The opening of Roe this month was among 2024’s most anticipated restaurant happenings. Located in the old Ciao Thyme space on Unity Street, it’s on track to become one of the hottest date night places in town.
The co-owners are Chef Dan Rehbein — who has previous experience at Pacific Standard in Portland and at the Semiahmoo Resort — and his wife, Izzi. The couple is clearly motivated to create a Portland-quality neighborhood restaurant here in Bellingham.
Still in its soft opening, the restaurant is still finding its feet. But Roe clearly knows what it’s aiming for: a comfortable yet slightly fancy space where friends can share a table full of delightful small plates, dates can get to know each other, and regulars will be warmly welcomed. Roe has already passed a major test for me and my dining partner — the food is so interesting you strike up conversations with neighboring tables to ask about what they’re eating.
We visited on the third night of their soft opening. Behind the heavy front door with its spoon-shaped handle, the space is bright with white walls, high ceilings, pale wood accents, and plants and other greenery. The open kitchen makes the room feel busy and happening. There’s also nice attention to detail in the purse hooks under the counter and coat hooks in the hall, much appreciated in the rainy season.
Roe certainly had its share of opening week quirks — from slow bar service to the bathroom running out of toilet paper early in the evening — but I feel confident that will all get sorted out quickly. More importantly, the food was fantastic.
The menu is geared towards shareable small and large plates, with a mix of meat, seafood and vegetable dishes. My impression is that much of the menu will change through the seasons, with a few consistent dishes. There seem to be several vegetarian and vegan options, although these are not indicated on the menu itself. And as you might hope from the restaurant’s name, many dishes feature roe, or caviar, which makes everything feel a bit fancy.
We started with the albacore crudo ($17). It was cut into slightly thick pieces, but it was absolutely fresh and clean tasting. I loved the dilled buttermilk sauce it was served with, and if there had been bread handy (or just a spoon), we would have polished off every drop. Thinly-sliced radishes and grated horseradish on top were a perfect contrast to the rich fish and sauce.
We didn’t order the potato chips with caviar ($35) — but the lovely people at the table next to us gifted us the remainder of theirs! The fresh chips were thickly coated in salt and pepper, and a smear of creme fraiche provided a smooth contrast with the crunchy chips and salty paddlefish caviar. This is a pricey dish, but I would highly recommend it with a glass of bubbly to make a date extra special.
To clear our palates, we ordered butter lettuce salad ($12). It was light and fresh, with parmesan, herbs, and vinegar. It comes with pretty pink apple slices which I had to leave off (allergies), but even without them, it was wonderful.
For our mains we ordered the bavette steak and the halibut. The steak ($40) was succulent and perfectly cooked (we asked for medium rare), served with rich peppercorn sauce and a pile of thin crisp fries. My halibut ($45) was lightly breaded and fried until crispy and delicious, but it looked rather lonely on its plate in a sea of impeccably made sauce studded with orange roe. I was able to steal a few handfuls of fries from the steak plate but I would have enjoyed some wilted spinach or a few boiled potatoes, especially for that price.
On a follow-up visit, we sat at the kitchen counter, because who doesn’t enjoy watching other people work? While steaks were seared and oysters shucked just a few feet away, we got the Dungeness crab salad ($15), which was perched on top of a McDonald’s-style hashbrown and was tricky to eat and a bit bland.
On the other hand, the Roe burger ($22) turned out to be the best burger I’ve had in Bellingham in years. On a perfectly squishy bun that did not disintegrate, plenty of “fancy sauce” and two patties that were charred on the outside and pink on the inside, with bits of thinly sliced gherkin, this burger made me very, very happy.
Ricotta gnocchi ($26), served in a white wine sauce with wild mushrooms, were just a touch firmer than my platonic ideal of gnocchi but they were absolutely delicious, and we fought over who got to eat the mushrooms.
We did have an issue with the roasted squash dish we ordered — although it was mostly my own fault. In tiny letters at the bottom of the menu it says to ask your server if you have allergies, because not all ingredients are listed. They are not kidding about this, so don’t do what I did and forget to mention your allergies!
The salsa macha on the squash (which I had Googled and learned that it’s similar to chili crisp and usually contains peanuts, which I can eat) was instead made with hazelnuts (which I cannot). I found it unusual that the menu wouldn’t list common allergens like tree nuts, but now I know. The little bit of the squash I was able to eat was very good, though, and I enjoyed how the crispy chili salsa contrasted with the tender roasted squash and its base of coconut yogurt ($14).
The drinks list is relatively short but interesting. We’ve enjoyed the Harvest Moon, a spirit-forward cocktail with bourbon, calvados, lillet blanc, thyme simple syrup, and bitters, and the Marco Polo, a light and bitter concoction of Amaro Nonino, saffron tincture, lemon, and Topo Chico. The wine list is brief but has a really nicely curated selection of mostly European wines. They also have several N/A cocktail and beer offerings.
Given that Roe has only been open for a few weeks at the time of writing, I am really impressed at what they’re doing and how delighted people are with them. They’ve already started taking reservations, and I expect that tables will be in short supply in the very near future. Plan your date nights accordingly!
Roe is open from 4–9 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, and 4–10 p.m. Friday–Saturday, at 207 Unity St., Unit 101. Info: eatroe.com.
Jessamyn Tuttle is a freelance writer and photographer based in the Skagit Valley.
