503W was one of many bartender-recommended-restaurants.
We had a beer and a glass of wine even though the person who recommended the restaurant specifically told us that the bartenders are pros at making interesting cocktails. We might have to go back for that alone!
503W is a complete rebranding from what was there previously, the Dutch Mill Tavern. The Lee family rand the tavern and as they passed the business onto their daughter, she took it in a totally new and vibrant direction. Nina Lee is hoping that her funky bar and restaurant helps to start a wave in this more industrial part of the city. She sources as much as she can locally and focuses on bringing local purveyors, farmers, brewers, distillers into her menu mix.
The menu skews pan-Asian, with Korean being the dominant country in the mix. Cas had the pork Bao Bun and I got their poke bowl. I looked up from admiring my dish and Cas was nearly done with his. Ok, that may be an exaggeration, but he gobbled those buns up! My poke dish was perfect–slightly on the spicy side, which is a plus, with seaweed salad and some pickled cucumber and siracha. Heaven.
This spot is worth a stop. And worth a return for us!