Mr. and I recently went on a 10-day road trip to the States. Kicking it off was a celebration of our 4th wedding anniversary and we spent a night at the quaint Willows Inn on Lummi Island, Washington. Lummi Island is a small island just a 10-minute ferry ride southwest of Bellingham.
The upscale inn deserves a separate post but the highlight of the evening was definitely our dinner at the restaurant. It serves up a 21-course tasting menu every evening, yes 21 courses, that changes regularly and seasonally. It features locally grown produce and other locally fished, foraged and farmed products. And in addition to their kitchen, they also have an outdoor wood-fired BBQ and smoker.
Obviously, with 21 courses this is not your everyday dinner out. The menu costs $225 per person with optional wine pairing for an additional $150 per person. You also don’t know what’s on the menu as they rotate it often. You only receive a copy of the menu at the end of your meal. So you ask, was it worth it?
Without further ado, let us indulge you with a feast for your eyes.
Food
Toasted kale leave, local black truffle, crumbled rye on top — elevated kale chip with the fragrance of truffle and extra crunch from the rye crumble
Wild rainier cherry in nasturtium leaf, wild chamomile, elderflower essence — what an interesting bite. Enjoyed the crisp sweetness of rainier cherry against the herbaceous chamomile and nasturtium. The elderflower essence was made into a little dollop of jelly that combined everything.
Sugar snap peas from their garden, pureed and combined with cream then it’s piped back in the pod — It’s like crudites in a fancy bite. You can taste the freshness of the sugar snap peas.
Squash blossom with yogurt, fennel seeds and fennel pollen — the fennel flavour on the squash blossom was very nice.
Up until this point, we were seated in their patio, dining with the beautiful view of the ocean. After the first few bites, we were now invited into their dining room. Shall we continue?
Sidestripe prawn ceviche with black currant broth and rhubarb – surprisingly, there was lychee undertone in the dish even though there was no lychee. The prawns were sweet, with good texture. I quite enjoyed the tartness from black currant and rhubarb, which was quite different from your typical lime or lemon based ceviche marinate.
Cured rockfish, poblano peppper broth – the paper-thin rockfish had firm texture, reminded me of red snapper. The poblano pepper broth had gingery note. And there was subtle heat and gave you a kick in between bites.
Native Olympian oyster in wild watercress broth, horseradish oil – the bitterness of watercress really brought out the sweetness from oysters. The oysters were very delicate in texture and flavour. I must say I never imagined this combination of ingredients on a plate (or in a little bowl). This was one of Mr.‘s favourite dishes.
Up next, we were treated with a few skewers.
Morel mushroom skewer with young shallot from garden – the morel was buttery, not much funk/earthy taste.
Skewer of two week aged venison leg with crispy tendon – the venison was tender, almost liver pate like texture and flavour (i.e. irony). The tendon was cooked well but it wasn’t crispy; in fact mine had a bit of chew.
Spanish octopus skewer with sausage and bitter greens – omg, super tender octopus! The bitter greens had hint of wasabi. Well balanced. I could eat many skewers of this!
Next, a few things to share.
Glazed and smoked wild caught salmon — Soft yet flaky texture, somewhere between cold and hot smoked. There was a little bit of sweetness from the glaze. The flavour did not overpower the delicate fish.
Black cod savoury donuts — there was a whole piece of fish inside. The donut reminded me of bannock. Because black cod was very delicate, it got lost in the batter and I couldn’t really taste the fish, which was too bad.
Smoked mussels — yum!! The mussels had a nice charred, smokey flavour. Mr. thought these were better than your typical moules frites mussels. These totally ruined any other mussels for us now.
Gin marinated beet, gin yogurt, hazelnut spread — you would not miss the gin. The juniper berry note was prominent. Hazelnut spread not only brought nutty flavour but it also added creaminess and sweetness.
Chilled celtuce root soup with ribbon of root made into salad — very refreshing. The celtuce had a celery taste to it. It reminded me of those cold pressed green juice. It’s almost like a palate cleanser.
Herb tostada, mustard green base with oyster emulsion and herbs from garden — oh wow this was so beautiful, it looked like a boutonniere! The mustard green base was crispy yet not greasy, and the combination of fresh herbs was awesome. I could totally have another one.
Charred sword lettuce, barbequed with porcini mushroom liquid and stuffed with porcini mushrooms puree, accompanied by house made bread and local cultured butter — we actually went outside to the BBQ to watch the chef in action. This main dish might be vegetarian but there’s so much effort in making it. It was hefty portion too.
Toasted birch tea with birch syrup — I had birch syrup before and thought it had a rich flavour. Now this tea tasted just like campfire.
Local strawberries with wild chamomile cream — this was like eating strawberries and whipped cream except the cream was much, much fancier with floral, herbal note from the chamomile.
Anise hyssop ice cream and lavender — prominent anise & mint profile, herbaceous.
So these were the 21 courses we had. But wait, there’s a bonus item at the very end!
House made caramel with toasted flax seeds — the flax seeds were similar to sesame seeds in size but texture was a bit harder. The caramel was flavourful and sticky. Must brush your teeth after!
After Dinner
After the dinner, we were invited into the kitchen to meet the chefs. We had the chance to show our appreciation for the delicious meal. We then walked away with a copy of the menu, date stamped, and a small loaf of sourdough and house made jam.
The Farm
The next morning, as part of the dinner and our night stay, we were taken on a tour to Loganita Farm, the 1-acre farm that grows fresh produce solely for The Willows Inn. We tasted some fresh French Sorrel, we saw some celtuce and sword lettuce, we even had a carrot to munch on and some nasturtium seeds to bring home. Farm to table could not get better than this.
Verdict
Let’s go back to the original question: was it worth the money?
The portion of each plate wasn’t big but they certainly added up. At the end, we were both full and our tastebuds were fully satisfied. Looking around, we noticed there were a lot of front-of-house staff. A total of 15 staff serving a dining room of 45 guests. They moved fluidly and rotated around the dining room. Pretty much a different server brought us a new dish every time. Overall the service was very smooth and minimal wait between courses. It’s a 3-hour dinner but it’s a matter of going through 21 courses. Servers were well versed in the dishes and their description. We were greeted with a glass of cider when we were first seated. Then, the sommelier was friendly and knowledgeable about the wine menu, and we really liked the wine she recommended. Since we inquired about orange wine, she even offered us a glass to try while we waited for our wine to be “brought to temperature”. When delicious food was combined with exceptional service, the money was well worth it.
Final Thoughts
Like I said before, this would never be your everyday dinner. A night stay at the inn along with a dinner at the restaurant is worth the money for any special occasion. Note that dinner reservation priorities are given to hotel guests; otherwise, non-overnight guests can only book up to two weeks in advance. Would we go back? Absolutely! Perhaps our 10th anniversary?
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