This is our first time at the black cat. It was busy but we only had to wait 20-25 minutes on a Friday night. We shared the creamy olive and focaccia bread appetizer. She had a side car which was delicious. I had a local beer. She had the salad and French onion soup. I had the Cesar and halibut with Brussel sprouts and balsamic. The staff was awesome and attentive. The food was outstanding. We will be back. read more

The Black Cat - Table with a view. - New American Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

Very casual. Unpretentious. Reasonably priced. Nothing special. The restaurant is on the third floor and provides a nice view of the Fairhaven district. The food and wine was serviceable. The space was popular and lively, so all in all a fairly good time. Nothing special, but also nothing offensive. Had the salmon, halibut and "smoked" salmon rillettes. read more

I wanted to like this place so much. The setting is great. The vibe is chill. I love the building and the feel. But that's where the good ends. We waited at the host station for several minutes before anyone came to help us. Someone wandered by and told us they'd be with us in a minute but it was several minutes more before the unconcerned hostess showed up and with no apology offered to seat us. After a short wait at the table in the bar area the bartender took our order (apologized for the wait) and that began a 1.5 HOUR wait for our food. This place is a joke. They never filled our water. I'll tell you how the food tastes once it gets here....if it gets here. read more

Love the lamb chops! Great atmosphere, cocktails and service too! Look forward to returning.

I had the dungeness crab Mac n cheese and it was bomb. My lady had the crab cakes and tempura green beans also very good. Atmosphere is great and service was spectacular. If you're in Bellingham you gotta hit this spot. I'll be back. read more

Food ok, but nothing exceptional. Had halibut fish and chips, fish fresh and not overcooked, chips overdone and soft, slaw, ho hum, just some cabbage and mayo, not a very imaginative dish. Halibut fish tacos well done, but could have used a little more zip. Grilled halibut very good piccata style, very good brussel sprouts, rice pilaf less than stellar. Crab Mac and cheese sucked! Crab was not fresh (even though mid-season) and fishy, even Tabasco couldn't help. Fondue app was good, nice little spice to the sauce, the olive dip with baguette also very tasty. Service was adequate, but probably won't come back, too many other really good establishments in the area. read more

good vibe, decent food, distracted bartender. Place gets busy for happy hour. Mostly older crowd

The jalapeño chicken was incredible. Every bite was flavorful and smooth. Individually each bite was unique and also blended so well together. The service was incredible and very friendly. I'm definitely planning on coming back again soon. read more

The Black Cat - Chicken jalapeño and peach cider - New American Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

The BEST French onion soup I have ever tasted. And the Brussel sprouts were delicious too! Definitely a favorite in Bellingham. read more

The Black Cat - New American Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

Good Service and environment but I had high expectations with the food. It was a little disappointing. I don't like the pisco sour cocktail neither the mac&cheese. Besides they didn't have soap in the ladies restroom and I told them twice. read more

The Black Cat - Mac & cheese and Clams - New American Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

I've been to The Black Cat twice and I recommend everyone try it! The moody, dark, ambiance sets for a romantic evening if you are looking for a fun date night. I recommend trying the 'Blackened Prawn Tacos' ($15) and 'Beer Battered Cod Fish & Chips' ($18). I had the prawn tacos which were delicious and came with chips and salsa as well. My partner got the Fish and Chips which came with coleslaw on the side. The 'Cat Scratch Lemonade' was a favorite cocktail of mine. I recommend this drink if you are a fan of vodka. Service I received by staff was great. Our server was enthusiastic and offered many great menu recommendations for the night. I would recommend if you plan on going with a larger group to reserve ahead of time. The restaurant is in a tight space with not much room for groups. Also, I felt the restaurant was a little pricey compared to restaurants with similar food. read more

Super yummy food and great atmosphere. I was particularly impressed with their Brussel Sprouts (I asked the waitress and she told me they deep fry them!!). They are PERFECTLY crunchy and yet still soft, probably the best I've ever had. My salmon was beautiful (but you can get lovely salmon all around the PNW). Cocktails were stunning and very tasty. And the crème brûlée was literally perfect (warm on top, cold custard below). Enjoy! read more

The Black Cat - black cat coaster - New American Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

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The good is the decor, especially if you like cats and old 'historic' buildings. The food seems fine, though I applaud them for the pickled jalapeno rings in the dip for tempura green beans. The place seems to want to go the way of avant-garde but pull back because of lack of trust of its demographic. But based on the mix of clientele I saw during happy hour on a Tuesday night, young and old, tourist and local, pensioners and hipsters, I would say the strategy works. The bad is that the restaurant has no 'smell', the sense our body has evolved to identify good food, the lack of which is amply replaced by the Italian cafe downstairs. read more

Loved the building this restaurant was located in Beautiful 1890s building. The restaurant had seats by a nice view of Fairhaven. Great fish and chips. Got to try their blacked shrimp tacos. Mmmm read more

The Black Cat - The Black Cat - New American Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

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We always love going to the Black Cat whenever we visit Fairhaven. It's definitely one of the unique restaurants in the area. The decor is dark and yet very chic. We hadn't been here since the pandemic. They did a great job of social distancing and making us feel very safe without taking away from a very delectable dining experience. Ellis is definitely one of the best on the wait staff!! Going to Black Cat was exactly what we needed for a great night out. Highly recommended read more

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Black Cat is a solid place to eat in Bellingham. Cocktails are good, wide range of beers, and great food. Steak Salad: One of my faves. 9/10. Lots of greens and good size meat. Dressing is good too! Fondue: Fun and delicious. 8.5/10. Recommend this to share with friends. Beef Stroganoff: 10/10. Order this and you won't be disappointed!! read more

The Black Cat - Sorry it's heavily edited, I forgot to keep the original. Steak Salad - New American Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

Went in for HH and had Great drinks, fantastic food, the staff was knowledgeable and friendly.

The Black Cat is one of my favorite spots in town. Great cocktails, delicious happy hour options and wonderful service. I love the tempura green beans and grilled cheese. I also desperately miss the southwest black bean burger, please bring it back!!! It's a Bellingham classic, and a choice you can't go wrong with. read more

I love the Black Cat for drinks but the food is not very good. I had fried oysters that were basically a big bunch of very overcooked breading with some pieces of rubber in the middle and then thrown over a small scoop of cole slaw and placed under warming lights for way too long. The result was lukewarm breading with warm cole slaw. The service was good and the ambiance was nice but the food is pricy and not worth it. read more

I love the vibes here and the flavorful food. I really enjoyed the location too because it was very beautiful and the staff were so sweet. Thank you ! read more

The Black Cat - Views - New American Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

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I have been here so many times, I should get my own table . My grandson brought me and my son here for my birthday. A treat in itself. We tried the cheese fondue appetizer this time, so yummy. We ordered the stroganoff, chicken with jalapeño and the roast dinners. I read some reviews on Nana's Roast Beef that were not favorable. I wanted to decide on my own. It was perfect in presentation and in taste. Perfect balance of gravy to meat vegetables and the mashed potatoes were not 'drowned in juice'. I wanted to save some roast for later but couldn't stop eating. The other meals were delicious and plates were cleaned, lol. Our waitress was also perfect. I love you, Black Cat! read more

BEST HAPPY HOUR in town! Not the kind of thing I usually say in my reviews, but it's true. Value is very important when it comes to happy hours. Their happy hour menu is amazing in that regard, and their food is very good, too! My 10 year-old son and I shared three items, and we paid less than $30 for both of us, including a 20+% tip! HH Petite Fondue ($9) It's not petite by any standard. It's big enough to share among 2~3 people. Not the best fondue I've ever had, but it's good, fun, and an excellent value! *****5 Stars***** HH Bacon Balsamic Brussel Sprouts ($6) We both loved this dish. Great texture (crispy) and flavor. Who wouldn't love balsamic vinegar? Large enough to share among 2 people. *****5 Stars***** HH Hand Pattied Cheddar Cheese Burger ($6.5, add fries for $2) I was expecting a small burger, but it turned out to be a full-size burger with all the veggies you can imagine on a burger. CONFESSION After reading the happy hour menu carefully, I noticed that the HH burger requires a drink purchase, which our waitress did not enforce on us. MY NEXT PLAN Next time I come in here for happy hour, I know exactly what I will order. I will get the burger and skip the fries. Instead, I will order the Brussel sprouts and, of course, beer. I'm not much of a drinker or a burger eater, but that's my ultimate plan! I highly recommend their happy hour. Happy Hour Monday through Thursday: 3:00-6:00 & 9:00-Close Sunday: 3:00-Close (except holidays) ****************************** If you found something useful in my review, please hit "useful" so that I can improve my reviews. If you love food and traveling, follow me, or better yet, let's become friends on Yelp! Thank you and happy Yelping! read more

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Arrived at the Black Cat at about 5:45pm 4/13/2022 for a quick dimmer with my 8 year old daughter. The hostess advised me that it would be a 15-20 min wait, no big deal. After 30 mins I checked back with the hostess and was told that they texted me but I didn't respond and my table was given to another party. Little effort was made to locate me as may daughter and I were sitting outside the restaurant (there isn't much waiting room in the restaurant). Apparently the hostess typed the last digit of my phone number in incorrectly. In this situation , shouldn't I be the next to be seated? I waited another 15 mins while others were seated. Got fed up and went downstairs to Mambo where service was much better. I've been to the Black Cat before, food and drinks were good but bad experiences like this are difficult to overcome. Don't think I'll be coming back anytime soon. I've "fired" many restaurants that I used to frequent pre-COVID. It's sad that places like this go downhill due to poor training and/or employees who couldn't care less about customers. read more

Showed up for Happy Hour with a friend who lives a few blocks away. She was stressing we need to get there early so we can get a good seat. I didn't understand the big deal until we were seated at a window table, on the bar side, with a view of the harbour. And this is from the third floor, talk about a great view!! It's located in a Heritage building on the third floor. You can walk up the stairs inside or take an elevator up to the 3rd floor The happy hour menu had everything from French onion soup to seafood options such as oyster shooters (add vodka), and those manila clams! They won me over. We also tried the balsamic, bacon, roasted brussel sprouts, they were quite good. I think I would definitely come back here and try more menu items. I'm not usually a cocktail drinker, but I did have a couple of those as well, it was my friend's birthday, why not have a lot of fun right!? The service was so friendly and unpretentious. They were really great. Which is hard to get nowadays. read more

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I have always been a huge fan of the Black Cat. They have a great menu with fair prices, delicious food and creative drinks. I must say since COVID the service has been lacking, but every time I have gone in, it has been packed so this might have something to do with that. We went for a birthday brunch on Sunday, and had to wait over 45 minutes for drinks and an hour for food. Once the food and drinks came, it was all great tasting and fresh. I got the crab cake Benedict, my friend got the Florintine Benny with arugula (menu said spinach, but it was a nice surprise) and tomato, both were delicious! My partner got the corned beef hash, with chunks of meat, onions, peppers and potatoes, all elements were good, but it needed a sauce as it was very dry on its own. 4 stars because even with these issues, the service was friendly and the food was more or less very good! I will always give this place another chance as I have had so many excellent meals here. read more

Second time I've been here and service was ABYSMAL both times! The food is just OK, but had a good drink. Will not go back.

We came for HH. ST at the bar and each ordered a margarita that was great. I ordered the $5 hamburger which was so good and my hubby ordered fish and chips also on the HH menu. Highly recommend. read more

Great ambiance, delicious food, great happy hour-the service carries. I've had great attentive servers there before, and some girls who didn't seem to know how to read a room. Love love love the happy hour French onion soup. I do wish there was more mocktail / NA beverage options read more

I write this for my cuzin. He wanted table - NO BAR! They give us BAR TABLET!! They show us tablet and they rip outta there...we cannot eat in grown up part. Tell us wait time of 5 minutes. 5 mins ladder and no thing...We leaf. No return. I give two stars bc i felt cared about - from then others people in lined. We go to on rices. . . Get seated, in none time. THEN GET THE TEXT? Nope! We wwre two busy with our yummy salads ! read more

I enjoyed my time here. It was crowded, we had to wait a bit to get in, and I wouldn't call the building it was in glamorous or clean or modern in any way. It was an old historic building with a bunch of businesses leasing out the rooms, very sola salon style, but a bit more ghetto. However, once you entered the restaurant and were seated, you definitely felt transported to a historic little restaurant in France. The atmosphere inside, at least in the evening, was warm, welcoming and authentic. The menu was surprisingly American. But it was brief, covered all the regular bases and ordered food in the above average price range. This would be a place to hit up for cocktails, as they actually had a cocktail menu. Food itself was cooked correctly, was flavorful and was plated well. The highlight of the evening was the olive tapenade. The fact that I can't think of a food related lowlight is telling. The service was the only thing that could have been improved. It was friendly, but it was just slow. All parts of it and we weren't really checked up on frequently. It's like, you don't like it when they do, but when they don't you realize you needed things to didn't get. Anyway, would definitely come here again. read more

Very cool spot and relaxing atmosphere. First time here , we came in for dinner . Place is busy but not crowded . The menus is very diverse , and so is their drink menus . Food was good and reasonably priced . The service was slow however , but accepts overall. I have heard abt their happy , I will to try it out. The corner tables has some good views of the bay . read more

The Black Cat - Pulled pork sandwich - New American Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

We ate here on an impromptu date night. We'd walked by many times before, but are happy we finally visited. This place has a wonderfully intimate feel and we had a lovely view of some of the downtown lights. We had their drink specials and they were both delicious!!! We also both really enjoyed our meals - other than our "garlic" mashed potatoes, those were the most disappointing. He had the jalapeño chicken and I had the gouda chicken. Our chicken and the Brussels sprouts were super scrumptious and we were very pleased! The potatoes were unfortunately disappointing and tasted like instant and we couldn't even taste the garlic until we had a little piece in a bite. The staff were pleasant and fairly attentive. We'd go back again for another date night. Side note, it is on the 3rd floor and I'm not sure if there's elevator access for those who might need it. read more

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Adorable place with great food. I have eaten here several times and everything I have had was delicious. Staff does well even with large groups or at busy times. read more

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Finally made it in there. Crowded with a wait for Sunday brunch got seats at the bar Maddy was most excellent as where all the staff we interacted with. Fixed brunch menu and don't try and order happy hour menu early (no worries we will go back for that) but it is on the back of the drink menu. Speaking of which craft cocktails are amazing the Aintchu Chili and Red Lady were soo good. Solid and tasty bloody Mary. Food was timely for the crowd really nice portion of crab on the wedge salad sans wedge (opted for mixed greens instead) and the same with crab eggs Benedict so the price point is right. Hollandaise was smooth and delicate if not perfect. Overall great experience and time in a quaint quirky setting and vaguely reminiscent of the other Le Chat Noir en Paris. read more

The Black Cat - Red Lady surprisingly fresh and the best use of ginger beer I've ever tasted because I don't like ginger beer. - New American Near Me - Bellingham, Washington

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Excellent ambiance, good food. Located in a cute neighborhood in Bellingham. It was a really fun evening.

The Happy Hour scene here is understandably hopping. Same attractive space, with $5 1/4 lb. cheeseburgers and $10 1/2 lb. clams in yummy broth with good dipping bread amongst many other worthy offerings. Our server was terrific (I wish I'd gotten her name), who handled our group of 10 with 5 separate checks perfectly, efficiently and graciously during a very busy time in a very hot room. This is what took a star off--they need fans or AC in the back room, since the sun at HH time hits the windows and if there's not an on shore wind, it gets HOT. Otherwise, the Cat has something to keep everyone happy. read more

Party of 6 last night, with reservations we still waited about 20 mins. Service was decent. Server was great however it was busy and perhaps they were short staffed, because wait times in-between were long.. waiting for water, waiting for drinks...food... check. We were loving the vibe and dinner was delicious. I had pot roast, another had chicken, fish tacos and wild salmon. Half loved theirs half was not impressed. I would be back if I was in the are though, still a great place in the area!! read more

Don't get the oyster shooters! 1 star for those. The ready of the menu was 4 stars. Fun atmosphere sit at the bar for a show they make it happen! read more

It's kind of a fun little place if you happen to be in Bellingham. The food is good. The building itself is very interesting.

Came here because I see that black cat painting everywhere and I never knew what is was. Sat at the bar in the early evening for a happy hour Sunday (3pm til close). Ambiance is perfect. Casual but not too snobby. Divey with some class. Reasonable prices for drinks. Popular but not over crowded. Artsy but not hipster. Great variety of patrons here. The bartender (male) was very attentive and my water was always filled. Many were pleased with the drinks he made and he was very amicable...and cute. I got the mac and cheese ($6) and oyster shooter ($1.50). Perfect portion for one. The place is tucked upstairs in some sort of Victorian building complex with a courtyard. The stairs leading to the restaurant upstairs still had carpet. It was different and I liked it. read more

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