I came to Westward for the first time in a while to check out their menu as I am having a birthday dinner here later this week. The sampling has gotten me excited to check out their entrees. Let’s just say this restaurant is perfect for this time of year, being that is  mostly outdoors and has a view of Lake Union.

Salty Sailors Martini: gin or vodka, Carbano dry vermouth, & ras el hanout pickle brine. If you are looking for a sweeter version of a dirty martini then this is your drink! Chips & Dip: Tonnato, house-made chips & capers. For those of you not familiar with tonnato (I wasn’t), it is an Italian sauce with mayo and tuna. It’s traditionally served over sliced cold veal. In this case it paired well with perfectly crisp and salted house-made potato chips. The sauce was creamy with just the taste of tuna, not the tuna-salad texture. Wood-Fired Gigantes Beans: Tomato, marjoram, feta, & breadcrumbs. When ordering this small plate I wasn’t sure what to expect given the description but I was happy to be surprised. They weren’t lying when they labeled it “wood-fired”. It was piping hot and had a slight smoke. The main flavor I got was cinnamon and it really tied all of the ingredients together. The feta added a needed creamy element to balance out the acidity and spice.Yellowtail Crudo: Avocado, lemon balm, cherries, & puffed rice. I will say this is one of the more pretty dishes I have eaten. All the different textures worked well together. I wouldn’t think that cherries and tuna would be a good combo, but they were. The tuna was well seasoned and the lemon balm brightened the rich flavors.