Camp 31 — Restaurant in Ontario

Been here three times. I liked the ribs and chicken and beans. It can get very busy here depending on what time you arrive and the day of course. Busy on the weekends. I make it a point to stop here for supper when I'm in the area. Nice atmosphere and your not rushed. In the summer I would like to sit outside and try it there. On my recent visit last Sunday I had a 25 minute wait for my rib dinner. Three other people came in and had theirs in 5 minutes. The cook must have just started a new rack when I arrived. They were very good. I love the fries too. I sat near the TV which is great. Free refills on the pop. Nice place to go. The parking lot is full on the weekends and yet when I got inside, I had 3 tables to chose from. Will be heading back again. This is barbecue the way it used to be years ago. A no rush atmosphere. Update myself and 2 other co-workers at here on Sat Dec the 6th 2019. The place was packed by the time we left. We all ordered Ribs. They were fine. Two of us ordered a fully loaded baked potato. It did not look fully loaded to me or my friend. My potato was half of the size of my friends. We never had any butter on the side. He said his spud was cold. There is no steak on the menu which my friend who had never been here before was thinking of having. It would be nice if they had a dessert menu but I think this place is hurting for room and likely would not have the area for desserts. All in all, I like it here. Great barbecue. Update Thur July 14th. Went here for supper. Good chicken, ready in 5 minutes. Waitress had no personality.. A snot. Two men came in beside me sat down. One then gets up to go to the bathroom. When he came back I heard him say there is no paper towels in the bathroom. No surprise there. I see it everywhere. An employee goes in about 10 minutes later. I watch him. He comes out. I thought let's see if he goes back with a roll or paper towels? Nope never even crossed his mind. He goes back to work. I told this to a waitress on the way out. She said that was her job. Well do it I thought. She thanked me for letting her know. I wonder how long it took to put towels n there after I left or if they...

I REALLY wanted to love this place. I’ve been a couple of times and it’s a 45 minute drive to get there. First let me say that there are a couple of really yummy things. I LOVE their sweet potato fries and dip. By far the best I’ve ever eaten. Love the macaroni and cheese with smoked meat on top too. I loved the chicken! So moist and juicy yet really crispy coating (just the right amount not too much or too little). The burger was just ok. The part that puzzles me is the famous ribs. Ok they taste great but they seem to be very dried out and tough. Three of us had the baby back ribs and each one of us said the same thing. I could make better at home. Why pay so much for “famous”ribs when I could just purchase their sauce and make better, tender ones at home. I don’t know if maybe they are better when the restaurant first opens, but the times we went it was later in the evening. Maybe they don’t know how to keep them from drying out?? Not sure, I may try them again on a weekend earlier in the day because there are things I really enjoyed. On another note.. the flies. I know that flies get into restaurants especially this time of year, but this was a bit ridiculous. We were constantly batting them away, hoping we wouldn’t fling any rib sauce while doing so trying to eat. The bathroom, the flies were all over the sink too. I looked around and didn’t see anything to combat the flies. Maybe there should be fly traps or those blue lights that a lot of restaurants have. I was a bit fearful as I was thinking if there are that many flies in the dining room, I didn’t want to think about what they were like in the kitchen where food is stored and prepared. When leaving the restaurant there was another group of people leaving and commented on the sewage smell. Agreed, it did smell awful. Wonder if that’s what’s attracting so many flies? This place has potential and I’m really rooting for them to read comments made and to try and better themselves. One more try for us. Loved Tow Mater out front!! Nice touch for the place....

Camp 31 I went into with high expectations and this was perhaps a mistake. By no means is Camp 31 a bad restaurant, I would definitely eat here again but I will explain why this does not make the 5 star cut.

I need to start by saying, if I were to only grade based on the ribs I would give Camp 31 a 5 star rating. These were some of the most tender ribs I have eaten and would definitely come here again if I was in the area. The beef brisket was also quite good with a nice smokey flavour and awesome texture. The pulled pork was also quite good, not dry and good flavour. Also a surprising winner was the beans, which usually at BBQ joints is just beans with sugar this actually had a nice spice mixture with a small amount of kick.

NOW why not 5 stars overall? I ordered also the fried chicken and was so disappointed. It was way too salty and had absolutely no depth of flavour. The meat was moist which is good but the skin was just salt. Next, up is the mac and cheese. This tasted like any mac and cheese, nothing special and tasted a but too "commercial". Something you might find prepackaged. Lastly, they don't have dessert and I was totally ready for some southern style dessert and sweet tea. Neither of which they have.

Would I come here again? Yes, if I happened to be in the area. Don't drive out of your way to go here if you're from the GTA, there's other spots that are...