Restaurant Review of The Belmont Port Townsend in Washington

Recently on a visit to Washington I visited a number of restaurants for lunch and dinner. Eating is something we all must do to survive, but often finding restaurants in an area new to us is difficult. To help guide you around Washington, specifically Port Townsend I feel it is important to review the meals my family and I had.

Port Townsend is a sea side town. It is located to the west of Washington out on a peninsula. Many of you may recognize the city name from the film "An Officer and a Gentlemen." The movie was filmed in Port Townsend using an old military base, as well as some of the local buildings downtown. Two thirds of the way into town is a building that housed a hotel and restaurant.

The Belmont is a quaint building, with soft colors decorating the outside and large glass windows. The front of the restaurant is welcoming to visitors with a wide reception area for waiting customers. As you walk through the waiting area you are led to the hostess and a small dining room. The décor is wood flooring with dark wood banisters along the stairs. At the rear of the area are windows overlooking the bay. The tables are situated equidistantly to accommodate at most thirty people. Most of the tables are set for four, but there are a couple tables for two.

The dining area is separate from the bar, which is up another level. The bar uses the dark wood of the lower level where more seating can be found. It has a larger capacity. My family and I were not concerned with the bar, but the dining room since we were there for lunch. The hostess set us at a table near the windows allowing us to look out at the docks and across the bay.

The service was very prompt and friendly. We were immediately asked what we would like to drink and given water. Two of our party had cokes, which were served quickly. We were given the specials, which were also posted outside the entrance. Part of our party had the fish and chips, one person had the crab and salmon eggs Benedict, and our last person had the prime rib dip.

To begin the fish and chips were made with Halibut. It is a north western bottom fish. It is also a whitefish. The batter was cooked to perfection where it was crispy, but not burnt or hard. An order of fish and chips comes with four pieces of good sized fish and a large helping of fries. It also had tartar sauce. The arrangement provided enough food for one very hungry person or two moderately hungry females. The fish and chips definitely get four stars.

Each plate provided a superb looking meal. The prime rib dip was filled with one very large slab of meat cooked to medium rare. The edges were a little fatty, but if you do not mind that you will enjoy the meal. It was placed on a hoagie and given au jus for dipping. Fries and pickles were also part of the meal. The prime rib dip was given four stars.

On a previous trip to Port Townsend I also tried the Cheeseburger. If you know me at all I am a very picky eater. I generally stay away from anything hamburger related unless it is tacos or nachos. But, on this trip for some reason I was very hungry for a hamburger, and to my surprise I found the Belmont Burger to be something I'd definitely go back for. I had a medium cooked hamburger with Swiss cheese, and a little barbeque sauce. It came with a side of fries, and onion rings for the top of the burger. Though a little messy the burger was definitely a five star meal!

Overall Meal: 4

Service: 5

Location: 5

Facilities: 4