We will be staying in Cloverdale this Sat 9/29 and we are a little late in making reservations. We are not foodies. Love Italian, steaks, seafood, homestyle cooking. Cyrus is not of interest to us. Please don't be offended-lol

We could not get a reservation at Scopa, which sounds great

Here are a few I read about on yelp. We are staying in Cloverdale and are willing to drive 30/40 min to find a good spot.

Zin
Catelli's
Piacere
Rustic
Willi's(Does not take reservations Sat) Is it hard to get into?

Any opinions or recommendations wouild be very helpful. Thank you!

I've never been to Piacere, but I have been to the other four. In my opinion, you can't go wrong. Willi's is very, very good. It will likely have a decent wait at prime time on a Saturday, but Healdsburg is cute and you can pass the time easily. I have had really good steak and seafood at Zin, and surprisingly good Orzo. Rustic is a really fun venue, interesting museum, cute shop and over the top, awesome grounds. Excellent staff. I would be perfectly content having a glass of wine and a bag of the ridiculously delicious bread they give you and enjoying the view. Caelli's gets mixed reviews but I have always had great experiences there. Family feel, cozy and amazing lasagna. I am also a huge fan of Diavola, right near Catelli's in Geyserville. I'm not a foodie, but I love good food, and have had it at all these places. Enjoy!

We loved Scopa, but I won't dwell on it since you can't get in!

In Geyserville, I agree, Diavola is amazing--as in, really, really good. We had lunch, and regretted being vegetarians as their house-made salumi looked awesome. The homemade gnocchi with pea shoots made us feel better, though.

In Healdsburg, we though Dry Creek Kitchen was great, but if you're not foodies its priciness may not be worth it to you. We also liked Mateo's in H'burg--fun place, great food, and killer margaritas, in case, you know, you get tired of excellent wine

Oh, also really like Zazu in Santa Rosa! Unprepossessing on the outside, but wonderful food. Really, it's an embarrassment of riches out there.

Yall are the best!!! Thank you

We have eaten at Catelli's and Piacere and Diavola recently (July) - here's my take

Piacere is old school Italian with fresh, home made dishes, great service in a trad Italian restaurant with homey, relaxed atmosphere. Portions are huge.The owners often come out to visit tables as did the owner when we were there. If you like basic but very well prepared Italian this would be my vote.

We had an awful time at DIavola - it;s a pizzaria, charcuterie and Italian resto with snotty service, tables way close together and super overpriced for that you get. We shared a pizza and salad, one dessert and one glass of wine and it was $80. Whihc if it was extra special, might be oK given the area BUT our salad was old tired greens that was almost inedible.

We LOVED Catelli's'. We went there twice. The chef is the original owner's granddaughter or maybe great granddaughter and was formerly Oprah's personal chef. But don't let that dissuade you. The service is homegrown local waitstaff and the atmosphere is very relaxed yet fancy enough for a special night. We had some of the best Italian food EVER including housemade ravioli that rival my mom's; spaghetti with fresh mint pesto that was awesome and the best tiramisu I've ever eaten. The chef herself come around to answer questions and say hello and if you are a tiny bit adventurous about Italian dishes I can't recommend Catellis highly enough.