Waiting Staff
Ajé Cafe and Studio, Ilkley
Full Time and Part Time Positions | Start date: Approximately 21st September 2026
Wage - NMW -£13ph depending on experience, plus tips based on hours work, split between the team.
Ajé is a new independent restaurant, café and wellness space opening in Ilkley, and we’re looking for warm, enthusiastic and switched-on waiting staff to join the team from the beginning.
This is a very hands-on role and we’re looking for people who genuinely enjoy hospitality.
People who notice when a guest needs something before they ask. People who can move quickly without looking rushed. People who take pride in the small details, support the rest of the team and understand that good service should feel natural rather than scripted.
Ajé is more than a single restaurant service, so everyone joining us will work within a business that changes throughout the day and week.
Ajé by Day is our main daytime restaurant and café, open seven days a week. It combines a proper food offer with speciality coffee, fresh juices, smoothies and a relaxed but precise style of service.
Daytime shifts may involve breakfast, coffee, lunch and afternoon service, with a mix of regulars, people visiting the yoga studio, families, people working locally and guests visiting Ilkley.
We want the room to feel relaxed, but the service behind it needs to be organised, attentive and consistent.
Ajé by Night runs on Friday and Saturday evenings and changes the pace of the space. It becomes a more intimate, reservations-led restaurant with a chef-led menu, carefully selected wines and a technically ambitious cocktail programme.
Evening service will be more detailed, with greater emphasis on menu knowledge, wine, cocktails, pacing and individual guest experience, while still remaining warm and unstuffy.
Ajé Cellar is our more informal wine and drinks offer, centred around interesting bottles, sherry, cocktails, charcuterie, cheese and small plates.
Depending on your shifts and experience, you may work across the Cellar as well as the main restaurant, so an interest in wine and drinks is very welcome.
Alongside the hospitality business sits the Ajé yoga and wellness studio, with regular yoga classes, memberships, private sessions and workshops.
You won’t be expected to manage or teach anything within the studio, but you will often be welcoming people who are moving between different parts of Ajé. Someone might arrive for yoga and stay for coffee, come in for lunch and ask about a class, or return later in the week for dinner.
We want the whole place to feel connected rather than like several separate businesses under one roof.
The role
As part of the floor team, you’ll be responsible for helping deliver consistently excellent service across Ajé.
That includes welcoming guests, taking orders, serving food and drinks, clearing and resetting tables, understanding the menu, answering questions and helping the wider team keep service running smoothly.
You’ll be expected to learn the food properly rather than simply repeat a description from a menu.
The same applies to coffee, wine and cocktails. You do not need to arrive as an expert, but you should be interested in what we serve and willing to learn enough to talk about it confidently with guests.
When your section is quiet, you’ll help somewhere else.
When another member of the team is busy, you’ll notice.
We want a floor team that works together rather than people who only look after their own tables.
We’re looking for someone who:
- Ideally has previous restaurant, café or hospitality experience, although exceptional applicants with the right attitude will definitely be considered.
- Is naturally warm, friendly and confident with guests.
- Enjoys being busy and working as part of a team.
- Is organised, reliable and punctual.
- Can stay calm and positive during a busy service.
- Notices details and takes pride in doing things properly.
- Is interested in food, coffee, wine and cocktails.
- Is willing to learn and develop their knowledge.
- Is comfortable talking to guests without sounding scripted.
- Understands when to be attentive and when to give a table space.
- Helps colleagues without needing to be asked.
- Has high standards without unnecessary ego or attitude.
Previous knowledge of speciality coffee, wine or cocktails is useful, but it is not essential for every applicant.
What matters more is curiosity, enthusiasm and a willingness to learn.
We will provide continual training across food, speciality coffee, wine, cocktails and service so that the whole team understands what we serve and why we serve it.
What we offer
- Full-time and part-time positions in a new independent business.
- The opportunity to join Ajé from opening and help establish the culture of the restaurant.
- Continual training and development.
- Shared tips throughout the team, distributed according to hours worked.
- Staff discount across Ajé.
- Free yoga classes or discounted studio membership.
- Workplace pension where applicable.
- Statutory holiday entitlement.
We’re building a small, ambitious team of people who care about hospitality, enjoy what they do and take pride in the details.
You don’t need to be overly formal or have years of restaurant experience. We’re much more interested in people with personality, awareness, energy and a genuine desire to look after guests properly.
If that sounds like you, we’d like to hear from you.
Please apply with your CV and a short introduction telling us a little about yourself, your hospitality experience and why Ajé interests you.
Work Location: In person
