The Filling Station - Sunnyland Station — Restaurant in Bellingham

Food was great. Seems about average price for a quick sit down meal. I love the ambiance of the restaurant as it reminds me of Lee's (which was there previously) although the music was quite loud. What I did not agree with at all was the fact that our waitress was quite unfriendly and seemed annoyed that we were even there, there were no niceties exchanged at all. No "how are you doing, how has your day been, have you been here before" not a nothing but here is your table and I'll be back with some water. When she came back she took our drink orders, I ordered a margarita, to which she replied "it's not happy hour" I was mildly confused and said "okay", she then walked away leaving me wondering if you can only order margaritas during happy hour? But, to my surprise, she came back a few minutes later with a margarita. She didn't check on us at all throughoutour meal, only coming back once to drop off the beer that my fiancé ordered when our food was brought out, and that was a quick "here's your beer" and off she went until she came back to bring us our checks and ask if we needed boxes. This is when we found out that we had been charged a large party gratuity of 22%. There were 6 of us, 4 adults and 2 children. It was not explained to us upon being seated that we would be charged an extra fee for having 6 of us, nor did I see it posted on the menu anywhere that large parties would be charged an automatic 22%. The girl who served us definitely didn't deserve any of the almost $40 tip that was made off of our 2 bills. And if you're going to charge an automatic 22% gratuity for a large party it needs to be clearly marked for groups to see or explained...

Perhaps my expectations for this place were high due to the amazing experiences I've had at the Fairhaven location. However, even with low hopes, I would still have to rate this location poorly. Everything from decor, to the music playing, the service and the food were all complete disappointments. Fairhaven set a high bar for decor, granted. Service? The waitress brought us 2 tiny water glasses with a rinsed glass milk bottle full of water (really not sure how it plays into the decorum). She took our order, and with no one else sitting at tables, cleaned three tables before turning our order in to the kitchen. The wait for our food was timely. The music was an annoying indie pop type playing over the speakers. Our order finally arrived, she forgot our ranch and the drinks we ordered. Our burgers, with zero exaggeration, were about the size of happy meal burgers, dry, zero flavor, with a teeny tiny splat of thousand island dressing on top of a paper thin patty. The fries weren't seasoned but they weren't bad and portion of them was fine. Sodas came in very small sized cups as well. We were quickly ready to leave, had to look for a waitress so we could ask to pay and go. I expected so much more from a Filling Station restaurant. Fairhaven location is amazing for food, ambiance, service, it's a whole experience. Too bad they couldn't duplicate it. I understand small portions however, go and see for yourself, even with children's menu options, everything's served in kid sized portions. And the menu is a simple one page with nothing exciting to offer. It was an overwhelmingly...

Good solid burgers with quality ingredients, just watch the add-ons.

They have a good range of different style American classic burgers with fancier add-ons and good quality ingredients. The fries are not your classic fries but are more like a JoJo. The old school automobile atmosphere is fun to see and their burgers are named in different auto names. They also have a good selection of different homemade sauces. The drinks are good and they offer local beers. There is outdoor dining and take out also. They do offer less expensive burgers that are plain and smaller which are good on a budget.

My biggest issue is they tag you for every little add on and sauce. Simple burgers shoot up in price and the kids burgers are charged extra for ketchup. You are better off just getting it plain and putting your own ketchup out of the bottle from the table.

Overall very good burgers, shakes, drinks, and beers. I wish the add-ons weren't so expensive and that is why we don't go there more often. Still one of the better local burger joints and they have multiple locations.

Also the fish and chips taste ... Different. The batter is not traditional so if you want traditional I don't recommend...