The Bonfire — Restaurant in Walla Walla

Food was good the one other time I was there. The owner is the main reason I would never go back. The owner was incredibly rude to our group the last time we went in. It’s unfortunate because the food is really good. I just refuse to give business to someone who treats customers like he did us.

Response to the owner:

Your recollection of that incident differs from mine. I believe there was a misunderstanding about seating, which was my fault since I had only been there once before. However, the reason I commented on your rudeness has nothing to do with your request for us to wait to be seated. Here’s how I remember it happening.

I arrived with a group of regular patrons who rave about the food and the restaurant’s support for their group. After entering a nearly empty restaurant and standing at the front without being acknowledged, I followed one of the regular patrons inside and we grabbed an empty table, assuming it was acceptable. In fact, the last time I was there for lunch, people had appeared to seat themselves, so I didn’t think much of it.

Suddenly, a man at the bar, who turned out to be you, the owner, made a comment about seating. I didn’t recognize you and didn’t hear what you said. All I knew was that someone at the bar had mentioned seating. So, we responded that we were regulars and thought it was okay. I admit that I hadn’t noticed the whiteboard sign up front about seating, so that was my mistake.

However, you immediately snapped at us, explaining that you were the owner and telling us to go back up front and wait to be seated. We complied, realizing that it wasn’t open seating. You then made an extremely rude comment about how there were signs everywhere stating that. When we decided to leave, your response was simply “good.”

I apologize for the misunderstanding about seating and I certainly don’t mind waiting. However, being rude to customers instead of simply saying something like “Hey guys, that table is reserved. I’ll get you seated in a moment” would have been a much better alternative to treating...

I’ll start by saying our server was amazing. When we arrived at 6:30pm Friday they were busy. She let us know that it may be a few minutes to order. We were ok with that. She was communicating great. After 20 minutes drink orders were taken. Another 10 minutes drinks arrive. I personally, along with the others in my party, got a beer. Another 30 minutes go by and our food order was taken. As we are waiting for our food we had some friends arrive. I yelled out to our friends and waved them down. I had only had maybe 1/2 of my beer by then. Our friends found our table and sat. Well, apparently I yelled too loudly. The server you could tell was extremely embarrassed, beyond apologetic to me and said “I am so sorry but they are cutting you off.” We were all baffled as we had no idea what the issue was. The cook/owner chose to take it to extremes. Opposed to coming up to me and saying something (maybe we could have had a cool conversation). Never have I ever been treated this way. Mind you, I probably would have only had that one beer the entire time I was there. But Never again. They lost 7 patrons that evening. We left at 7:45. Our food still hadn’t been started. Sorry to the server that you unfortunately had to miss out on some great tips. She was cool. Too bad. Heard good things about the food, but you can’t change the way they chose to poorly act on an innocent situation. In no shape or form were we rude. Out of control or obnoxious. An establishment cannot make up scenarios to excuse their actions. 4 sips from a beer does not constitute over served. Exaggeration of a situation at best. Why so rude? Without even talking to someone? Your server 100 % knows the situation. Also note: you advertise getting...

Food is delicious. A little pricey. Service was adequate for the setting. One server for 15 guests. I had the Pulled Pork Sando, my guest ordered the Frenchie. Pulled Pork was flavorfull. The bun was definately locally sourced. Super fresh. The pork portion, however, was less than two ounces and hidden beneath a mound of condiments. I upgraded to onion rings from fries. They were cooked perfectly. The onions literally melted in my mouth. Excellent crunch factor. Big 👍 for me.

The Frenchie is served with at least 5-6 oz of thinly sliced beef brisket, fries, and au jus. The bread is covered and fried with a layer of melted cheese which serves as a binder to hold the bread together while dipping. Nice touch. The fries are seasoned well and large. More like a tender roasted potato fry than a traditional french fry. Add two soft drinks and kapow, $38.00 with 20% gratuity. No alcohol. Not bad.

Beer and wine only menu features some local favorites that pair well with just about everything served. No desserts. But I did notice a chalk board that listed one or two sweet confections. Maybe a flavored ice cream float of somekind? Not sure.

I'm gonna go back to compare experiences and take some photos. Not sure yet if I'll add the Bonfire to my "goto" list. Hope so.

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