I’m visiting Sonoma Valley in a few weeks and I’m looking for some restaurant recommendations. I’ve read through many posts here. The problem is so many places look good, but I’ll only be there for 2 days! I only need 3 restaurants to eat at. Which 3 would you pick?

Dinner, 2 nights - I’d like to stay in Sonoma (town) for dinner. I’m staying right off the Plaza, and I’d love to be able to just walk back to the hotel.

Lunch, 1 day – I’d like to do a picnic lunch one day, so that only leaves one day open for lunch. I plan to be visiting wineries, but I’m not sure which ones yet. I’m willing to plan my route around a great lunch! I picture an outdoor lunch on a terrace overlooking a vineyard, but I’m open to other possibilities. Any recommendations?

Thanks everyone!

Harvest Moon Cafe was one of our best eating experiences in Sonoma town. I have a trip report from our June girls weekend trip where I also told about some not so good dining experiences (although the restaurants came highly recommended).

We went to he Oakville grocery to pick up our picnic lunch. Call ahead and they'll have everything ready for you.

Thanks, Lovesadventure. I read your trip report, and Harvest Moon Cafe does sound great. I couldn't find a menu online anywhere. Can you tell me a little more about it? Type of food, prices, anything else. Oakville Grocery sounds like a great place to pick up a picnic lunch as well.

Anyone else have any suggestions? Thanks!

You can't go wrong with the Girl & Fig. I'll tell you what I ate--they have a signature salad (with figs of course) that had us licking the plate. I also had a steak with blue cheese butter and cabernet (I think) mashed potatoes. And then a fruit cobbler that was rich & comforting. mm mm mm. My friends & I still talk about that dinner because it seemed so simple, but was so delicious.

Dinner:
Harvest Moon
Cafe la Haye

Deli:
Well, I am not a fan of Oakville
grocery and do you want to go all the way to
Napa County or Healdsburg for lunch ?

I'm a local and would like to suggest some
great local deli's:

Just outside of Sonoma, south on Hwy 121/Arnold Drive, near Gloria Ferrar is Angelos~
Angelo's Wine Country Deli
tel. 707.938.3688
23400 Arnold Drive
Sonoma, CA

If you are going to picnic near Healdsburg do visit the Jimtown Store
in the Alexander Valley
or
Dry Creek Store in the Dry Creek Valley.

Lunch:
I think lunch outside along Sonoma Creek at the Wolf House restaurant or Glen Ellen Inn would provide you with a very Sonoma Valley kind of lunch.

Have Fun !
R5

Re: Picnic lunch

Your best option would be to get your Basque/French-inspired made-to-order fresh sandwiches, baked-on-the-premises breads/baguettes, exquisite quiche, excellent salads and terrific French pastries/desserts at the Basque Bakery on Sonoma Square right next to the movie theater.

Locals living as far as Marin County (ourselves included) make the 30-minute trek and line up to get their fix in this terrific place.

Matanzas Creek, Sebastiani, Buena Vista (a bit touristy), Gundlach Bundschu have picnic grounds.

Re: Dinner

If you're tired of the regular Wine Country foods, then go, no run, to La Salette in one of the alleys off the Plaza.

http://www.lasalette-restaurant.com/directions.html

Chef Manuel Azevedo is a master in producing very good Portuguese dishes with the slight Wine County twist (just slightly). Try his version of the classic bacallha (sp?). His array of good Portuguese wines are also a comforting diversion especially if your palate are wined-out by the local stuff.

BTW, reservations are highly recommended.

I'm not sure where Matanzas Creek came from (that is in Santa Rosa area).

What I meant was Bartholomew Park Winery in the Sonoma city area. They have good picnic grounds, good wines available in the tasting room and only about 10 minutes from Sonoma Plaza.

I agree with MelissaHI--you can't go wrong with the Girl and the Fig! We had a wonderful lunch there a couple of years ago!

Thanks so much for the advice everyone.

You're right, Razzledazzle, I probably won't be going to Oakville or Healdsburg so the Oakville grocery is out. I thought I might head up Healdsburg and the Russian River Valley (I love Pinot!), but due to time, I think I'll stay around the Sonoma Valley area.

So for the picnic lunch, the Basque bakery sounds excellent! I hadn't read about that anywhere. Other ideas are the Sonoma Cheese Factory, The Fig Pantry, or Angela's Wine Country Deli. Thanks also for the suggestions of wineries to have the picnic at, bill_boy.

For lunch at a restuarant one day, I'd definitely love to try either the Wolf House Restaurant or the Glen Ellen Inn Cafe. Those are both in Glen Ellen, so if we're closer in Sonoma town (not that they're far), any recommendations for a lunch spot there? The Girl and the Fig maybe?

Now for dinner:
Cafe la Haye and Harvest Moon Cafe sound like great ideas for our 2 dinners, and are definitely on my short list. I wish I had an idea of what Harvest Moon serves though. I've read some reviews that Cafe la Haye is pretty loud. How loud exactly, can we still enjoy dinner?

Other places I'm considering for dinners are The Swiss Hotel and The Girl and The Fig, and maybe The General's Daughter. Any thoughts on these places?

I really appreciate on the advice on the board! I'm just so sad that I can't do everything, but I guess that means another trip to the area sometime. Is that bad that I'm already planning a second trip before I've even taken the first?? Thanks!!

I also meant to ask about reservations. I'm assuming we'll need dinner reservations even though it's weeknights. Would you recommend lunch reservations as well? (We'll be there during the third week in Sept.)