The Hot 10 2014: Westward, Seattle (No. 5)

If you told me to design the perfect restaurant—the kind of place where guests would stay all day—it’d look something like this: There’d be an oyster bar off to one side where you could chase half a dozen local varieties with an ice-cold Rainier beer. It’d have a sprawling outdoor space with picnic tables, a fire pit, and gorgeous lakefront views. The main dining room would have garage doors that opened out onto the patio, and the nautical aesthetic would be Moby-Dick meets The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. A wall hung with paintings of famous captains—both fake and real—would be a nice touch, too. People would while away their afternoons on the deck, drinking rosé and snacking on smoked Manila clam dip with freshly made potato chips, and then eventually head inside for a full meal. Because have you seen what the chefs are pulling out of that wood-burning oven? Try meltingly soft braised lamb shoulder for D.I.Y. gyros or bubbling-hot gigante beans with tomato and feta. I’d go for lunch. And dinner. And brunch. How lucky am I? Restaurateur Josh Henderson and chef Zoi Antonitsas already beat me to the punch. It’s called Westward. **