Keenan’s at the Pier

Not sure why it took me so long to review this place. I suppose because I have only been twice, and it was for breakfast and lunch. Both meals were surprisingly affordable, but had pros and cons.
Pros?
Food is cooked as requested
Presentation is lovely
Service is attentive
Seafood chowder is so delicious!
Fries are tasty
Cons?
Maybe due to turnover, some of the staff is not knowledgeable about any of the dishes
The fish and chips were far too greasy for our taste, particularly as the breading was pretty thick
Drinks were pricey and small

We had a very good experience at Keenan’s and the view is fantastic. The service was also excellent. The food was very good. I had the pork chop, which was very good but a little too salty. The brussel sprouts were very good too. My daughters both had a cheeseburger and I had a bite and it was excellent. One of the best burgers I have tasted. I had the apple cobbler for dessert and it was pretty good except I tasted some orange zest in it and didn’t care for that flavor. But overall, a very good experience. We will definitely be back.

Keenan’s at the Pier is truly a Pacific Northwest low-​key luxury dining experience. Their happy hour is delicious, and features many vegetarian options as well as seasonal specialties. I have a sneaking suspicion that they must dash a little bit of heaven itself in their mixed drinks (there are always in-​house crafty additions and twists on traditional beverages.) Don’t get me started on HOW ACCOMMODATING the kitchen is. Awesome salads, and perfectly cooked fish. Sunset views and sweet servers are the icing on top. Oh! Did I mention the sweet menu? Innovative AND diverse. Please and thank you and Malbec!
Parking is streetside, but free! Go for sunset and be wowed.

Good service and good food. Right on the water so it’s a really nice view. The waitress was helpful in picking out what I wanted and I even ordered a drink I didn’t like and they exchanged it for me without hesitation!
Awesome!

I’ve eaten at Keenan’s a few times with my parents when they come to visit for brunch. The view of Bellingham Bay is unbeatable, even in the Northwest rain! I can only imagine how pleasant it is to sit out on the patio in the summer. I’ve ordered two different sandwiches (turkey and crab artichoke) and have been disappointed both times. The bread they serve it on is so crunchy and oily and I prefer a much softer bread. However, the honey mustard chicken sandwich my mom ordered was prepared on a fluffy hoagie roll. I wish they would serve all of the sandwiches this way! Additionally, the meat and toppings within the sandwiches were very sparse. What I really enjoyed were the truffle fries! Perfect amount of crisp and you can’t beat that truffle flavor. I also tried the apple crisp dessert with cardamom ice cream. I loved how the dessert wasn’t too sweet and the apples were cooked all the way through. The cardamom ice cream was very unique, I hadn’t tried it before! Overall, Keenan’s is just alright. Next time my parents are in town I think we will try a different restaurant. I would be curious to try their dinner offerings though!

Loved the food! Amazing service! Try the quinoa & squash patties! The truffle fries are to die for!

When we moved to Bellingham last year, we saw Keenan’s with their excellent view from the dock and assumed it was expensive. We never ventured inside until our daughter asked to go there for her birthday. They seated us next to the window with a wonderful view of the bay and excellent customer service. Everyone in our party of four had delicious meals and a very affordable price. We enjoyed it so much, we have since been back twice more for lunch, and as always, we were treated very well, and the burgers, fish and chips and clam chowder we usually order were fresh, made from scratch and with an average price of 12 – 15 $ per meal, it was worth returning. If you are going for an intimate, quiet dinner, it can be a tad noisy and more expensive. Another option is to sit by the fire in the wine bar.

Two months after a promising experience. Keenan’s seems to have slipped from its earlier quality. The creativity, sensitivity, and attention to detail mobilized by an executive chef and his or her team, cannot easily be imitated by replacements. That earlier touch of superior results seems to be missing – nothing really bad, just a little careless. Service staff and ambiance are still excellent.

On a mild day in October, as my friends and I journeyed from our 10k race in Vancouver B.C., we developed a hankering for a hot bite. Following a slight delay at the border due to our nervousness in speaking with U.S. Border officials, we Unilocaled the Bellingham, WA area for brunch spots and found the subject restaurant. We were able to contact the restaurant and make a reservation for four while we were 30 minutes out.
The quaint Bellingham area welcomed us with a beautiful water view and what promised to be a great brunch. We were happy to find the restaurant small and relatively calm. At 30-​something, my fellow travelers and I brought the median age of patrons down by about 30 years. Little did we now that would be near the wait time for our food in a restaurant sized to seat about 30.
After a 35-​minute wait our food arrived luke warm and fairly under seasoned with the exception of the wonderful potatoes. The quinoa cakes were light on the quinoa and heavy on the bread crumbs. The crab cakes were also less «crabby» than «bready,» unlike us who were saddened by our experience.
Lastly, do not hope to become a FourSquare Mayor at this location, or take a picture of elderly folk in 70’s pajama pants and cat sweaters with leg gauntlets for your Instagram account. Two bars of 3G tops.

The atmosphere is serene and there is a lot of setting options. The patio is my favorite. I would think that they have the best view in town. The menu was small in a good way and the food it’s self was presented beautifully. I highly suggest experiencing this wonderful restaurant for yourself.

As a local, I was surprised to hear that there is a restaurant in the Chrysalis, a relatively recent fixture on the Bellingham waterfront. I think I only learned of this place in the past few months… the hotel that hosts this restaurant is pretty high end, so I just don’t think of hanging out here, particularly since I live in town.
Keenan’s is situated in the SW corner of the Chrysalis Hotel 1^st floor. It is not a big space with the bar immediately to the right upon entering and the dining room to the left. The dining room has views to the west of Bellingham Bay and is open to the kitchen behind. There is also out door seating, but it was a bit cool to enjoy on this October evening. Our table was along the windows, though half (maybe more?) was obscured by a larger than it should have been shrub/​tree. I was seated facing inside and actually had more of a view at an angle looking North than the two facing the windows directly.
This restaurant is very loud. With an open kitchen and hard aesthetics, it was almost too loud to converse comfortably. It may have been that the bar was hopping and not divided from the restaurant, but it was not the best. We had to forgo conversation since we just couldn’t hear each other.
The food! The food was pretty good. Two in my party of four said it was the best food they’d had in recent memory. One favorite dish was the special, Salmon with curried squash. The spaghetti squash was a super healthy alternative to pasta and was pleasantly seasoned with curry. The Salmon was tasty but was slightly underdone, a bit like sushi in the middle, not ideal. The diner still said it was the best dish he’d ever had in town.
My dish was beef skirt steak with asparagus. It was supposed to come with mashed potatoes, but I opted out of the starch. I ordered my steak medium rare and it arrived charred on the bottom while the inside was pretty rare (to the point where it was chewy and hard to cut), the char was not quite ideal. I felt I may not have gotten the extra asparagus for opting out of the starch.
Another dish at our table with Sea scallops with risotto. I can’t remark too much on this dish apart from it was the first one gone from our most modest eater. It was a hit and was devoured!
I will consider returning to Keenan’s in summer when I can sit outside on what looks like a comfortable deck. I would also consider returning to the bar for a drink on a winter evening.

Beautiful restaurant with amazing view. Pancakes are to die for! All I can say is the food is worth the cost

I love this place! Even though I live an hour away I would drive all that way again just for the food here. They were extremely busy as it was labor day and they were also staffing and catering a banquet next door. But they were very attentive to our needs and kept us happy with a bread and oil appetizer and beer before our food came out. The portions were very large and the beer was exceptional. They had some special brews on tap which I always appreciate and the fries that were served with our meal were really unique. I look forward to going there again soon :)

Keenan’s establishment is in a fantastic location overlooking the bay at Bellingham. It’s in a large opening & inviting environment with seating that is spacious and organized. The menu is clean and isn’t overdone, with GREAT beer on tap (the Pilsner is highly recommended). On the day we went they were very busy (Labor day) but our waitress was still attentive as ever and we still got our food on a reasonable time.
The price was actually very respectable for the quality & class of restaurant which was appreciative. I can’t really think of anything negative worth mentioning that had any impact on our experience there, I’d definitely return & would recommend it to anyone in the area!

We came around lunchtime while they were still serving their brunch menu. Hostess was pretentious and made us feel unwelcome. Not a lot of lunch items on the brunch menu. We got a turkey sandwich and a Reuben. Food was mediocre, the meat in the Reuben was a little cold. Our waitress was nice enough. Prices were average. View was great though I’m not sure we will be returning.

I went here the other evening for a bite; ended up getting truffle fries, scallops, and some margaritas. We called ahead and arranged for a table overlooking the pier. The Japanese (I asked) hostess couldn’t have been more helpful; she told us all of the places to go and things to do during our short jaunt in Bellingham. I had just realized my phone was about to die and she offered to charge it, which plenty of places can be really annoying about. She also told us her favorite things on the menu which we ended up ordering and loving. Our waiter also couldn’t have been nicer; it just seems everyone there is happy and accommodating, so while I wouldn’t RAVE about the food I’d stop by again if in the area.

The view is spectacular! We had a party of seven, and were seated outside quickly. We had simple dinners, e.g. hamburgers, salads, chowder. Really a great experience. Afterwards we walked along the pier just below the restaurant.

Great food and service. It is also an amazing view of Bellingham
Bay. All of the food the 4 of us had for lunch was delicious, including our desserts, alcohol, and coffee. Highly recommend if you want a nice meal.

Great setting, very good food and service. Could have more organic options.

You can’t beat the view here, main reason why we went, however having coal trains past right next to you was disappointing but not their fault of course. The halibut was delicious but too much pea greens, would’ve been nice to have another side instead of a huge pile of pea greens. I could’ve cooked a better halibut entrée for $ 34. steak was was pretty fatty for being $ 28. Salad was ok, dessert was delicious and the bloody mary was very good. Service was great our server was excellent. Will definitely return for the view! Sitting outside was gorgeous. I would give the service and ambience a 5 star and the food a 3 star. I think we will come for lunch next time instead of dinner.