Gambit Social House — Restaurant in Harker Heights

I’m adding 1 star for all of the 5 star employees. My husband, friends, and I went for a quiet evening to say “see you later”; as we have waited many months to do so. Upon arriving tonight 4/3/25 we found that tip pooling was still intact. Meaning you can tip your server 100$ and it get split amongst all staff. Unfair to service staff. I will say they are exceptionally inept to safety protocol due to a distasteful joke I made (no hate to my server whom reported it). Be sure you arrive prepared to tip everyone on clock. We were also cautioned by a host prior to (around 4:18pm name starts with an E and male) same day to tip under table cash so our server would receive the funds. (To clarify, we had asked if anyone had been kicked out of that place. Server said not that he could recall and cracked a joke. I asked if I stood on a chair or something after closing out our tab if we could be asked to leave politely and to ask management for permission as we didn't want to put anyone in harms way but thought it would be a fun way to wrap up the joke. It was taken as a risk to others, and as distasteful as it was, the second opinion never came). I have no way to accurately describe the feelings that I feel (other than embarrassment and shame?), however this night cost us 300$ for a party of 4. Also, you tip out to a beer wall which is an object and not a person. Adding screenshot of said conversation.

Due to recent response from owner that was willing to disclose my bills contents, that I’m disappointed in the response. First, I’m not entirely sure the serving staff is receptive to how they are tipped out since it was mentioned several times by their staff to first time customers along with work arounds. Secondly, we paid for axe throwing prior to being informed that I could no longer participate. Joked and laughed around with our server. Transaction complete. Jk you drank too much. Compassion and kindness? I was laughed at for asking clarifying questions at the front desk and felt talked down to. They can crack unprofessional jokes, but if you crack one right back then you’ll be too inebriated to participate with your party. Sensitive time, yes. Totally asked to cry at the desk instead of infront of my party, absolutely. I was grateful for that much. 300$ is not something we drop lightly and was told after 3 drinks in FOUR hours (to include having a meal), that not only was alcohol cut off (no issue with that) but the experience we wanted to enjoy together as first timers was not an option anymore. I literally thought I was matching my servers vibe, and instead I’m left more insecure than ever and questioning dang near every encounter with staff that evening. They will be bold enough to dare say they are deserving of more than a one star but ruined not only one of the last moments I had with my friend, but also felt they made a complete mockery of me. I would dare say one star is generous for the response given. Will not return. I paid for an experience, not to...

We came with a party of 6 people and expected a bit of a wait since it was a Saturday night but the overall experience was awful. The front desk isnt cross-trained, and can only do one task. So if someone is missing from the front desk you may not be able to get proper assistance. The order system on the website is a pain in the ass. Its confusing and frustrating. You can order from a server, but there isn't enough staff overall so service is delayed and unorganized. We finally got an order placed and someone came by to take a bar order, but it took a long time for the food and drinks to even start coming out. 5 of us got our food and waters/soda roughly at the same time but 1 order still didn't come. We asked 3 different servers to check on the food and only 1 came back to give us an update and bring their drink. When he finally got his food it was the wrong order (they did comp it for us). The bar drinks didn't come until most of us had finished and one of the drinks was wrong. The bartender with pink hair was a bit rude when we asked her about the drink and disappeared. We finally got the correct drink after waiting about 10min.

After everyone finished eating we decided to throw axes. We started with a short axe but a few of us were having trouble so we asked for an axe with a longer handle. We did get both axes and the gentleman who helped us set up the game was friendly. We were having an issue with the left side of the board, it was harder than the right side and 2 of us were doing a test hit on the left side to see if what parts were good. The manager came by and was upset with us. We agreed to stop and continue throwing but a few minutes later the second axe was confiscated. However the 2 other parties had 2 axes and one had 3 so we were a bit upset.

Overall I'm very disappointed with the service. This place seems like a fun place and is really nice to have in Killeen instead of driving out of town, but I don't think we'll...

The biggest issue I have with this place. Is the ridiculous requirement to have to open a tab for everything in here. As a result of this practice. There was mishandling/incorrect manner in which they tried to put my card in the system. Instead of just opening a tab they charged our food and drinks to it. I didnt have the total amount on the card, but it was the only physical card i had on me. Had they said it would preautorize or put a hold for the total of your initial pirchase that opened the tab. I would have transfered money over. Which i was planning to do when we went to close tabs i was going to move money over from my actual bank. They didnt tell me it was saying insufficient funds though. So i told them to keep trying it. They just said it was saying "card error". As a result, my cards been locked out and it unfortunately is my business card. So, im screwed until the issue is resolved on their end(Gambit social). As Square says it needs to be canceled by the charging party. Here i just drove all the way to Round Rock to get an order of parts for my work week from my supply house. Just to be told my entire account has been froze for fraud suspician. All because this place tried to run my card 15 times.

The place itself: The staff was friendly and the place is very clean and there's a fair amount to do.

However, the margaritas? 14$ and come in a martini glass. Good luck finding a decent flavor. The automatically add 18% for tips on groups of 8 or more. Whether it's 4 seperate groups of 2 or not. Each person tab gets the 18% tack on. My wife got a burger, fries with a deep Eddie's and sprite. I got the nache fries, and a margarita. Our total was $67 and that's not including the cost to do stuff in there on top of that.

For what this place is. There's better options that don't drain your pocket. With better food and bigger selection of adult beverages. Definitely a place that doesn't require a tip for self serving...