Boundary Bay Brewery & Bistro

barleywinefiend

Washington

3.73/5  rDev -8.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 2.5 | $$$

A: Stopped in here on a Saturday, busy World Cup day, farmers market and WWU graduation. Busy but I saw some beer shirts. Laid back.

Q: Beer quality at BB is always good to very good

S: Slow at times but not bad, it was a busy day afterall.

S: 7 regular handles and 3 seasonals but nothing exciting at all

F: Fish tacos and burger were bland, bad, we did NOT finsh them. Not bad on price for the food but I have had better pub food for sure

Overall a good stop and glad I went but probably would not go out my way to go back.

06-13-2010 03:41:08 | More by barleywinefiend

loren01

Oregon

4.58/5  rDev +12.3%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Went here while in Bellingham a couple weekends ago. Had been here one other time and had an awesome time here and remembered how good everything was. Went somewhat early...maybe like 4pm and the place was packed....looks like the locals love this place as well. Parking was a bit of a challenge but finally found a spot. We ended up having to wait for a table but the staff said we could grab a beer and go out on the patio so thats what we did. Looked like down below the patio they were setting up for some music that night. I started off drinking a double red which was one of their seasonals on the menu. The double red was amazing! Finally some guy left so we grabbed his table in the bar area and sat down. Service was very prompt...and we ordered our food and another beer (dopplebock this time). The dopplebock was even better than the first beer. We ended up getting nachos and a side of beef stew. Both of which were amazing. Its a good thing boundry bay isn't in the town I live in cause I'd be there probably more than I should. A must visit while in Bellingham.

04-19-2010 16:04:29 | More by loren01

bigkingken

Virginia

4.7/5  rDev +15.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5 | $$

This is about as good as it gets, folks.

Located a handful of miles south of the Canadian border, Boundary bay may be the perfect local brewpub. The restaurant is set in what once must have been a large garage, because a giant garage door separates the main dining area from the patio area open when the weather is nice.

But other than that, you'd never know it was a garage. The tables, decorations, bar, televisions and general atmosphere has nothing "garage" about it. The giant boats, sails and mounted fish adorning the ceilings and walls is a bit over the top, but overall, I loved the feel of this place.

The menu is *almost* typical pub fare. The difference is the ingredients: the combinations of local ingredients and freshness of what is available.

For example, my dining partner got a delicious pizza topped with smoked salmon and pesto. I had a sandwich stacked high with a fresh filet of salmon. And the pumpkin cheesecake to top the meal off wasn't too bad either. It tasted just like the perfect pumpkin pie, which I've never had, because apparently the perfect pumpkin pie is a pumpkin cheesecake.

The beer is absolutely outstanding. They had nine of their own beers, each of which was heavy on the malts, giving it the depth and complexity so sorely missed by many brewpubs looking to sell a lot of beer. The malt level means it is more expensive, and you can't drink as much, because it is filling as hell. But I loved absolutely everything they put in front of me.

And the service was great. Good suggestions. Attentive. Brought my large sampler out in flights so that they didn't get too warm.

01-27-2010 23:24:38 | More by bigkingken

RedDiamond

Oregon

3.9/5  rDev -4.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

It's tempting to think of Bellingham as the quintessential northwest city. It's comfortably mid-sized with a mix of historic charm, modern adaptations and a lively personality. That might also describe the Boundary Bay Brewery and Bistro. It enjoys a great broken-in feeling courtesy of the building's origins as a downtown waterfront industry. The bar has worn, wooden floors, suspended sails and a dingy, and windows into the brewery. Plus, there's a beer garden, a patio, and isolated views of the bay.

The brewpub is in the heart of downtown Bellingham immediately across from the Farmer's Market. It's extremely popular among Bellinghammers. The diverse food menu is reasonably priced, tasty and falls mainly into that imprecise category called "comfort food." Try splitting a mac & cheese and a salad with a friend or the grilled portobellos if available.

The bar has just six seats. But the bar room and dining hall probably hold 100 or more people and will be packed during peak service hours. Expect a twenty-minute wait for a table on a Friday night. Service is responsive and pleasant. On one occasion my server forgot to bring me a beer menu for perhaps 15 minutes but compensated for this with a pint on the house. Apparently it's their policy.

Ten house beers include about seven regulars, three seasonals, one nitro tap and no guests. Cask ales are tapped on Thursdays. Boundary Bay enjoys a solid reputation for fine ales though my experience has been mixed. Most beers are American and British Isle derived with rare excursions into continental territory. 22-oz. bottles are available to go at the service counter.

11-12-2009 05:48:36 | More by RedDiamond

JTrona11

Washington

4.33/5  rDev +6.1%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$$

This is my local brewpub and one of my favorite places to drink.

The atmosphere is casual, comfortable and laid back.

The quality is very good, sometimes excellent.

The service can vary with who you get as a server. Some of the best service I've ever had has been at BB, and some of the worst. Not all of the bartenders and servers care about beer and will say whatever you want to hear to get more tips. There are a couple who do care, and if you find Paige, Erin, Ryan or Whitney behind the bar the service and knowledge levels rise.

The selection of beers is very good, with a steady 6-7 regulars and perhaps 15-20 various seasonals throughout the year.

The food is very good and has enough variety to satisfy an entire group.

A must visit when in the Northwest.

11-03-2009 02:31:44 | More by JTrona11

berley31

New Brunswick (Canada)

3.9/5  rDev -4.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Dropped in for lunch and a beer on the way to Seattle from Vancouver. Atmosphere was comfortable enough, but not exactly what I'd call 'cozy' or 'warm'. Sat in the bar area where there's basically a bunch of picnic tables. Ordered their Blonde (which was pretty good) and the Yellow Curry as a meal, which was also good. They had a bunch of their other beers on tap that I would have been interested in trying if we'd only had the time. Waitress was friendly and fast. A nice enough spot that I'd easily visit again if in the area.

10-22-2009 20:26:13 | More by berley31

Metalmonk

North Carolina

4.28/5  rDev +4.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Unassuming in the front, but once inside, Boundary Bay is welcoming (ie. not trendy or upscale) and enormous. Two separate indoor rooms with high ceilings, adjoined by two adjacent doorways, and a great multi-level beer garden--a deck, and another space below it on ground level, and next to that a tent with yet more picnic tables. Would be a kick-ass place for Oktoberfest, or any kind of occasion really. Nobody was in that area when I went, maybe because it was too cold and kind of drizzly.

Service was excellent, very attentive and knowledgeable about the beer. The beer itself was delicious--I had the bock and IPA. Expertly-crafted stuff that would keep me going back even if the food sucked (it didn't, although what I had was merely good).

Local art was displayed on the walls, and was for sale, and from reading the menu as well, it seems they're very much in support of their local community, in terms of the ingredients they use. They were even selling copies of Tom Robbins' new book, 'B is for Beer' (a kids' book for adults, or an adult book for kids), which I happened to have read just before leaving for my trip northwest.

A great place whose atmosphere and service is recommended, but of course it's the beers that you shouldn't pass up if you're ever in the area. So glad I went.

05-15-2009 00:19:10 | More by Metalmonk

cdViking

Washington

4.1/5  rDev +0.5%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $

Pretty much my stomping grounds throughout my university days at Western Washington U. Visited again this last weekend, and enjoyed myself tremendously.

Best part about the place is the atmosphere. Great, unpretentious crowd with few/no drunk idiots, frequent free live music in the main bar area, and awesome reggae nights and BBQs during the summer. The most fun place to drink beer in Bellingham.

The quality of the beer and the food is a mixed bag that leans towards the side of being very good. The food is standard bistro fare, but the soup and sandwiches are tremendous, and most entrees have generous portion sizes. As far as beer goes, there are usually 5-6 staples and a couple of seasonals on tap, with the quality varying from the very good (IPA, Oatmeal Stout, Barleywine) to the alright (Scotch, Irish Stout) to the wholly unimpressive (Bellingham Blonde). Still, tasty brews are abound.

The service is fine, for the most part depending on who you get as a server. Unpretentious attitude is nice, but sometimes leads to an unprofessional attitude. Servers are honest about what's good and bad, and are willing to make accomodations.

The place on the whole is a very good value, with exceptionally low food prices. The pints are a fair bit pricey (~$4.50) considering you can go down the street to Bob's or the Horsehoe and get the same beer for $3.75, but that's to be expected.

On the whole, great place to come back to again and again.

04-13-2009 17:22:34 | More by cdViking

gboyd

Michigan

3.75/5  rDev -8.1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $$

The place was hoppin! A weekend night during the holidays. .

We experienced a small wait at the door, where 2 out of the 3 employees I encountered were very pleasant (the third wasn't having any of it!)

They put us in a table too close to a set of stairs, which turns out is where the staff took their breaks. A lot of unnecessary bumping and moving of my chair during my meal...hhharumphhh!!! The place was also VERY NOISY.

We had decent service, nothing to write home about but also nothing to bitch about. Keep the beer full, but neglected the H2O glass all meal.

The food was pretty good, and very reasonably priced. Portions were good and the kitchen accommodated the wife's menu rewrites without exacting revenge by burning something (you would be surprised!) Everyone in our group got something different. All served tasty and hot!

The beer...
My group tried everything. They had a decent selection of house beers but nothing that I would go out of my way to buy and bring back to MI with me.

I hear the music scene can be pretty fun, and it from the info on their website, it looks like a great mix of music, but again, I can only imagine how loud it must get with the addition of musician volume control ego syndrome!

If I lived in Bellingham, this would probably be my stomping grounds. This is a good place in a surprisingly bad beer town.

01-09-2009 15:32:38 | More by gboyd

dbalsock

Vermont

4.13/5  rDev +1.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

So I've gone a couple times with different experiences each time. I've tried 7-8 of their beers and they were all at least decent. The scotch ale is better than the highland scotch ale, and their oatmeal imperial stout smells a little bit like wet dog, but other than those comments, the only thing I can say about their beer is: very good! The service has been good every time I've gone, with the servers noticing every time I was ready for a new beer. The atmosphere has been pleasant with nice seating and good lighting. Two times I went I ordered a pizza, and each time it had a very different crust. The first was big and fluffy and just how i like it, similar to pizza port in some ways. The second time was flat and not like pizza dough, but like flat bread. Both tasted good, but I definitely prefer the fluffy ones.

06-13-2008 04:48:33 | More by dbalsock