Dining in Napa Valley, California

The Napa Valley offers many world class dining experiences. We have listed a few of our personal favorites here. A good site for planning, accessing reviews and checking table availability is www.opentable.com  Search under wine country restaurants or a specific Napa Valley town.

Calistoga:

Calistoga Inn. www.calistogainn.com/restaurant.html
American comfort food and grilled classics. Outdoor dining in summer, cozy dining room in winter. Live music weekends and some weekdays in summer.

Bosko’s Trattoria. www.boskos.com
Friendly, simple, family style Italian.

Brannan’s Grill. www.brannansgrill.com
California cuisine in a great old building. Live music most weekends.

All Seasons Bistro. www.allseasonsnapavalley.net
Bistro classics and fine dining. Smaller and more intimate than Brannan’s Grill.

Bar Vino. www.bar-vino.com
Trendy wine bar with light Tuscan style fare.

Solage. www.solagecalistoga.com/dining/index.shtml
Chic casual dining at Calistoga’s new upscale spa resort.

 

St. Helena:

Martini House. www.martinihouse.com
Fine dining in a beautiful old Craftsman property. Pat Kuleto design and Todd Humphries menu with lots of wild mushroom derived recipes. Try the Kobe beef burger for lunch in the downstairs bar where the locals go.

Cook. http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/
04/10/CMGKRBU9MR1.DTL
A local favorite. Italian comfort food in a cozy setting.

Terra. www.terrarestaurant.com
Outstanding pacific rim cuisine in a fine stone building. Perfect for a romantic dinner for two.

Tra Vigne. www.travignerestaurant.com/tv.htm
Fine Tuscan cuisine, lively atmosphere, great for groups.

Go Fish. www.gofishrestaurant.net
Everything for the sea food lover, raw bar, sushi and classic fish dishes.

Press. www.presssthelena.com
Steak, steak and steak, great quality, high price, simple preparation.

 

Rutherford.

La Toque. www.latoque.com
Excellent classic French fine dining.

Rutherford Grill. www.rutherfordgrill.com
Comfort food at relatively modest prices, no corkage charged so take that bottle you just bought and can’t wait to try.

Meadowood. www.meadowood.com/winecuisine/
Fine dining in the restaurant and simpler fare in the grill. Both overlook the croquet lawns and golf course.

Auberge du Soleil. www.aubergedusoleil.com/html/restaurant.shtml
Watch the sun go down over the vineyards while you dine in luxury. The perfect spot for that special romantic dinner.

 

Yountville:

French Laundry. www.frenchlaundry.com
If you love food and you can get a reservation - take it! The only restaurant we can’t even try to get you reservations for.

Redd. www.reddnapavalley.com
Approaching French Laundry standards with a hipper atmosphere and a fraction of the price. Probably the best value fine dining tasting menu in the valley.

 

Healdsburg:

Cyrus. www.cyrusrestaurant.com
Well worth the pretty drive north to Healdsburg to sample outstanding fine dining.