Ajax Cafe

We really wanted to love Ajax. It’s local, it’s quirky, and the food is supposed to be quite good. We haven’t been here for several years, and, frankly, we may not go back. The food was good, but not great, and the dining room was freezing cold. Too cold to enjoy the evening. I guess someone didn’t start the fire in a timely manner. We’ve been home for an hour and I’m still cold.
So, the food – Our party had two specials, the pork chop, and the seafood paella. The seafood paella and pork chop were good, but we were sorely disappointed in the nightly special, which was scallops over «pesto polenta». The two of us who had the scallops with polenta had a fraction of the food compared to the other dishes, and it wasn’t particularly flavorful. I’d like to know where the pesto was, not to mention the rest of the dinner. Ok – so scallops are really expensive. How about giving us a little more polenta and more than a couple of little veggies to make us feel more fed?

Boy do I wish our pocket books allowed us to eat here more than twice a year. Yum! The ribs are to die for! Well worth the money and time. The experience too. If you haven’t had the experience of trying on over 100 hats during dinner, it’s a must. Also the live music is such a nice fun touch!

Food is always yummy! Drinks are always nice. I love all the hats around! I always feel like I have a personality to match each hat

Neat little harbor restaurant. Kids loved the hats, kids menus (books) and their food was great. The clam chowder should not be passed up, they place the clam in the shells in the bowl. The watermelon/​feta salad was yummy. Halibut entrée was a solid hit. The lamb chops were sadly undercooked once you got to the thickest chop (raw). Wishing the chef would have caught that. Overall, amazing food, staff was a little slow – this could just be how laid back they are? I’d recommend again though!

Good food. Fun atmosphere. Service a little slow. Friendly wait staff. My steak was excellent.

I came here with Chelsea J. and we both loved the food and service. As usual, she loved it more than I did.
I started with the clam chowder (made with fresh clams) and baked brie stuffed with fruit. The chowder was the freshest I’ve ever had! The stink of the brie contrasted well with the fruit.
Chelsea had the farm burger with fries, the stuffed pork chop with mashed potatoes, and the baby back ribs with Jack Daniel sauce. She loved all of them, I couldn’t believe she ate all that in one sitting! We were too full for dessert.
I didn’t drink. Chelsea had a Mud Slide and a Scotch Ale. Said both went well with her meal!

Cool décor. Good food. Waitress we had was better suited as something else. Would like to comment on the dessert, but no menu was given. Make sure to check your bill. Mine was off by $ 140.00. No apology. Just a comment that she can’t remember everyone.

I went to this place on a Thursday night and we had reservations… didn’t get seated till 30 minutes later. Once we sat down we didn’t get our order take till yet, another 30 mins. The service was not great, the food was cold. Will not be coming here again.

We had another great dinner at Ajax. We were there at opening and had reserved the best window seat. Everyone enjoyed the rosemary bread, a special watermelon salad, fresh clam chowder and our entrees. The chowder had whole clams in shell which I’ve never had to strip the clams myself before so that was unique. Salmon and steaks were perfectly done. Try on some hats while you’re there. The wait staff was friendly and attentive. The same musician was there and adds to the whole ambiance. We bought a CD last time. This is a must go each time we visit Fort Flagler and Port Townsend area.

This place was awesome! We were traveling up from Portland, OR and went here on a local tip. The atmosphere is great, service is friendly and the food is delicious, plus it is right on the water with a great view. We were there on a Tuesday and a local jazz trio was playing some covers, they were sweet, a pleasant surprise. Anyway, I highly suggest stopping here if you are in the area!
Also, I happened to stupidly leave my sunglasses there, and was already on the road back, and they very kindly offered to mail them to me. Good people!

Do not use
to make a reservation for this place!!!
My mother-​in-​law made a reservation for Ajax Café via OpenTable 4 – 5 days before our group of 6 went there for dinner for a special occasion, and she even received a confirmation email for the reservation. When we arrived at Ajax Café the waiting room was full of people and the host seemed overwhelmed. He could not find our reservation and when we told him we booked it via OpenTable he told us that sometimes OpenTable does not notify them of reservations right away. My mother-​in-​law then told him she made the reservation several days before, and he shrugged and said that happens sometimes. Why would they continue to use OpenTable if they know this happens? Even if it is the fault of OpenTable, then stop using it or figure it out! When asked how long it would be to wait he said «I’m not sure, awhile.»
After 20 minutes or so we were about to leave because it looked like chaos in there, when we were told our table was ready. It really wasn’t that long of a wait and they redeemed themselves by giving us the first round of drinks on the house, but even throughout the dinner our waitress was kind of too busy to pay attention to us. Good food, cute place, but management really needs to work on the organization.

Fantastic rock fish on gnocchi with tomatoes. Clam and mussel appetizers were superb. Topped off with brownie sundae for dessert. We have eaten here for years and have never been disappointed! The atmosphere is fun and the live music is wonderful and easy to listen to. Love the hats!

Up here from Southern California for a few weeks. Stopped here for dinner on a Sunday evening. What a pleasant surprise. Great service, good dinner and wine. Would recommend this happy place any time. Thank you, Ajax Café. Excellent.
Gordon

Great views, solid service, a nice selection on the menu. Worth the visit, nice idea to end a day trip, enjoy the ferry, enjoy the views, check out the beach.
We had a great time here, yes, the hats are a bit beyond my ceiling on all things «eewww» but when in rome, opt to bring your own hat! The place is homey and inviting, things here are a touch laid back, I didn’t mind because it gave us more time to enjoy the views and our dinner guests.
We’ll be back!

Dinner was disappointing. Took friends who were visiting. Clam chowder was not the rich delicious New England chowder we were used to. My salad was ok. The chicken breast was tough and tasteless. My husband ordered the seafood stew, It was bland. I felt like the chef forgot to flavor the dishes. We drove from Sequim to try this restaurant and won’t return. Our friends made no comments so I assume their meal was not outstanding.

Not a fan. I really wanted to like the Ajax. I hadn’t been there for years and had fond memories. Alas, the years have not been kind.
There are so many things wrong there. To start with, the place is DIRTY! I know people think all the hats are cute — and lots of people were having fun trying them on, but, seriously, that just isn’t hygienic (am I the only one who remembers «lice warnings» from elementary school?!). Even if the hats themselves aren’t filled with cooties, they collect dust. There are also knick knacks everywhere — all collecting dust and none getting a thorough cleaning. The vase on our table had something stuck to it. Since the flowers were fresh, it seems that the person filling it could have at least wiped off the vase. It just makes you wonder about the rest of the dirt that you don’t see…
The night we were there was really busy, so I can forgive the waitress for being a bit slow and having a lot to juggle, but, that wasn’t our fault and a bit of personality and friendliness would have gone a long way toward enhancing our experience. The young woman who sat us seemed totally disinterested and couldn’t wait to get back to folding napkins and basically just dumped us at our table. We flagged down another young woman and asked if she was our waitress — no, «your waitress is really busy with other people» she said as our waitress walked past our table and just glanced at us without so much as a smile or a nod. Later, we waited and waited for our water glasses to be refilled.
On to the food — ugh. The watermelon salad was nice enough, but the «seafood stew» was not great. It had plenty of seafood, but it was overlooked and sauce was pasty and flavorless. The chicken was dry and over cooked. It just wasn’t a good meal.
I’m not picky when it comes to prices and portion sizes. To me, service, food, and atmosphere (in that order) are more important. If two are good, I’m usually happy. If all three are bad, I won’t return.

Super fun atmosphere. This place was packed when we went on a Saturday night. I recommend the food (starters, mains and deserts). Along with their drink menu. They also had live entertainment that filled the place with a nice ambience. Waitresses were very friendly.

I want to love Ajax and I don’t feel particularly great about handing down a 3-​star rating to them. But after much reflection and soul-​searching, I just don’t think I can go much higher. I enjoyed the quaint and quirky interior and the food is probably some of the best available on the peninsula, but the service is just not very good at all. I think that’s a function of being wayyyyyy understaffed for how many people they had to tend to in the dining area, but that doesn’t change the fact that several things were amiss and it made the dining experience a 3-​star rather than a 4 or 5-​star for me.
The ambiance is fun. There are hats hanging off the walls and the menus are inside of vinyl album covers from the 80s (I think the 80s? Don’t quote me on the decade…). They have patio seating which is right on the water and it makes for a great view on warm summer days. Be wary though: there is a paper mill somewhere nearby and the smell can be a little off-​putting when you’re trying to eat.
They even had live music! The night I was there, it was nice, calm, rhythmic sounds by two ladies who had fantastic voices and played the guitar beautifully. The music fit the vibe perfectly. I should probably note that it’s definitely an older crowd. I’m 25 and I felt at least 2 decades too young on this particular evening. You don’t need to be in your 40s to enjoy this place, but you will fit in a little better if you are!
The food is great. It really hits the spot. The mussels and clams that were cooked in the white wine and cream sauce were incredible. The flat iron steak and garlic mashed potatoes that I had were good too. The beer/​wine/​spirit selection isn’t huge, but they do have a couple local beers/​wines on the menu and the price is fantastic, especially when compared to Seattle liquor prices. I got the Hop Diggity IPA in a 16oz mason jar and it was only $ 4!
Now to address the less than great aspects: Unfortunately, I asked for the steak to be medium rare, but it came out medium well to well done. Really not a whole lot of pink in it at all. I think that was a result of the service being too hurried and not enough people manning the dining area.
There were 4 people total overseeing both the indoor and outdoor dining areas. That means there were 4 people do all of the following duties for AT LEAST 50 people: host/​hostess, bartender, waiter/​waitress, busser, courtesy waiter/​waitress (refilling water and bread, etc.), and food runner. 50+ customers and 4 staff members? That ratio ain’t never gonna fly. The service definitely suffered. When the food arrived, I wanted to order another Hop Diggity but the waitress/​busser/​bartender/​hostess didn’t have time to do the customary «Is there anything else I can get you?» after dropping off the food. She just plopped the dishes on the table and ran off before I could get a word in edgewise. With the part of the restaurant that the customers can see being so horrendously understaffed, I shudder to think how hard the (probably) one or two cooks have to work in the kitchen!
I think Ajax is worth at least one visit. The food is pretty good. Just don’t come here and expect to feel welcomed or well-​tended-​to. You can decide for yourself whether or not that’s tolerable for your dining experience (Personally, I expect a little better from a place that charges an average of $ 20+ dollars per entrée. But hey, to each his own, right?). I wouldn’t blame the staff. I think management needs to put a few more bodies in there to help with the service aspect so that it isn’t so hectic. The staff will be less flustered and the customers will be happier. If they could make that happen, I would gladly make this one of my regular spots on the peninsula.

I’ve been to Ajax many times and always love the experience. This last time my husband had the prime rib (a bit too done) and I had the pasta langostino, we shared the calamari steak for an appetizer. They frequently have calamari steak as an appetizer. It’s still the best calamari steak I’ve had. The restaurant has a lot of character. It’s very eclectic; every piece of silverware, chair, plate, cup, etc is different. The menus are made out of album covers. Funky hats line the walls and ceilings and you can wear them for fun. We usually try to go when there is live music.

Valentines Day dinner deliriously delicious.
Wine, Butter Lettuce Wedge Salad to begin, entrees, 10 oz New York Strip Steak cooked to perfection, Dungeness Crab Ravioli simply out of this world.
Dessert and after dinner drinks,
Lemon Tiramisu and Italian Chocolate Mousse so divine.
It was the whole package the ambiance the live music soft and subtle in the background great service a night to remember with my Valentine.
$$$