Not being a native of Bellingham and having moved here during the Shrimp Shacks hiatus, I did not get to experience the original location. However, I was here for the opening of the Cornwall location and I was looking forward to trying the restaurant after hearing all the rave reviews. I must say that the food is pretty good but the atmosphere is horrendous. The acoustics are so loud that it is difficult to think much less carry on a conversation. I would suggest that if you want to eat the food, take it to go and find a nice quiet bench somewhere else. Otherwise you may end up with a headache. I went twice hoping the second time would be a little less busy/noisy because I was meeting my husband for lunch but no luck. We could barely hear each other across the table. The food keeps bringing the people in and the noise level escalates accordingly. If the owners would make a little more effort to quell the eatery noise, it could become a regular eatery for us but until then, we will avoid the headache and dine at home. It's good but not good enough to risk the irritation.