Westward

Westward Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant: Westward’s setting emphasizes its Lake Union location in multiple ways: the Wes Anderson-inspired boat-shaped bar; a dining room perched on a pier doing double-duty as a patio; Adirondack chairs circling a fire pit on the beach. The lake wind blows fresh breezes into the light-colored dining room, a place that's pleasant in summer and cozy in the winter when the wood stove in the open kitchen is fired up and sizzling.

Food & Drinks: Mediterranean flair hinted at in the starters is more prominent in larger dishes such as wood-roasted whole trout, presented as Marcona amandine. Dessert follows this Mediterranean theme with chocolate loukoumades (Greek donuts). Closer to home, a chocolate olive oil cake is made with Theo chocolate, a source found down the road in the Fremont neighborhood. The wine list features selections from around the world, offering the well-known (Frog's Leap from Napa Valley) and the unusual (Blanc de Noir from New Mexico). All the usual continental countries are represented, plus Lebanon, Greece and South Africa. The list goes beyond easy answers to allow quirky sips that enhance the food. Cocktails are similarly tailored with briny martinis echoing the taste of the sea.