Campfire

Finally made it back for dinner after a few months. We learned they have a new chef and are making changes. We got to talk with Chef Abi and excited to hear about some new seasonal menu items to come. We started with Chefs crab cake special which was full of king crab with no real filler to speak of. It was accompanied by a southwestern sauce, black beans and corn relish. It’s a $30 appetizer, but delicious!! Our go-to favorite here is the Texas au Poivre 8oz. filet cooked perfectly to our liking, medium rare. The asparagus was broiled and crispy and the whipped potatoes were creamy and not overly seasoned. Our waitress, Jordyn, did an amazing job all around. We would have liked to have our drink before our appetizer, but Jordyn let us know the bar was backed up. Excited to see what Chef Abi had in store for Campfire. We will be back in a few weeks to review the new menu.

If I could give this restaurant negative stars I would. We were in town for an A&M visit and given my boyfriend is a Marriott Titanium Elite status Marriott member, thought we couldn’t go wrong based on Marriott’s impeccable service. This was the worst Marriott & dining experience of my life. It started with a wait to sort out the two people we were adding to our 3 party reso - 10 min to sort out our table in an empty restaurant. We were advised 20% gratuity is automatic for parties of 5 or more. That’s fine. We ordered the street corn appetizer which ironically the bartender said earlier was ‘fire’ but was delivered cold. Our meals (again in a not fully booked restaurant) took over an hour to arrive. The friend we were with immediately noticed her ‘medium’ filet was rare and could have walked off the plate. This was sent back and replaced. Our redfish was charred and overcooked - barely edible but with one complaint already we chose not to make a scene and ruin the evening. Then our daughter bit into her pork chop and the meat was so tough she had to chew it extensively to be able to swallow it. Again - I would have made a scene at this point, but in an effort not to embarrass our daughter and friend we just met, I bit my tongue. The bill arrived and although we were advised they could not split the tab, we expected to be able to advise on a dollar amount to put on one card versus the other. We were told only an even split was possible due to policy. This left us having our friend Venmo us and we put it on our card. Oh - and the tip was 21% not 20% - just one more final dig. PS casamigas is $21 per drink - my advice: go to the Dixie Chicken where Casamigas is $7.75 and they have one of the best burgers you will ever eat. A $40 dining experience to die for compared to this atrocious $300+ experience. Oh - did I mention the entire hotel is out of hand soap due to a supply chain issue??!! We check out tomorrow and I can’t get out of this hotel quickly enough. Marriott - do better.

We stayed at the this hotel so our daughter could tour A&M. Campfire was convenient and looked inviting from the hotel lobby. Do not eat here. Parties of 5 or larger are hit with an automatic 21% gratuity. I’ve never seen a party of 5 considered a large party where tip is included. The food. Atrocious. The pork chop was blasted and it took effort and force to even get the fork and knife into the protein. The redfish was blasted. Tasted like rubber. The steak was ordered medium and was served rare. Casamigas drinks were $21 a piece. What you’d pay in New York maybe but College Station? This added up to over $300 bill after they removed an appetizer bc it took over an hour for our food to come out. If you want to wait for your food and then be disappointed by the quality, look no further.

Nice place at the hotel lobby area. Excellent service, good and drinks.

I've recommended this restaurant to so many people the last four years I should be receiving royalties, but now I feel like I should contact them and issue a word of warning. The place still has a warm and lively vibe that “could” make it the perfect place for celebrations. We've been here numerous times, including two Ring Days, birthdays, all of which I would have gladly given 5 stars. This time however, for the most important time we've chosen Campfire for a celebration, it really fell flat. Prices have risen sharply, coupled with a mandatory 21% gratuity for parties of only 5 or more, and they won't split a check (unless done evenly all the way around). Two months ahead of time I made reservations for 5:30pm to celebrate after our son's master's graduation ceremony. When I called several weeks before to give them the final headcount they confirmed the round table under the wheel chandelier was available and they would reserve it for us. Just two weeks before graduation, I received a call to make me aware of the 21% gratuity for parties of 5 or more, and to make sure we were okay with that. The answer, of course, had to be "Yes" because where else am I going to come up with reservations that close to graduation in BCS?! Also, I didn't think it would be an issue because the wait staff has been great in the past (all of which are very young & appear to be TAMU students or recent grads), but we did not know how sharply menu prices increased across the board (prices are not included on the website), from drinks to appetizers to entrees to dessert. It's not a white table cloth restaurant, but they certainly have the prices! I expect a well seasoned maitre d' and sommelier for those prices & gratuity! ;-) We arrived promptly at 5:30pm only to see a family with a baby and toddler seated at the table we had been told was reserved for us. Instead, we were seated nearby with two tables shoved together to accommodate us. I dd not say anything, it would have been useless, and just ruined our evening as well as the other family's, but it was a real let down & difficult to share in conversation at the shoved together tables because of the skinny length and being right next to a party of about 20+ people. Appetizers were good (though overpriced) Tasty brussels sprouts, good biscuits. For entrees (very overpriced) four of us ordered the Blackened Salmon; flavor was good, but overcooked, one guest had the Snapper, and again flavor was okay, but it was grossly overcooked, extremely dry & chewy! They brought out 3 of the 4 salmons, the snapper, and ribs all at the same time, and then we ALL waited for the last plate of salmon to arrive a few minutes later, and our Guest of Honor was served LAST! Really?! Campfire did provide a piece of pumpkin cheesecake (really overpowering on the pumpkin spice) with "Congratulations" written in chocolate syrup, and our un-intune server delivered it to the table when the guest of honor was in the bathroom. Had to ask server if he could bring it back when he was seated at the table a couple minutes later. It wasn't the worst evening of our lives, but we specifically chose Campfire based on past experiences, this time leaving highly disappointed.