Reveille Café — Restaurant in Port Townsend

The restaurant, Reveille, is located a 7 minute drive away in the middle of the historic Fort Worden, nestled in the front of the Commons, one of the few new buildings in the Fort. The dining experience, however, is worth the extra effort. Port Townsend is full of gastronomic surprises, but this Farm to Fork restaurant, operated by Chef Cass and Restauranteur Kristan McCary, offers a sophisticated Pacific Northwest Gourmet Cuisine for the locals and tourists of Port Townsend. If you want locally sourced, sustainable, and seasonal fare paired with regionally crafted wines, ciders,and brews for a uniquely Pacific Northwest dining experience, make you way to Fort Worden. We made reservations (a must!) for the monthly wine dinner and were smart to do so…..all of the tables were reserved. Five courses are offered and each course paired with wines from a vintner who comes to present his wines with generous pours. Each month features a different vintner from the Pacific Northwest. We started with herb roasted cauliflower steaks dressed with a beurre blanc and a large dollop of grape rosemary chutney. This was accompanied by a perfectly chilled a 2014 Gewurztraminer from Idiot’s Grace Winery and Vintner in the Columbia River Valley. A perfect start to whet your taste buds. The next course was filet of salmon wrapped in rice paper, seared perfectly to flake off of your fork. It was surrounded by a rich reduction of tamarind and soy and a small stack of julienned tricolored vegetables. Course three was a Mushroom Cannelloni topped with savory, crisp chunks of pancetta bathed in a rich creamy truffle and parsley froth. This was paired with a 2014 Dolcetto from Idiot’s Grace Winery and Vintner. It doesn’t end…..next course was Braised Short Ribs Ragu over a Chipotle Sweet Potato Mash garnished with sautéed broccolini. This was paired perfectly with a 2013 Syrah, Granache blend called Mistral Ranch. The black cherry notes of the wine enhanced the rich savory red wine tomato ragu and the fall off of the fork tenderness of the short ribs. We finished with three of the richest chocolate truffles imaginable, cayenne cinnamon, bittersweet chocolate, and almond chocolate…too decadent and sinful to pass up. The service was efficient, timely while unobtrusive, their goal was to enhance our enjoyment, not feature their service. We felt unrushed and undisturbed, yet our desires seemed anticipated…the wait staff appearing as soon as our wants. What an...

Reveille Cafe used to be one of the coolest things at Fort Warden State Park. A hidden gem that most Port Townsend locals didn't even know about.

Two and a half years since my last visit and those days are gone.

There is no indoor seating except for three tables...and they're all stuffed into one corner, "because of covid." No six-foot spacing required.

The hardy breakfast and lunch fare served on real plates with actual flatware is a thing of the past. A sandwich now comes in a paper french fry container and plastic " break-in-your-mouth" utensils are available.

I asked if I should sit outside so as not to take up a four-top table. The staff were confused, not knowing what a four-top table was or a two-top table for that matter.

The disinfected personality free staff informed me that the breakfast sandwiches were not available... after being open for 1-1/2 hours. It was the only breakfast item on the Sunday breakfast buffet menu.

I chose a toasted chicken sandwich that was crunchy and delicious on the outside but the bread was soggy on the inside. The chicken was tepid slices of pressed meat; cheese melted around the edges but not inside. The vegetables had been taken out of a pre-packaged salad; mealy tomato wedges and unstemmed spinach.

Tables unwashed, "for covid," I'd imagine. Bathrooms were tragic but the cleaning logs were all checked off. The gift shop is now storage; look through the glass door at stuff you can't have.

Post Script - I've been here in Fort Worden State Park for 4-1/2 hours and have yet to...

3.5 stars. We were surprised to find that this is not a full service restaurant, you order and pay at the counter. Not a contributor to the rating, just want folks to know this doesn't work like a "real" restaurant. I will post photos with this review because if you just scan the photos it's misleading. That said, the counter hospitality was good.

We ordered the vegetable hash and corned beef hash. Eggs were over-poached, hard not medium, on the veggie hash. The vegetables were very thin sliced, not chunks, limp greasy and texture less. The "hash" was almost exclusively potatoes and an unidentifiable sweet root (?) of some kind. Unpleasant.

The corned beef hash was marginally better, but both the beef and the vegetables were also thin sliced. The dish looked and ate like it was composed of food cut up for other dishes and repurposed for this menu item. It wasn't integrated in any way and was almost flavorless. For me the point of corned beef hash are the savory chunks of spiced corned beef melded with chunks of potatoes, onions and peppers. That essence was utterly lacking.

Won't come back tomorrow even though we will be at...