Newks Offers Convenient, Fresh Food (LUNCH REVIEW)

If you’re looking for a quick lunch, Newk’s Eatery in Fayetteville is a great choice.

Our three reviewers recently stopped by on a Friday at about 11:30 a.m., and the restaurant was already host to a bustling lunch crowd. 

There was a line for the ordering counter, but it moved quickly. One reviewer commented she liked the ordering system, as it allows customers to peruse the menu at the door, before approaching to place an order.

The menu offers an array of salads, soups, sandwiches, pizzas and desserts, billed by the restaurant as “classic with a culinary twist.”

We placed our lunch order with a friendly wait staff member before taking a number and finding a table by one of the restaurant’s large windows. 

The open kitchen, which revealed plastic-glove-donning food preparers, was a reassuring sight, and one reviewer who had never been to the restaurant was thrilled by the serve-yourself condiment counter, which featured bread sticks, hot sauce, pickles, jalapenos, croutons, and the like, in addition to to-go boxes and extra napkins and utensils.

He ordered an Italian sub and Caesar salad, and did not shy away from noshing on some pickles and jalapenos as an appetizer.

The reviewer thoroughly enjoyed his entrée, describing the sandwich as juicy and commenting that the portions left him satisfied but not overly full.

A second reviewer reported that her chicken tortilla soup was “good” and the black and bleu salad — topped with steak, Gorgonzola cheese, pecans, grape tomatoes, sliced red onion and bleu cheese dressing — was made with fresh-tasting lettuce and did not skimp on the beef tenderloin.

Newk’s works well for a business lunch, as our entrees arrived within 10 minutes, leaving us plenty of time to sit and chat afterward.

And, if you’re in too much of a hurry to eat at the restaurant, Newk’s offers ready-made “Grab-N-Go” versions of some of the most popular menu items, including its signature macaroni and cheese.

Overall, Newk’s was clean, the food was fresh and came out quickly, and we left full. The price was not bad, and it helped that there was no need to tip.

The Mississippi-based chain is quickly expanding its regional presence, as part of the epic rise of the fast-casual restaurant trend that plays to the health-conscious, culinary-loving crowd.

We can definitely see the appeal, and all three reviewers said they would visit the restaurant again.