What a great restaurant!
We had dinner there a month ago. The service and food were excellent. This is a classic old style steak house. We were also surprised to find out how good the seafood was. The prices were moderate to high, but well worth every dollar.    [27 Mar 2006 01:22:13]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Prime rib, pan fried oysters, and crab cakes

     ­John Harris   

Loved It
My wife and I choose to dine here amongst other places in Bellingham. We travel quite a bit so we also dine out a lot. We were pleasantly greeted by the host and were soon seated. The menu selection was great and we went with our servers recommendation. We felt the service was top notch and the historic brick and wood interior unique and well kept. Even though we spent over thirty dollars each, the value was above our expectations. Dale and Lanny    [15 Feb 2007 20:19:02]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 

     ­Dale Bulanow   

Wost Experience Ever...
First, we had to wait over 50 min. for our food. Throughout this entire time, all we received was a basket of bread containing two pieces of bread, and a glass of water. We did not complain.

We were pretty disappointed when the food arrived. The mashed potatoes were cold, and tasted like they were made from a box. The shrimp and crabs that we got were sour, and were certainly far from being fresh. I was hungry, but after taking a bite, I decided to not finish the meal.

My girlfriend's steak was luke-warm, but it was edible. Certainly not what you expect of a $30 steak, though.

The manager comes, middle 40's, and says exactly the following.

Owner: "OK, I am the owner here, and I am going to make you tell me what was wrong with the food."

I have never have had anyone approach me like that at a restaurant.

I: "Excuse me...?"

O: "You sent the food back, I want you to tell me what was wrong with it. We have excellent food here, and I hire good chefs (and pay them) good money to do their jobs."

I: "Well, I certainly don't appreciate you treating us rudely during our date."

O:"I am not being rude. I want you to tell me what was wrong with the meal."

I: "OK, we weren't going to say this, but if you insist - I am sorry to say, but the mashed potatoes were cold, and the shrimps were sour, and were just not acceptable. It is not what I expect out of a 25$ meal"

O: "What? That's not possible"

My girlfriend: "I'm sorry, we don't usually complain, but we waited 50 min. to be served with little in between, and my steak was not as warm as it should be, either."

O: "Well, you came in without a reservation, and you are complaining that you were waiting for 15 min?!"

She said this really rudely.

I:"No, we waited for fifty min."

O: "No, that's not possible. No, no, no, no."

Why don't you just apologize and asked the waitress? She would know.

O: "Really, tell me what was really wrong."

I: "Miss, do you mind if we talk outside...? I prefer not to have this kind of...argument, or conversation rather...in front of my girlfriend."

O: "No, you are going to tell me right here, right now."

I: "No, if you want to talk to me, I do not want to do it in front of a lady. Please give me the check. We would like to leave now."

O: "OK, fine."

Steps outside from the room that my girlfriend and I were in.

O: "You know what? I don't want to talk to you in front of my customers either. Let's go"

And she goes to the front of the restaurant.

I: "OK, I really do not want to say this, and I can't believe I am saying this at a "nice" restaurant, but what you just did to us in there were absolutely unacceptable."

O: "Well, calling our food "unacceptable" is not very nice either. We have excellent food here. Everyone enjoys our food."

I: "Miss, we were just trying to have a good time. We were not meaning to complain, but we waited 50 minutes for something that is not acceptable, and you come and yell at us during our date..."

O: "I was not yelling, and I was not rude."

I: "OK. This is ridiculous."

O: "Look, I am not charging you for anything. What else do you want me to do? what else?”

I: "Its fine. I can pay for the meal - that's not the problem. All I want you to do is to go in there, and apologize to my girlfriend for your unacceptable behavior. This is not what I expect out of a 60$ meal at a nice restaurant."

O:"No, I don't want your money. By the way, I expect something out of my customers as well."

Note - this is exactly what we said. At this point, I just said,

I: "You know what, we are just going to take off. Have a nice night."

On my way out, I told her politely, "Thank you. have a nice night."

I want to remind you, that this really happened. Yes, at a restaurant where it costs more than $20 a meal.

I have never been so insulted in my life.

The owner obviously did not know what the hell was going on in the kitchen. all she had to say was, "I am sorry, we are just so busy that we may have had some trouble controlling the quality of food that we serve. We will work on that. May I offer you some free dessert?"

Do not go to Dirty Dan's.    [21 Oct 2007 10:34:21]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 

     ­Shin Kobayashi   president dot nwga at gmail dot com