This is Seattle Scene. eat. v3. Hello again. The duo is back. Myself and guest blogger {Savanna} try a new Seattle hot spot for our reoccuring feature – the Seattle Scene. At the firm that we work at, we are part of a team that researches/markets Hospitality {restaurants, hotels, spas}. Our assignment is to try out new restaurants and see what the current and future design trends are, especially in the Seattle market {see last blog post – Seattle Scene. eat v2}. We are looking from a designer’s point of view, but the food is a nice bonus. Last Saturday we ventured to Wallingford and dined on Lake Union at Westward.

Westward

Located 47° 39′ N / 122° 19′ W – the new restaurant Westward opened September 3rd. {Savanna} and I went for a late Saturday night dinner. We’ve been hearing the online buzz about Josh Henderson’s new duo opening – Westward + The Little Gull Grocery {the joint cozy oyster bar}. Josh Henderson, Skillet founder, went all out nautical for the overall vibe of Westward. We walk in and we immediately are like little kids with no attention span, we find ourselves looking at the decor of the space and try to take it all in. The bar (pictured above. photograph by Suzi Pratt) has a diorama feel. Electric Coffin, a local art studio created the design of the bar and also designed the back wall of the oyster bar {not pictured}. It’s definitely an ice breaker/conversation piece, whatever you want to call it. We definitely found ourselves nostalgic of our elementary days where we made dioramas in art class. The barstools were very cozy and fit perfectly with the button-tufted design similar to a captains chair. {Savanna} and I exchanged childhood stories during dinner.

From the matchbooks to the business cards to the “crew”, the nautical theme is carried throughout. We loved the yacht club vibe. Matthew Parker, designed both spaces, which was inspired by a “Lazy beachy Hamptons feel”. We felt he executed it well. Every where you turn there is something amazing to look at – the attention to nautical detail is perfection. We absolutely adored the whimsical humor – from the artwork of all the famous captains to the oyster bar signage with a Jay-Z twist. Love. This would be an ideal spot for a date. You might not have anything to talk about, but you definitely can talk about the restaurant design.

What we noticed the most was the variety in the space. At times restaurants can feel crowded, with Westward there was a spacious flow with a varied layout of seating. Structural log supports broke up the space. The restaurant is illuminated with drum nautical fixtures as well as industrial style cage lighting shown above. The space felt comfortable and non-pretentious.

What did we order?

We ate sailor chic. We started with oysters and our main entree was the Branzino with a squash side. It was wonderful. We loved dining and looking out to the water. It was a nice end of summer night and people were dining outside. Westward has one of the best outdoor patios.

A perfect date spot – twinkly lights by the water – sipping wine on Adirondack chairs – it couldn’t get more “romantical”. We recommend it and we might have noticed a few people on first dates.

We wanted to say that the “crew” at Westward were so friendly and excited about the space. We love getting their point of view. We met Kristen Guest, our server, she was wonderful and we appreciated her taking the time to tell us about the design of the space. We also met David and Brian who know oysters very well. They gave us the lowdown about the restaurant design and informed us that there was more to come – fire pit, map on ceiling of the oyster bar, and brunch coming soon. It’s all a work in progress.

We loved Westward. It was quite nautical chic. We will definitely spread the word to our friends. Until next time…

Stephanie {designer + blogger}

Savanna {designer + guest blogger}

Ps. Purse cleats? Yes.

{Images by Suzi Pratt + Stephanie de Villa}