busy crowd or if it was staffing issues.

Cleanliness: I didn't note anything spectacular & it was busy. My companion noted the bathroom was not stocked. Kudos for keeping a cleaner restaurant when it's busy. However, lacking in service, does not earn you a great review. I would much prefer lacking in service & the cleanest restaurant than eat at a dirty restaurant with great service.

Upon my return, if I return, I can edit this later to include that experience but until then, as of 3.19.19, you obtained 3-stars based on...