Up & Up Tavern

In what could possibly be an embarrassing admission among the local dive bar set, I’ve lived in the Ham for nearly two decades and (until about a month ago) I never visited the Up & Up! Well, thanks to the Bellingham Tap Trail (and the resulting obsession with getting Every Single Stamp so I could earn my Free Sili-​Pint) I was pretty much forced to trek down to State Street and step into the place. I don’t know what I expected… maybe some dark, gloomy, hole-​in-​the-​wall that only served Bud Lite and boasted a patronage of stinky old retired Santa impersonators. But that’s not what it was! The place is actually kinda roomy, and (dare I say it) edgy… okay maybe edgy is too strong of a word, but it is definitely not what one might expect of a typical «dive» bar. The place is clean, there are nice tables and booths made of wood, a couple of pool tables, and even a large beer garden. The bar area itself is actually (at the risk of sounding like a girl) kinda pretty! Nope, not to ruin their reputation or anything, but I just don’t see «dive» in this bar.
Oh, and on to the beer. They had one of my favorites, the Anderson Valley Boont Amber, on tap, and several IPA’s for the hubbarino to choose from. We enjoyed our pints, got our stamps, split a decent (though quite overpriced…$ 3) slice of sausage pizza, played a quick (75-​cent) game of pool, and headed on our merry way. And, two weeks later, we even went back. Shhhh, don’t tell anyone!

Was new to town and this was the first bar i came to with some new friends I had recently made. Walked up to the bar to check out my options on tap and the bartender (if you can call someone who pours beer a bartender) shot me a «what do you want «look so i said «you can skip me for now i’m still looking at whats on tap». She proceeded to help a couple other people and came back to me and i literally said «can i get.» before she cut me off and told me i could only have water. I said excuse me? And she informed me that i had already had enough to drink. mind you i was stone cold sober! Soo i went back to my table and was like wellll that was awkward. I explained the situation to my friends who were also very confused and one of them filled me a glass from their pitcher. So i sat there chillin for not even 5 minutes before the girl came and grabbed my beer from me and sat down a water. Soo basically she wasted my friends beer and i was far too sober to deal with all the clearly hammered people around me. The whole situation was odd and insulting but thankfully i have found places to grab a beer that don’t accuse the only sober person in the bar of being too drunk. Few months later the situation is laughable but at the time i felt very unwelcome in my new town.

Didn’t bother going in because the bouncer was so rude. Too bad because we love live music.

Call it a cultural crisis that this country shames kids into their closeted drinking habits till they turn 21, where if they’re in a college town they can come to a place like the Up & Up Tavern to be «babysat» by a group of exhausted and fed up-​not 21 year olds. The Up and Up conjures little more atmosphere than playpen soaked in pitchers of Rainer, where the supervised can munch on breaddy pizza and drunkenly rub their hips against one another flirtatiously. Kind of charming all the same.
Stand out moment of the night is the utter «over it, don’t care» eyes the woman at the door gave me when I turned back to her to ask if she needed to see my ID. I wish her many headache-​less nights.

The Up is a great spot for splitting pitchers and hanging out with your friends. The beer selection is solid and usually you can find a place to sit and chat easily. The best part: has got to be the pizza. It perfectly hits the spot when you’re drinking beer and playing some pool. The vibe is always calm and you don’t have to worry about creepy wannabe-​frat bros trying to grind up on you and slip something into your drink. The Up is at it’s best in the summer because the outdoor seating is one of the most chill places to hang on a sunny day.

This is the worst bar ever. Food is horrible.
But service is worse. If you want someone to serve you but be so into his boyfriend that he can’t do his job. Oh yeah and the juke box okay pay your money and not even hear your song. Place sucks service is worst ever!!!

Seems like a perfect match: pizza and beer. However, I advise going during the week. As a restaurant worker, I don’t know how they manage their «bar» here. They go up to one person and pour one beer, go back and charge them and then give them their change instead of multitasking.
I waited 20 mins for service, so what started off as wanting 1 pitcher, changed to 3 after waiting around that much to get service.

I stopped in to the Up & Up as part of my downtown bellingham foodz and drinkz tour, and a pretty obscure Steely Dan song was playing on the jukebox. Your Gold Teeth II?! I’m a fan already!
I did not have any pizza or play any pool or darts, or hang out in the beer garden, but the Up & Up seems like a great place to do all of that. I ran into a musician here that I’d seen play at the Green Frog Tavern a few nights before, and some people came in and asked for a cribbage game, so I’d say its an interesting crowd here at the Up & Up. They don’t have wifi, so it makes sense that people were seeking cribbage instead of focusing on their phones and laptops. The bartender was very friendly and had some great tips and info about Bellingham nightlife. They have an excellent brown, non-​hoppy beer on tap called Moose Drool. 5 Stars for the UP & UP!

This is a pretty relaxed bar and I love that they have Angry Orchard on tap. Get some pitchers grab some pizza and relax. Good hang out with friends during the summer since they do have an outside section. It’s not too loud here so you can actually hear the person sitting across from you.

It’d be 5 stars if I was rating it on the bartenders I’ve seen and the actual place. Smoking place outside, pool, good prices, really amazing staff.
The crowd is mostly 21 – 22 year old college boys. This is great on 2 conditions:
You are also an irritating college kid. Good for you.
You really want to feel awesome by outdrinking everyone there. It’s easy and hilarious most nights. Kids these days can’t handle their liquor.

I have been in here a few times now… Pitchers are cheap, staff is great, and the ‘za is a perfect addition to a pint of whatever you choose. It can be a bit hectic at times, but on off nights, this is one of the best spots in town to drink some beer. The beer garden is incredible as well.

PBR is $ 5 a pitcher now.
$ 5.00
Still good times to be had and maybe a wake up call that I’m too old to be drinking at the Up.

Typical college town beer joint.
Pros?
–Cheap pitchers
–Pizza by the slice
–Large outdoor patio
Cons?
–Grubby

Went here for the first time a little while back. The people working there are very friendly and were very helpful. Glasses/​Pitchers are poured favorably to the customers.
Nice, laid back place. Pretty casual. Younger crowd, most people arrive in groups.
I heard a few people throughout the night slightly complain about the fact they don’t serve other types of alcoholic drinks.

up and up, UP AND UP! YARRR! I love this Bellingham bar! The dart board is always free, the pitchers are poured full and the people there are always amazing but mostly it’s the bartenders that make that place so great. Very gracious, funny and stern when they need to be. I miss you already!

So it has been about 30 years since my last visit as a student at WWU. Back then it was a true dive bar, clearly the Up has had many renovations. The bright work (wood finish) was as good (maybe bettor) than any pub in Ireland. It really did not have that dive feel to it as I expected. My wife was not keen to go there due to the reputation but we were both pleasantly surprised. Admittedly I was looking forward to seeing the ol’ place in it’s original condition, no joy:) We were there well before the crowds on a Saturday. The bartender was full of great factoids about the place. Huge selection of draft beers, another big change. In my previous visit, you had two choices, PBR draft and in the can. There is a great historic feeling to the place, Didn’t try the food but peeking into the kitchen it looked clean and well organized.

Went there for couple drinks, it was good place to hang out with friends.
They have a good choice of tasty beer, but I wish that they serve other alcohol drinks as well.
Up&Up is definitely good place to go and chill out.

I have a special place in my heart for The Up. Yes, it’s a dive. But it’s one of those places you keep going to (or at least I do), and I originally never thought I would. However during college, and even after whenever I’m up for a visit, I always find myself spending my late night in The Up.
Their beer selection is pretty extensive (for Bellingham), and I cannot complain about their $ 2 pitchers of PBR (except that it’s PBR and they used to be a $ 1 — but hey! It’s still cheap). They also have slices of Rudy’s Pizza available, which are pretty dang good sober or not sober. If that doesn’t tickle your fancy, Pel’Meni is right across the street — ahhh brings me back to my college days.

Cheap beer, but no where to really put it unless you manage to score one of the very, very few seats in the place. I enjoyed that it was a loud, fun atmosphere, but it wasn’t so loud that you couldn’t talk to other people.
I met up with some friends here when I had just turned 21 and got my first beer in a bar (Mac and Jack’s African Amber). I managed to make new friends as soon as I got there and it ended up being a cool night. The Up definitely holds a special place in my heart.

More formative than anything else during my WWU college career.
The walls are adorned with carpet samples that I can only imagine harbor things that make boogers look downright appealing. There are some poignant thoughts scrawled on the walls which you will feel like adding to as soon as you’ve reached a certain tipping point in your evening.
You can get drunk on watery beer for only a couple of bucks if you’re a petite 20ish year old girl.
Because the beer is so watery the toilets (all two of ‘em) get a work out and the bathrooms overflow on a nightly basis and everyone seems to just take this as a fact of life at the Up & Up.
If the floors are too gross, and it’s not raining horizontally, you can go outside to their «patio» and sit in the alley. Sometimes there is a grill out there where you can order fifty cent hamburgers, it’s an extra dime or so for cheese. That might not be there anymore but if they are… don’t give any lip to the biker who runs the grill. If he’s closed for the night, he’s closed. Helen.