I'M GOING TO NAPA IN MARCH AND UNFORTUNATELY
WAS UNABLE TO GET A RESERVATION AT FRENCH
LAUNDRY. WHAT WOULD BE THE NEXT BEST PLACE
FOR A SPECIAL OCCASION DINNER. I GREATLY
APPRECIATE ANY INPUT.
THANKS

You will have a difficult time finding one to take you. Most nice restaurants don't allow people who SHOUT all the time.

Napa California?

Mustards - not fancy but great food and gread wine.

Our meal at Mustards was super. We stopped midday and the food and service was better than we expected. Would return there in a heartbeat! Best suggestion we took with us.

Don't follow the tourist masses...........try Bouchon or Bistro Jeanty both wonderful, in Yountville and within walking distance of the French Laundry.

All good suggestions. I'd vote for Tra Vigne as well - I always take first time visitors there. Excellent for an outdoor lunch in the patio if the weather is good - but great for an indoor dinner as well.

For a special occasion dinner, you might want to try Domaine Chandon. While I love the food at Bouchons and Bisto Jeanty, I wouldn't pick either for a special occasion dinner. Tra Vigne and Mustards also have good food, as does Martini House.

My husband and I LOVE Tra Vigne. Excellent food and hearty portions. At least I couldn't eat it all. And for Napa, the prices were excellent.

Tra Vigne. Excellent food and service.

Another vote for Bouchon. We have liked Terra in St Helena as well. I think it's gotten some mixed reviews of late but you whould check out rants and raves. One note about Tra Vigne..it's relatively casual and pretty noisy. It's not anything like French Laundry
in atmosphere. Anyone out there eaten at Le Toque? (this might be a place however I don't know about it first hand)

You might also check out the Culinary Institute.

Tra Vigne, Almost unanimous!!

Check out napavalley.com and fodors.com/miniguides--great recommendations for restaurants. We love Napa Valley Grille and Auberge Du Soleil for special occasions. So many good restaurants, so little time in the Napa Valley. Agree with others about Tra Vigne. There was a recent article in Wine Spectator about downtown Napa restaurants that looked good. Bon Appetit!

One of my favorite meals was at Tra Vigne. I also would vote for Domaine Chandon. Tra Vigne is bistro like and nothing like French Laundry which is a shrine for food. Chandon is highly romantic and has stunning gardens.

We've visited Napa twice and eaten at Mustards each time. Excellent food - well worth a visit. Although as we're from the UK - anywhere would be good wouldn't it?? Mustards tel# is 707-944 2424

All great suggestions. For a special occassion I probably wouldn't go to Mustards, although excellent for a casual evening. Tra Vigne and Terra are good spots for intimate specials occassions. Something you may not know is most restaurants will allow you to bring you own bottle of wine and charge a corkage fee (around $15). It makes it a little more special when you discover a nice wine and then enjoy it at dinner that night.

Agree with a couple of the other posters, since the French Laundry is not available, the next very best place to have a special occasion dinner is Domaine Chandon. While some of the other places mentioned have great food, they really don't have the atmosphere for a special occasion or are just plain noisy as opposed to intimate.

Make sure to check with Auberge as it was closed for renovation a couple weeks ago when we went up there. Thanks to this board we found the Martini House which we fell in love with! The lights at night, the food, the fireplace(s) the bar, the service..all wonderful!

For a special occasion, I'd recommend Terra or Martini House. Mustards and Tra Vigne are both quite casual; I'd choose Mustards, as I think Tra Vigne is slipping. Several friends really love Roux, as well, and put it above Terra. I don't think the food at Auberge du Soleil is especially good, but there is no more perfect place than the deck there for having a glass of wine and watching the sun set before your dinner elsewhere.

For a casual and terrific lunch, you can't do better than Cafe Lucy in the city of Napa.