Cliff House

I am visiting Bellingham for the first time. We have visited several local restaurants all have been very nice but Cliff House was fantastic. The smells of the different foods in the air was so good it made my mouth water.
I had a Dungeness crab salad that was fantastic. Beyond the food, the server was so nice she made the meal an experience.
The view of the Bellingham Bay was great too.
The Unilocal site rates it as $$$ but I felt the final bill was much less than that would lead one to believe.
I will be back to Bellingham and will return to Cliff House. Check it out for yourself.

This review is for their happy hour! Oh my goodness… Why had I not been here before?!?
Pros?
Beautiful view
Attentive, efficient, friendly service
Delicious cocktails
Outdoor patio seating
Pretty much every indoor seat has a view too
Happy hour menu is large and scrumptious!
Happy hour every day!!!
Happy hour all day Monday and Tuesday
Seafood cakes– yes!
Oyster shooters– yes!!!
Whiskey crab soup– apparently their specialty and it was good (a shoe chunk of crab leg) but a wee bit bland otherwise
Cons?
Normal menu super pricey
Happy hour, albeit worth the value, not something I could afford every week like most other places
I’ll have to come back and see if they bump up to five stars but I’d say four stars for happy hour is pretty dang good!

Without a doubt the best view in Bellingham. Their Happy Hour is great… so many awesome selections. Don’t miss the Devils on Horseback (scallops wrapped in bacon)…

Phenomonal! The wife and I were up in Bellingham for a ski weekend. Stopped into the Cliff House because it was one of the only seafood resteraunts open on Monday night! Upon walking in the décor was a little dated, but the view was beautiful! The food, drink, and service were top notch, easily could hang with some of the best resteraunts in Seattle! Hot crab and shrimp dip was an excellent starter! Well crafted cocktails were right on the money and our entrees were great! The wife had the halibut and I had a delicious wild mushroom risotto with scallops! Jake really hit it home with his service, making the whole evening an excellent experience!

Loved being there on an weekday night. Nicely lit atmosphere and subdued music made it the perfect dinner spot. They served quality food and provided attentive service. Pan fried oysters were cooked perfectly and halibut was also prepared and served attractively. Also liked the salad bar which was simple but well stocked with very fresh greens. The crab and whisky soup had been hyped by our friends. It was good but did not see what all the rav es were about.

Beautiful views. I had the whisky crab soup which was good. It had a bite to it. I also had the shrimp crab dip, which was good with a bell peppery taste. Drank a ruby moe which had just the right amount of balance of sweet and tart.

The best service I’ve had ever. Working the restaurant business for 18 years hands down the best. Food was spot on excellent view and a must return. Thank you for a great experience…

I have been to the Cliff House several times as long time resident. My opinion has varied in terms of service and food but this weekend was the 1^st time we went for Happy Hour. About 3.15pm we came and there was relatively a small crowd which was perfect. Our server was Natalie and we had some appetizer and a beer. Service was good and the food happy hour food was also good. It will be a new hang out on a beautiful day.

Overall pleased! I serve at a fine-​dining steak and seafood house, and so I love to eat at new places to compare. It’s a cliff-​side restaurant, (true to its name) and for starters, the view of the bay is picturesque. We ordered the whisky crab soup, and it had mild spicy heat, creaminess, and yummy pieces of… you’ve guessed it, Dungeness crab. Such tasty soup, a must try! We ordered Dungeness crab cocktail, and it was loaded with a generous portion of meat, tangy cocktail sauce and celery bits, and it was so good, we ordered ANOTHER. My fiancé got the New York 12oz steak and ordered it med rare, and it came out medium. Still tender, but it was the biggest disappointment of the dinner since they over-​cooked it. For a $ 32 steak, proper temp is a must. Also, it was prepared with a side of asparagus, and the veggie had no seasoning on it and looked like it was just thrown on the plate. No creativity with plating on that dish whatsoever. My steamed clams in a white wine garlic butter sauce was grand – I’ve never had such succulent, juicy clams before. With interior aesthetics, it was cozy and inviting, but white linen table clothes adorned with wine glasses would be a plus and would really spruce up the fine dining feel! Overall, pretty good experience, but the consistence in quality from course to course could be fine tuned. Is the quality worth the cost? Almost.

Be sure to have the Whiskey Crab Soup! I could have eaten 5 bowls, easily. And the view there is quite beautiful.

This place is delicious! Make a reservation on a Friday or Saturday night! The bisque is heavenly and our server was gracious to give us information on local entertainment as we are new to the area. This is a perfect place for a romantic evening/​view of sunset. The bar is not first come first serve while they are on a wait, but it is a lot faster than waiting for a table-​and you can get the full menu in there anyway.

Absolutely wonderful food and exceptional service. Very true the whiskey crab soup is device. The salmon with Argo dolche sauce, a blueberry sweet –sour sauce on the salmon –never had such incredible salmon. Best baked potato ever.

Incredible view. Delicious happy hour. A go-​to spot for dates and celebrations without any stuffy atmosphere. Great flavor and creativity in dishes and a lovely waitstaff.
Fish tacos are delightful, and can easily be made dairy free (avocado crema, delightful as it is) and are an awesome gluten free choice. Fabulous hummus plate and sliders (seasonal, rotating menu). Happy Hour is where it’s at! Sunset, sliders and samplings of Whiskey Crab Soup (for the dairy friendly– you cannot leave without this soup).
For actual dinner, my boyfriend would definitely praise the surf & turf, while I am always on the ceiling with happiness if their seasonal fish dish is on the menu. Awesome flavor pairings. Obviously a little spendy.

I love that a classic place like the Cliff House is still here and doing a bustling business. I have visited many times over the past 30 years (or more).
On this visit we sat in the bar on a beautiful Saturday early fall evening. It was crystal clear and we timed our visit to watch the Sun set. We were lucky and arrived right before Happy Hour was over, so we enjoyed making our selections from a great Happy Hour Menu.
Like other nicer restaurants in town, the Cliff House has a Happy Hour menu of $ 5 drinks (I had a Mt Baker Winery red wine) and food selections for less than $ 10. I was hungry and chose 3 food items, the classic Whiskey Crab soup, a caesar salad, and Coconut prawns.
The soup has been a family favorite for years and it’s creamy and tangy crab goodness didn’t disappoint. The caesar was serious, no whimpy caesar dressing here, nor too many croutons or other distractions, this caesar is starter-​sized and
very good. The Coconut Prawns were a little disappointing, mine were overcooked, the coconut edges were charred nearly black. Luckily it wasn’t too distracting. The tangy dipping sauce helped, too.
I’d thought that we’d be lucky to get a seat in the bar, but another couple showed up after us and ended up grabbing one of the best seats for 2 in the dining room, so don’t be bashful and ask if a seat might be available (I wish I had). We still had a very nice visit with a fun and attentive server.
I was also surprised the deck was still open, but apparently it was closing for the season, soon. Add this as a place to visit on a warm summer evening, it’s second to none!

Based on everything I had, excellent! Whiskey Crab Chowder followed by the Seafood Medley, delicious! Service was great too!

Cliff House is a Bellingham icon that I first started going to in the early 70’s when I was in college and lived in Bellingham for a time. It was THE place to go for steaks back in the day. I still visit the area every few years, and if I’m in Bellingham, I will usually go to Cliff House for a steak. My favorite steak there has always been the Top Sirloin. I appreciate that, for whatever reason, it’s the only steak on their menu that is a Prime grade of beef, while the other steaks are the more common Choice grade. I remember back in the 70’s I thought it was cool that the Top Sirloin was not an ordinary looking «flat» steak, but that it was as tall as it was wide, like a small roast. (I was easy to impress back then.) Anyway, a steak comes with your choice of a side dish and either a Caesar salad or a trip to the salad bar. I always pick the salad bar. It doesn’t have a very large number of items to choose from, but everything is fresh and crisp. One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that Cliff House often cooks my steak more «done» than what I had ordered. So now, when I’m there, I just order my Top Sirloin cooked a little rarer than what I actually want. I like it cooked «medium», so on my most recent visit last week, I ordered it «medium rare».. .and of course it came out the way I like it.

First time here, and other than the view, I wasn’t really blown away.
I started with the «Devils on Horseback» which is bacon-​wrapped scallops with cheese. That was delicious. I wasn’t sure about the cheese with seafood thing, but the flavors really worked. For an entreé, I got the Rib-​Eye steak with the herb blue cheese butter. The steak was just ok… I asked for a medium cook temperature, but I ended up with more a medium-​well level of doneness. As a result, the steak was pretty tough. The herb blue cheese butter had no flavor at all unfortunately.
Service-​related, there were several disappointments. My drink sat empty more often than not. When I’d ask for a drink, it took up to 10 minutes to get a refill, this despite the bar being 6 feet from our table. Second, all the other tables seemed to get bread and butter… we didn’t. Last but not least, we came for my birthday dinner. I saw another table with a birthday get a nice piece of cheesecake with a candle in it… I got nothing at all. I wouldn’t make a big deal of it generally, but seeing another table get a dessert, and then seeing a board with «Birthday Dessert — Cheesecake» written on it… I was a bit irked.
In any case, I simply don’t think it’s worth the price. The view is exceptional, and the house that the restaurant is in has a certain charm to it, but the below average food and mediocre service don’t do enough to make up for that.

I went to cliff house for the very first time and couldn’t believe the view! The view is absolutely amazing, but the seating was a bit cramped. Getting in and out of my seat was a struggle and a disturbance to my fiancé who had to get up and move his chair every time I had to get up.
On a positive note: I loved the salad bar and their house green goddess dressing. I would definitely recommend it. Their menu has a limited variety but the entrees we ordered were delicious. From what I remember all their appetizer options include seafood. It would be nice to see some starters with other protein sources.
Oh the Whiskey Crab soup was as scrumptious as the other reviews describe! Cliff house had great service and an awesome ambiance, I can’t wait to go back.
Something helpful: bring sunglasses if you want to sit on the deck. The glare of the sun on the water can be blinding. I wish I knew that before going because it’s absolutely breath taking out there.

The C-​House is a Bellingham institution, perhaps best known for their immortal Whiskey Crab Soup (and of course for their stellar view). While the décor is a bit dated, they still do a nice job with the food. Come during happy hour (bar seating only) and you can sample from several items or enjoy a beer, cocktail, or glass of wine. Time your visit during sunset and you won’t be disappointed. Great place for a romantic date!

Long story short: delicious food, average service, incredible view.
My boyfriend and I were led here originally by the Unilocal reviews (and my desire for seafood — I always load up whenever I visit him up in Washington), and were lucky enough to show up during their happy hour (which is 4:30 — 6:30 PM everyday, and all evening on Mondays). Happy Hour knocks a few dollars off of a collection of their starters, as well as offering excellent drink specials.
Since we’re college students on a budget, we decided to order a couple of different appetizers to split between us. Like many other people posting reviews, we were absolutely enchanted with the Whiskey Crab soup — I’m almost a little mad that I’ve had this because now I crave it like crazy all the way down in Texas! Boo. The Hot Crab and Shrimp Dip was also delicious; the only thing we had that was «okay» was the smoked salmon. It was still good, but I’d had better.
We came back not-​during happy hour for our anniversary and did the same thing and ordered appetizers — again, to save money and sample, but to be honest none of the entrees really stood out to me. Please, do yourself a favor and order the Devils on Horseback. Bacon wrapped scallops baked in cheese?! Yes please!
If nothing else, give this place a shot for the gorgeous view. Seriously. During the summer when it’s warm, try to get a seat on their patio and be marveled by the sun setting over the water.