Post by DCist staff writer Gayle Putrich

It’s great to see the paper removed from the huge plate glass window of Old Town’s landmark Majestic Café, and even better to walk through the door and still get that welcoming, neighborhood diner vibe. And while I had a great time at my visit back to the un-fussy institution, I fear I may have jumped the gun a little in showing up so soon after opening.

Cathal and Meshelle Armstrong’s new baby is still getting its feet under itself. Lunch, originally set for a May 15 launch, has been pushed back to mid-June. Service is friendly, but shaky at times, especially when busy. We were charged for food we didn’t get; we got food we didn’t order. All was eventually straightened out, but it did take away from the experience, not to mention took time out of the evening. When our (very funny, very knowledgeable and very personable) waitress asked, with genuine concern, if there was something wrong with my cake or if I just didn’t like it, I felt a little bad telling her that the bent fork she had taken away 15 minutes before hadn’t been replaced.

Word on the street is that they’re having a tough time rounding up sufficiently experienced servers so far, and there’s still a lot of training going on in the dining room. This is heartening for the future of the eatery’s service, even if it makes things a little bumpy at present. Our party agreed, though, that the wrinkles can be ironed out with a little more time and that the food from Chef Shannon Overmiller mostly transcends everything else; and food’s the main reason we go out to eat, right?