Port Gamble General Store & Cafe

This review is for the General Store Café: delicious & delightful. Great atmosphere with views of the water. I love the historic décor and the gorgeous chandeliers. The food was very satisfying and flavorful. I had the Beer Burger and it was a great balance of flavors. The clam chowder was hearty and filling. We didn’t try the dessert, but everyone seems to love them!
The only weird thing to note is the water has a bit of a strange flavor. Not undrinkable, but just a little off.

We have been here in the past and had a good experience. The fish and chips probably the worst I have ever had. So thin it was almost all breading. Drink orders forgotten 2x out of 2x so we had to ask bartender. Steak skewer and grilled kale was the only good thing here tonight.

Service was slow. Our server greeted us then she didn’t return for over 10 minutes to even take our drink orders. Lunch was good, fries tasted generic. Everything was pretty expensive for what it was and how far we had to drive to get there.
The drive wasn’t even the worst part. While there we could hear yelling and shouting from the back/​kitchen area. The cook (s) yelling profanities as the servers. Very unprofessional. It was appalling to even be in the same building where people thought that this behavior was expectable for work. I just hope that the servers being mistreated are ok, and I hope the cook (s) who were yelling were reprimanded or fired.
Not going back. Not worth any of it.

Reasonable prices for high quality and filling portions!
Came here on the way to Port Townsend. Had a short wait but the hostess came into the general store to retrieve us. Coffee is Raven’s Brew– a little dark but a very nice coffee. Ordered the chicken salad sandwich and the classic burger. The meals were enough to be filling (which can be difficult for people who eat like horses). The burger was super tall, garnishing were thick sliced tomatoes and other generous things. Homemade ketchup, too! Bomb. Fries were meaty, obviously fresh, not too greasy. Chicken salad sandwich was perfect– great bread, not too mayonnaise laden. Our server, Troy, was on it– my water and coffee were both always full. I jokingly asked for a birthday candle for my BF’s burger… He brought it AND sang. All the staff was super friendly and quick even though the place was packed.
I’d recommend this place to anyone and come again. It’s not cheap, but I certainly think the prices are well worth it since all the ingredients aren’t cheap either.

A truly lovely spot overlooking a beautiful stretch of water.
The premises is clean rustic and has large, casement-​style windows which provide a lovely frame for the view.
We had a large family dinner here a few weeks ago and the food was delicious: fresh seafood in a Thai curry broth for me and my dad, fish and chips for my two brothers, a tasty pasta with smoked ham for my husband, fresh fish for my mom, and the baby really took to a cup of lentil soup (and definitely to the French fries). It looks like they make the desserts in the back as well and if I’m lucky enough to make it back here, I will get the homemade vanilla pudding with berries.

The views and location are great. The waitstaff was pleasant. The food was a little on the pricey side. My wife ordered the mussels which she liked. i ordered the hamburger which i thought was on the small side but was yummy nonetheless. Our kids ordered the mac and cheese which we would not recommend since it was mainly cheese with very little noodles.
The store is cool — lots of old style sodas and candy for the kids. And great ice cream.

African Americans beware! This place will not serve you before they serve their Caucasian customers. We sat at our table for three hours before we decided to walk out. There were other customers (Caucasian) who came in long after we were there and received their food while we were still waiting. Even when a restaurant is swamped they must be aware of the proper order customers should be served. You cannot have three tables served before others who have been sitting waiting. Anything short of that is blatant disrespect and racist!

Second try at Port Gamble Café. First try was breakfast last winter when they were not very busy. The service was good and pleasant but both our meals were soaked in grease very unappetizing. Today we took some out of town friends there for lunch. We were seated and it took about 15 minutes for our server to return to take our orders but that was fine. We ordered drinks, clam chowder and lunch, our soup came out before the drinks and then the wait began. For the next hour and 15 minutes our server did not return to our table and averted eye contact. Finally after seeing two tables who came in after us get their food I got up and found the server and paid for what we had received and left. Never got an explanation or I’m sorry apology.
The good news is 20 minutes later we were at Hansgrill Hansville Grocery And Provisions Co.
and had a great inexpensive lunch in about served in about 10 minutes. Very friendly staff and great food. Go there not Port Gambel.

Hello,
We travled from Seattle to your establishment and were quite excited about having brunch. Our total bill was around fifty dollars not including tip. The service in the beginning was great. However, when the food arrived it was wrong. I had order the «Standard», two eggs over medium, no toast, not potatoes, bacon, sausage and fruit. When the food runner dropped the food off I advised him that it wasn’t what I had ordered. The plate he brought came with potatoes, eggs, fruit and sausage. I advised him that I requested no potatoes and asked for bacon instead. He came back 3 minutes later with the potatoes removed from the plate. Actually, it look like he had scrapped them off the plate because there was a clear oil slick from where they were previously.
I advised him that this is still not correct there is no bacon. When I asked him about the bacon he acted like I was overreacting because another mistake had been made on my order.
He brought the bacon and apologized. We continued to eat and realized that your kitchen can’t even take the time to peel their fruit? Are you kidding me? You will charge 4.75 for a cup of fruit or 8.00 for a bowl and will not make your kitchen peel it.
I have to admit all of this could have been forgiven if I had not seen the following. I witnessed one of your wait staff dump the remains of a plate into a trash been in the kitchen and then dig through it to pull out an item that needed to be placed in recycling.
Then the server proceeded to another station where they sliced a piece of cake and put it in a to go container. The server never used a glove, tongs or washed their hands from the previous garbage task. That is DIGUSTING not mention a HUGE health code violation!!. I couldn’t finish my meal. We paid the bill and left.
I tried to send them and email but their website doesn’t allow email.

Nice outdoor deck with a great water view. Friendly service.
My companion ordered the Reuben sandwich; he said it tasted good. I ordered the flat iron steak. The steak was good, but the fries were awful, overcooked on the outside, mushy on the inside. Some of the fries were the size one would expect, but mixed in were what we only can describe as ‘Kibbles & Bits’, which appeared to be leftovers from yesterdays batch, tiny little hard crusted old looking things.
Although we were seated promptly, the wait for our food was 43 minutes. I’d hoped maybe some bread would come with the meal, but no bread ever came. Usually steak dinners come with bread. But here, I guess we’d have to order so they could charge us for it as they charge you for everything. Such as, when the server asked if we’d like «refills «on our iced– teas, we accepted, not realizing we’d be charged full price. They even charged us $ 1.10 for a slice of tomato for the sandwich. A tiny side of ranch dressing (for the fries) .80 cents. And then to top it off, they charged us $ 1.00 for «fries», which came with the meal!!! I know these aren’t huge amounts, but the receipt had so many extra charges!
I’ll never return to a restaurant where the owners treat their customers like this, nickel and dime, nickel and dime. Wouldn’t you think they’d just waive the silly 80-​cent fee to make their customer happy and therefore return again? So many restaurants to choose from. Choose wisely.
You’ve been warned.

Tried to go to lunch here today as I’ve enjoyed their food in the past (although the services has always been questionable.) Today I walked out after placing my order 40 minutes prior. I watched other tables who came in after us get their meals, including the same food my husband and I had ordered. I even watched our waitress serve these people. Sigh. After asking where our order was, the waitress asked us to wait while she took another order. After waiting another 5 minutes for her to return from the kitchen, my husband and I had had enough. As much as I would have loved to eat my mussells, I was just too peeved to stick around. Sorry Port Gamble Café, you won’t be seeing us anytime soon. We’ll head to Port Townsend for our dinner out.

A great little place to show visitor’s or bring a date. Very friendly staff and seasonal menu, plus their large beer selection from local breweries make this place a nice quick visit, or relax and savor a beer. The view is amazing of the water front. Prices are about average for the area and there are some signature drinks you should try. Best part is it’s located in a former bank, which they kept the original vault and turned into the bar focal point.

Came to port gamble for a quick day trip. This restaurant is out of place, in a good way. Almost everything was made fresh, it was thoughtful and well executed. I had a bloody Mary and the frybread and gravy which both were outstanding. Everyone enjoyed their meals and the service was excellent. The general store was pretty neat. Left with a few keepsakes. We live in Tacoma and will be back for sure!

I’ve been meaning to write an updated review for a long time but was so upset by this place, I couldn’t do it. Now, I’m moving, so here goes…
The watered down version is that the owners refused to address major customer complaints about verbal abuse of patrons by a specific waiter.
Our unfortunate experience occured with an older male waiter, who was new, and had an accent (south african? Australian?). He was overtly hostile and rude beyond words when I mentioned a food sensitivity that Port Gamble General Store had previously been able to graciously accomodate. He was hostile towards fellow employees, publicly dressing them down within earshot of patrons. He was arrogant & dismissive when I had a question about wine. He treated the other patrons with disdain and disgust. He was, bar none, the WORST server I have ever had in the US or internationally.
I was able to pull a few employees aside and they confirmed my impressions with this bad seed, noting the Store owners refused to address it. I left a note for the manager, who was not there that night, and gave it to one of the bartenders who had helped us many times. I eventually spoke with the manager who listened and validated my concerns, noting many other customers have reported the exact same thing but essentially said the owners had been told of the issues. I asked the manager to have them call me several times, but their silence served as my answer.
Port Gamble General Store has grave staffing concerns that reflect owner ineptitude, denial and lack of business acumen. Eating here endorses their behavior. We locals have taken our money elsewhere, shared the story many times and never returned.

I’ve had breakfast at The Port Gamble Café several times. Here are my notes:
Good stuff–
Location. Port Gamble is adorable and the Café is pretty, inside and out.
Sweets. The almond French toast is delicious. They make raspberry preserves for the toast and it is the real stuff.
Bad stuff–
Nickels and dimes. I have a legitimate food allergy to bell peppers and they charge me for substituting the potatoes (which have bell peppers mixed in).
Grease. The ham and cheddar omelet was over-​cooked and swimming in grease. The entire plate was filled with grease, it even soaked in the – already buttered – bread.
Attitude. The staff can be pretentious.
Comfort. The tables are unstable and teeter totter while you’re trying to eat.

Had been here before, and was craving their corned beef sandwich I’d previously enjoyed.
A FIFTEEN DOLLAR corned beef sandwich ruined.
Barely any meat; most of it dry. Ordered regular fries, got sweet potato fries; which they exchanged, with the dregs of leftover French Fries, claiming they had just been made… my companion’s $ 8 white wine was a «short «pour, a $ 5 pub beer, steamed mussels and my sandwich came to $ 42…The waitress did make an attempt to rectify with an $ 8 discount… but by then the lunch was a major disappointment. A VERY different experience than before… too bad… will NOT be returning NOR recommending.

I did not think this place could get worse, and some of the more recent reviews seemed to give it better ratings, so we thought we’d give it another chance. Bad choice! I am going to add a picture of the so-​called Dungeness Crab Roll! Do NOT order this! You will be charged, no kidding, $ 20.00 for approximately 2 teaspoons of crab in a huge mass of mayo, celery, and lettuce in a fat, bready roll.
To make matters worse we have lived most of our lives in NH, (60+ yrs) and the menu dares to state this sandwich is «…served ‘New England’ style…». Wow, did that make me mad! Clearly these people have never had a *real* New England lobster or crab roll! We don’t rip people off like this in the east; we stuff our rolls will quarters or half pounds of *real* meat! You had to use tweezers to find the meat in this roll!
The waitress was not at all empathetic, i.e. she really didn’t care. I still had to ask to get my water glass refilled. She also pulled my dish out from under me to take it away while I was still eating. I had to take it back and tell her I was not done!
A couple more comments about the food… the cream on the cheesecake tasted sour. The French fries at least were no longer greasy, and that is the only positive thing I can say about this experience. The fries have improved. Don’t bother going here. It is highly over priced and not worth the trip.

I probably would have given them one star, but they did have gluten free bread options which I appreciate and the waitress did knock $ 3 off my bill (with good reason).
First of all, I went on Sunday at around 10:30 — 11:00, prime brunch time. They had one waitress working and half the dining area was empty… but the person seating people wouldn’t let me sit down. Apparently, they were only seating in half of the restaurant. So, I put my name in (I was the only person waiting) and began looking around the shop. When I came back (less than 5 minutes later), they had seated two tables in the «closed» section! I was totally miffed.
After I sat down, the hostess gave me a very small glass of water and it took about 10 minutes for the waitress to take my order. My food took about 30 – 40 minutes, a surprisingly long time for breakfast food.
Worst part? I ordered the hash with eggs… and they brought me hash without eggs. I had to wait about another 15 minutes (!) for them to fry up an egg. Meanwhile, the hash just sat there getting cold. (This is why she knocked off $ 3, they decided not to charge me for the eggs).
All this time I waited and when I started eating the food, it just wasn’t that good. It was saturated in oil. I told her when I got there I had special dietary requirements (no butter on toast, gluten free, no sour cream, etc.) and then my meal is drenched, and I do mean drenched, in oil. Pretty disgusting.
I ate what I could and headed out. I won’t waste my time or money again. (Which is disappointing, because the atmosphere is great, and I was looking forward to some «fresh, local, organic» food as they advertise). Sad, sad.

Absolutely delicious! The setting is gorgeous, the windows open to the water and overlook tree lined mountains, it’s breath taking.
The waitress did forget to put in our order, and to make up for it, she brought us one of the most delicious orange cinnamon rolls I have ever eaten. I also had a hot buttered rum, and they home make their own syrup. It was a perfect balance of sweet and savory. The hand craft taste really was present.
The most important part, the omelette — smoked salmon with capers, all was cooked perfectly and had a perfect farm to table taste. The potatoes were sprinkled in Rosemary delicious and topped with homemade ketchup.
This was one of my favorite meals I have ever had!

The Port Gamble General Store and Café was a great choice stop while on our Tour de Hood Canal bicycle tour. We pulled up and had a time figuring out where we could park our bikes, a bike rack in front would make a lovely useful addition. We arrived from Seattle in time for 9 am breakfast.
We loved our breakfasts of egg, bacon and toast with homemade jam. They serve Raven’s Brew coffee, which is great even as drip. Our waitress was fast and friendly. We really enjoyed our meal and the location with views of the sound from our table. I want to come back for desserts. I pursued the bakery case ogling the lovely cakes and cobblers! Wow.
The other side of the café is a very cute store with fun arty touristy selections and unique toy finds. Worth a look. We could not stay long, we had to get our bikes back on the road and that breakfast gave me the energy I needed to bike climb that hill after the hood canal bridge!