The Vines

The wine selection is impressive and, as the reviewer before me (Pamela) mentioned, the corking fee is definitely preferable to the silly mark-​ups you can encounter at other places. My dinner, however, was another story. I ordered the special which was labeled as fresh Canadian Sockeye salmon. When I received my dish and took my first couple of bites, the taste seemed off. I continued to eat and eventually began to suspect that this might be a different type of salmon. At this point, feel free to write me off as a prick, but I inquired about the salmon and if I could perhaps see something (anything) to feel satisfied. I was not provided with anything. Now, if I’m going to be paying $ 30 for dinner, I have an expectation that it is as advertised. Since I was not provided anything to «verify» (again, feel free to call me a prick) that the salmon was fresh Sockeye (I’m fairly certain it was neither), I cannot help but feel misled. Overall, the dinner was fine, but ultimately I like to get what I pay for.

This is a cute little bistro/​wine shop in downtown Bellingham. They have a pretty nice selection of wine at retail prices, and with a $ 5 corking fee you can enjoy a bottle with lunch or dinner without paying the 50+ percent mark-​up that other restaurants charge for a bottle. We went for a dinner and shared a wild geens salad and an entrée of beef tenderloin with a port mission fig demiglaze. The two were perfect to share for 2, and the steak was a little over cooked, but good. They also serve calzones, sandwiches, antipasto, soups and cheese platters. And the desserts sound delicious. I will have to return to find out if they are.