Newk's Eatery — Restaurant in Opelika

Extremely disappointed and uncomfortable.. Visited Newks for the first time on Sunday between 3 and 4 pm. It was empty. Took a while before we were helped. My wife and I both ordered a sandwich and soup. We noticed almost every table had trash and food. I don't mean that in a "every table - but really like 2", I mean well over a dozen at least.. The hostess said, "sorry about the mess, I haven't gotten around to it". We sat outside and it was a disaster. I mean, I've actually never seen something so bad. We were there for over an hour and the hostess never moved. She sat on her phone and never cleaned a single table. The iced tea was not good and I was concerned about sanitation honestly.. I don't think the dispenser has ever been cleaned and I felt like drinking it might make me sick. It tasted off. The chicken salad sandwich was disappointing and the bread was very tough to bite into. The lobster bisque that I was looking forward too must have come pre-made and frozen. All I could taste was cheese. Plastic utensils and 1 napkin each, but I let that pass because it may be a COVID restriction. We had to go and ask for the bill and when I said thank you to the 3 staff working, they just looked at me with dead expressions...

I'm not sure if this is normal or if this is how things run when management isn't around and just young employees are there, but I was actually appalled. Mind you, the state of the restaurant didn't bother me at first - perhaps they were swamped before we got there, but over an hour went by, with us as THE ONLY people there, and they never busted a single table. I did not take a picture because I didn't want to scare people away, but wow... I mean, wow... I only ate half my sandwich because I felt so uncomfortable with the...

The quality, value, and quantity of food is top notch. Unfortunately, this place is in dire need of refurbishment. Upon entering, there is a very heavy smell of grease/ cooking oil. There seemed to be some kind of issue with the register while we were paying for our food. They were able to process the payment on the other register/ terminal. Almost every seat is heavily damaged and torn. The "stuffing" is visible in all of the bench seats, and the bench seats we selected felt like it wasn't structurally stable. It wobbled and shifted easily. The order number cards were heavily worn and broken down. There were no lids for the large cups.

Now, after all of the negatives of the condition of the dining areas, the food is still very good! I had a Cobb salad with a tortilla soup. While the tortilla soup wasn't my favorite, it was still enjoyable. I would normally like to go for the potato soup or the broccoli cheddar soup. The little crunchy bread sticks are really enjoyable, and of course the reusable cups are nice. We have a collection of these in our house.

To summarize: The food is still great, but the dining area really needs to be refurbished and...

Can't get a better salad anywhere so far. I've looked. Sometimes they are overdressed so I order dressing on the side. I've been to this newks many times (maybe 20) and the salads are consistent. Sandwiches are meh and leave much to be desired. They are mostly bread and little fillings. Soups are OK. I would never order another pizza. We ordered a pizza once with chicken and when we told an employee that the chicken tasted like jerky her reply was "yeah, we don't sell a lot of pizza with chicken because it is really dried out." I had to insist that the uneaten pizza be removed from our ticket. My kids really enjoy the kids meals. Service is lacking most of the time and the restrooms are nasty more than not. All in all if you want a great salad and maybe an ok cup of soup on a cold day- this is your place. Last time I was there I paid $10 for a half a salad and a bowl of soup with a water. My friend paid $12 for half a sandwich a cup of...