Napa Area Restaurants: Reviews & Recommendations

[nightscotsman]

If you visit only one champagne cellar/producer, make sure it's Schramsberg between Callistoga and St. Helena. It costs a few bucks for the tour and you need to make an appointment, but it's really, really worth it. Tour groups are very small; the gardens, mansion, and cellars are beautiful; and you get to taste several varieties in the tasting room.

[russ parsons]

usually i stay at the el bonita (yes, i know t hat's grammatically incorrect, it's run by french people). it's really affordable and if you stay in the new wing, some of the rooms are really, really nice. jacuzzi tubs, view of the fields behind, etc. i've also stayed at the bordeaux house and burgundy house in yountville. they are both fine. this last time i stayed at an inn of the two sisters place in yountville, don't remember the name, but really nice and conveniently located halfway between bouchon and french laundry. it's very close to petit logis, which also looked nice.

[rich]

Had a great time at the Zinfandel Inn just outside of St. Helena. Had the room with the indoor jacuzzi built into a glass enclosure at th end of the room overlooking the vineyards. It was awesome. A bit pricey - $350 a night, but worth the experience.

Food is very good at Tre Vigne, Mustards, Chandon, Geyser Peak and Matisse in Santa Rosa.

[Dwane Hahn]

Going to nappa in May for 10 year anniversary and am looking for recomendations on romatic spots. Any thoughts?

[melkor]

It all depends what your interested in, where your staying, and what your budget is. There are already several posts in the California forum about other peoples Napa/Sonoma visits - that may be the best place to start your research and then post here what your looking for.

[josephreese]

It's not in Napa proper, but The French Laundry in Yountville is a fine place. My wife and I dined there on our 5th wedding anniversary and had a wonderful time.

Reservations can be tough to secure, and it is petty pricey, but I doubt I'll forget the experience.

There's a long thread about The French Laundry in this thread:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=31012

Someone whose opinion I trust tells me Brix is very nice.

Edited February 10, 2004 by josephreese (log)

[melkor]

The French Laundry is currently closed while they renovate the kitchen/office space (and open Per Se in NYC) but it's scheduled to re-open in May - so you may luck out.

I'd skip Brix, there are many better options - Terra, the Martini House, Bistro Jeanty, Bouchon, Bistro Don Giovanni, La Toque, and a bunch of others.

[therese]

I'm headed out to Napa Valley soon and would appreciate any recent info on restaurants. I've gone back a ways looking for old threads (there must be some, have already checked out the French Laundry thread, even if we won't be going this trip) but if anybody could point me to some quickly that would also be great.

Edited February 12, 2004 by therese (log)

[melkor]

In the last few weeks I've had excellent meals at the Martini House, Terra, Bistro Jeanty, Bistro Don Giovanni, and Pere Jeanty. I had a reasonably good meal at Pinot Blanc, but I'd recommend Terra or the Martini House if your in St Helena.

[therese]

So far I've booked at Bouchon and Martini House for other evenings. Between Pere Jeanty and Bistro Jeanty, do you have a preference? Or rather, what do you see as the differences?

[lleechef]

Try Brix just a mile or so north of Yountville. Excellent food!

[melkor]

Bistro Jeanty is more or less the same concept as Bouchon - I prefer the food at Bistro Jeanty, the tomato soup topped with puff pastry is outstanding. Pere Jeanty has a broader Mediterranean influence - they have excellent salt-cod dishes and they serve pizza. Both restaurants are excellent, it depends on your mood which is better - I'd go to Pere Jeanty if you’re already going to Bouchon.

If you go to Pere Jeanty, ask your waiter for an affogato for dessert, it's not on the menu but it's spectacular there - amazing vanilla gelatto, a touch of whipped cream, and surprisingly good espresso poured on top. It's a great way to end a meal there.

[therese]

Yeah, after I'd read the menu more closely the mediterranean slant at Pere Jeanty became more evident.

Have you (or anybody you trust) been to La Toque recently? Looks spendy and fancy, but that's okay.

[melkor]

La Toque is indeed spendy and fancy. I haven't been there since last winter when I had a nice black truffle tasting menu there - they offer wine parings with every dish, which is a nice change from the french laundry where you either pick glasses of the their list or drink several half/full bottles. I didn't find the food at La Toque to be as compelling as the french laundry, I'd rank it slightly lower than Gary Danko in SF. Their space is very comfortable, the tables have a lot of room between them and the meal flows nicely from course to course at a relaxed pace. I'd likely go to Terra instead, simply because I find the food to be as good at Terra and the price half as much.

[therese]

Many thanks, melkor. I'll post when we return.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Although it is about lodgings, there are some additional comments worthy of note in the Napa Valley Lodging thread.

Two Days in Napa thread.

Eating my way from Phoenix to Napa thread.

Hope these help!

[bilrus]

My wife and I had a nice casual, not too expensive meal at a place called Market on the main street through St. Helena.

My steak entree was just OK, but my wife's fish and chips were closet to thebest I have had and the Macaroni and Cheese was right up there as well.

[CheNiPenso]

I was up there a couple weeks ago, and I support some of the recommendations here; St Helena is clearly where it's at as far as food goes.

Market is a great spot: hearty American fare with a twist, cheerful service, upbeat environment and certainly the best value for the money around. They have a few real standout dishes, like a starter of Thai-marinated rock shrimp with avocado and papaya slices (would have been absolutely stellar on a hot summer day), and the fried chicken was quite good. The "Very Adult" mac and cheese tasted great, but was a tad looser than I like. Locals rave about this place.

Martini House is also worthwhile, tho I didn't get to eat as much there as I would have liked. Still, the Kobe beef burger was to die for! The interior is magnificent though, as should be expected from a Pat Kuleto joint.

We also ate at Tra Vigne, and I can't say enough good about it. It fell from favor for a number of years under the oppression of a bad chef (no, not Chiarello), but seems to be well and truly on track now. Fantastic, traditional Italian (mainly Tuscan) fare here: Pappardelle with rabbit ragu, braised pork shank, grilled duck with fennel ... and I'm still dreaming of the white pizza with prosciutto and truffle. Ufa! The service was stellar too -- very friendly and helpful but always attentive and professional.

And of course you gotta stop at Taylor's Refresher for a burger and a shake. Try the white pistachio milkshake. Yum!

[therese]

Okay, so once again this topic must have been discussed, but I don't find too much on Julia's at Copia. Any experience here?

[winesonoma]

Sonoma; French California; Girl&Fig, Deuce (new Chef),Sonoma Savers. Italian;Della Santini, Depot Hotel. Seafood; Meritage. French Bistro; La Poste. American with Great Cocktails; Vaquero. ENJOY

Edited February 15, 2004 by winesonoma (log)

[MsMelkor]

Okay, so once again this topic must have been discussed, but I don't find too much on Julia's at Copia. Any experience here?

I've eaten there a couple of times. The food is good but not outstanding - there are just so many great restaurants in the valley (Martini House, Terra, TFL, Bistro Jeanty, Bistro Don Giovanni...) that it's hard to justify going here unless you go for Locals' Night on Thursdays (Thursdays - Sundays for Copia members) - $29 3-course prix fixe and free corkage. That's a pretty good deal for the quality of the food.

They're part of the Patina group, which also owns Pinot Blanc (which, incidentally, is up for sale).

Julia's Kitchen

[therese]

I was considering Julia's for lunch, figuring we'd be at Copia anyway. But I may just do lunch at the non-fancy place in Copia (presumably good) as we've booked dinners at Martini House, Terra, and Bouchon, and don't really need to have enormous lunches on those days.

The locals' night does sound like a great deal, but we're not (locals, that is), so probably won't sign up even though the membership thing is entirely tax-deductable, as we're doing our best to support our local museums at the moment.

So many restaurants, so little time...

[davebr]

I went for 10 days 2 weeks ago. Terra is by far the best food, the sommilier-matre 'd is a dick( Tim or Tom). He will take every oppurtuity to switch you to a higher priced wine. The waitress was sweet and knowledgeable, Hell, it wasnt her fault Tim ot Tom put us in a seperate room by ourselves on a sunday night. Martini House is a close second in food but first in service. John is an awesome sommilier, one of the best, and will find your taste to help complement your food. Oakville Grocery was overwhelming in the choices for a snack. Just buy everything and have a pick-nic out front.

[melkor]

I'm surprised davebr had a poor experience at Terra with their wine service, they have been pleasant and accommodating every time I've been there - sometimes with my own wine, sometimes ordering from the list, and sometimes asking for a recommendation from the list.

I still can't decide if I like Terra or the Martini House better. The sauces at Terra are spectacular, but their wine list can't compare to brilliantly assembled list that the Martini House has. I prefer the atmosphere at the Martini House better than Terra. Every time I've been to either place the service has always been excellent. I think I'm stuck deciding where to go based on my mood.

[Stone]

My wife and I had a nice casual, not too expensive meal at a place called Market on the main street through St. Helena.

My steak entree was just OK, but my wife's fish and chips were closet to thebest I have had and the Macaroni and Cheese was right up there as well.

I'd suggest skipping Pinot Blanc. I had a very mediocre meal there.

I ate at Market as well. Very good food, but surprisingly small portions. Good bar/pub atmosphere