Bellingham Restaurants
One of the wonderful things about Bellingham is the variety of restaurants offered throughout the city. As you walk through Fairhaven or downtown Bellingham you might notice an array of locally owned, colorful restaurants each with their own unique character, lining the streets.
Fairhaven Restaurants
Fairhaven is the famed historic district on the south side of town which overlooks the bay. The southern portion of Bellingham with its towering brick buildings make home for popular restaurants such as the Colophon Café, the Harris Avenue Café, Avenue Bread, Skylarks, Mambo Italiano, Win’s Drive-In, A.W. Asian Bistro, Dirty Dan Harris, Dos Padres, Coppa Mediterranean Bistro, the Flats, and Fino, among other local favorites.
Centrally located in Fairhaven, the Colophon Café is attached to Village Books and has quirky character and homemade taste; great soups and sandwiches, desserts and ice cream. The restaurant pays tribute to its long time mascot, Mama Colophon, who just so happens to be a dairy cow in tennis shoes.
About twenty paces up the street, Harris Avenue Café serves superb breakfast. The restaurant shares the building with Tony’s Coffee which is a habitual hangout for locals desiring exceptional espresso drinks.
Avenue Bread is a busy hot spot serving splendid bread, unlike any you’ve had before. The restaurant serves breakfast and lunch daily with fresh ingredients and pastries baked each morning.
Skylarks, Dos Padres and Win’s Drive-In are restaurants that have grown and developed with Bellingham in Fairhaven, ranking as favorites for several decades.
Mambo Italiano smells delicious as soon as you walk through the doors. You’ll catch a glimpse of a cook tossing pizza dough into the air. The restaurant offers unique pizza recipes, traditional Italian dishes and showcases local artists on the walls.
Coppa Mediterranean Bistro and the Flats are among the few restaurants in Bellingham that feature tapas, a style of Mediterranean meal where an assortment of appetizers is ordered to share, preferably over wine.
Fino Wine Bar & Fine Food is located in the Chrysalis Inn & Spa and offers fine dining with a waterfront view.
Downtown Bellingham Restaurants
Downtown Bellingham has equally enticing restaurants to explore. Threaded between shops, many local restaurants possess delicious secrets to lure in passing appetites. Some great Bellingham favorites for breakfast include Café Toulouse, Little Cheerful, the Mount Bakery, the Bagelry, Diamond Jim’s, Arlis’s Restaurant, Old Town Café and La Vie En Rose. Old Town Café and the Mount Bakery serve a majority of organic ingredients.
Dinner downtown in Bellingham will always be a pleasant and taste bud affirming experience. Some of the best restaurants to go for lunch or dinner are Chiribins, La Fiamma Woodfire Pizza, the new Bob’s Burger and Brew, the Callaloo, Boundary Bay Brewery & Bistro, Jimmy’s Thai Cuisine, Taco Lobo, the Wild Garlic, Nimbus, the Shrimp Shack, D’ Anna’s, and the Pepper Sisters.
If you still have room after dinner, Mallard Ice Cream is among the greatest ice cream in the world, or at least in Bellingham. Nationally acclaimed, the ice cream shop perfects unusual recipes that have daring names such as lemon pepper, rose, lavender, cayenne, coconut chocolate chunk, jalapeño, basil, and seasonal flavors like pumpkin.
Are you feeling hungry yet?
One thing’s for sure; there is no shortage of good restaurants in Bellingham.
Written by local writer – Elisa |