Elk St. Tavern — Restaurant in Bellingham

I was excited to try this place since Redlight is my favorite place to eat in Bellingham. I rarely go out because of the mediocrity of most of the places in town, but I had high hopes for Elk St. We arrived at 7, and my friend and I both wanted the burger, but they had sold out already. At 7:00, mind you. There were 5 other things to choose from, 3 which were apparently "shareable" (the chicken, steak, and fish) so I settled on the Dover sole for $32.00. I understand that they are trying to be like Carnal was---à la carte, with the expectation that you share everything and order a few sides (veggies, starches) to go with it. We did not want to share, so I ordered the Brussels spouts. They claim the sole was for 2 people, but I easily ate it, as it consisted of 2 small filets-- about 8 ounces of fish. One can buy sole at the local stores for $11.99 a pound, so I thought this was a total ripoff (a $6.00 portion for $32.00), and it was also overcooked, flavorless, and many bones were found. With tip and 1 mixed drink it was just shy of $75.00. I could've got a half chicken ($22.00), or a ribeye to split ($69.00!!), but again with the cost of these easily cooked items, my go to place will always be Redlight, as they have unique Asian inspired and truly shareable dishes that are more difficult to recreate at home. They did have several seafood options, but again....I can buy 2 pounds of 16/20 wild prawns for $25.00 (they were offering 5 prawns for $22.00) or get a dozen oysters at Taylor for $30. The ambiance was great though, I just hope they abandon the à la carte, or make the plates more unique like Carnal did, as it is cost prohibitive and neither the entrees nor the sides were very interesting. Thank goodness...

To our wonderful community members at Elk Street Tavern. Thank you for your warm service, gracious hosting & of course the stellar menu options! We have tried the Sole, Fried 1/2 Chicken, broccolini, Brussels, frites, carpaccio, caesar & seafood tower. All are spectacular!!! And at such a fair price point. The work that has gone into this space is what we have come to expect from Logan, Teo and all the crew - & more specifically to our server Amber who was one of the best servers we’ve ever had in Bellingham… and we’ve been here for MANY years. Thank you for an absolutely delightful dining experience in downtown. Keep up the great work! Love, your friends and BackDoor...

I have been to the Red Light on Grand. The food here was very limited and quite expensive. They tell you the entries are "shareable" however, small portions and debatable flavors. The pasta dish was appealing but overwhelming bitter with lemon rind. The prawns were great. A bit of smokiness in the cocktail sauce. The Ceasars salad was good but I don't like whole anchovies in mine. (Personal preference) I believe they mischarged me the 1st time I went there. $70 for 2 glasses of wine,...