Pilar - Napa

[samgiovese]

I don't know if I've written previously about this restaurant, but it is truly an "undiscovered" gem in the Napa Valley. The location is a tad funky...in the old section of downtown Napa, right next to the Napa River (no, it doesn't ALWAYS flood like it did on New Years!). My wife & I are part-time "locals" in the Napa Valley, and started going to Pilar about 2 1/2 years ago. We've never been disappointed in anything we've had there. It is a small place, with the husband and wife team doing all the cooking (on the weekends, Pilar comes to the front of the house to meet & greet). The food is exceptional...perhaps some of the best in the entire valley, yet there are many nights that they go begging for covers. This is a place that all Napa locals should patronize without a second thought. Tourists as well, if they knew about it, would be blown away.

I have no connection whatsoever with the restaurant...it simply frustrates me to see an establishment with such high standards and high caliber food go begging for patrons, when they should be turning them away.

Anyone on this board that is planning a trip to Napa, or is within driving distance, REALLY needs to give Pilar a try!

Here's the link to their website. You won't be sorry that you gave them a try.

Edited August 2, 2006 by samgiovese (log)

[rancho_gordo]

I tend not to go out a whole lot, but given the choice, this is the first place I'd go.

I've been 4 or 5 times. You get the feeling you are eating the food of a chef, not a menu designed by a corporate marketing committee, which many NV restaurants seem to have.

Disclaimer: Pilar is a client. It's a small valley!

[dvs]

thanks for the heads up! i'll definately give them a try soon!

[Carolyn Tillie]

Pilar's is one of a *small* handful of restaurants I actually miss... Glad she is still doing well and hope that business is thriving. When folks ask me for wine country recommendations, Pilar is on the top of my Napa list.

[samgiovese]

Another wonderful, simple dinner at Pilar last night. My wife started with heirloom tomato, mozzarella and fresh basil salad, with a little fleur de sel for crunch, while I opted for the Serrano ham with two different fresh, sweet melons and a nice, peppery portion of arugula. We both had the same entree of pan roasted chicken breast served on a bed of rosemary-infused rissoto.

The flavor and freshness of everything we had was simply wonderful. Pilar and Dedier do not try to pretend to be other than what they are: superb chefs, using the freshest ingredients, serving up wonderful, tasty fare in a neighborhood venue.

Whether local or tourist, I can't feature anyone being disappointed with a lunch or dinner at Pilar.

Edited August 10, 2006 by samgiovese (log)

[Bueno]

I've eaten at Pilar a few times, and it ALWAYS satisfies. This is the kind of restaurant that deserves the support of the informed dining community. It doesn't have a lot of "buzz", but it's a gem in a sea of cubic zirconias. And Pilar herself is just a doll. She deserves to thrive, and I hope that the California dining community can provide her with the means to do so.

It's one of my favourite casual meals on the planet, without exaggeration.

[samgiovese]

Sadly, I must report the following from Paul Franson's January 28th edition of NapaLife:

"Pilar closed “for a few months”

There’s a sign on the door at Pilar Restaurant saying that it is closed for vacation until Feb. 5, but a call to the number indicated says the restaurant is closed "for a few months" for seismic retrofitting.

I’ve heard rumors that the closure may be permanent. One rumor was that Pilar Sanchez has taken a position as chef at the new restaurant going into Fagiani’s bar space nearby, which was recently bought by Steve and Johanna Hasty but Steve denies that he’s talked to Pilar about this possibility. At any rate, that project is also awaiting retrofitting.

Calls and emails to Pilar were not returned by the time I transmitted this. At any rate, Pilar's is shut now, and we’ll have time to find out more in the future.

Maria del Pilar Sanchez and her husband Didier Lenders are great cooks, but don’t seem very comfortable with the marketing needed to make a restaurant succeed, including schmoozing with customers as do Greg Cole, Bob Hurley and Cindy Pawlcyn and other top local chef-owners."

Great food and nice, nice people, but the poor location coupled with all the construction by the river made it hard to get to. Couple that with the Downtown Napa Friday night fiasco, and you have a recipe for disaster. We'll miss them terribly!

[Carolyn Tillie]

Sad news, indeed. Thanks, Sam!

It was reported in Eater here on the 24th but I am reading it as the fact that it may be some time before we can have Pilar's cooking again...

[samgiovese]

I have it on good authority that contrary to the speculation in the article in my prior post, the closure is temporary and being done for earthquake retrofit. They are supposed to reopen this summer.

[Barbara Moss]

I m so glad to hear it. We had a lovely dinner there last fall. I will make sure we go next time we are in Napa. They deserve to have support.

[Carolyn Tillie]

From today's Chronicle

Headed south: Pilar Sanchez, who closed her self-named restaurant in Napa earlier this year, has a new job with the Four Seasons The Biltmore Resort in Santa Barbara. She's opening restaurants in the Coral Casino, a private club affiliated with the resort.

Her husband, Didier Lenders, is busy packing up their Napa house and will join her shortly in Santa Barbara.

Restaurateur Donna Scala of Bistro Don Giovanni in Napa and the soon-to-open Urban Tavern in San Francisco has purchased the building that houses Pilar and had originally planned to open a new restaurant with Sanchez in the space.

However, Scala says that getting all the plans and permits required for renovations of the 19th century building is an arduous process and that she hasn't yet made final decisions about what she'll do with the building.

So sad and a great loss to Napa. But a reason for me to go visit Santa Barbara.

[samgiovese]

I have it on good authority that contrary to the speculation in the article in my prior post, the closure is temporary and being done for earthquake retrofit.  They are supposed to reopen this summer.

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