Cafe Eccell

Father’s Day dinner was great at Café Eccell with very few patrons, excellent service by the wait staff and excellent menu choices. Café Eccell is one our long time favorites for the the Bryan, College Station area. We are never disappointed about anything when we come to dine or just sit in the bar and watch a sporting event. We have even had Thanksgiving dinner at Café Eccell before!

Lunch here on Father’s Day. The menu has some classic dishes and several interesting takes on others. My egg on pancetta (Fork and Knife brunch dish) had the biggest, most perfectly poached eggs on pancetta and romaine. We also had the pulled pork tacos and fish tacos. The presentation is lovely and the plates are generous. We had a couple of issues with a new employee but never, and I will say NEVER in many years of dining in restaurants across the years (imagine everything from your local neighborhood Mexican place to Cheesecake Factory chain-​types to Gordon Ramsey’s London place) have we ever, ever had a service concern addressed so immediately, thoroughly, and professionally by MANY staff members. The food was delicious and definitely above expectations – but any restaurant that can present that menu, cook delicious food, and correct so impressively the kind of thing that will happen on a busy day – gets five stars from us. We’ll be coming back.

Service was inattentive. Ordered ribeye steak since I had a very tasty filet at a meeting in May. Ordered medium well but came to table with no pink. It looked as though it had been cooked earlier and frozen then reheated.
The manager said he would come back and comp the meal. He did not return but we did receive a free desert. Whoopee!
Took some home to the dog and the dog loved it, so maybe I’m to harsh in giving only one star.

I’ve tried very hard to like this place. Probably eaten here 9 or 10 times and always struggle to choose from very limited menu because every time I’ve veered off of a basic pizza I’m very disapointed. Bar area service lacks big time unless you order a draft beer. Try telling them easy ice on a mixed drink they get totally warped. I hate a mound full of ice in a drink and they struggle to understand that lite ice doesn’t mean a crap load more of mixer and or sweet and sour mix… it means a regular drink with just 15% of the glass with ice. Not a fan of watered down drinks and that’s about what you’ll always get here. The food selections and quality seem to be weaning greatly very quickly in my opinion.

Everything is delicious and the location is super convenient. I would recommend this place for lunch, dinner, or drinks :)

I recently had Brunch here and it was amazing. They do a different egg scramble each Sunday and a French toast special which this pat Sunday was Crème brûlée. I will continue to come here for brunch and for their pizza and strawberry tart.

My husband and I have been coming here for years and always enjoyed the food and service. However, this past weekend, I ordered the seafood enchiladas and 4 hours later started vomiting, complete with diarrhea. I never thought I’d get food poisoning from such a prestigious restaurant. I will not be going back for a long time.

Were this a review for the old location, I would have given between 2 and 3 stars. The old location had problems… serious ones, too numerous to go into. But the past is the past, and this is a whole new café Eccell.
One of the long-​term favorites of BCS oldsters, Café Eccell has grown up, and paradoxically in maturing, has attracted a younger more hip clientele. What has changed?
There is now an actual bar, and a nice one at that. It is well stocked with high end spirits for cocktails, and the wine list is well chosen, skewing a bit towards Italy in keeping with the place’s Med fare. The owners are Greek and you can count on a few nice Greek wines on the list. The beer selection is weaker; limited in scope with a few craft beers and nothing all that exciting. Walk across the street to World of Beer if that’s what you’re after. Its a LONG bar, and there are tables too, for small groups. The bartenders are friendly and knowledgeable. There is a bar menu too, so this is a great happy hour destination.
The food is better, period. While it bills itself as Med, its really a fusion of Med, Asian, and Mexican. The apps are very nice, and the salads are first rate. You can’t go wrong with the Greek salad, either as a side or a whole meal (two sizes). Fresh mixed greens, kalamata olives, feta, onions and tomato, and a great lemony dressing. I actually wish the owners would let more of their Greek hritage show on the menu, but its there if you look for it. I don’t care for the pizzas, which are one of their signature items, but I’m in a minority here. I find them too bready, but the toppings are nice.
Mains are good. Their «market fish» can be pricey but I’ve always found it fresh. They will sub out sides if you ask, a nice touch.
I don’t eat desserts, but yes that famous strawberry tart is on the menu, and others as well.

A great evening with a friend, some wine and Café Eccel is all you need to take on the week with more vigor and enthusiasm.
It welcomes you with a very nice, mellow ambience. The servers are very mindful of your choices and experiences. Feel free to ask for suggestions from the menu and you won’t be disappointed. I am a big fan of Fish and never lose an opportunity to eat Fish. I ordered the Voodoo Salmon and believe me when I tell you that it was simply delicious and ‘can-​I-​Please-​Meet-​The-​Chef-​And-​Thank-​Him-​for-​this-​GEM’ kind of meal.
If you remotely like fish, you’ll fall in love with it all over again. A must try.
My friend ordered crab cakes and she loved them too.
This is one of the best places in College Station to dine-​in.

The food is EXCELLENT! The wait staff is thoroughly knowledgeable of the entire menu and always seem to have the perfect recommendation. I found my now favorite red Argentinean wine here, which was also recommended. I have tried many dishes but will always stay faithful to the «Rosie» Thank You for a wonderful experience at every visit.

Café Eccell is where my husband and I go ANYTIME we have a sitter. The food and service are fantastic, and the cocktails are so creative. The GM, Cody Smith, is fabulous and very accommodating. I also find it very refreshing that you can almost always find one of the owner’s in the restaurant.
Thai Chili Pork Shanks, Ahi Tuna Nachos, Portabellini Mushrooms are all must tries next time you are there.

It is one of the cuter, more modern restaurants in BCS. If you want brunch in BCS, this is one of the few places that feel like brunch. We like the atmosphere more than the food.
The lump crab cake was pretty good. They put a few too many ingredients. The crab cake itself had real crab. It had a bunch of onions that were overpowering & the hollandaise sauce was unnecessary. Less is more.
Midas are always a crowd pleaser. Unlike other places, they’re not greasy. Pretty healthy black beans & rice as sides.
We got the chocolate bread pudding and it was meh. Tasted kind of like a dilute brownie. Again, superfluous strawberry sauce on top. Too many ingredients.
the Bloody Mary/​mimosa bar is $ 7/​drink.

Me and my husband love to go to Café Eccell! My favorite is the Rosie and husband usually orders some kind of hamburger or pasta. I went there today with some colleagues for lunch and I have decided to try their lamb chops (I don’t remember seeing them before on the menu). And O! M!G! the lamb chops were so good that I want to go back there again tomorrow. The seasoning was great and yogurt sauce was great, they were just wonderful! I think the lamb chops are my new favorite!

I have to say, even though the dinners I’ve had here haven’t blown me away, I just had the best brunch experience that I have had in BCS. I had the Scrambler of the Week and it was SO delicious! They also had a Mimosa Bar and Bloody Mary Bar which was awesome. Our server, Paige, was super nice and helpful! Can’t wait to come back here for brunch!

To all the foodies out there — the menu is worth your time, come and check it out. We had ahi tuna nachos and Tex-​Mex pizza — with all confidence will recommend to anyone! Bar is spacious with big screen TVs, attentive bartender, and soft background music. We’ll be back to this place hopefully more than once!

I’m a cstat local, born and raised. I now reside in DFW but I occasionally come home to visit and make my own comments on cstat restaurants. This place has been around for YEARS. I remember their original location where The Domain student apartments sit now. They were forced to leave and now they’re set up on Texas Ave where the old Luby’s used to be.
Came for Sunday lunch. The new place looks great! Very open space with a great urban touch. The buffet line is now a loooong bar at the front. They have good happy hour specials that you can get sitting in the happy hour area and there’s plenty of space! Would definitely recommend for a more affordable meal and drink. Prices range from $ 10 -$ 25 (approximately). I can see this place for a nice dinner date, a place to meet up with friends, and even good for the families (not so much for children though, I’d say older kids). Our service was good too. They were training someone and it was a bit slow, but most staff are college students and since it was the holidays, I’m sure that’s why it was short staffed that day.
We had the Gourmet Grilled Cheese ($ 11.95), Blackened Fresh Fish ($ 12.95), and the Carnivore pizza ($ 18.95) which my parents shared. Fairly large pizza, my mom doesn’t eat much to begin with so it was the right size to share. All of it was good! I also had the pasta salad as my side for the fish sandwich and I really liked it too! The grilled cheese comes with tomato bisque that my brother enjoyed too.
Overall my family definitely enjoyed this place! I wouldn’t say the food blew my mind away but I agree that it’s a great place to be with family, friends and loved ones over a meal and maybe even some alcohol delights as well lol. I think students can enjoy the happy hour specials too. Not the cheapest drinks but still decent price with a really nice atmosphere.

Second visit for dinner. Better service and execution of dishes. Left happy and will keep in my rotation in B/​CS.

Food was delicious! Ordered the hummus Mediterranean appetizer, the lamb gyro with salad, and for dessert the strawberry tart. All were so flavorable!!!

The Queso blanco with Fajita meat is very tasty!
Knife and Fork Sandwich was Dalish!!!

I’ve liked everything I’ve eaten, but my issue is with the inconsistency. I go through the drive-​thru maybe once a week and order the same 2 dishes, and I swear every time they come slightly different. Different buns, sometimes I get to choose a side, sometimes chips are the only option… and the main thing is portion. I always order the large option, and pay the same price every time, yet sometimes the order is noticeably much much smaller than other times. I love it when it’s right, but having to wonder if I’ll get my dish on a good day really shouldn’t be a concern.

One of my wife’s favorites, especially the Crème Brulee Cheesecake.
Food is very good, though on the pricey side.
Service has gone down-​hill since the old location.
They shorted me on my to-​go order, we had to go back for the rest, and offered no compensation. By the time we ate the food wasn’t hot. For $ 160 I expect more.

I just received a gyro and a small order of queso from here via aggiefood. The only reason I found this place is because of aggiefood (who I absolutely love). The gyro and mashed potatoes of the week were pretty good. The gyro came with some kind of shredded meat which I didn’t expect; gyros normally come with chopped beef, but it was still delicious.
The main reason I am giving this 2 star review is because of the chips that came with the queso. Let me start with the queso; it was a solid 3 out of 5 stars. It tastes almost exactly like the white queso from Costco, almost too much like the white queso from Costco, but it is still pretty good. Now when one orders queso they expect a decent amount of chips to go with it, I’m sure I’m not the only one. Imagine opening the bag of chips to find MAYBE 10 actual intact chips, and the rest of the bag full of tiny little broken pieces. I literally would have rather not gotten any chips, and been told that they forgot them, than what I got. The weight of the bag of chips indicated that there were a decent amount of chips inside, but oh no. I have attached a picture of what this bag of chips looked like, and you have my word that I have not altered it in any way.
The gyro and mashed potatoes get a ⁷⁄₁₀.
The queso gets a ⁶⁄₁₀.
The chips however? If one could literally fill a bag full of disappointment, I doubt you could tell it apart from the bag of chips I received.

Great atmosphere and love the bar. Good selection of specialty cocktails and great BBQ chicken pizza!
We will be back for sure.

Difficult review for me… I am going to write it backwards and some people may be pleased that I am not going to go all the way back in the history of this «group», other than mention the last time we ate at this brand on Northgate in the old city hall building… Biting my tongue and in all fairness, turning the page. New place right?
In this college town with students coming from rural areas in the 1980’s this I can see being something fun back then.
Starting with the desert. The strawberry «tart». This is not a tart. This is a glazed ice cream cone style of shell filled up with canned whipped cream and fresh strawberries on top. My wife calls it a bar sweet and it made her want to go to 1541 on Brothers Blvd to taste real pastries. It could be so much better with anything simple like a caramel treasure at the bottom or a leaf of mint on top. Nope. Canned cream (way too much) and strawberries. Their most popular dish fails as it is not a tart and is just a bar sweet. No pastry chef here. At $ 8, this should be about $ 4. (This is a theme here). 2 stars for desert due to excellent fresh fruit.
Beer. No local drafts. College Station has it’s own Breweries (2 of them) and to overlook New Republic is sad. They have all the cowboy beer liquid as Dixie Chicken and then a few canned types (canned is a good thing as it protects from light) from Deep Ellum in Dallas. One in particular called Dream Crusher Double IPA WAS served with a frozen mug as I requested. (Outstanding service and we will get to that.) At $ 7 for a 12 oz can served with a frozen (appears to be a 9 – 10 oz mug) was refreshing for what should have been $ 3.50 — $ 4. Again, twice the price as should be. 2 stars for beer due to extreme price and no local drafts.
Mediterranean Chicken Melt Sandwich — This had a fun presentation and perhaps the reason it is $ 10 is due to the very nice fresh top notch Mozzarella and sun dried tomatoes. Have no idea why it is called Mediterranean. Perhaps the same smoke and mirrors that allow you to call something a «tart» which is obviously not. The sandwich should be about $ 6 so consider this a value as it’s not quite twice what it is worth according to the theme here.
The tacos. Here we go, my area of expertise. At $ 16 for (4) finger tacos these are indeed twice what tacos should cost. If you spend $ 16 at Torchy’s, Mad Taco or Fuego (all better) you would never be able to eat that much. The rice included still had hulls proving that they still do not know how to cook something as simple as rice, the limes (see photos) were not fresh, the 1 Oz of «Guacamole» was day old at least, as well as the meats. The tacos should come with two of these tiny corn tortillas like real Mexican street tacos, as they break. The avocado did manage to mask the flavor of the well… How should I put this without going … there … I’m trying very hard not to go «there». Let’s just say that the flavors reminded me of the previous location which was in fact the worst experience I ever had with a taco in my life. There. Sorry for them, but 100% true. I was proud of myself for managing to finish the plate due to the memory they caused on Church Street. 2 Stars for the taco plate.
Service was 5 stars. The comments about service almost made us decide not to go here today but we had already made reservations with OpenTable (they did check us in like I asked and we did get 100 credits on OpenTable as promised). As it turned out our server was excellent. I do not see how service could be topped as Justin made us feel welcome and was genuine and he could work at places like Republic, Maddens, Veritas, etc. 5 stars for service.
Atmosphere. 5 stars. It’s really nice in here. Huge windows, lots of green, Texas blues music nice and soft, just really relaxing. While everything we tried was at least twice as much as it should cost for quality and value, you are paying for atmosphere and for that and the 5 star service, we will go back.
My wife noted demographics. While I probably would have never noticed — she was the only non white of about 100 people by the time we left. We arrived at 10:59 when they open at 11, were seated with reservations and the place filled up with Caucasian families with a good number of children, well dressed as if coming from church.
So there you have it. Very difficult review to write. If you are able to find my review for the previous original location on Church Street the day it closed (they had it deleted somehow) you will find how difficult it was to be fair. The truth is I –HAD– to eat here for two reasons. One to be able to claim that I have eaten at every restaurant in Bryan and College Station, and second to complete having eaten every taco as well.
Excellent service in a nice comfortable atmosphere with mediocre food that costs twice what it should. And there is nothing wrong with that. Cool.

All of the food we ordered was good, especially the lamb chops.
The only downside is the way they decorate and the way they serve doesn’t match the level they are trying to make their restaurant out to be. They want to be a higher class, expensive restaurant. And while the food fits, the rest don’t go with the standards

I’m sad… not going to cry, but still sad.
I am very fortunate that I get to visit Texas A&M regularly and so the restaurants I loved while in school are still in my rotation. And who doesn’t remember Café Eccell foundly? The tart is just silly amazing, still?
The tragedy that has befallen Café Eccell is well known across College Station; horrible service. CE has many reputations, and dare I say they are all earned. Great pizza, amazing tarts, high prices and slow terrible service. You may ask, isn’t slow service the definition of terrible? Yes, that was a contributing factor to the terribleness, but the inability to deliver ordered food and then mess up the bills takes it to a whole new level. Seriously, my friend never got her salad; how does that even happen? Bless our waiter’s heart; he may be in the wrong job…
I like the new location, but maybe a venue so large is just too much for the staff to handle.
The solution for me is to take a pain pill before I go or just order the tart to go…

Almost a complete joke. Seriously.
Experienced slightly unprofessional staff and moderately bland food.
Thai Chile Pork Shanks — ⁵⁄₅ (would visit again for)
Mediterranean Snapper — ³⁄₅
Texas Ave Old Timey Burger — ¹⁄₅ (poor excuse for nostalgia, come on)
Strawberry Tart — ?/​5 (are they $ 5 on Tuesday because they’re leftover?)
I strongly wouldn’t recommend this place for neither casual nor fancy dining.

Oh my my. Where to start. First off, full disclosure, I was a fan of Luby’s, so I’m still angry about its closure. I know most of the clientele was starting to die off, but that had to be the best fish patty and turkey & dressing around. I guess I’ll drive to Temple, Tx to get my fix.
My wife Peggy and I came to celebrate one of her friend’s birthday. There was a gluttonous round of appetizers and even some of the devil’s cup flowing. (Don’t worry, we called Über for a safe ride home.)
The wife opted for a salad. She wants to go on a cruise later this year and pasta won’t help her cause. I have a few months to get my beach body back in shape, so I decided to get the pizza. The Quattro Formaggio (that’s some kind of language that means 4 cheeses) and added some pepperoni and steak.
Talk about delicious! This combination of cheese (remember there are 4 of them) and greasy meat disrupted my innards more than a heavy storm disrupts satellite signal. I couldn’t even enjoy the strawberry tart (amazing) because I had to occupy stall-​street.
Peggy, on the other hand, was able to enjoy the tart. She didn’t save me any. But she reminded me only Jesus saves.
I gave this 4 stars due to the lack of an adequate number of facilities. There was a gentleman who was in a similarly uncomfortable spot, but unfortunately for him, I was first, and after I was done, I was probably the last, at least for the night.

Maybe my tastes have changed, but to me, Eccell is not what it once was.
I came here during a game, and was pleasantly surprised to see that they have TVs posted at various angles around the restaurant broadcasting football. Pretty sweet!
The food though, left me longing for the days when they were in their cozy spot on Northgate. I had the corn chowder, which they’re famous for, I guess? It was just okay… almost too thick. The mini crab cake that came with it for $ 4.50 extra (OUCH!) was a tad fishy. My friend’s arugula and prosciutto pizza was lackluster… the toppings were sloppily piled on in the middle and the crust was more like bread than crust.
I finished with the chocolate strawberry tart and although it was good, I regretted not getting the plain strawberry tart. My friends that did the $ 12 tart sampler agreed that the original tart is best – also to note, their tart samples were puny and not worth $ 12.
Although I was happy that they’ve moved to a nice new location, I think I’ll stick with my trusted favorites in College Station.

We tried the new location last night. What a rip off!
To make long story short:
Service — zero stars
Food — two stars
Ambience — 4 stars
Menu — lies, lies and more lies
The new building is nice — lots of space, big paved parking lot, high ceilings. A few TVs had the game on, but from where we were seated we could not see it.
We got there at 7:30, a large group of 4 families with 4 small kids. It took over an hour to get food, closer to a hour and a half to get everyone’s food. We had to ask twice to get water, straws, small plates, the check — and the waitress took her time at every turn.
All kids’ meals were messed up. How hard can it be to serve pasta with butter, nothing on it? One little one, a particular picky eater, had to send her food back twice, as the waitress kept bringing pasta sprinkled with extra spices.
A friend ordered a ‘watermelon salad’, that was described in the menu as ‘watermelon with feta’. She got a large plate of wilted greens, with a half-​dozen of tiny quarter-​inch sized pieces of watermelon cut-​offs. No cheese.
Another couple ordered a long-​time favorite, Mediterranean plate. It may be the global warning, or just a hot August, but the plate has shrunk to less than half its size, since I last ordered it a couple of years ago. Napa plate has shrunk even more, down to 5 short sticks of asparagus and less than one tomato, generously bathed in cheap olive oil. Neither of these items should be listed as Shareable, as they are on the menu.
Finally, when the checks came, we were overcharged — some extra items added onto the check, about 25% of the total. It was taken care of eventually, but, really, who needs the hassle?
Café Eccel is at the end of its rope. It should be over and done with. College Station is ready for a better dining experience.

Café Eccell is what passes for fine dining in College Station.
Overpriced indifferent food, uninteresting bar, great desserts.
The place is so ou-​la-​la you hate to pop in there just for dessert, but the desserts are fine.
(Tarts of all descriptions are particularly noteworthy.)
Texas A and M uses Café Eccell for their job interviews and it is a good choice for all the wrong reasons.
The place looks impressive enough for a job interview.
The food costs enough for a job interview.
The food will not distract any of the TAMU faculty from listening to what the candidate is saying.
And no chance that the candidate will really love the wonderful restaurants in College Station and want to come to A and M for the lifestyle.
***
Since the move, the new question becomes how do the new digs compare to the old digs.
Back in the 1990’s Café Eccell was at least a wonderful place to sit, because it was in an old charming house with a lot of open air.
Then they glassed in the porch to air condition it and the place became a clautrophobic confining cell, with dark woods and a pizza oven.
The new quarters bring in the fine sense of spaciousness — and there is a lot of charming dark wood (notably and commendably in the rest rooms). Space and air abound — which is unquestionably an upgrade.
There are also TVs all over the place so you don’t miss your basketball game.
Fine dining meets sports bar?
I think I’ll pass.