Pincher's Restaurant — Restaurant in El Campo

Arrived with a Party of 10 at 11:50am on a Saturday.

I had high hopes when I decided to dine at Pincher's, known for its seafood delicacies. Unfortunately, my experience fell far short of expectations.

Firstly, the service was abysmal. Despite the restaurant not being overly crowded, it took an eternity for two appetizers that were ordered to be brought out. 1st appetizer took nearly 20 minutes from ordering and the 2nd over 30 minutes which we had to ask about and then the server stated that the kitchen staff was overwhelmed and was running behind. The server or someone could have brought this issue to attention instead of leaving your patrons sitting with no knowledge as to why food was taking a little longer then usual. Even though it seemed like other tables that had arrived slightly after my party were being served attentively and food coming out before my table's order.

Then came the food (after waiting for 1 hour), or should I say, the disappointment on every plate. Everything arrived lukewarm at best. For a seafood restaurant, you'd expect the dishes to be served piping hot, especially considering the prices. The seafood itself tasted like it had been sitting out for a while, lacking freshness and flavor. This was with all the dishes that were with my party. It was evident that the kitchen staff either didn't care or were severely lacking in skill.

When another member of our party did complain about everything to a manager as we were leaving, he asked why no one said anything well, we had already waited an hour for food and didn't want to wait any longer. (Plus I've watched plenty of shows and movies to know what happens when you return food)

Overall, my experience at Pincher's was highly disappointing. From the lackluster service to the cold, flavorless food, it was clear that this establishment fails to live up to its reputation. Save your money and dine elsewhere if you're looking for a satisfying...

Visited Sunday May 21, 2023. Very disappointed, especially after reading reviews, checking their website, calling ahead to confirm crawfish size, and driving 45 mikes each way.

Their website states, “Specializing in seafood, our menu features locally farm-raised crawfish, purged in our lake on-location during crawfish season (Jan-Aug).” I asked the girl on the phone if they had large and jumbos that day and she said that they did. I said, because I don’t want to drive nearly an hour for smalls and mediums. Again she assured me they were big.

The menu stated that the crawfish was $6.00/pound, yet the waiter informed us that it was $9–a 50% increase!! But at that point, you’re in El Campo middle-of-nowhere, TX so what are you gonna do?

When the crawfish came out, they were 90% mediums. I counted four larges (in five pounds!), about 20 smalls, and not a jumbo to be had anywhere. A few were obviously dead before cooking.

When I inquired about the size and quality, I said, “I’m surprised that if you’re purging here in your own lake that you would know the size and freshness…” He said, they haven’t done that here in years…these are from Louisiana.

To top it off, the “suggested gratuities” at the bottom of the cc invoice were all calculated on the total (including tax), instead of the accepted before-tax subtotal.

The boil itself was tasty, and the service was about 7 out of 10, but overall my impression was that this is mostly a tourist trap. I could have had much better quality and larger Louisiana farm-raised crawfish by driving to any of 10 places in the greater...

First impressions count. Black girl went straight to talk to my husband when the order was mine, didn't even ask. The alien eyebrow blonde with injected lips looks down at you. The guy just stays kinda quiet. Now fot the food. The samplet platter, pay attention. They have 2 menu pictures. Take a look at the black and white one! Cause the color one says the sampler has crawfish in the sampler platter and doesn't and is $39.99. The new sampler doesn't have the crawfish and is like $3 more. The crab in the sampler was burnt, the catfish was good. The gator bites as well. Hushpuppies passed. Why is the shrimp so hard? Like not the batter but the shrimp itself. Fries some where a bit undercooked, tasted like freezer and under seasoned. Now the fish tacos. The fish in them have too much seasoning, all I tasted was salt. I had to get a drink to eat anything else. I couldn't eat them, left them to my husband, he didn't either so waste of money, unedible. We got kids plates with popcorn chicken. Was only enough for our toddler. The older ones (8&11) where left hungry, they tasted the fish tacos and said too much salt. They love seafood and that disappointed them. For the sides, the red beans are ok, coleslaw my husband ate so idk. The gumbo tasted like actual Mexican frijoles chorros which was kinda weird but the taste was great since I've never actually had gumbo. Overall wouldn't go there just cause the people up front have no proper training in...