Horseshoe Cafe

It is probably no surprise that it took a while for the waitress to notice us, even though it was not busy. When we got there, we decided to wait in our car after a fight escalated outside their front door. Some guy who seemed to be a regular of the restaurant was screaming at an obviously mentally ill, homeless man to get away from him (side note: the homeless man wasn’t bothering him). We both got biscuits and gravy and both felt like it was a little gross. Breakfast items are well priced, & I think you know when you go there you are not looking to be blown away. I do have memories of visiting Bellingham 10 years ago and going there, so if I was out and about more at night I would probably dig this place more.

Gave this place another shot. Sad I did! The service is poor to fair at best. It took over an hour to get our food. Yes, it was NY day, and our server said it would be «a bit longer «to get food, so we chilled understanding the circumstances. The excuse was 2 large groups in the bar area. I walked by and if you mean 7 total people as large groups, I need to bone up on my math skills. The food arrived only after I asked our server how much longer after waiting well over an hour. 90 minutes in total to wait for breakfast!!! Seriously? And the place was not packed. The food was nearly inedible, burned and tasteless! Our server didn’t even inquire when she picked up our hardly eaten plates of food. I will leave this place to the drunks and homeless who seem to be their only happy clients.

Hi, welllllllll I want them to win yet they seem to keep effing up, particularly with cold food. I keep telling them in hopes that they fix the problem. See, everything TASTES amazing yet is usually room temperature or straight up cold. Also, I’m sad they painted over the mural. That was a true fuck up. It seems like their night staff is way better at serving and cooking then their morning staff. Something has to change. REALLY GOOD FOOD, really good, just make sure they serve it hot so you can have a good food experience.

I am all for giving second chances. My first review was not complimentary. After winding up here again by chance. I still am not impressed.
I sat down and watched the staff drinking their coffee. Not even acknowledging my arrival.
The customer service skills are wildly sub par.
Still not impressed

My sister loved her biscuits and gravy. I did as well and ordered a side of gravy for my fries. Was pleasantly suprised to find my chicken strips were made of real chicken breast, and not frozen crap. my only complaint was with staff. My sis got a cocoa and I ordered a beer. Her hot chocolate was immediate, which is understandable… but when our food came out, our server stated, «I don’t know why our bartender didn’t bring you your drink.» 1. We were one of two tables and I watched her play around behind the counter. 2. Since when does the bartender go and serve drinks to the restaurant? By the time I had my drink my sis was halfway done with her food. If it’s that slow, you should have grabbed my drink when you rang it in. The bartender doesn’t need to serve tables in the restaurant area.

I went to Bellingham with a friend on a whim. We were hungry and drunk, and Horseshoe was the perfect place to hang around talking until 4am. Friendly staff, all day everyday breakfast!

The eats are average and some of the items are affordable.
Friendly staff yet a bit long on the wait considering how dead it was. Probably wouldn’t have come here if the breakfast joints weren’t so crowded.
My breakfast sandwich hit the spot with bacon and cheddar. My hash browns were a bit soggy, bummer.
Won’t be back but could definitely find worse

Ahhh the horseshoe. I never wanted to leave a review for my experiences last year under prior ownership — i had nothing nice to say (and could tell they were struggling). But the new owners and staff appear to be doing way better. Ive had the turkey pesto melt 3x now and its awesome every time. Also, they have good french fries: nicely seasoned, crispy, not too salty. Also, the soda fountain was remarkable — ya know those machines are sometimes too watery or overly flavored but theirs was perfect. The bar attached to the restaurant is a good place to watch sports if you’re into that.
I think the new owners can revive the historic place’s reputation and build a new following: they’re already serving consistently good food. Hopefully at some point they can make the front dining room more inviting, less drab, maybe with more horse or shoe-​related decorations :-D
Servers and food are vastly improved = 4 stars. Ill definitely go back.

I used to frequent the shoe for breakfast. This place has really gone downhill. Both service and food were horrible. I guess I’ll have to wait for the next new owner before going back again.

Shitty nachos, good Ruben, fries are way too salty … This is like when you are drunk and need okay food

Great new look. The food is amazing and way better than it ever was. I had lost hope. The new management and the amazingly friendly staff are restoring my faith. Good job! Try the chicken fried chicken… Holycrap

Lets be real, the shoe is exactly what you think its going to be. Now that theres no rats, the food is decent, and its open late! The best part of the shoe, by far, is the entertainment. Watching the ceaseless parade of drunks stumble through, and the servers handle them like pros, while cramming cheesy fries into my face can be compared to poetry. Shitty poetry, but poetry nonetheless.
So far my favorite episode of 86 the drunks was when the rotund, red faced drunk man dressed like the Kool-​Aid man came in shouting and Chauntel politely informed him he had previously been 86’d and had to leave. The scene he made while being escorted out made my mozzarella sticks taste way better, and kudos to you Chauntel for taking orders while kicking out drunks. Truly a pro.

I really want to like the updated Horseshoe Café. I was born and raised in Bellingham. This is supposed to be the oldest running restaurant in Washington State. My dad worked here as a buser while in high school. The Horseshoe Café aka «the shoe» often played a central role in my misspent youth. I remember when the cowboy got in trouble with the city for feeding out quarters to shoppers who ran out of time to avoid tickets? That was amazing.
We used to socialize over cheesy fries and bounce between booths. This back when you could chain smoke and spend hours people watch. What else is there to do in Bellingham for a young person? They used to have a phone booth which local street hustlers would conduct business out of. I saw my first IV needle left a few inches from the garbage can when I was in high school. Classy this place isn’t but that is okay. They were the only bar in town that actually had ontime clocks and drinks where cheap/​stronge. Everyone would get their last drink on while other drinking establishments stopped service 15 minutes early. The joys of the late 1990-​early 2000s. Now older, I would often go to the shoe to revisit some of that magic.
The shoe has changed a lot. It has been a slow, painful death in the last few years. A lot of the old time wait staff that I loved have left over the years. Replaced by college students suffering from «Bellingham syndrome, aka I have better things to do in my life than be a waitress». I started going to the shoe much more lately since I moved back Downtown. The poor young wait staff often didn’t know how to handle the homeless, and allow them to walk over the restaurant. I know that they often feared for their safety. But the service has gone down hill greatly. They stopped offering refills a few years ago.
I was excited to learn that the shoe got a much needed face lift. My friends and I have been anxious to see what they did to the shoe. But for the longest time, it was never open! Last night I was able to go.
All I can say is meh. I’m not sure if the owner is trying to gentrify the restaurant to compete with the newer restaurants down the street. If I wanted a clean, yuppy feeling I would go down to Fiamma Burger and pay $ 15 for a cheeseburger magic of the Horseshoe Café is how stuck in time it was. Big, greasy food sold cheap in out-​dated 1970s décor. The cowboy mural got painted over, and cowboy theme has been «classed up».
Cons: Many Horseshoe classics have been removed from the menu. My friend said that they did away with traditional cheesy fries for some cheese dipping sauce? Why fix something that isn’t broken? Say goodby to the potato burrito, philly cheesesteak, and much of the fried appetizers. I’m not sure if they got rid of the pies. They got rid of the paper napkin holders. I’m not sure why this bothers me, but I don’t like a limited napkins at a greasy spoon. The prices have gone up. I ordered their old fashion $ 6 shake. Back prior to the remodel you used to get the milkshape plus the extras. The service remain slow since the new owners came on board. I don’t blame the waitstaff, as it looks like they purposely keep only one wait staff working a shift now. I’m not impressed by their new french fries either. It is no longer 24 hour diner. The wifi is slow. They really need to get a better system for that.
Pros: You can’t beat the people watching opportunities. As much as Downtown Business Owners hates it, this neighborhood will always have a high drug traffic/​high violence. The new window views allow you to watch all the crazy action downtown. There is a coffee bar where you can bring your laptop. They got rid of their crazy $ 4 cup of coffee that the new owners started. The bar hasn’t changed at all either. The new cheeseburger is good.
I don’t want to see the Shoe close with hipster/​gentrify whitewash that most of Bellingham has gotten in the last 10 years. Keep the focus on cheap, greasy simple good food. If you like a good greasy spoon the Horseshoe Café is a place for you.
I’m not sure if my love for the shoe is solely on nostalgia. But I hope to see the kinks get fixed.

They make the strongest drinks, open late, can’t expect any more from the food, and Horsehoe Hannah is the best bartender in Bellingham!

So I’ve been here more than the new owners have. That’s a fact.
I was excited to try the «new» Horseshoe but I should’ve gone to Big Dimples McGee garbage can out back. A simple «Togo» order w/​just 2 other patrons already finishing their meals sort or order, turned into an hour long ordeal.
It first off was platted
No big deal
But took more time for the staff to figure out how to out a to go order in to go boxes than it was to cook.
And when we got home the bread or the turkey club was soooooo soggy (cause they didn’t toast the bread to a CLUB) we had to feed that soggy crap to our pet warthog.
This sassy pants had much higher hopes.
Same shit, just a better janitor

Just thought we would try the Horseshoe again seeing as they have just reopened with new owners. Thoroughly disappointed, I had the chicken fried steak, I’m glad it came with a steak knife because it was as tough as hell, my wife’s bacon was so cremated that we thought about holding a small service for it, and the portions were tiny. Don’t think we will be back

OMG this place went from greasy and a dive place to clean and literally the slowest service on the planet. An hour wait at the table for food. Foods about the same but the place came to a halt for food service. I so want to like this place but they keep making it impossible.

The Horseshoe Café is definitely a place I would have loved to go to when I was in college. Visiting for my first time to this famed café (few years later than college aged) however, it was kind of disappointing. This place has been around since 1886 — its popular with the locals and open 24 hours a day. What’s not to love?
For me, I found it very difficult to find a cleaner or even cleani-​ish eating option on the menu. Lots of fried comfort foods — but not much in the department of clean or non-​greasy /​not likely to upset my stomach. I ended up ordering a cranberry turkey sandwich (which is not on their online menu.) The turkey was great (nice baked thick slices) but I ended up not eating the rest of the sandwich as it was drowned in creamcheese. I’m not kidding– there must have been at least a ½ cup of the stuff on the sandwich. Next time I’ll know to order it with the cream cheese on the side. My husband had a chili cheeseburger which he absolutely loved — but he wasn’t exactly looking for a healthier side option or concerned about grease.
Positive notes: overall, the restaurant has a very welcoming and comfortable local feel to it. Full of old diner style booths and vintage lighting — you’ll feel like you stepped back in time to 1960’s. The staff was friendly and very attentive. We enjoyed chatting with our wait person about her family farm nearby and their plans to start growing organic garlic. Interesting and eye catching murals on the main wall set the tone for the western themed restaurant.

Okay, here’s the rundown with this café:
I only let myself eat here very late at night after I’ve had a few too many drinks. Usually the food helps settle my drunchies, but my last visit was far from pleasant. The food took OVER AN HOUR to come to our table and by the time it got there it was cold and dry. Luckily, a very nice stranger in the restaurant paid our bill. Had I actually paid for my dry chicken strips and cold fries, this review probably would have been a little more passionate.

I want believe I will get my food in under an hour, but it won’t happen. I’m the freaking duke of this dive and give it a low rank on the simple fact the food is mediocre and the service is awful. If you get a good server it’s because they are new and their soul hasn’t been crushed yet.
If it’s late and you are patient (or drunk) it’s one of only a few options available downtown. Get ready for a sweet atmosphere and comfortable feeling if you like the greasy café/​bar type of place.