Skylarks Cafe - Bellingham (WA)

5 /5 Carrie King: Loved it! Skylark’s has such a beautiful, classy pub-like feel with a warm, welcoming atmosphere. The staff were all very friendly, and the food was excellent — generous portions and great flavor. We took our son who goes to Western and his teen brother, and everyone left full and happy. Highly recommend!

5 /5 Nicholas Nuzzi: This restaurant has earned 5 ⭐️—despite that, I will not be back. More on that later. We ordered the brussel sprouts as an appetizer (some of the best I’ve had), the fried halibut (good, not as flaky as I would prefer, certainly not worth $34, but good). This may warrant a lower score, but the rest of the food was above average in taste. The soup of the day (red pepper) was perfectly seasoned and the sliders were good. The waitress couldn’t have been nicer and did a great job. Easily earned 20%. The atmosphere is quite nice for a small restaurant. It’s in keeping with the neighborhood vibe and charm. Why I won’t be back and a word of caution: Skylarks Cafe is extraordinarily expensive (see receipt in photos) for this tier of restaurant. After all, cafe is in the name, and that’s about what it is - a pleasant, upscale cafe— serving brunch, dinner, and drinks. I gave a lower rating in an OpenTable survey because the prices were outdated. Generally speaking, if the restaurant advertises the charges correctly on their menu (which doesn’t really apply for Google like it does Open Table), I don’t think it’s fair to dock points because of the prices — you see them before you decide to order. A reasonably minded person reading this review might ask: What about inflation and the area? Inflation particularly in 2022-2024 left restaurants and retailers with no choice but to raise their prices. But here it’s more than that. I know because I’ve dined at comparable— even larger scale— restaurants in the Fairhaven neighborhood that charge significantly less for the same menu items. On a Friday at 6:00 pm, this restaurant was unusually slow. We had trouble finding parking in the area, but there were no more than a handful of tables occupied. If I owned or managed this restaurant I would feel great about my staff and food, but I would wonder if lowering prices would result in greater revenue overall based on volume. If the restaurant decides to lower prices, I would definitely consider dining here again. What were the “other fees” on the receipt? In addition to the unusually high prices, this restaurant charges a 3% fee for using credit cards.

4 /5 Sean Tuazon: Disclaimer: my first time here and it was New Years day so my experience is likely skewed. Food looks fantastic, aesthetically very cozy environment, staff were kind and polite. This is a great place to take someone you want to impress but not my idea of a go-to spot. On the pricier side, the food was very good but not what I was hoping for for the price I paid. Waited about 30 minutes for a table for 2. Food maybe took 15 minutes. Smoke salmon eggs benny: 4 out 5 stars. Soft biscuit, hollandaise sauce was light, smoke salmon was great, egg are little more poached than I personally like. A great eggs benny but maybe a bit too "refined" for me. I like my benny to taste like its curing a hangover I dont have.

4 /5 Baylee Crouse: The atmosphere and service were fantastic but the food was a bit of a letdown on our first visit here. Both plates of food were pretty cold when they came to our table and overall lackluster in flavor. I am, however, looking forward to trying their lunch options at a different time and hoping it’s more impressive than our brunch experience :)