Westwood Bistro hitting its groove

Ted Boufis, owner and managing partner of Westwood Bistro, 950 North Western Ave., Lake Forest, grew up in the restaurant business.

“My family owned restaurants in Indiana and I just love the business. I stuck with it even through college,” said Boufis, who also owns Grille No. 43 in Lake Bluff. “I learned different areas of the kitchen, including management. I learned the business from front to back and hands-on.”

Westwood Bistro, which opened in August last year, is different than any other restaurant Boufis has been involved with.

“This one is unique. It’s actually the first one that I’ve done that has more Asian fusion to it,” Boufis said. “The reason I did it is that all of the restaurants around here are pretty much American-based. Asian cuisine is pretty popular right now and you can do a lot with it.”

Westwood Bistro’s chef simply goes by the name of Khammay and he brings more than 30 years of culinary experience to the kitchen. Among the restaurants he is best known for are Karma in Mundelein, Irea 60 in Vernon Hills and Le Francais in Wheeling, where he served as the sous chef. For the past four years, Khammay had worked with Boufis at Grille No. 43.

On Feb. 11, The Lake Forest Leader Editor Nicki Koetting, Assistant Editor Liz Bibb and I stopped by Westside Bistro to try a few of their most popular dishes. We were assisted by manager Amy Blacker, who brought us to our seats and answered all of our questions.

The first thing you notice about Westwood Bistro as you walk into the dining room is the decor and ambience. The lighting is dark, but not so much that you need a torch to read your menu as can be the case in similar fine dining establishments. The seating was also quite comfortable as we sat in a booth.

Our server, Henry, was amazing and he has been with Westwood Bistro since it opened. His knowledge of the menu and his enthusiasm for each item on it came out as he vividly described the food. Henry let us know that he and his family regularly ate Westwood Bistro’s food with colorful asides and stories about their experiences. I will definitely request him when I return to Westwood Bistro in the future.

We were treated to an eclectic mix of menu selections, and Henry carefully paired each with high quality wines. The first item we tried came off the restaurant’s sushi roll menu. The Dragon Roll ($15) combined crabmeat, avocado and cucumber topped with unagi, or freshwater eel, and unagi sauce and masago.

Presentation is everything at Westwood Bistro as you can see from the photos that accompany this story. Khammay is very attentive to detail and his dishes are like little plates of art. We almost felt bad eating this beautiful food, but once we had a bite or two, we dropped any of those feelings.

The next item we tried was the halibut ($29), which Henry described as the No. 1 fish seller in house. The roasted Alaskan halibut is paired with large chunks of butternut squash, shitake mushrooms, pickled daikon and cornichons. The dish is blended with a sauce made from Meyer lemons, a citrus fruit native to China. Again, the response from the table was very positive.

The third item we tried was the Gourmand burger ($17) which is a blend of ribeye and chuck, slow-cooked with caramelized onion and red wine, and served with crispy pancetta, double cream brie cheese and mornay-foie gras sauce on a pretzel bun. Each burger and sandwich is served with hand-cut fries. Henry got especially giddy in describing this burger to us, and we could understand why after tasting it, as it surely delivered.

“It’s guy’s version of chocolate. It’s rich and tasty,” Henry said. “When you taste it and you feel it going down, it feels like someone is giving you a hug.”

Last but not least, we were served an apple tart a la mode with a salted caramel gelato that had us clanking spoons as we fought for each wondrous bite.

In addition, the menu offers duck, lamb, salads, pizzas among many other tasty items. Boufis said a lighter lunch menu, along with a few changing dishes and a expanding sushi menu, will be rolled out in the next few months.

As the restaurant recently celebrated its six-month anniversary, Boufis said things are going really well and customers have been pleased with Westwood Bistro’s many offerings.

“We’ve gotten a great response. We caught the latter part of the summer, so we opened up with a bang,” said Boufis, who will be opening 9fifty Whiskey Bar near Westwood Bistro, this spring. “I’m happy with our service. We’re starting to get into a groove.”