Marfa Texas Kitchen — Restaurant in College Station

Marfa, Marfa, Marfa!

My wife's friend and coworker first recommended Marfa Texas Kitchen (henceforth MTK), and I'll be the first to admit I was somewhat skeptical at first. For one, I don't even know what or where Marfa, Texas is--I'm rather uneducated in the ways of Lone Star geography--and for two, a quick glimpse into the Palantíri (Google) revealed what the professional contrarian in me believed to be a drab cellar with an overexerted theme. Again, I am quite skilled at judging before I have all the facts.

Not only did I eat my words, but I'm glad I also ate the food here as well, because MAN let me tell you... MTK is easily my new favorite restaurant in Bryan College Station (endless apologies, Gate 12! I still love you!).

Every story has a beginning, so let's start from the moment my wife asked me to make the reservation. Being the ancient being that I am, rather than pull up the establishment on Internet Explorer, visiting Bing, and typing "make a reservation for two for a very special evening but nothing too expensive maybe mid-priced but still delicious" like all the other youngfolk would do, I picked up the phone and gave the restaurant a ring. That call was met with a friendly voice from an incredibly helpful person who called herself Sydney, who I've since discovered is the mastermind behind this hidden haunt. Sydney walked me through the menu and, unprompted, offered to make me a menu item for dinner that was normally only on the lunch menu. She was so delightful in our conversation and said things like, "Well, we want you to come here, enjoy your food, and leave happy with what you ate and how you were treated," and I could tell I wasn't just receiving lip service.

When my wife and I arrived, we were quickly sat at a cozy table for two, and the preconceptions I had forged before about the dim lighting and artsy atmosphere were quickly snuffed out by just how infectiously joyful the atmosphere was there. Not to mention the theme totally WORKS: the funky mannequin across from the wine, the voguish projector screen at the bar, all the way down to the abiding ceramic Luzerne dinnerware on which guests' meals were being served. The MTK has class and comfort in spades.

No date night at a nice restaurant can be superb without superb service, and this is where Hannah comes into the story. She greeted us warmly, efficiently explained the menu's range of options in great detail, and even recognized that I was the extra fellow who asked for a lunch item in the evening. Throughout the meal, Hannah would check on us frequently but not too frequently, seeing if we needed refills or to ensure the quality of the provisions being served. She was personable and laughed with us throughout the evening. We'll be requesting her each visit from now on, though I'm sure the rest of the staff are just as outstanding.

Now for the food. Oh, the FOOD! What can I say about the food at MTK other than it just simply dismantled the local competition in every way. From the Lite Ya Up Calamari and Virgie's Stuffed Eggs we ordered as appetizers to the Scottish Salmon and the Fresh Catch of the Day (which ended up being a perfectly-cooked halibut), this eatery's cuisine delighted our senses in an almost invasive way. The seasoning on every dish was perfection, the creativity of flavors was jarringly clever, and each unforgettable bite from every product we tried left us embarrassing ourselves with selfish indulgence.

The food is quite good. I hope I've made that clear enough.

Of the two trips my wife and I have made to Marfa Texas Kitchen, what has stood out the most to us, amidst a sea of blog-worthy successes, is the care that the entire staff shows for its guests. Everyone from the friendly hostess to the can't-possibly-pay-her-enough server, Hannah, to who we assumed was the restaurant manager and the owner, Sydney. I've already preached this into the ground, so I'll conclude with a final word of advice for local meal-seekers:

Go try Marfa Texas Kitchen. Immediately! You'll be so...

Only been here once but will definitely go again. Great atmosphere and music, food was very good, server was good ( tried really hard and was very nice but seemed new and not yet experienced) manager and owner(?) were excellent in supporting them.

Food - limited menu (which I appreciated, yet oddly, wine selection was huge) Texas cavier was great (note served cold as I expected), with some blackeyed peas, chips were generic but not stars of show. Fig and goat cheese were fantastic. Mixed feeling on Artichoke - smokey flavor and sauce were amazing, but a lot of work for little food. They could not have prepared artichoke better, but we will not order again. Beet Salad with huge hunk of salmon- wow, also golden beets (!)could not believe my wife ate it all, was great. I had "Basic" bison burger which was amazing. Just super delicious. Maybe too much food overall, I left too full.

More hipster than most of College Station (that's a positive, CS resteraunts are generally boring) and appears to not be a chain (rare in CS and 👍🏻) . In a big city this would meet my expectations, in CS it far exceeded expectations. I would go here above Napa Flats, which is one of top comparable choices in CS for hipster local, but Napa's more pricy. I would alternate with Primrose Path, which is more expensive. Price point and value were great (given recent inflation) much less than in a big city for a comparable resteraunt. Biggest issue keeping me for being a regular is location, South CS is long drive away from home and work.

Having not been to Marfa, not sure how this reeraunt is related, and rest of party who had been to Marfa were...

Overall the food we did like was okay. Came on Sunday at 2 on a rainy day. We ordered calamari, frenchie, chicken fried steak and the bison burger. We had an issue with the flavor of the bison burger. It was over cooked and bland. We have had bison before and this was not and new experience and this burger did taste good at all. We told the server we do not care for the burger( only took a bite snd the plate was still intact) she said okay and took the plate. When the bill came the burger was still on the bill. I asked the server since we did not care for the burger and did not eat it as a courtesy can you please remove it(I should not have had to ask). The "manager" came out and said no one told her there was a problem and we should have demanded to speak to a manager and all she can do was to offer us a chocolate cake to "soften the blow" but the owner does not allow items to be discounted. The absurdity of this statement and interaction made a pleasant experience where we wanted to come back for a date night, to where we will not return at all and cannot even recommend it if others asked. In the end the "manager" said she will ask the kitchen manager and they removed it from the bill. If the kitchen manager is the only one with authority then they should be the only one communicating guest of there...