We have a vessel sink, installed by a plumber and the sink fills half way before it drains, and it drains with a lot of suction after it fills half way.
The plumber tells us this is normal, I can't believe it
Can you please confirm that he is right, and if not how I would go about fixing it
Thank you

We have a vessel sink, installed by a plumber and the sink fills half way before it drains, and it drains with a lot of suction after it fills half way.
The plumber tells us this is normal, I can't believe it
Can you please confirm that he is right, and if not how I would go about fixing it
Thank you

This is normal -- And the only real fix is to replace the grid or pop-up drain assembly with a flip-top drain assembly (http://www.amazon.com/Flip-Top-Sink-Drain-Chrome-Overflow/dp/B000F9CTJG).

Follow Growlers advice and install a flip-top vessel sink drain,(see image).
Good luck, Tom