209 East Chestnut Street
Bellingham, WA 98225
Whatcom County
Phone: (360) 733-0878
Fax: unknownWebsite: no website on fileEmail: no email on fileHours: unknown
Cap Hansen's Tavern - About Us
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by Bo W. on My experience was a little jaded from the start as we were 15 minutes late for our reservation because we had to wait 15 minutes to get into the valet lot. We later found out that this was because there was a crowd there to watch the Laker game on the patio. Who goes to a place like XIV to watch a basketball game? Only in LA. But I digress... I have eaten at five other Michal Mina restaurants, and this was my fourth visit to XIV, so I know what to expect. This was the first time that I went with a tasting menu since my first visit to XIV. For fun, I read some of the reviews on rateclubs before I went this time, and need to touch on a couple of points that other rateclubsers have mentioned in prior reviews: (1) The tasting menu courses come out faster than you can eat them. You can eat very quickly, as each course is little more than a bite, but he second you are finished with one course, another one arrives. It's eerie, like they have a hidden camera and are watching you eat. If you could eat as fast as they bring them, you could be done with six courses and out of there in 30 minutes. Around the third course, I asked the server to slow down the service. Then the fourth course took about 15 minutes too long to arrive, and courses five and six came in rapid fire succession after that. I blame the server, it was his responsibility to moderate the pace of food service. (2) Another rateclubser mentioned that the servers pay more attention to the larger parties, as that is where the larger gratuities are. After this visit, I tend to agree. There were two large parties seated nearby, and our server was draped over them like a cheap suit. Our server did not make an appearance at our table between the time the third course came and the time at which I had to look for him to request the check. I will say that his gratuity was affected by his failure to moderate the pace of the food service and his lack of attentiveness, e.g. I will tip up to 40% for very good service and this guy got 15%. Finally, the corkage fee at XIV is $35, which equals the highest that I have seen in town. This is a very expensive restaurant, they should be happy just to have you sitting there. To take further advantage of your pocketbook with the corkage is just not right. On a positive note, the decor and atmosphere at XIV are very pleasant. The acoustics are good, so the noise level is moderate. The lighting is perfect. The wagyu skirt steak and tai snapper were the only memorable items of the six courses that I tasted. The other courses were pretty standard items that I could have gotten at 25 other places on the westside. A customer comes to a restaurant to eat, what should matter is the taste of the food. When that customer leaves talking about service or the prices, the restaurant is missing the mark. Overall, I am giving XIV two stars out of five. When compared to all other restaurants, they might get a higher rating but I am only giving them two because they should be a four/five star restaurant and are in need of improvement. I really want to love this place, but the wow factor is just not there.
by Migdalia Hindmarsh on Took my lady out to Annie's for the britpop night, and we had a grand old time! The crowd's pretty much silly geeky hipsters, which is my kind of crowd... some dressed down, some dressed up, nobody seemed to look or feel out of place, and nobody cares if you don't know how to dance. ;) The decor is fun too; dark red and black walls, baroque chandeliers, and a naked lady painting over the bar adds that touch of tongue-in-cheek class that tells you this isn't a place to take yourself too seriously. There's not a lot of seating area, so be warned -- if you're going to dance your poor footsies off you may find yourself having to improvise a leaning location. Cash only, modest cover. Token fee for coat check (you will get warm).
