Bantam — Restaurant in Bellingham

A friend who had eaten there before invited me to dinner at Bantam. I trust her judgement so we went. Bantam specializes in chicken either fried or rotisserie. I am a great lover of fried chicken which I've eaten from coast to coast. I've seldom had fried chicken as good and never chicken that was better. Bantam's fried chicken is several cuts above anything available locally. The chicken breasts are boneless and butterflied before frying. I suspect that the meat is marinated for at least a day making it tender and juicy. The breading is light and delicious, not so thick as to overwhelm the delicious meat nor so thin as to be insignificant. The chicken is simply wonderful. But there are sides to consider. Since I've only eaten at Bantam once there are several sides that I can't speak of. The red cabbage slaw that comes with each meal is extraordinary. When I see slaw on most menus I steel myself for shredded cabbage, probably with shredded carrots drowning in some runny mix of mayonnaise and, if I'm lucky, vinegar but I'm not often lucky. Bantam's slaw is lightly dressed. The cabbage is the star, crunchy, tasty and a perfect offset to the chicken. I ordered the Fried Chicken Meal which comes, as I've already written, automatically with the meal. My choice of entree came with a choice of another side dish. I chose the rotisserie cauliflower. I chose wisely. The cauliflower is roasted to perfection with a hint of turmeric and vinaigrette. You could do a lot worse than that delightful and unassuming dish. I almost forgot the appetizer though it was far from forgettable. We ordered the deviled eggs which were devilishly delicious. Three halves of eggs, totally in keeping with the chicken theme, filled with creamy, fluffy whipped yolk, come with 3 thin rounds of parmesan toast in a bed of sweet, lightly vinegary, red pepper and walnut spread with a sprinkling of greens. The only thing wrong with the deviled eggs was that there weren't more of them. Bantam served 4 more appetizers. On my next visit, and there definitely will be one soon, I plan on trying the garlic and parmesan french fries or the hush puppies or...oh! They all look so good! One thing is certain though: since I like spicy food, my next entree will be the Golden Chicken. There's a lot to...

We were just downtown after picking my wife’s car up at the dealership for service, and wanted something to eat. We just stumbled on Bantam. What a great happenstance that was! At first the prices were a little more than we were hoping, but then we saw the family meal for $57! It was myself, my wife, and our 16 month old son. The value was incredible for what we got. A whole beautiful roasted chicken, two sides (Mac and cheese and fries) coleslaw (theirs is special) biscuits with honey, and any sauces we needed. We ate like royalty! My son ate way more than a 16 month-old should, and in the end, we had enough leftovers for another full meal. The service was great, and the long wait I was dreading for the family meal (I was a little hangry) wasn’t to be. It was under 15 minutes!

My wife had two double Tito’s lemon drops as well, and the bill was an extremely reasonable $102. So $125 out the door for a beautiful dinner with an entire 2nd meal leftover to go. Without the alcoholic drinks, we would have been around $80 out the door for 6 meals! That’s like $13/meal for beautiful food, perfectly seasoned, and in a great low light atmosphere. Having the bar upstairs and the restaurant downstairs is a perfect layout.

I was pleasantly surprised by this place, and we’re already planning our next dinner there this week! We’ve found a new regular spot, and these days that’s not easy. I truly can’t fault this place for a single thing. So happy to see quality restaurants still on Railroad that aren’t charging crazy money for a family to get a solid meal. 10 of...

We always enjoy the food, service, and ambiance at Bantam. The deviled eggs are amazing. A lot of work clearly goes into preparing them and the flavors and textures are wonderful. I also love their hush puppies. Very crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, just as they should be. You'll have the most moist chicken here that you've ever had too.

Drinks are always good and they rotate seasonally, so it's never the same menu, which keeps it fresh. I feel like they taste even better when enjoyed upstairs in the ambiance of the bar, fireplace, and books on the shelves.

The service and how they run Bantam is what sticks out most to me though. I remember the first time we went shortly after they first opened, they must have had a busy night and the food took a long time to come out. We weren't upset at all, but we requested our food to go when it was ready because sleepiness hit me all of a sudden. I had worked a really long day and I was so tired all of a sudden and I was worried I was going to fall asleep. They insisted on giving us the meal for free, to which we felt bad because we weren't upset. It was my fault as I shouldn't have decided to go out that evening, but they insisted, and the manager came out. A real nice guy. We left a generous gratuity, but we have been back many times because of what is important to them and how good their service is. I'll be honest- I do not know how the owner remembers our name when we come in. He must have a photographic memory. Impressive....