Fountain Cafe

360 385 1364

We love this place. We must confine this review to lunch since we never manage to hold out long enough to eat dinner; however, the dinner menu looks great.

The Fountain Café is a dining institution in Port Townsend. It has only about a dozen tables occupying a small room near the Rose Theatre decorated with art produced by local craftsman. The work is for sale and varies with the seasons. Right now, there are several interesting mosaics, some framing mirrors, that provide a subdued sparkle throughout the café. At least at lunch, napkins are paper, and there are no tablecloths, but the many wines by the glass are excellent, and the sandwiches and egg scrambles are delicious. We usually order the Greek pasta, penne in a feta, caper, artichoke, pepper and lemon sauce. It is always on the menu and is so good we have learned how to cook it at home. There is a selection of hearty sandwiches, all delicious, and egg scrambles that feature cheese, some kind of cured meat or fish, and fresh vegetables. Salads, although a little hard to eat due to decorative vegetable curlicues, are made of fresh, locally produced vegetables. The split pea soup tasted exactly like my mother’s.

Desserts usually feature a berry fool and great gingerbread. Other desserts include tortes and tiramisu, but we can never resist the fool. As is true of all Pacific Northwest restaurants, the Fountain Café serves great coffee drinks.

Our most recent lunch included the Greek pasta, a great turkey Reuben sandwhich on dark rye, and a wonderful smoked chicken and roasted Poblano sandwich in a Creole sauce. We had a glass of Hess syrah, and several glasses of Trinchero cabernet, and we waddled out happy. Prices are low; the whole place is like a time capsule bringing you back to a really good college town joint from the early 1970’s but with better wine.

UPDATE 05/19/06 - Rumor has it that Fountain Cafe is under new management, but that the menu has not changed much, and the food is still great. We have to try it out.