The Westgate Bourbon Bar & Taphouse — Restaurant in Beaverton

I had heard about Westgate and looked at some pictures and reviews on the web. I had not been here since it changed.

My girlfriend and I had worked all day and wanted to have a date night. We didn’t have the kids that night, so I thought that I would pull this place out of my hat and surprise her with a decent choice for dinner.

The atmosphere is great, the seating was quick, the selection of beer is amazing! I didn’t check the wine selection, but it looks fantastic and of course the bar is completely stocked and looks great as well.

The place was not packed, lots of open spaces, but we were seated in line with the other patrons kinda corralled into seating instead of spread into a comfortable placement.

We asked if we could move to a different table a little further down and the waiter said that was fine. So we picked up our menus and water and moved them down.

We ordered a couple of appetizers. One of the cheese curds and the calamari. These both arrived in good time and the plating was well done and the appetizers were good.

The menu is great and the small bits of humor is fun.

The menu boasts of a fillet, that they refuse to cook beyond medium. So being a man and seeing the line they have drawn in the menu, made me believe that this was something they were proud of and would place some attention into the care of preparation.

My girlfriend is a ribeye kind of girl and that may be a small piece of why I love her so much. She has good taste.

Both entrees arrived and again the plating was great. Unfortunately both steaks were overdone. The fillet was dry and charred and was well, well done. My girlfriends ribeye was not quite as overdone but a good well done or medium well.

Both steaks had absolutely no flavor and the charring was terrible. The potatoes were bland as well as the veggies.

Even the people next to us that had been seated closely in line had the same feeling and had to ask for steak sauce to try and moisten the meat.

I asked the waiter to look at the fillet and he Agreed without me even saying anything. He took the steak back, and they prepared another one. He brought it back and this one was much better, but still had the charring, like it is being cooked on a dirty grill.

My girlfriend is not as assertive with these types of things, and I don’t know that many people are.

This place has everything going, just need to kick up the food and cook things correctly and I would change this to 5 stars. For the price paid for the food, it should equal in taste and in preparation.

The beer selection is really amazing. Someone has done their homework. I used to live up in Multnomah village directly across the street from Johns market place and this place runs in the ranks. Not bad for...

With such a marvelous selection specializing in whiskeys, it was somewhat disappointing to discover the bartender had never heard of a whiskey flip. And although they weren’t busy, he also didn’t seem interested in looking it up and giving it a shot, so I settled for an egg white sour instead. My date was admittedly stumped by the large selection, and I ended up having to be the one to help guide him toward a decision—not the bartender, as you’d usually expect from a whiskey bar as nice seeming as this one.

When inquiring about the price of the rye I wanted, I was misinformed by the bartender guesstimation that it was priced at “20-23-ish.” My egg white sour ended up being $30. Similarly, my date’s drink with a scotch priced at 16 ended up being 20 as a rob roy (scotch manhattan). While it’s understandable to have a couple dollars upcharge to do something as a cocktail, $4 for what’s basically an as manhattan and $7-10 for an as egg white sour seems a biiiit too much. Either their as cocktail up-charges are something to really watch out for, or we were simply lied to. Either way, we left feeling kind of ripped off and discouraged to actually go for the bottles from their excellent selection instead of settling for a generic well cocktails with makers mark that you know will be $13.

To top it off, my $30 egg white sour was not tasty due to 1, not seeming to have the proper measurements or balance of simple-to-citrus and 2, the bartender’s lack of interest in whether I wanted it to be watered down by rocks. As a cocktail server and bartender, I was under the impression that when one asks for an egg white sour it should usually be strained and served up—because while you can add ice to a whiskey sour, you can’t as easily take the ice out of the whiskey sour. Regardless, a simple inquiry could fix the need to assume what the customer wants.

Also unsatisfactory was my date’s cocktail, which I suspected they might’ve used dry vermouth instead of sweet based on the oddly flat flavor.

I’m not one to make a fuss, especially not in the moment, but this experience at a whiskey bar of this caliber was a big letdown. Especially considering the whiskey was more expensive than we were informed, and the bartenders didn’t seem well versed on what they were selling. I understand one cannot remember every price with such a massive collection, but if it ends up being different than promised, it’s good service to check and let your patrons know instead of being slick about it. But while oddly not seeming super knowledgeable about whiskey, the service was still friendly. The food might be where they shine, but I’m a die hard fan...

Today I got the pulled pork sandwich and fries for lunch. The fries were cooked crisp and the fry sauce was unique and delicious. I wasnt a huge fan of the sand which, it's on the sweeter side with no real "tang" and the giant onion ring threw me off a bit. But to each their own, it wasnt bad, just not for me! I took home 2 beers from the cooler area and loved how knowledgable the host was, and admired his suggestions for my next purchase. Tonight I got the Caribbean chicken dinner and OHMYLORD... this is my new favorite dish in town. The chicken melted in my mouth, amazingly flavorful and juicy. The mango chutney was perfect, and the "jerk" seasoning on the chicken was absolutely perfect. The chicken comes bone in but it just falls off flawlessly. Black bean puree was simple and delicious, rice cooked very well. I ordered a side of the sweet jalapeno sauce and was surprised by how NOT hot it was, but it was still tastey and suited my desire for more SAWUCE. (I'm a dipper). I had a BlackBerry atlas cider, (wasnt feeling too adventurous) with my dinner which paired rather well with the mango chutney. My servers were all around pleasant and knowledgable. They interacted with the customers very well and my food and drinks came out in a timely manner. (I was beginning to feel a smidge impatient for my food but once I got it I realized this deliciousness probably takes time! No complaints here!). The atmosphere is upscale feel with casual nature in actuality. I wore jeans and a black shirt, and everyone else was dressed about the same way. Music is retro and low key so you dont have to raise your voice to talk to someone, lighting is soft but well lit so you can see all available options on the liquor wall. Menu is expansive all around, there's something for everyone! I'm was especially happy that they are open until midnight on sundays. It can be so difficult to find GOOD food places open past 10pm on a sunday night. Food pricing is 3/5, chicken dinner was $18, pulled pork sandwich was $11. Drinks vary completely. Anywhere from 2/5-5/5. Like I said, there's something for everyone. The variety is endless! I don't really have any critiques for this fine establishment. I'll...