Bob Evans — Restaurant in Norwich Township

When it comes to Bob Evans and what to expect, one must know where the chain has been in the past. For more than 40 years in this area, BE had been known as a quality establishment with great foods and selection with great service and friendly staff with a customer based attitude. In the last 7 years, all has become what BE, founder, would consider unacceptable in every area. The offerings have been based on original practices of BE, himself, but now that it is a holding company owned business, the practices seems to be centered on the BE image but doing the practices that serve the bottom line first and then create a shadow of BE of old for consumer consumption only.

I have been a customer since the early '70s and know and remember well the BE of old, fondly. There have been some years when there was uncertainty in store direction and product and it was glaring obvious to all who knew BE. But, there were members of the BE family that took up the reigns and corrected course successfully. Now, not so.

Today I had a meal the would have made BE very proud of what was served and how the staff attitude was and is. I don't know if it is truly an indication of the desire to return to a restaurant chain of very successful business operations across many regions of the country or it is a fluke. The meal prior to this also had hints of a different attitude. That meal had an extremely noticable difference in that the dish served. In the past incantations served, the gravy was a brown gravy, high in salt and not complimentary to the dish, whereas the recent served dish had real beef gravy that had a great taste that was unexpected. There is a glimmer of hope for BE. When I experience the 70W - Hilliard Rome Rd at a level half as close to the Cemetery location then I will feel there has been a change for the better. The most important location for travelers to experience BE when coming to or passing through Columbus is the poorest excuse for any restaurant. The management needs a severe looking at. Up until the last 7 years or so, it was a thriving, bustling location with a manager who knew his business, the parking lot and waiting area was packed at all important hours. This manager was drummed out and the rest is a nightmare. Good management is everything, it makes it to customers, who don't miss a beat, poor management is even more glaring to customers.

I have suggested readers to either honor the Cemetary Rd or Post Rd locations for their dining occasions and will still do that. I monitor these locations by visit or driveby. When Hilliard-Rome steps up and has guidance displaying marked improvements, I will...

I understand places being short-staffed. But let’s not be incompetent and treat your guests like they are invisible too! I came in this evening around 4:45 pm and was greeted and seated but nobody ever asked how many people were in my party. Thus, when I was seated and then my daughter sat across from me, they quickly realized they needed to give her a menu too (she needed a kid’s menu). They just forgot she also needed silverware. So when our food arrived, I tried to flag down to server but to no avail, so I ended up going up front and retrieved silverware for her myself.

The food was good but we needed more syrup. Our waiter never came to check on us though he stopped at several other tables, so though I tried to flag him down to advise we needed more syrup, it was a lost cause. Therefore, I eventually went up front to ask for syrup. When it was my turn in line, I asked the cashier if I could have more syrup. She said “sure” and then instead of getting it, she proceeded to ask the next person in line if they were picking up an order and then proceeded to ring him up. Trying to eat my food while it was still hot, I reminded her that I was a patron already seated and she told me that I should let the waiter know (who I was already unsuccessful at flagging down) and that he would get it. Talk about lack of teamwork and dumping on someone else! So then I asked if I could speak to a manager, she again said ”sure”, and while the person behind me was finishing his payment, the cashier then turned around and brought me the syrup. Why she did not do that at first is beyond me! So I was finally able to return to my seat and resume eating.

Our server never checked in on us to ask how things were going though he visited other tables and gave them the appropriate follow up service. He eventually came with the bill and then asked if we needed anything else. I requested a box and a refill of my empty water glass that had been ignored. He brought those and left, and then my daughter realized she needed a to-go cup for her hot beverage, but as before, we were invisible.

So I went up front to pay the bill, my daughter had her hot beverage in hand, and we asked for a to-go cup for it at the check out. I’m not sure when people started putting hot beverages in plastic cold-beverage cups with a straw, but this is what we were given.

Overall, the food was fine but the experience left much more to be desired. When we got to the car, my daughter asked if we could review them. So here I am, and she said they deserve a “1”, I agree, and this is our...

We go to numerous Bob Evans around the West side of Columbus and this was one of the better experiences. I like going to places where I can spend quality time with my daughter and this was perfect. It was really quiet and the atmosphere was pleasant. Our waitress met every request with a smile, she was prompt, and our food came quickly. Recently we went to the Bob Evans off of Hilliard Rome Road and we had to ask for everything (like plates to eat on) and our food took forever. This was not the case here. At this Bob Evans we were seated quickly, we didn't have to ask for more drinks because our waitress was on top of offering us more which she brought quickly, and we didn't have to wait long at all for our food to show up hot and delicious. Our waitress anticipated anything we might need and laid it on the table unlike the other Bob Evans where I had to ask for everything and then wait for it to come while my food got cold. Our waitress also went out of her way to accommodate my 9yr old when she asked for ice while ordering a hot chocolate. She asked my daughter if she would like a cup of ice or if she wanted her to put the ice in for her before she brought it. This made my daughter feel important. 😂 Even though she had other customers to take care of we felt like we were the only ones! I will definitely be coming back and I highly recommend this location (and the crispy...