Westville was a very early pioneer of using fresh, high quality ingredients to serve simple, tasty, and wholesome food. Now the concept is taken for granted among many top restaurants, but over a decade and a half ago, there wasn’t as much emphasis on vegetable heavy dishes, local ingredients, and healthy food.
Throughout its existence, Westville has gone on to open 5 additional locations, in various parts of lower Manhattan and even one in Brooklyn. Half of their locations take reservations and the other half do not, mostly for logical reasons. The restaurants vary greatly in size and it’s the larger locations that tend to take the reservations. Their Chelsea location, for instance, is one of the smaller ones and as a result of their no reservation policy, combined with their popularity, you will likely wait a good chunk of time for brunch or weekend dinners. Most other times, though, you can walk in.
All Westville locations are similarly decorated. They are unfussy, unfancy, and simple. They are meant to be neighborhood joints rather than travel destinations and they achieve this well. Because they have six locations, each one serves as a gathering place for those living near it and unlike destination restaurants, they have many repeat customers.
The menu is standardized across the locations, but every day, each location has its own specials. One of the best things on the menu, and a great example of their drive to serve wholesome food, is the Westville Market Plate. You can create your own entrée by choosing four vegetable side dishes. Options include things like artichokes with parmesan, beets with goat cheese, roasted eggplant with cucumbers and tahini, warm lentil salad with carrots, onions, and celery, mixed mushrooms with leeks & herbs, and the list goes on.
But they also have plenty of options for eaters of all kinds. You’ll find countless sandwich, salad, burger, and meat options. What makes them different is that in any given category, they have a choice for any type of eater, even offering things like all-beef or vegan hot dogs for those who don’t want to eat the traditional pork-blend hot dog. And because they are understanding of different dietary preferences, they are also quite flexible about customizations. In fact, many of their offerings enumerate ways you can change the dish by adding or subtracting something or giving you a choice of toppings.
Though Westville is a great place for a brunch or a dinner, I feel that its casual atmosphere lends it better to a breakfast, brunch, or lunch. A great option is their veggie burger, which is homemade, packed full of fresh vegetables, lightly breaded and pan-fried. The most prominent flavor that comes through, which is actually quite unusual and a nice change of pace for a veggie burger, is sweet potato, though this makes for a slightly sweeter patty than other veggie burgers. And though it is served on a Portuguese muffin (essentially a sweeter brioche), I prefer to have it with toast. All burgers are served with fries, which are actually quite delicious. Thinly sliced, but lightly breaded and well seasoned.
A heartier option for brunch is the breakfast burrito stuffed with all kinds of veggies, scrambled eggs, chorizo, and cheese, topped with a slightly spicy salsa and fresh avocado and served with chunky potato hash.
Westville is a really great place for a casual, unfussy meal when you just want to eat real and simple food. Nothing fancy, but it’s all well done. And if you live in the area, I’m sure it’ll become a go-to spot for you after your first visit.
