Camelot Bar and Grill — Restaurant in Appleton

I just left Camelot. I arrived at 6:10 with 2 friends. Waited for 2 more who arrived before 6:30. We ordered our dinner immediately then enjoyed cocktails and beer. Thank you to our server. You did a great job making our drinks. The couple to my left sat down after us, ordered about the same time, ate, and left, before we ever got our meal. Same fish dinner as ours as it is Lent after all. After 8:20 pm, our meal arrives just after I offer to provide dinner at my house. I ordered extra tartar sauce. Nope. My friend ordered potato salad. Nope. Another plate and the bread was partially soggy. Another and the French fries were limp and soggy. We talked to the owner. He stated the kitchen crew messed up and asked what he could do. Why not just offer to comp the plate? Another table had issues too but likely said nothing to the owner. We were not looking for a freebie. We just wanted the owner to know we were displeased. We did not try to place a value on the deficiencies nor did the owner. On the plus side: I ordered cocktails which I never order cocktails at Camelot as they are weak and tasteless. Our server tonight made a great cocktail though and I am willing to pay extra for a good drink. I have been ordering beer for the past year since Danni and Rachel left. Yes, I am kind of a regular and know when the drinks are watered down or lack much liquor. However, The fish is very good. The fries, eh! This is a dive bar. A hole in the wall diner. No one helps you find a table. If it is busy, you must hover over a table and/or ask the current customers if you can have their table when they are done. Same at the bar. I have seen new customers come in and leave due to this unusual, lazy, business strategy. It is not a first come first serve. No “Wait to be seated” area. The owner/manager does not care as much about the customer as he does about his revenue. He cannot build out anywhere. He must have enough business to keep him happy. This “diner” has probably never seen a facelift in 20 years. Yet they stay busy on Wednesday and Friday. I am tempted to stop by on other days just to see if they can bring in the customers during the week. Despite all this, as a local, our party ends up eating here often. We know the system. We know the other patrons. And the fish is good. If you are new, try it on a week night other than Friday. Yes, it looks run down. Yes, you will NOT be over dressed unless you wear nice clothes. yes, I have heard the burger is good. Bartending is slow too. Go for a beer or soda instead of a cocktail. They are cheap on the liquor. I am willing to pay extra for an extra shot of liquor in my cocktail. You can be over served on liquor though and not be worried about being drunk. Not so much with with the beer. I am not sure why we go back. The ambiance is lacking. The service is sporadic. The prices are average. It’s close?

Update January 3, 2020 - While the decor is the same, one no longer need to wrestle for your own table. Simply approach the bar and tell someone you want to register for a table. Signs at both entrances direct you to register. There were 8 in our group but not everyone had arrived so we enjoyed some beverages. Once seated, our server took care of our drinks and food. I was told the cocktails were good and I really enjoyed the fish and fries. Good job Brian! Now let's promote those loyalty cards you invested...

This place has such a long wait on Fridays that they had to open up the fish fry from wed-sat, so it must be the best, right?

Old fashioned brandy sour: bar mixed and a bit sweet for a sour which made the second one hard to down. Seafood platter: haddock was good but far from the best offering in the area (I may just have a breading bias against this style, fish was good inside). Shrimp was your typical butterfly fried shrimp and done right. Scallops were good. Perch had a few bones left over which were unwelcome, still good, your typical perch.

The accompanying rye bread wasn't toasted and just left me wanting Scubas marble rye. The crinkle fries were super cheap frozen ones that were over-fried and the table ketchup was beyond spoiled, or maybe it was a nasty brand, it kinda killed my meal.

Staff was SPOT on, our waitress and the guy slinging drinks were top notch; he was in tune with the last drop of my drink then slid in there like a real pro. This place looks like it was built in the 60's and the only thing that's been updated is the TV's so it had some real charm to it, a nice bar scene, very relaxed so feel free to wear whatever. The chairs are very comfortable, and they'd better be with that 1.5hr wait time lol. Seriously though don't go on Friday or you'll be super drunk by the time your food...

Having spent 3 decades in the food service industry, I can say with certainty that Camelot is the worst bar/restaurant I have ever eaten at. First of all, you have to hover over people to get a table. The reason given was that they don't take names for tables. We actually got to sit fairly quickly. Once seated and when a wait person finally came over, and gave us our menus, we made our decisions and waited for her return. She took our order and disappeared. One hour plus later, our food was delivered. The fish was dried out and tasteless. The shrimp was overcooked and like rubber. The scallops surprisingly enough were good. The service left alot to be desired. All in all this was certainly the worst dining experience of my life. If you want prompt service and food that passes for edible please don't go to this poor excuse for a restaurant. I had to give one star but my rating is minus 10. I won't go there again and you shouldn't either. Our experience was mortifying...