Avenue bread is a great place to grab dinner when you're on the go. I ordered the BEAST burger…read moreminus the tomato, and it was delicious! The garlic aioli was really tasty and a nice addition. Note that they do serve tater tots after 4, but you have to specify when you're ordering, otherwise it's just kettle cooked chips (which were also good). There's a self-serve fountain drink station, and a separate tap for water, as well as a fridge of bottled drinks. The staff was friendly and there's plenty of seating, including an upstairs seating area. I loved looking around the adjoining bookstore before deciding on my food. The tables and seats were rustic, in a comforting old fashioned way.

Amazing breakfast and coffee. Definitely worth the visit. Eggs were poached a little too long and…read morebeware. ..the hollandaise is spicy! Delicious.

The avocado toast was excellent. My granddaughter had a waffle and a bowl of roasted potatoes. She…read moreate every bite. Great spot for breakfast or brunch. The charcuterie boards in the case were absolutely beautiful.

If you're looking for a sweet spot to eat great food, have excellent coffee and visit with friends,…read morethis is it. The staff are friendly and serve their guests well. I've tried many items on the menu and have yet to have anything I wouldn't order again. The upstairs loft is ideal for bigger groups. When someone wants to get together, I always suggest Graze and Gather.

First time visit. Great little breakfast place, it was nice and busy, which is always a good sign…read moreMy wife had the basic two egg hash brown toast breakfast very good. I had the pork Verde skillet breakfast. Excellent very tasty gigantic portion and the coffee was good too. Definitely will come back here again. Rachel was a great waitress, very friendly and cheerful

A timeless Bellingham staple, The Little Cheerful Cafe sits on a bustling corner downtown, and…read moreserves up some of the best breakfast you can find in the city. On a typical weekend morning you will find this lively restaurant packed wall to wall with hungry patrons who return time and time again to enjoy a great meal, lucky for us the hostess was able to greet us with a friendly smile and bring us to our table without any wait. Once we were settled in our seats, a waiter came and took our order with the same smile and great attitude as our hostess. While we waited for our food my wife and I sipped on a couple of mimosas off the cocktail menu and enjoyed the view from the corner window. I have tried out many different meals during my visits here, but I always go back to their scrambles. Today I tried the Bham Scram. Scrambled eggs are mixed up with house made apple chicken sausage, sun-dried tomatoes and onions all on top of a heap of hash browns that are cooked to crispy perfection and seasoned perfectly. Of course on top of all that there is a generous serving of goat and cheddar cheese, then finally sliced avocado. If you choose this dish I hope you bring an empty stomach! All of their scrambles come with your choice of toast, english muffin or a house made biscuit. I suggest topping any of these options with their homemade jam. Little Cheerful will always be a favorite of mine. I recommend this spot to anyone that is looking for a delicious and filling breakfast while visiting downtown Bellingham.

A Wednesday at 8:25 am meant a 10 minute wait to be seated although 4 tables sat empty with dishes…read morefrom patrons who vacated more than 5 to 10 minutes prior. Coffee took almost 10 minutes to be brought to the table after we ordered--it appeared it was the bottom of the pot with grounds at the bottom--the waitress checked on us and a few minutes later returned with a new cup full of coffee and more creamer. But my wife's cup sat empty. Hmmm. At 8:39 am food arrived and tasted fantastic; as usual. It slowed with no one waiting to be seated at 9:08 am. We sat waiting for our check for more than 10 minutes. One noisy customer could be heard throughout the restaurant. Not sure what was so funny multiple times that he had to share his annoying laughter. It wasn't pleasant nor needed.

It took over 20 minutes just to have someone acknowledge that we had been seated and were ready to…read moreorder. The food came out in a reasonable time but we found the chili spicy but otherwise flavorless. The omelet was okay but again didn't really stand out. It's nice to have vegan options but pesto sauce was missing from falafel which again made it okay but nothing we would return for.

great new menu!! friendly staff!! quiet and peacefull backyard seating! beer garden is nice for…read moregatherings. can accommodate larger groups. online ordering and call in orders accepted.

idk why there are any bad reviews. the people are super nice, food is amazing, prices aren't bad,…read moreand everything is cooked fresh. great mountain dinner atmosphere as well

This was the single most mixed experience breakfast I've had in Bellingham. And the most promising…read moreone. Let me explain. I used to be a regular patron at Diamond Jim's. It was my favorite breakfast place in Bellingham. Then... they changed the menu... and eliminated my beloved Greek omelette. After this blasphemy,I never forgave them and stopped going. Last night while perusing breakfast eateries for my Saturday morning ritual, I came across Grouchy's. The review said it was Diamond Jim's, but revamped with better food. And in perusing the menu online, no Greek omelette.... a mistake they should rectify, but I decided to give it a try. This must be a very recent rebranding because the outside of the building still says Diamond Jim's...inside looks pretty much the same. I went in later on a Saturday morning to avoid the inevitable, huge rush, and was promptly seated by a nice waitress. Coffee was ordered and sampled... Meh, utility coffee is what I would call it, it functioned as reasonably serviceable but forgettable caffeine delivery. Water was also provided without request, a nice touch. I ordered the chicken fried steak, two eggs over easy, English muffins...which are the superior form of two dimensional like carb delivery. We'll start with the eggs over easy. They were perfectly done, not runny, not crunchy just as eggs over easy should be. However, included with the eggs was some of the gravy that had been liberally applied to nearly everything. And I'm 61 not four, it doesn't bug me that my food has been mixed together a little bit and is "touching" After my first bite, whoa... what's this? A bit spicy. I hadn't put any hot sauce on, but there was a nice little kick to the eggs... which turned out to be the sausage gravy. Yes, the gravy. Simply put this is the best white sausage gravy I've ever had in Bellingham. Period. It had this really nice background spice to it that wasn't overwhelming, was not hot enough to ruin the rest of the meal or to make my coffee taste too hot, which is what spicy food can sometimes do. It had nice big chunks of sausage in it. It was delicious! Unfortunately... it went over two chicken fried steak patties... and the first one was tough and overcooked... The second one was a little bit less so. Had the chicken fried steak been well cooked then this would be God tier for Bellingham. Instead, it fell under the category of pretty damn good...because of the gravy. The English muffins... they were tasty as English muffins tend to be, but for future reference, please put them on a separate plate because as much as I don't mind most of my food covered with gravy, I do make an exception for my muffins. And maybe be consider adding in some jelly or better yet, preserves as an option on the table. There was none of that provided. There was honey so I use that, but I'd prefer some nice berry preserves. The muffins were good but a little bit soggy because they had been drowned in butter. I'd like them crispy and I'll put my own butter on. Thank you very much. And then we have the hash browns. Frankly, most places in Bellingham get hashbrowns completely wrong. It's obvious they are from a bag and tend to be overly crispy and dried out. Not these. Simply put, these are the best hashbrowns in Bellingham, I'd say approaching God tier. The perfect combination of a little bit crispy and soft, and instead of tasting like a ketchup and hot sauce delivery device, these actually had flavor to them.... damn good flavor. Somebody is doing these right. Conclusion: just a couple of little tweaks and this will be the best chicken fried steak breakfast in Bellingham. Just a couple of small little tweaks and touches and this place is going to be absolutely jam packed... especially if jam is included. The bill, nearly $30. Is that expensive? For Bellingham, unfortunately, not anymore. Will I go back? There's so much promise here that yes I will definitely be back to try something else. .

The place was packed with several groups waiting out front to be seated, 25 minute wait. When we…read morewere seated, we were immediately served water but no menus. 10 minutes later the menus arrived. We had our order taken after another 15 minutes. After another 30 minutes the food arrived. The salmon eggs Benedict I ordered look and smelled good. It did not taste so good. There was plenty of hollandaise sauce but it tasted like it needed salt and more eggs, disappointing. The salmon was tasted fine but that was pretty much it. The rest of the benedict was as bad as the sauce. Overall, lots of waiting and disappointments. Not coming back.

In town for the night, we were looking for a place to watch the game and Northwater had solid…read morereviews, so we decided to give it a try. Our server was outstanding. They happily put the game on when we asked and were very attentive throughout our visit, which made a great first impression. I ordered the burger with bacon and blue cheese and requested no condiments. I think there may have been some confusion in the kitchen, as the garnishes were left off as well, but our server promptly brought them out when asked. Unfortunately, the burger itself was overcooked and lacked flavor. The ciabatta roll was only partially toasted, and overall the dish fell a bit flat. The fries, however, were excellent hot, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and absolutely delicious. I don't usually like coated fries, but these were a home run. My dining partner ordered the BLT and said the sandwich was great overall. We also shared the mozzarella sticks appetizer. They were a bit different from traditional mozzarella sticks, thicker cheese with a heavier breading. While they were good, I felt the order should have included six instead of four. Overall, even though we were one of only two tables in the restaurant, we had a great lunch, thanks largely to the excellent service.

Best French dip sando in the whole PNW! Brings a tear to my eyes. Grilled onions, incredibly tasty…read morethin yet hearty steak, gryere cheese, perfectly melted on fresh baguette and cooked to perfection. The servers are attentive and friendly... this has been my go-to secret spot for years, but now I just gotta share and applaud them! Bravo, Northwater!

Yelp says "Permanently closed" - Not True!!!!! Still in…read moreFairhaven, 1220 Harris Ave in Sycamore Square. Love the scrumptious pastries!!!

How I heard of this place: My sister's ventured here one morning and decided when we were next in…read moretown, they would bring us to try the yummy cafe food/drink and enjoy the historic, unabashedly Bellingham vibe. Type of cuisine: Espresso beverages, croissant-based pastries and breakfast/lunch sandwiches. Sweet pastries also available, though we were in a savory mood on this visit. Ambiance: Well, the literal hole-in-the-wall that is Shirlee Bird has very little to speak of, though the tiny space, including the display of food offerings is cluttered and packed full of everything. Merchandise, artwork, food and supplies cover every inch of the small walk-up counter space. The vibe is chill and very Bellingham from the 90s. It's sweet and nostalgic. We were happy to see that tables and chairs are available inside the building's lobby courtyard, complete with fountain feature. We took our spots and explored the historic building, climbing several floors of stairs and noticing the businesses housed within until our food/beverages were ready. What I ordered: The Croissant ($13) and The Griller ($13), as well as a sundried tomato, pesto gallette were our food orders. A dark chocolate mocha, an Americano, and two steamed milks with caramel sauce for dessert beverages. What I loved: The mocha, while way to hot to sip for quite some time, had a lovely, deep, dark flavor, not too sweet and well-balanced. The sandwiches were yummy, including herby scrambled eggs and flavorful, smoky ham. If only the croissant wasn't burnt to a blackened crisp, I think the sandwiches would have been amazingly wonderful, creamy, dreamy. Why I loved it: The service was friendly - though it seems the young barista was in a hurry, preparing for the upcoming morning rush, and eager to get us in and out. The food had so much potential for being yummy, and the space is quaint and cozy and reminiscent of my high school and college days spent in Fairhaven cafes and eateries. Cost: High