Cafe Mox

If you want to have a fun night with a date, don’t go here after 5pm on weekends. It’s a packed house and wait time for a table is crazy. Still, once you get seated you can grab a game to play and enjoy your company over a great selection of unusual beers. I’m sure this place is already making good money, but it could do so much better with more dinner seating and a bigger kitchen staff. We waited for over an hour to get our food. The servers are great, it’s just not well organized.

Great food and drinks, in a wonderful atmosphere! Our server Laura was amazing — checked in with us often and set up the party room for my husband’s birthday gathering on no notice.
Their private rooms are perfect for a game-​centric party! Beware of the appetizer sizes — they were all generous enough for a decent meal. We’ll definitely be back often!

High marks for excellent service and beverage acquisition, and for being attached to card kingdom, the previously mentioned most amazing game store I’ve ever been to.

They use a terrible waitlist app which made us wait for over an hour for no reason. It actually wrote out and sent them a text in my name that said «We changed our plans.» while still showing us that we were in line. (I don’t even know how that’s possible without it requesting permissions to use my messenger.) We only figured out it wasn’t working because eventually the app went bonkers, then crashed on us completely which threw up flags so we went up and asked.
Otherwise the service is slow but I think it’s intended to be that way so you have time to play games. Somewhat decent place for board/​card games but if they try to make you wait, just walk back out the door.

I am desperately in love with this place!
I honestly wish I had known about/​given this place a chance sooner. To begin, they offer a wide selection of board games to play — from the most basic to the most nerdy (but in a very good way). The waitstaff are extremely friendly and welcoming, very helpful with any questions I had and checked in with my party multiple times during our stay. In the boardroom side, the staff were knowledgeable about their products and recommended a great game ‘forbidden island’ for me and my friends to play. We had a blast!
The coffee selection is great, decent prices. I would return in a heartbeat.

Super cool place to hang out after dinner, especially if you want to keep entertained during the rain. They have a café, tournament room, general room and a couple hideouts where you can sit down with friends, have a drink and play games.
Ian, a guy who works there, recommended Beehive. It was a fun game for two.
Even though I’m not a game player, I totally liked this place!

Disappointing service tonight… got our order wrong. Told our waiter and after an hour of waiting to get the correct nachos. We just gave up. And lastly they forgot about us. Our server seems to want to meet and greet with her friends more than actually work.

This place is the coolest!
games, yummy food, and viking’s blood!!!

You’re here to play games not eat and drink; but actually the food and drink are exceptional. The menu is not high dining but neither is it gut busting.
Sandwiches, good beers on tap, hummus and pitas. It’s all perfect for getting a board game from the front counter to try out. Be careful you might spend hours on end here. Service is great, however it can be 100% packed at times– so find a spot at the bar if it is available and post up– you may not get the pick of the litter.

Awesome place! Wish we had one back at home!
Came here during our last day of our trip to Seattle and took an Über to this lovely café from downtown, where my competitiveness came out to punch some newbs in King of Tokyo. I came here roughly around 8 PM on a Sunday and we had to wait in line for a table. It was nice that you can leave them your number and they will text you when your table is ready. In the meanwhile, hop on over to Card Kingdom!
Café Mox is connected to Card Kingdom, which is a store with wide array of nerdy goodness… aka board games, card games /​trading cards, etc. There you will find a wall of board games that you can ask to borrow to play at your table in the café while you enjoy your food and drinks.
This café sells sandwiches, salads and some drinks (alcoholic and non-​alcoholic). They have a list of beers on draft and 2 ciders. I got the Ace Joker Cider, very crisp! All the drafts are at $ 5 each.
We only had enough time to play 3 board games before we had to head back to our hotel. the aforementioned King of Tokyo, Wits and Wagers, and Ticket to Ride. I had a lot of fun at this café. The waiter took a while to get our order but it didn’t bother us because we were very into our game. He had a good balance between letting us enjoy ourselves and catering to us.
Overall, I wish I could come back here! Café Mox & Card Kingdom is where I discovered my childhood self and how I really enjoy playing board games.

Café Mox is geeky heaven. This is the kind of place that could only exist in a culture like Seattle’s where there’s plenty of tech money and geekery floating around, but I’ve been surprised by how many other people seem to benefit from the geeky tech money that keeps this place in business.
If you’re reading this review, there’s a good chance you’re aware of the subculture of intensely complicated board games that challenge you in a meaningful way – this is not the place to look for Candyland and High Ho Cheerio. The selection is incredible, and the prices are fair for the quality of game you’re getting.
What really sets this place apart from all of the similar board/​card gaming stores in Seattle, though, is that it’s attached to a delightful little café where you can actually play your board game and commune with other nerds who own multiple expansions of Dominion. Their library of board games to borrow numbers in the hundreds, maybe even thousands, so even if you’re not ready to commit to your own Settlers of Catan, chances are, you’ll find something to intrigue you.
The food in the café is pretty acceptable; a three star on it’s own. They have a nice selection of sandwiches and pub food, even a few unusual things here and there, and it’s about what you’d expect from a mid grade tavern. They also have a fine selection of beer floats, and a very personable waitstaff who will be happy to acquaint you with the best menu choices and the ins and outs of the various craft beers.
The first time I walked into Café Mox, I expected it to be full to capacity with nerdy guys in their 20’s and 30’s. It did not disappoint. That said, I also have seen a surprising number of women, grandparents bringing their nerdy grandkids to find truly challenging games (You go Grandpa!) and families.
So if you’re in the market for Ticket to Ride, looking to commune with other nerds, or just trying to find a way to challenge your kid who keeps whooping your ass at monopoly, give this place a go. I highly recommend it.

First big improvement over my last trip. The food was better and the draft menu was correct. The guy would got me a table was really helpful. Our waitress Jennie really had a great attitude and was good at service. I am only knocking it because she got busy and less helpful when I was trying to pay my check.
Second the manager was great at customer service for my last issue. I am hoping the experience was a fluke.

I was destroyed at Cataan and still I’m posting a 5-​Star review lol. Super-​friendly bartenders and wait staff, really good menu choices for food and beverages, and overall a great dark and dungeony setting to get your board games on. Feel free to borrow from Card Kingdom’s huge library of games. They prefer that groups of 4+ get dibs on the booths and larger tables though, and exceptions are considered depending on how busy they get.

I haven’t had a bad experience yet with Café Mox and I don’t expect to. This is a great place to have game night and have some great food. I’ve tried nearly all of the sandwiches here and am impressed! I do find that their potato salad is a bit rich for my taste, however. It’s ok to bring young ones in here but there is a bar area for the elders as well. No hard A served here– so be mindful of that– but their beer list has always been impressive. Staff are super friendly and are ready to share their knowledge of gaming as well.
You’re able to rent the back red room for any party needs but this place is also connected with Card Kingdom. There’s outdoor seating which is heated in the cold months. If there’s no seating available you can be put on the waitlist and texted when there is one available for you. I’ve usually stay a few hours with my friends with no issues at all so a long wait might be expected.

Food: 3.5÷5
Service: ³⁄₅
Ambiance: ⁵⁄₅
This is a fun place to go with the right group of people. Café Mox is the bar/​restaurant connected to a game store, where you can borrow games for free to play while eating or drinking a beer.
They literally have every game. The workers at the game store are super helpful and can recommend games you haven’t played before if you’re looking to play something new! We ended up playing Splendor and it was actually really fun!
Foodwise, the place is okay. We had the
— ghost pepper grilled cheese
— jalepeno/​olive chicken grilled cheese (my favorite)
— pesto chicken sandwich (really like a wrap but it’s called a sandwich)
Sandwiches come with your choice of pasta salad or chips or casear salad for extra. The grilled cheeses were actually pretty good! I liked the bread, they reminded me of texas toast. Fluffy and buttery. I really enjoyed the jalepeno/​olive chicken one. I love both jalepenos and olives and the flavors worked well together. The other sandwiches were pretty tasty too but nothing too surprising. The sandwiches taste like you think they would from the descriptions. The ghost pepper sandwich will build up in heat, so be prepared.
Keep in mind, the games you play with might not be the cleanest… people touch everything with beer or food covered fingers, so don’t be surprised. It’s a really fun place though! You can bring your own games to play too :)
If you’re still in the mood for games afterwards, head to Full Tilt ice cream for dessert and games!

A place where you can eat, drink AND play geeky board games? I’m sold.
The adjacent Card Kingdom is worth a trip in itself, but when you’ve got a mini-​crew that’s feeling a little peckish. why not be able to satisfy that right next door? Epic and awesome that you can borrow games from the shelves behind the register. for free! Plus, since you’re playing games, there’s really no rush to kick you out of the place either.
I think a lot of the lackluster reviews have been on account of the «bad» service, which I think can mainly be attributed to the fact that most people are playing games while they’re there, and the food is secondary. The servers don’t rush you out, they really leave you be while you play your games. I am sure if you need something, you’ll raise your hand to call someone over. The menu isn’t huge, but it is diverse. There’s something for everyone, and it’s pretty simple. but tasty!
It’s a great concept; pick a game to play for free, go next door and get a bite to eat or a couple drinks and play chosen game. Also a fantastic way to test drive some games prior to playing. It’s definitely worked, as I am definitely buying some new games after trying them out.

I like the concept of this place, but I have a few gripes:
1. The menu is pretty limited. Creative, but limited.
2. The prices are pretty high, although this may be because people tend to stay longer than a typical restaurant, so they aren’t able to seat as many people in a given day.
3. We had a hard time getting our server’s attention from the patio, which was the only area open at the time.
Having been to AFK Tavern up in Everett, I would have to say that one wins out for the fact that it is more family friendly (I believe kids are allowed in Mox, but the décor and atmosphere say «bar»), the menu is extensive, and they have video games as well. If it weren’t so far away from Seattle…

Not impressed. At first my coworkers and I were pretty stoked that they have board games and you can drink and eat, but once we got there, thare really wasn’t any spot for us to sit. So I shared a chair with my coworker so 5 ppl were sitting on a 4 chairs with if table (we were on the outside area with heated room).
The staff came up and told us only 4 ppl can sit. There were some empty seats behind us. We asked them if we could possibly sit there then, and they said no.
Also the service took FOREVER.
Not impressed.

Wow, a food and bar place for nerds!
Saturday night, what do we do? Came here, ordered some snacks/​drinks and played games!
We didn’t have to wait too long for a table and we were able to play about two games. The only food we got was the Pita Bread with Hummus, Tzatziki, and Tapenade. It wasn’t bad but we wished we had more Pita Bread.
We were able to order craft beers and played our games so we are happy!

I swear there’s something about the businesses in Seattle that’s having me give ‘em all 5 stars. Café Mox continues that streak for a couple of reasons.
1. Located right next door to its brightly lit brother Card Kingdom, Café Mox is the moody, goth twin brother. The atmosphere in Café Mox is completely different! Velvet booths, dim lighting, hanging chandeliers, dark wood, and even a red room, this is some vampire ish. I really liked it!
2. Service is super. Everyone is so nice and helpful. They come to check up on you and don’t try to rush you at all.
3. Food is okay and drinks are good too. I was only able to try their mint chip frozen custard, which I thought was just alright. But I wish I could have tried their savory items! Til next time.
4. Being connected to a board game store gives Café Mox so many advantages. People are able to take board games from behind the counter of Card Kingdom and bring them to the café to demo. How cool is that?! I still can’t get over how awesome that is. More time spent at the café equals more food/​drink ordered equals profit. Cha-​ching! Lol
In the end, Café Mox rounds out the five-​star experience I had at Seattle. Bravo!
**PS. Since there’s usually a wait for a table, you can give your number to the host to RSVP and they will text you when there’s an availability. Making good use of technology there!