http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/28/travel/restaurant-report-westward-in-seattle.html 2014-09-23 20:48:22 Restaurant Report: Westward in Seattle Do you prefer good food or good views? Here, you don’t have to choose. === The appeal of For Zoi Antonitsas, the executive chef and a Seattle native, that means honoring her father’s Greek roots. The result is an intriguing mix of Mediterranean and Northwest dishes. “Going out to eat should feel like you are transported, whether you are in Seattle or Santorini,” Ms. Antonitsas said. With a boat dock, striped umbrellas and Adirondack chairs set around an oyster-shell fire pit, diners might very well feel as if they were on a Greek isle, at least in warm weather. (On cool evenings, wool blankets are provided.) The interior décor continues the seafaring theme: Tables are finished with boat paint and lights covered in reclaimed local sailcloth. Seattle artists designed a 25-foot illustrated wooden boat as a backdrop to the bar. In the open kitchen, Ms. Antonitsas relies on a wood oven — and local apple wood — to turn out items like whole fish and chicken and smoked clams. Westward’s wines hail mostly from the Mediterranean and the Northwest. Whimsical craft cocktails, some featuring house-made shrubs (vinegar sweetened with fruit and sugar), attract a crowd of their own. On a recent summer evening, people lined up to score coveted outdoor tables. Without reservations, even at 5 p.m., we were seated on stools at the oyster bar. What better way to start than with Northwest Kusshi oysters, a bowl of fried chickpeas and a glass of cava? Next we chose house-cured gravlax made from Washington sockeye salmon, decorated with red, gold and chioga beets — a stunning Day-Glo rainbow. Though a salad of young lettuces, hazelnuts and herbs was rather plain, the golden trout from Idaho — roasted in the wood oven and topped with apricots, Marcona almonds and ras el hanout — was a winner. With good food delivered to every seat, views (and blankets) are optional.