Westward — Restaurant in Seattle

Mediocre at best. Showed up and signed up for the wait list with phone number. We were told it was a 2 hour wait, so we told them we'd be back and drove to Fremont Brewing Co., a 5 minute Lyft ride. Had a few drinks at Fremont, then went back to Westward after an hour and 50 minutes. Hostess had apparently not expected our return and told us we could wait by the fire and we would be sat right after the next folks to be seated outside. We ordered a glass of wine, a cocktail, and 10 oysters. The oysters showed 15 minutes before the drinks. Two groups were seated outside before us before I went up and asked if we were truly next. They sat us right after that. The wine and cocktail came at this point. At no point after this were we approached by waitstaff. We had to flag them down when we wanted something. Wife went to restroom and while she was gone, I ordered the Beef Tartare, the Fried Potatoes, and the steamed mussels. The tartare arrived lukewarm less than a few minutes after being ordered. When my wife returned, we ate it. The toast was soggy. It sat for possibly 5 minutes while I waited for her return from the restroom. The flavor was great, the speed of delivery, the temp, and the moistness of the toast left me feeling like we got a dish that had been sitting for a while. Maybe, maybe not.

Next dish were the clams. Some were over cooked, some were under cooked. Dish was okay. I was a little disappointed that he unopened clams weren't at the very least removed beforehand.

Finally, the fried potatoes were excellent. A decent mix of salty, silky, and sharp vinegar to distinguish each bite.

This is my 3rd visit to Westward, and each time I am more dissatisfied than the previous time I visited. The view of the city is certainly great, but everything else is sub-par to par at best. Flagging down servers to get a drink, a menu, an order is not worth the price point and this sub-par. Anything less than 3.7 out of 5 on the food is not worth the price point, and Westward, on this very busy Saturday, was a solid 3 at best. My main issue was the wait. I had to give my phone number for a place in line and received confirmation that I was on some kind of list via text message. I was told there was an hour to two hour wait so we left and came back after an hour and fifty minutes and were not greeted with anything more than confusion that we had returned at all.

Positives: great ideas for the menu, pretty sure I saw Dave Matthews, nice view of the city.

Negatives: Hospitality, worth of delivered services and...

$500 tab, 3 people. A round of cocktails, 18 oysters, a bottle of wine, some apps, 2 entrees to share, no dessert. We were seated outside in a tent on the patio - no mention of this during reservation, we were expecting indoors. At least the tent was warm. Views of the lake and downtown through the crinkled clear plastic. At these prices, you expect a little refinement, but no: bare metal tables, not even a placemat or flower to adorn them. Flat lighting, like a construction site at night, a bit too bright, unflattering. Servers were pleasant, but service was wildly uneven, at times glacial, as though training day had just happened this past weekend. Our cocktails didn’t arrive until we were well and done with our first app. Menu is extremely limited, in the fashion of the day, and strangely devoid of almost any vegetables. Meat entrees are served bare, just the meat, like at a high-end steakhouse where you have to pay extra if you want a potato or some greens on the side. Except there are no greens you can order on the side, unless you want a kale caesar salad… Veg entree (there is only one, $32 containing two ingredients that would cost you about $2.50 at the grocery store) was unremarkable. The duck is tasty though. But overall it just doesn’t come together, it’s like someone just slapped a bunch of random things on a menu. The extra point on this review is for the people sourcing and handling the raw bar: the oyster selection is fantastic and they were some of the tastiest we have had ever. Dessert selection was so uninspired that two confirmed dessert eaters just skipped. We have been fans of Renee Erickson’s concepts and food since the early days of Boat St Cafe (snif) but I guess maybe her empire has gotten too big, because it feels like nobody is watching over what is happening here. Final note: I guess nearly everyone drives here, but if you choose to take public transportation and walk, the last stretch along Northlake is downright hazardous, because there are no sidewalks (!) so you’re left playing Frogger with cars speeding by at night and dodging muddy puddles in the loose gravel on the sides...

I had been to Westward previously and was really excited for my second visit last weekend. However, it was highly disappointing on the whole.

It started well enough with a delicious bellini cocktail that I do not remember the name of. It was excellent and I should have had a second one, now that I know the other disappointing dishes that were coming after it.

My friend and I split the spicy clam dip and the marinated mussels to start. The clam dip was okay, I suppose. Not very clammy at all, but it did have spice. It was served with very over-salted potato chips, which led to an overall super salty flavor. The marinated mussels were not at all what I was picturing (perhaps I misinterpreted what marinated might actually mean - my fault) and, for the price, the portion size was minuscule. It was also very salty and served with ritz crackers that were, again, salty. The combination was a sodium overload. After the first course I was almost bursting with salt. It was a very disappointing beginning to our food here.

For my entrée, I had the baja blue shrimp with polenta and chorizo. The polenta and chorizo were quite tasty, but the shrimp itself (the highlight of the meal) were overcooked (rendering them very chewy) and quite flavorless. I will note that the portion size was appropriate for the price. But on the whole I was just underwhelmed. My friend had the Dungeness Crab Roll, which he said was just okay.

Normally we like to get a dessert at the places we go, but after the high prices (~$75/person total for an entree, app, a drink, and a tip) and the disappointing food, we decided to grab some sweets elsewhere and headed out.

Honestly, I am sad about this visit. I like to support local restaurants, especially during this difficult time. I had a previously good experience here, but after this lunch I can't say I would come back...