Alexandr Moroz

Review of The Willows Inn

An old inn, located on the west shore of a tiny is...

An old inn, located on the west shore of a tiny island divided by a five-minute ferry trip from the mainland, hosts one of the most exquisite restaurants of the Pacific Northwest. Dinner at the Willow's Inn offers a true gourmand experience with relentless attention to details, carefully crafted in a shape of a twenty-course feast.

If the weather permits, you start the dinner on the terrace under a wisteria tree with a calming sea view. The first few bites set the bar high and surprise with a creative and well-balanced mix of tastes, flavours and textures. However, it's just a warm-up: the exciting part starts when you move inside and take your seat in the dining room, adjacent to the foyer. Your dinner turns into an extensive study of local products and ingredients, skilfully transformed into artistic creations. The menu is built around fish, shellfish, vegetables, berries and herbs. It offers plenty of food to taste and overwhelms your imagination with flavours. The service is friendly, attentive and unostentatious, which makes the dinner even more enjoyable.

Our favourites were: savoury doughnuts of smoked cod, pink singing scallops, herbed tostada, and steamed halibut with mustard greens. With each of these dishes, we thought "it won't get any better than that," and the talented team led by Blaine Wetzel proved us wrong every time. The deserts featuring wild rose and stinging nettle ice cream deserve a special mention. Dinner at the Willow's Inn is a truly unforgettable experience that deserves a trip if you're lucky to book a table.