Napa Dining

[Jean Blanchard]

I'm planning a few days in Napa and since its been about 5 years since my last trip, I'm wondering which restaurants are now recommended. Thanks for any suggestions.

Jean

[Tsulli1]

I'm planning a few days in Napa and since its been about 5 years since my last trip, I'm wondering which restaurants are now recommended.  Thanks for any suggestions.

Jean

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These are all fairly new.

Ad Hoc

Ubuntu

Go Fish

Can't say if they are recommended. Ubuntu has gotten alot of hype recently.

French Laundry was the meal of a lifetime for me last month.

Zuzu in Napa is always a treat.

[samgiovese]

When you say "Napa", do you mean downtown Napa itself, or are you encompassing the entire valley? I can help if you can be more specific.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Ubuntu is a must-visit. (I'm going back there Friday night myself....)

[pam claughton]

I just returned from there, and highly recommend redd restaurant in Yountville, next exit after Napa, and right off the highway, super easy to get to.

I had the most amazing lunch, a trio of foie gras, all cold and silky, a torchon, a terrine and a mousse, served with brioche toast.

then I had the tuna/hamachi tartare, a generous portion with a chili oil, avocado and crunchy bits..delicious.

then I had the shrimp salad, a grilled shrimp over butter lettuce with a creamy caesar dressing, avocado and bacon (lardons). Mmmm

and to drink I had the rose champagne, that was delish!

www.reddnapavalley.com

enjoy!

Pam

Edited August 7, 2008 by pam claughton (log)

[pam claughton]

Ubuntu is a must-visit. (I'm going back there Friday night myself....)

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Carolyn,

Thanks to one of your posts, I had an amazing dinner at Canteen in San Francisco....I arrived on a Tuesday night, and had their Prix Fixe menu. Loved it.

Pam

Edited August 7, 2008 by pam claughton (log)

[syrah girl]

Definitely REDD and Ad Hoc in Yountville! If you can make it up to Healdsburg, Cyrus is probably the best in the area right now other than the French Laundry. Have fun!

[mroybal]

I just returned from there, and highly recommend redd restaurant in Yountville, next exit after Napa, and right off the highway, super easy to get to.

I had the most amazing lunch, a trio of foie gras, all cold and silky, a torchon, a terrine and a mousse, served with brioche toast.

then I had the tuna/hamachi tartare, a generous portion with a chili oil, avocado and crunchy bits..delicious.

then I had the shrimp salad, a grilled shrimp over butter lettuce with a creamy caesar dressing, avocado and bacon (lardons). Mmmm

and to drink I had the rose champagne, that was delish!

www.reddnapavalley.com

enjoy!

Pam

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I have to agree that Redd is great, but the only thing that disturbs me is the menu you describe is the same thing I had 2-3 years ago when they first opened. There is nothing wrong with keeping things on the menu but I would expect Reddington to change things up a bit.

[samgiovese]

I agree with mroybal. Aside from the occasional special, he has changed very little on the menu.

One of the best-kept secrets at Redd is to eat in the bar, where you can chose from BOTH the bar menu (fish tacos are always good) and the full lunch or dinner menu.

[devinf]

I'll agree with the Redd comments. Great food, but never the dining room, always the bar or patio. The foie dishes and the hamachi are must haves, the rest... just try it out. For Yountville don't miss Bistro Jeanty for classic French or Ad Hoc - particularly on fried chicken night! And never forget Pancha's - the last dive/industry bar in the valley - remember it's cash only - and if you want gossip, show up after 11PM and listen to the cooks blow off steam and talk some serious sh*t about your favorite/most popular restaurant.

Zuzu in Napa is great for tapas and sangria. Lunch at the Oxbow Market is fabulous - wine, cheese and charcuterie. I am still of the opinion that Cyrus is overpriced - I'll eat there again when someone else pays for it - same with French Laundry. Ubuntu in Napa is "the" spot to go and number one on my "to eat" list.

If you want real food.... La Playita in Napa or La Luna in Rutherford has the best Mexican in the valley. Buster's BBQ in Calistoga is some serious grub.

It's a big food valley and Sonoma isn't that far away so there are A LOT of options.

Have fun. Drink wine and eat good food!

[a geek]

Redd is definitely overrated in my book. The chef was fascinated with foam (how many dishes need to have a foam?) and presentation and missed the basics of technique and flavor combinations. It's a decent fallback when you need a Yountville dinner with little advance notice, but that said there's a good reason tables are always open.

It's definitely not in the top tier of napa.

[Carolyn Tillie]

I gotta keep ringing the Ubuntu bell. I was back there on Friday night and was -- AGAIN -- completely blown away. Chef Jeremy and pastry chef, wife Deanie, continues to astound.

This time it was the seared Watermelon Soup. I'll try and post pics and a full report later, but suffice to say this is now my go-to restaurant for visitors from out of town.

[Jean Blanchard]

thanks for all of these suggestions. Redd and Ubuntu look great and are definitely on the list.

[NVNVGirl]

Although not new, Celadon and Fume are always on my have-to-eat at places when I get home.

Downtown Napa has Annalien (superb Vietnamese food) and between downtown and Yountville in Bel Aire Plaza is the relatively new Barber's Q.

[Jean Blanchard]

Now that I pretty much know where I'm going for dinner, any suggestions for lunch? I need to eat in between all of that wine tasting.

[samgiovese]

St. Helena is centrally located mid-valley, and has places like Taylor's Refresher, Market, Cook and Go Fish! that all do lunch. You could also pick up picnic supplies or sandwiches at Dean & Delucca, Oakville Market, Sunshine Foods or Soda Canyon Deli and eat al fresco at a winery.

[syrah girl]

Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen in St. Helena would be a very good choice for lunch!

[C J Phillips]

Cindy's is wonderful! We have been there at least 10 times and have never been disappointed. The prices are also pretty reasonable. Martini House in St. Helena is great, and if you're a veggie, they have a delicious mushroom tasting menu that should blow your socks off. And Dean & Deluca nearby has great sandwiches and cheeses and wines so that you can picnic somewhere lovely.

We went to Ubuntu this last February for our anniversary dinner. Maybe we got an off night or the chef was out of town, but while the apps were nice, the entrees were so boring I don't even remember what we had. For apps, though, we had some Jerusalem artichokes that were so light and delicious that we couldn't stop scarfing them down. The decor is lovely there, too.

If you go to Oxbow Market, be sure and try Three Twins ice cream. Simply incredible.

[NVNVGirl]

Cindy's is wonderful! We have been there at least 10 times and have never been disappointed. The prices are also pretty reasonable. Martini House in St. Helena is great, and if you're a veggie, they have a delicious mushroom tasting menu that should blow your socks off. And Dean & Deluca nearby has great sandwiches and cheeses and wines so that you can picnic somewhere lovely.

We went to Ubuntu this last February for our anniversary dinner. Maybe we got an off night or the chef was out of town, but while the apps were nice, the entrees were so boring I don't even remember what we had. For apps, though, we had some Jerusalem artichokes that were so light and delicious that we couldn't stop scarfing them down. The decor is lovely there, too.

If you go to Oxbow Market, be sure and try Three Twins ice cream. Simply incredible.

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Yes! I vote for Cindy's too! And be sure to ask for Adam as your waiter ...oh, nevermind...I think he's working at Mustard's now ~he's my nephew

[samgiovese]

Martini House in St. Helena is great, and if you're a veggie, they have a delicious mushroom tasting menu that should blow your socks off.

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And if you're NOT a veggie, their Kobe beef burger is TO DIE FOR!!! A real 4 napkin experience!

[Jean Blanchard]

Martini House in St. Helena is great, and if you're a veggie, they have a delicious mushroom tasting menu that should blow your socks off.

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And if you're NOT a veggie, their Kobe beef burger is TO DIE FOR!!! A real 4 napkin experience!

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You've made my husband a very happy man!!

[jenc]

Ugh. Gotta go back soon. So many places to try! Did TFL (superb) Auberge Du Soleil (also fantastic) and Bouchon.

Went to Barber's Q and found it quite nice and casual.

Photos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jlunar/sets/72157603871628411/

and there's the whole pile from the other restos I mentioned if you look. I'm just being lazy.

[zeph74]

I was in Napa back in March 08, and am heading back the first week of Feb 09.

In March, I ate at:

Terra - fantastic meal

Martini House - highly recommended

Ad Hoc - Good but not memorable

Bistro Jeanty - Overall the best meal but extremely heavy, I was hurting the next day

Bouchon - Good drinks & Oysters, nice atmosphere. Didn't have any entrees.

Redd - A fellow chef and I walked in and the bar was full, but a couple was leaving a table by the bar. We sat down when they left, I got up to order some drinks at the bar. Apparently the hostess came over and asked my friend and I to leave, saying we "poached" a table. We thought she was kidding, but she definitely was not. No skin off my back, we left and had a great meal at Bistro Jeanty.

I have a few extra days lined up after classes @ CIA. I'm planning on hitting:

Incanto

waiting list @ French Laundry

Ubuntu

The rest is up in the air. Any suggestions?

Oh one more question...nobody has mentioned The Restaurant @ Meadowood here. They have some fresh Michelin stars, so it must be pretty good.

Edited January 13, 2009 by zeph74 (log)

[Carolyn Tillie]

Oh one more question...nobody has mentioned The Restaurant @ Meadowood here.  They have some fresh Michelin stars, so it must be pretty good.

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Yes, they got new accolades under chef Joseph Humphrey who decamped to Murray Circle in Sausalito. Meadowood is now under the auspices of Christopher Kostow and our local San Francisco reviewer raved.

My meal in July was pretty good.

[samgiovese]

I'm really high on Michael Chiarello's new effort, Bottega in Yountville. It's very popular, and rightly so, in my opinion. Also, if you like Italian and still want more after Bottega, the much-maligned Tra Vigne has not disappointed the last 6 times we've dined there.