The Filling Station — Restaurant in Bellingham

We used to own a 50's diner in Georgia. I saw this and thought we needed to go because it was described like a gas station feel.

The first issue was parking. I'm handicapped and use a walker. I didn't see handicapped parking anywhere. The side street was at least a 10° hill, so that wasn't possible. Most of the spaces were full anyway. The flat parking in front was full and only had 3-4 parking spaces. The strip mall beside it said it was for those businesses only. We drove around 3 times and finally found parking down and across the street.

The front of the place was cute with outdoor seating and the fall leaves reflecting on the window. We weren't sure what the theme of the restaurant was supposed to be. We were thinking of the gas station theme, but not quite seeing that when we sat down. When we first entered, there was a Bob's Big Boy statue in front of the hosts stand. As i recall that's still a trademark for the Big Boy restaurants. There are license plates all along the ceiling and a few hubcaps on a wall in front of the bathrooms. The names of the burgers and food are really cute, such as The Thunderbird.

There are shades that are able to come down to block the sun. However, the shades didn't go to the top of the window, and the sun shined through there.

That's where the theme stopped. There's modern music playing and modern art on the back wall. No pictures of old cars. No 1950s music playing. There are two modern art pictures in the bathrooms of cars similar to what an AI generated picture on the computer would look like. The other side of the restaurant looked like it had a bit more gas station theme decor.

The bathrooms were actually similar to the ones out back of a gas station. It was really dark even with all three lightbulbs working. My husband said the other bathroom was just as dark. My bathroom had a funky smell to it. The kitchen/ prep area was on the other side of the wall from the bathroom, and as I sat down on the toilet, LOUD banging started that startled me. Their special was a fried pork cutlet, and I'm guessing that's what they were pounding out. Personally, that type of prep should be done before opening when there aren't customers. When I came out, my husband mentioned the loud banging as well. I would not have been able to carry on a conversation during that. Sounded like construction.

The hosts/ waitress sat us quickly and asked about drinks. She got us a pitcher of water and told us the specials, but then didn't come back for another 20 minutes to take our order. (Yes, i looked at the time.) She had seated customers well after us. She came with an excuse, I'm sorry, "I went to get their drink orders and got their food order as well." Just say,"I'm sorry about the wait. "

She was friendly and polite for the most part. The food came very quickly. I will rave about their fries. They aren't the typical shoe string 1950s fries, but a flat curled potato that is battered and fried. They were delicious! The burger, however, had a cold bun even though it was toasted. I looked to check the burger and it was 2 very thin smash burgers with cheese in the middle of them. The burger wasn't juicy. The smash burger was invented during the great depression to use less expensive meat and feed more people in a short amount of time. It has a tasty crust on the burger, however, when I read "1/3 or 1/6 pound grass feed beef", I was expecting a burger patty with substance- especially paying modern day prices. I want expecting two very thin patties glued together with cheese. If it's a smash burger, call it a smash burger.

Overall, the waitress was good, the bathrooms need lighting, the decor is confusing, and the burgers did not reflect the description on the menu. I'd love to visit the area again, but I'll go to another restaurant with handicapped parking and the menu is accurately...

Have you ever had curly fries, but thick like wedge fries? If not you absolutely must come try them at The Filling Station. I’m a fry fanatic so naturally I would rave about the amazing, perfect cooked and flavoured fries, but there is so much more to be offered. Although it’s technically a bar and grill, I can’t help but feel like it’s a diner that had a love child with a wild-hearted, road-tripping adventurer. The theme is centred around cars; the food is cleverly named around anything and everything car -even my beloved curly wedge fries are called “tire treads”. My burger of choice was “The Wrangler”, it had the ingredients of a standard burger with the addition of a bbq aioli, which really tied all the flavours together. I was happy to learn that nearly all of the fresh ingredients (meats, dairy, etc.) were local and the beef pasture raised. Paired off with lemonade, I definitely left satisfied. If you’re feeling the classic diner vibes, the strawberry milkshake is divine and also pairs nice with the burger.

Looking back I would have tried much more, but the portions are large so I would definitely consider sharing some of the starters in the future (I have my eye on the “hub caps”, you’ll have to go there to find out what they are). I wish I took more photos of the inside and outside of the place, it really is a whole experience, and the staff make it that much more enjoyable. If I lived locally I would definitely we eating here minimum...

6/23/2021 Unfortunately The Filling Station was an incredibly BAD experience all around except for our server. The food was ill-prepared, virtually tasteless, anemic to look at, there wasn’t a hint of creativity, the portions were pathetic and to add to the “already” painful situation they decided not to run their AC. The interior space was beyond uncomfortable. Think sweat running down your back with a glass of lukewarm water and not an ice cube in sight. My biggest mistake was not leaving on the spot. It’s obvious that there is a lack of training and respect for the organization as there is ZERO dress code (I wouldn’t think a sleeveless “wife beater” t-shirt with an old pair of shorts, grey socks (they were white once) and dirty runners would be considered proper restaurant server attire unless you work on the backend pealing potatoes) but in this place it seems to adhere to their policies. I don’t need to see some fellas underarm hair whilst I am trying to eat an off white chicken sandwich with wilted lettuce, an overcooked chicken finger, mayonnaise and “do-nothing” bun. Our server at least tried to look respectable, she was the saving Grace. With all of the terrific places to eat (food trucks included) that Fairhaven and Bellingham have to offer, I would be surprised this place lasts through end of the year. Very unfortunate indeed! The owners should be ashamed. AGAIN, the star goes to our server, at...