Document and Entity Information - shares	6 Months Ended
	Oct. 28, 2016	Dec. 02, 2016
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Oct. 28, 2016
Amendment Flag	false
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Entity Registrant Name	Bob Evans Farms Inc.
Entity Central Index Key	0000033769
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--04-28
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock Shares Outstanding		19,765,042