Way Station — Restaurant in Fairfax

I love Brian and the crew at The Way Station! The menu has some serious hits (love the Hot Mess) and the beer selection is plentiful. The vibe is exactly The Way I like it....discreetly warm and friendly.

Ironically enough, I'm brand new to Marin and The Way Station was the only place (I found) in Fairfax open on New Year's Day. My first visit, and by the time I got there they were out of almost everything. The place was fairly quiet, only a couple of families in the back enjoying some time out of the house with their young kids: rowdy but cheerful. The food (my first Hot Mess!) was, of course, delicious and I was very happy to have a relatively quiet place to enjoy some good food and watch a little football. At some point, though, the kids started to get rowdier and their parents didn't seem to notice. As the volume went up, I appreciated the staff's attempt to communicate with the adults, but they sure didn't seem to appreciate anyone suggesting they were out of line and left in a huff. For my $.02, having bussed and waited tables, I thought Brian, and his staff, couldn't have been nicer (or more discreet) about the whole thing....

After a long work week, I came here to unwind with a glass of wine and some ribs. First time I've ever been here. The wine was ok, the food was average. However, the staff were odd, with one guy in particular, hovering but not doing anything other than "hovering", not friendly, not smiley, just making his presence very known, creating an atmosphere. The same staff member then sat at an empty table, I presume that had been sanitised, took off his mask and placed a hand on the table. I make this point not because Im really bothered about it, but, after I'd finished my meal and walked to pay, waited in line for a good 5 minutes, the cashier then asked me to go back and bus my own tray and glass "because of Covid". Nowhere on the menu, on a sign etc, did it say I had to bus my own tray etc. If it had been clearly stated, I would have done it, but not after waiting in line for 5+ minutes and not when their own staff are breaking the Covid rules. The cashier gave me an interrogation as to why I wouldn't bus my table, then told me to never come back...... As if I was actually ever going to go back...... No wonder the...

We dropped by Fairfax last Sunday to visit friends who had a group gift certificate at the Way Station for coffee and pastry. Kind of weird because it didn't open until 11 am, and coffee and pastry seemed to be more of a morning thing. The place was also almost empty on a Sunday morning in busy Fairfax, hmmmmm......... Turns out they stopped pastry service months ago because they weren't making a go of it. To their credit they made good by providing us with a lunch selection worth up to $5 each plus coffee. Unfortunately, the coffee service was poor. Weak bland coffee served out of a thermal carafe, and when one of our friends poured cream from a carton at the coffee station into her coffee, it came out slightly solidified.Ugh. We tried the chicken and pork sliders. They were okay, but not much meat, and not impressive at $4 each. I was fine with the service station/food truck décor, and the folks operating the café were nice. It just wasn't enough to make up for the lack of quality in the...