5900 Bigger Rd.
Kettering, OH 45440
937.439.1664
website
It’s a neighborhood bar serving the southeastern suburbs of Dayton, but while you don’t hear much about Sea Jax Tavern outside of Centerville in Kettering, the locals swear by the place. This dive bar focuses on two things: good craft beer and good burgers. The pub grub and keep you coming back, but the charm of the place lies in its people. Yo u will probably not hear much about this place if you’re just passing through town; indeed many of its longstanding residents don’t even know about it. Sea Jax is definitely a hidden and low-key gem.
It’s a classic pub grub menu at Sea Jax, with burgers, sandwiches, fried goods and seafood on the menu.
- Texas Cowboy Burger: Bacon and grilled onions top this half-pound burger which is cooked to order. A spicy cheese adds a little something and a sweet barbecue sauce on the side. That patty is great, put a little of the sauce on it and you’ve got a great burger. The chips on the side are a bit salty, with some seasoned salt. It will fill you up.
- Poutine: A proverbial mountain of fries and top round steak smothered in gravy, onions and cheese. Easily feeds two for a full meal.
- Peel n eat Shrimp: Steamed shrimp is a happy hour favorite. Get them plain or get them with some seasoned salt, but either way a little cocktail sauce is perfect.
- Bulgogi Tacos: One of those seasonal options, these tacos are filled with the Korean-style grilled meat and kimchi, with a little bit of yum-yum sauce for a slight heat. Make it permanent!
- Grouper Fingers: This has to be my favorite app. Grouper flash-fried in a custom batter and served alongside a house tartar sauce. The batter is crisp and pepperey, while the fish inside is still soft and moist.
- Hummus and Veggie Bowl: It’s simple but still great. A bowl of hummus made in-house and served alongside chips and veggies. The hummus is flavorful without being too oily and it fits naturally with some light veggies.
- Fish tacos: Topped with fried grouper fingers and a huge slaw, these tacos are enormous, delicious and very filling.
- Clam chowder: The chowder is extra thick and heavy with the seafood, the thick soup is fantastic to start with.
- Linguini: The pasta is tasty, a bit sticky and perfect with a bit of salty cheese. Very tasty.
Service is good here, the restaurant is a community watering hole, so it has a tendency to be full at any hour of the day or weekend. The food can take a bit longer than average to get to you, owing to so much of it being made in-house and the place being popular. If you are patient though I think you will find the place to be pleasant.
The price points are pretty good, high normal and the craft beer menu is great, it is constantly rotating and there are plenty of specialty beers and rotating taps. The place is a good one to take a group of friends to talk; it has a dark interior without a lot of distractions. This place is about the food and the beer. In all I think Sea Jax is the epitome of the hidden gem, it doesn’t advertise and it’s so far out-of-the-way, but it’s full of people and you can’t blame them; you don’t want to miss this place.
Recommendations
- Sea Jax has a lunch special menu for cheap eats, mainly its sandwiches so it can be inexpensive to dine here.
- The burgers are the best thing on the menu and I would highly suggest trying one of the specialty patties for your first experience with Sea Jax.
- This is a great place to go to for seafood, unexpectedly.
Another Food Critic 