With gourmet burgers on pretzel buns and pesto prawn linguine, Latitude Kitchen and Bar establishes itself as one of the first higher-end, modern restaurants in Bellingham’s Sunset Drive area near I-5.
This is a sister location to the Loft, a waterfront restaurant at Bellingham’s Squalicum Harbor Marina. Owner Jeff Holmes saw the opportunity when he realized the lack of high-end restaurants on Sunset Drive.
“It’s an area that’s underserved,” Holmes says. “The amenities in that area were lacking. We thought we could definitely provide something that was needed.”
This restaurant, headed by executive chef Steven Engels, serves up the rich flavors of the Pacific Northwest. The locally sourced ingredients are all prepared in a “scratch” kitchen where nothing is microwaved. All savory sauces, like those on the Seafood Chimichanga ($23.90) and decadent pastas (try their Crab Ravioli, $24.90) are made in-house. Here, it’s possible to order cheaper, more-simple versions of main dishes at the Loft, allowing all to be satisfied.
Aside from its artisan dishes, a sophisticated aesthetic is shaped by the furnishings’ reclaimed wood and metal, the recently added mezzanine, and the floor-to-ceiling windows. In the floor, tiny flecks of brass shavings give the floor a little sparkle.
With the introduction of a second location, the plan is to expand the brand created by the Loft. “Our hopes were to carry on and build upon what we established at the Loft on the waterfront and to build on that branding, to make the next step,” Holmes says.
1065 E. Sunset Dr., Bellingham
360.707.7400 | latituderestaurants.com
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