Leeward

“Finally made it back to Leeward after a couple of years, and it’s just as delicious and incredible as I remember it. This time my husband and I brought a friend with us, which meant more sharing and trying a lot more of the menu. We started with the kale salad and the gnudi pasta, with the latter being the star of the night. The kale salad was delicious, incredibly light and refreshing. We accompanied these with some aperitifs from the never-ending and impressive cocktail menu. The gnudi pasta was listed as a main, but it made for an incredible app. For dinner, I ordered the tagliatelle, which was divine. My friend’s rigatoni may have been the best out of all of the entrees, though. It was phenomenal. We finished our meal with dessert. It was this almond and fruit cake that was delish, although the dessert menu was a bit limited for what I expected. As always, the ambiance is just lovely. The dimly lit vibes make for a romantic and cozy time, especially during the winter. Our server was thoughtful and attentive and had great wine recs!”

“We really enjoyed our dining experience here. The host and server were great, our server made some great recommendations such as the gnocchi dish which was AMAZING, the best I’ve ever had. The fig salad and lobster sphegettini were lovely as well.”

“EDIT: Adding more to my original review having returned to Leeward more than once - it is a top restaurant in Portland. This time around, the order included the sacchettoni, the halibut, and some exceptional asparagus. Oh, and the gnocco fritto, *always* ! ORIGINAL REVIEW: Excellent all around. I would describe the menu as Italian-inspired, given that their big thing is their homemade pasta, but it’s more of a modern menu as opposed to one of traditional Italian dishes. For the starters: the gnocco fritto are a MUST-have. The roasted black salsify root was also fantastic - salsify root being a root veggie that’s something between a parsnip and a potato. That plate was practically licked clean. For the mains: we went all pasta, though they do have a few larger “secondi” type plates. We had the sunchoke & goat cheese agnolotti (stuffed pasta), and the rigatoni with beef & pork ragù bolognese. They had a good drink menu with a nice array of wines and cocktails, as well as nice mocktails. For dessert, we had the plum sorbetto, as well as the best-dressed carrot cake I’ve ever had (topped with candied pecans, fresh blood orange, candied ginger, candied zest, rosemary). We sat at the chef’s counter, which was amazing, because we got to see all of our food being prepared. We observed a super well-run kitchen, with staff seeming to be enjoying themselves, which made the food taste even better, as we were able to appreciate the effort put into it. It was also fun to see the other dishes on the menu being prepared and plated, plus being able to see what the most popular dishes were (the gnocco fritto was a common one, and for good reason). The atmosphere and service were both great - our server was Molly. Be prepared to spend (after tax & tip) upwards of $100 per person - note though that we ordered starters, mains, drinks, and desserts though, so quite a full sampling.”

“Leeward was such a delightful treat! Reservations are recommended as they fill up fast. We loved their flavorful and fun mocktails. The menu is small and constantly updated based on what is in season. It made it easy to decide what to order. For appetizers we got the focaccia and fried artichoke hearts. The focaccia was soft and balanced with a saltiness that paired beautifully well with the olive oil. The artichokes were tender and lightly battered. I ordered the mushroom ricotta pasta and my husband ordered the braised rabbit pasta. This place is known for their pasta dishes and did not disappoint! My favorite dessert was the hazelnut tart. We had such a good time overall. Service was efficient, the waitstaff was prompt and helpful, and we left having had a perfect amount of food for a fun night out. I highly recommend Leeward!”

“The food is pretty solid, we ordered the focaccia with balsamic with was phenomenal and then for entrees we ordered the butternut squash risotto and rigatoni with pork. I enjoyed both. I do wish there were a few more traditional Italian items on the menu but we were overall happy with our meals. For dessert we had the butterscotch cranberry tart and the cinnamon apple gelato - both seasonal items I believe. Excellent, especially the gelato! The bill for two was about $112. I don’t see myself becoming a frequent visitor but I’d definitely be interested in checking out the seasonal options in the future from time to time. Staff were all lovely and friendly!”