Newk’s Eatery

Nice looking restaurant, with fresh healthy options… Staff friendly… But my biggest issue is the salad dressing! Love the fact that they make many of their dressings in-​house, but the balsamic taste just like oil… Which is upsetting my already sensitive Paleo stomach!!! This is my first meal of the day and traveling… This will surely teach me to travel with my own dressing!!! I would probably give this place 3.5, but I opted for a 4 opposed to a 3, because I thought the three would of been too low for the nice establishment!!!

Fast, reliable, clean, consistent, healthy food choices and my favorite place for lunch.

It’s a rather spacious place. Located in front of the Target in the Tiger Town shopping center. Parking was easy enough. The restaurant itself was about as clean as most restaurants. Employees handling food were all wearing gloves. I placed my order ahead of time through their online ordering system. I ordered the half sandwich & cup of soup combo with a Greek salad. Placing the order was simple enough. Picking up the order was quick and easy.
Why the two stars? Well, for starters, the Fire Roasted Tomato soup was plain and too salty. I also ordered the Pesto Chicken half sandwich, which came with sliced flame-​grilled chicken breast, red and yellow bell peppers, creamy goat cheese with basil and garlic pesto sauce. It lacked flavor. The chicken was dry and kind of hard. I had to dip the sandwich in the soup to compensate. To say that I was disappointed with the sandwich is an understatement. Although, the goat cheese was delicious. It didn’t make up for the rest of the sandwich.
Moving on to the Greek Salad… The veggies seemed fresh. They were nice and crisp. Kalamata olives are my favorite. The Greek dressing was extremely thick and grainy. It was almost like crunching on sand. I didn’t like the dressing at all. I kept eating it anyway because I really love all the vegetables that go into a salad. I’m munching away and suddenly I saw something I never thought I would see in a salad. I saw a dehydrated fly nestled in the Romaine lettuce. Oh yes, all of the body parts were still intact. I mean, it couldn’t have been a beetle or something else. I even took a picture.
Now, I don’t believe that it flew into the salad when it was in the restaurant. My theory is that the fly must have gotten into the Romaine lettuce before it left the company that supplies them with it. The reason I think this is because the fly was completely dried out, almost like it had been dead for some time. If it had landed in the salad during preparation, then it would have been nice and juicy.
You know, I realize that accidents happen, but it makes me question the procedures at the restaurant. If you’re thoroughly inspecting (probably not washing because some companies claim to wash their greens before packaging, but you should still wash it anyway) the lettuce before it hits the plates/​containers, then you would have found the fly. Maybe it’s just me, but I inspect and wash everything – especially fresh vegetables – before I make a salad. Accidents happen, but mostly when you’re not paying attention.
Considering we already consume rat hair and bug parts in most of our food – unless it’s fresh – you would think this doesn’t bother me, however, I eat a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits. I don’t eat a lot of processed foods. It bothers me a little, but it’s not enough to actually keep me away. Honestly, this place was not that great. I’ll definitely go back to try out their other soups, but I’ll skip the sandwiches next time.

I stopped by with one of my friends for a quick to-​go. And yes, it was my first time at Newk’s.
The interior design seems very comforting and relaxed, which I like. We decided to order to-​go instead of dining in because we had a seminar to attend in an hour’s time. I had ordered one of the combo: the cup of chicken tortilla soup (Friday’s choice) and half a grilled chicken sandwich. Which was decently priced. The food was complete within 6 – 10 minutes. We decided to sit and enjoy our meal since we still had plenty of time left.
My soup was nice and hot; packed in a paper container and placed inside a paper bag. My sandwich was packed in a clear plastic square container. Both items were also packed into one plastic bag, which I thought the design was simple and neat. Everything tasted quite good and my friend gave me a slice of her pizza. I really liked her pizza because she had ordered one of their specialty, except I don’t know the name, but it had sausage and pepperoni.
Overall the restaurant looks and feel clean. I would stop by again eventually and possibly dine in as well.

Always quick service. Menu is extensive. Sandwiches are great with big, soft bread. Pizzas are amazing. Clean. Great for kids with little free «appetizers» like breadsticks, pickles, cheese, and croutons in their condiments section.
Lines can get a little long since the two ordering lines are right up front and the large menu is at the entrance. People usually hang around there making their decision and hold up the line.

Ordered immediately, no wait.
Food arrived promptly and was appropriate temperature.
I chose the Crab and Corn Chowder with a Caesar Salad. Should have chosen the cup instead of bowl of chowder, only because really was more than I needed portion size. I usually have a very hearty appetite, so this was a little surprising.
First time trying the chowder and I was not disappointed. A little on the spicy side not too much so for me, but I could see it being too much for some.
Caesar salad was fairly typical appropriate portion size.
Fortunately I had already requested a slice of Pineapple cake to go, which was brought along with my main course. It was not exactly what I expected but not displeased. It was essentially a white cake with vanilla icing with pineapple between the layers.
I would not be opposed to returning when in the area.

My wife and I eat at Newk’s weekly. It is a welcome addition to Tiger Town. The building is new and the inside décor is tastefully done. All of the food choices we have chosen have been outstanding. I particularly like the Bar B Q chicken pizza. Service is fast.

I’ve been to Newk’s about 7 – 8 times since their opening day. It’s quick and fairly easy. However, each time the food has become progressively worse.
The past two visits, I was served a bowl of salad dressing with a little bit of lettuce and veggies. It was pretty bad.
I got through about ½ the salad and had to call it quits.
From now on I’ll just make sure to get the dressing on the side.
The place is clean. The food is decent. You just need to be particular about how it’s served otherwise it’ll be slathered and slopped together.

I’ve fallen in love with this restaurant in Birmingham, so after seeing it has opened up in Opelika, I was pretty excited to potentially get back one of my favorite lunch time spots. However, the menu has changed to where you can only order certain soups on certain days, and their Grilled Chicken sandwich was a little on the dry side so I had to ask for a side of Newk’s sauce. Their free breadsticks from the condiments table in the center of the restaurant are still my guilty little appetizer though, so not such a disappointment and the Half/​Half Combo was still very filling.