Where to eat at Casino Ajax and Ajax Downs
Where to eat at Casino Ajax
Getaway Restaurant sits in the same building as the slot hall and the Ajax Downs track at Alexander's Crossing. Kitchen hours and machine hours are not the same thing. Plenty of guests find that out hungry at eleven.
On a busy night you catch fryer smell by the dining-room door, then slot noise ten steps away. Parking, ID, and how the three clocks line up live on the arrive and play guide. Cabinets and electronic tables are on the on the floor games page. Tonight's board: 905-985-4888, 1-866-445-3939, or ask at the host stand.
Getaway Restaurant — breakfast, lunch, and dinner bands (not 24/7)
One full-service restaurant on the property. No hotel tower of dining rooms. No Pickering-style row of concepts under one roof.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner run on shifts. Read the sign at the door. Specials rotate. If a birthday depends on one entrée from an old photo, phone first.
Time you want food | What to expect | Before you drive |
|---|---|---|
Weekend morning / race day | Busier brunch lane | Check door sign |
Lunch | Break from the floor | Hours change by day |
Dinner, then play | Most common plan | Stakes Saturdays fill up |
| What to expect | Busier brunch lane |
|---|---|
| Before you drive | Check door sign |
| What to expect | Break from the floor |
|---|---|
| Before you drive | Hours change by day |
| What to expect | Most common plan |
|---|---|
| Before you drive | Stakes Saturdays fill up |
| What to expect | Kitchen often closed |
|---|---|
| Before you drive | Eat on the way in |
Last seating can end while the slot floor still runs. Kitchen closed is not the same as casino closed.
Friday night the host stand can look like any chain restaurant, except half the shoes came off the gaming carpet. Summer race cards fill booths faster. The place does not hold a table while you watch three races. Split groups should pick a time to meet. The reception in the building is spotty.
Six checks before you drive for dinner at Getaway:
- Phone 905-985-4888 or read the door board if food matters more than spins
- Carry 19+ photo ID — you may walk through the gaming floor to reach the room
- Race Saturdays: add twenty minutes for parking and the host line
- Using the 20% dining perk? Guest Services first, then order
- Past midnight, assume no kitchen and eat before you arrive
- Patio in July, AC inside — bring a layer for the slot area
What lands on the plate — eggs at brunch, pub plates, and teriyaki bowls (verify tonight's list)
Great Canadian describes Getaway as fresh lunch and dinner favourites in a relaxed room. That is pub-and-grill territory, not a white-tablecloth tower. Recent operator notices also flagged modified hours and a reduced menu during staffing or renovation stretches. Anything you saw on an old menu PDF might be gone. The sign at the host stand wins.
When the kitchen runs the full board, published menus from past seasons grouped dishes like this:
Menu lane | Examples guests still talk about | Why it matters at Ajax |
|---|---|---|
Breakfast | Two-egg plates, toast, home fries | Quietest seat on many weekday mornings |
Pub comfort | Fries, burgers, ribeye steak | Familiar casino-hall food between slot runs |
Asian-style mains | Chicken teriyaki, lo mein, udon noodles | Heavier than grabbing fries at the bar |
| Examples guests still talk about | Two-egg plates, toast, home fries |
|---|---|
| Why it matters at Ajax | Quietest seat on many weekday mornings |
| Examples guests still talk about | Fries, burgers, ribeye steak |
|---|---|
| Why it matters at Ajax | Familiar casino-hall food between slot runs |
| Examples guests still talk about | Chicken teriyaki, lo mein, udon noodles |
|---|---|
| Why it matters at Ajax | Heavier than grabbing fries at the bar |
| Examples guests still talk about | Specialty pizza, greens |
|---|---|
| Why it matters at Ajax | Shared lunch when half the group is on the rail |
| Examples guests still talk about | Bread pudding cheesecake and similar |
|---|---|
| Why it matters at Ajax | Ask what survived the last menu trim |
Getaway at the crossing — a few facts that are not on the slot machine screen
The name matches the old Picov Downs rhythm. You drove east for Quarter Horses, then wanted a plate before the 401 home. When OLG slots opened beside the oval in 2006, Getaway became the sit-down room for a track-first address that grew into a permanent machine hall.
It is still the only full-service restaurant on the property. Simulcast lounges handle screens and betting buzz. Getaway handles servers, booths, and a real kitchen line.
Great Canadian Rewards comp dollars can be used at Getaway according to the operator's restaurant directory. That is one more reason to grab a card at Guest Services if you eat here more than once a season. Earn rates and tier perks are on the bonuses and rewards page.
Hours are where facts get messy. Track marketing has listed restaurant service around 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Great Canadian has posted 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. with a reduced menu during disruption periods. Those windows will not always agree. Call 905-985-4888 the day you go. Do not trust a screenshot from last summer.
Race-day appetite versus a late-night slots marathon — when eating plans break
Hot July Saturday: patio noise, full lot, backed-up host stand. Cold February Wednesday: quiet rail, maybe no wait. Same property, different night.
Live cards May–October swell the grandstand. The patio is outdoor rail watching, not a backup kitchen. Many locals eat, then play. Or they catch two races, eat, head out before traffic stacks on the 401. A stakes card is not a slow Tuesday.
Adults splitting time between minors on the rail and a table inside need a plan. Someone usually stays outside with kids while another eats fast indoors. Talk it through before post time.
After midnight on a weekday the oval is often dark, slots still on, Getaway likely done. Eat in the car or stop on the 401 on the way in. The lounge may show a simulcast. Ask whether they are serving food. Do not assume.
Night type | Lot / floor | Food |
|---|---|---|
Stakes Saturday | Tight parking, busy door | Eat early or wait |
2 a.m. weekday | Quiet machines | Kitchen probably done |
Simulcast only | Lounge TVs | Getaway if open, else ask lounge |
| Lot / floor | Tight parking, busy door |
|---|---|
| Food | Eat early or wait |
| Lot / floor | Quiet machines |
|---|---|
| Food | Kitchen probably done |
| Lot / floor | Lounge TVs |
|---|---|
| Food | Getaway if open, else ask lounge |
Long slot session and you need a seat and a plate? Getaway is the indoor break. Machine layout is on the on the floor games page.
Railside patio and grandstand — outdoor layer only
The patio and grandstand run in warm months. Sun, wind, horses on the rail. Drinks and watching fit. Full dinner service does not, unless staff tell you otherwise.
Track age rules and slot-floor 19+ rules differ. Short answers on the questions answered page. Plated meals stay at Getaway.
Anniversary and birthday perks — when the 20% dining discount is the better pick
Great Canadian Rewards members with a birthday or anniversary perk may pick C$10 free play or 20% off dining. Family dinner at Getaway usually points to the discount. Quick in-and-out slots with no meal points to free play.
The cut applies to eligible dining charges, not every comp fantasy. Alcohol, tax, and what counts as casino dining follow operator rules. Guest Services holds the account. Your server rings what the system allows.
Welcome offer, Monday cashback, Wednesday reload, and online tiers stay on the bonuses and rewards page. If the desk cannot see your perk live, do not order against it.
Card signup: arrive and play guide.
Pickering resort dining — when Durham visitors head toward Pickering for a bigger restaurant lineup
Dinner at Getaway plus the Ajax floor is the usual Durham repeat. Same free lot, same ~500 machines, rail in summer if you want it.
Pickering means a longer trip west on the 401 for more restaurant choice and live dealer tables under one resort roof. Hub compare on the Durham Crossing guide.
Some people do a big dinner at Pickering one weekend and Ajax slots another. Others stick to Getaway so nobody drives east tired after wine.
What people grumble about (and what they come back for)
Regulars mention lunch without a downtown drive, a table a short walk from the machines, and summer rail noise followed by cold AC inside. They also mention lunch prices that beat core Toronto when the kitchen is actually open.
Complaints cluster around kitchen-off while slots still take bills, slow turns when the card is live, expecting 24/7 food because the hall never closes, a shorter menu than Pickering, and a long outdoor walk in January dressed for indoors only.