North West

North West took over this space last summer and it’s made quite the refreshing change from The Restaurant, here before them. What kind of name is «The Restaurant» for a restaurant, anyway?
Owners Robbie and Alain Irvine gutted the old, stodgy interior to create a rustic, open floor plan more in-​keeping with cottage country. Mason jar votives, rough, unfinished ceiling beams and pieces by local artists lend a warm, inviting atmosphere. A long, glassed-​in dining porch makes a cozy perch overlooking Lake Muskoka and the boats docked at Pride West.
The menu puts a creative spin on global cuisne, with much of the fare sourced locally or from farther afield in Canada. On our visit one rainy afternoon for lunch, three of started with a heaping bowl of plump, tender PEI mussels in a creamy white wine and garlic broth so savory and delicious one of us polished it off with a soup spoon. The delicate mollusks and broth would have been much better served by toasted artisan bread, however, rather than the plain, dry grocery store variety that accompanied it. For my entrée, I wanted to try North West’s wildly popular fish ‘n’ chips made with Back Door Halibut. When I found out you could get the fish broiled rather than deep-​fried, though, I went that direction; and when I discovered you could get a green salad instead of fries, I did that, too. So my «fish ‘n’ chips» ended up not. The halibut was freaking phenomenal, and the green salad was much more interesting than a standard side salad. MIL also chose the broiled halibut (with sweet potato fries), but husband went with the Pulled Pork BBQ sammie on a pretzel roll. It was surprisingly well-​done for lake country Ontario.
Service was some of the best we’ve found in the area (Canadians definitely subscribe to the European model of service, which is both good and bad when you’re used to DC’s cattle-​call scene), and prices are quite reasonable considering the resort area location. In fact, North West truly does stand out as one of the best dining establishments between Gravenhurst and Bala. We hope they last for many, many seasons to come.