In the main restaurant our chef provides
meals consistent with the goals of the Slow Food movement, which
began in Italy in the mid-1980s. It’s a movement dedicated
to the sustainable practice of using foods native to a given region,
ensuring not just fresh, wholesome fare, but a means of utilizing
and supporting Mother Nature at her best. This commitment to Slow
Food is what makes dinner at The Willows a fine-dining experience
any season of the year.
Meals are served in the main dining room which offers a 180° view of Rosario Strait and the San Juan islands. Breathtaking sunsets are not to be missed and whale spotting is not uncommon during the summer months. The covered deck allows dining al fresco during spring, summer and fall. The dinner format is a single seating, prix fixe 5 course chef's tasting menu. There is a cocktail social hour before dinner. Dinner seating is 6:30 in winter, 7 pm in summer. Cost is $50 in summer, and $45 during the off-season, with a paired wine flight for an additional $36.
Farm
Fresh and Local
Nettles Farm, owned and operated by Riley and Judy, supplies the kitchen with organic produce and pastured chicken eggs, while Riley's reef net fishing brings in fresh-caught salmon and other seafood for the freshest, healthiest gourmet meals imaginable. Local waters also provide live spot prawns, the basis for a Willows summer favorite; "Sunday prawns on the deck." The prawns are kept alive in a large salt water tank on the premises, ensuring the highest quality possible. There are very few places in the world where you can experience the Northwest's answer to the lobster as it should be served - sauteed head-on in olive oil and garlic.
A sumptuous breakfast
is served daily. Often what appears on the plate was harvested hours before. Our eggs are picked each day and their rich golden yolks are the first clue to their amazing flavor.
Our famous Spot Prawns on the Deck
Each year on the first Sunday in May, we serve up one of Rosario Strait's most delectable residents, found in cold, fast moving waters 300 feet deep. Spot prawns are not like other shrimp; because they don't have a digestive vein, they are more like langostinos. In fact, we call them Puget Sound lobsters. We keep them live on-premises in our special tank, and saute them head-on in olive oil as you watch. Spot prawns are best when cooked live and whole, and not steamed. Relax with our house- made margaritas and enjoy an experience as unique as the Willows Inn.
Our ingredient sources
• Our greens come from Nettles Farm as early and late in the season as our farmer Becky Seward can coax them from the soil. Eggs we supply all year round.
• Our milk is organic, from a local dairy in Lynden, Fresh Breeze. Remember next time you have a tall latte that 83% of it is milk!
• Our beef, pork and poultry come from Skagit River Ranch, an organic farm owned by George and Eiko Voikovitch. Their commitment to grass fed meat and poultry have made them Puget Sound's outstanding restaurant meat purveyors. Much sought after, we are fortunate to be among the few they are able to provide for. Imagine feeling good eating beef, knowing that it is good for you!
Additionally, we get organic grass-fed Lummi Island beef from Phil Tucker, of Fourth Corner Farms, and heirloom organic chickens from Bernie Nash, owner of Mad Hatchers, of Euphrata.
Dining Options
In addition to the main dining room and the deck, guests may eat lunch and dinner daily in the Taproot Espresso Bar & Pub, which has a patio for outdoor dining when the weather permits.
