French laundry...and I don't mean cleaning
 

has anyone ever been to this restaurant in Napa/Sonoma? I heard it is great....please let me know.

Dining at The French Laundry was the finest dining experience my wife and I have ever had. It is expensive, but worth every dollar, if you enjoy the type of food and experience. I worry that it may drop off since Thomas Keller opened Per Se in NYC.

Are you curious or do you have reservations? Seating there is next to impossible to get. You have to call exactly 60 days prior to the day you wish to visit. It books within 15 minutes.

tina....not my kinda place but if you type "french laundry restaurant" in the search box you will get 87 responses and some "great" information.Enjoy

One of the best meals of my life.

Almost impossible to book

friendly service, very California in attitude, not "stuffy" or uptight French attitude

somewhat pricey, but not devastatingly so

GREAT wine list

Beautiful food presentations

small "three bite" course tasting menu

fantastic place to eat in Napa, one of the best restaurants in the country

It was a hassle to get a reservation, we ended up eating late and couldn't get a table for six, so two of our group went elsewhere. Was it worth it? Absolutely. We started with champagne in the courtyard under the stars; then moved to an upstairs dining room for a flawless meal. It really was dreamy. And yes, we paid dearly.

My husband & I were in Napa in Nov with 3 other couples. We were unable to get reservations at The French Laundry for that large of a party. However,we had wonderful dinners at Bistro Jeanty (french) & Bistro Don Giovanni ( italian). We had drinks at Bouchon, another Thomas Keller, & the bartender said to expect your bill to be $500 for 2. Mustards was also highly recommended but we didn't make it there. Something to remember is you can take your own bottle of wine & pay a corkage fee. The fee varies from place to place, the most expensive we heard happened to be The French Laundry at $50. I t noice to offer your waiter or sommelier a taste, one of ours did try ours and didn't charge the corkage fee. Sorry to ramble, but it is one of my favorite places!!!

I have a reservation for late Feb. They say it's impossible to get a reservation, but I got one the first time I tried (after about 1 hour and 20 minutes of busy signals). Can't wait!

When you say expensive..how expensive. like hdvs. cocktails, dinner and dessert...how much?

All prix fixe menus are $175 per person. Add wines and gratuity, at least $400 to $500 per person. Worth every dollar.

http://www.frenchlaundry.com/

Yes, they do mean cleaning. They will clean your wallet all right!

Just back from my second meal at the French Laundry on Saturday night...as so many others have commented it is extraordinary.

The food is incredible and the service sublime...very professional and yet personal rather than stiff. Men must wear jackets and you should budget about $350 plus per person.

They have three menus including a nine course tasting menu, an extrordinary vegetarian tasting menu and a 5 course menu...all for $175 (with a $25 supplement for foie gras). The evening is about more than the food it's food as entertainment...food that is as visually stunning as it is delicious.

Highly recommended for those who will enjoy thinking about the meal after the fact as much as they enjoyed eating it!

It is totally in a class all by itself. Nothing compares. The highest standards are set in every area. I can still taste the foie gras terrine with black truffels. They served it with warm brioche toast points. Every few minutes they came by and removed the "cold" toast and replaced it with warm toast whether you had eaten any or not. They served butter from a farm in Vermont(?) whose only customer is the French Laundry. It is expensive for a reason.
-Bill

I personally would not dance through the reservation hoops.
My BIL, a native 5th gen SFO'er is the restaurant critic of a large city magazine as an avocation. He and SIS had such a poor experience, they didn't leave a tip.
As always, there are fools born... and some even have money to spend which is really wonderful.
M

I'd love to go there sometime. Does anyone know some really old and sort of sick person that has a reservation there during 2006? I'd like to become friendly and see if that person could leave me the reservation in his will.

I'm sorry to hear that a server DELIBERATELY poured the food onto that restaurant critic. Because short of doing that I can't imagine a reason to leave no tip -- at a place like that leaving 10 or 15% would make the point, but leaving NO tip sounds a little outrageous to me. It is hard to believe that they got NO service.

I agree completely Patrick

Mikemo....I must say that I have NEVER seen a bad review of this restaurant.
Some reviewers lament the prices, some complain about the reservation policies, I have even seen a review where the reviewer was angered by how difficult the place is to find at night.

But they ALL have ended the review with praises for the food and service.

NO TIP?
=
NO CLUE

I must say that I was so shocked by Mikemo's Brother in Law refusal to leave a tip at the FL, I needed to post again.

This restaurant is so service oriented, there are multiple servers for many, many courses. Flatware is replaced before each course. Explanations and descriptions are given for each dish.
Truffles are shaved tableside. Dishes are sauced tableside. The Service is impeccable, yet friendly.

I have to assume that "sticker shock" prevented him from doing the correct thing.

Shame on him.

it sounds wonderful. I will have to try to get reservations for when I go back to the area.

I think it would be a great service to all of us to know what magazine that critic writes for. It would save us anquish to ignore any comments about any restaurant from any so-called restaurant critic who would leave NO TIP at French Laundry. But for what it's worth I think I know the type-- ("It didn't meet my impeccable standards." Hogwash.)

I'm sure he included a 20% tip on his expense report.

This isn't the type of restaurant for me, but if you're a foodie, go for it.