176 Best Restaurants in Napa and Sonoma, California

A dining area with hardwood floors, a pressed-tin ceiling, and exposed-brick walls provides a fitting setting for the rustic cuisine at this Geyserville mainstay. Chef Dino Bugica studied with artisanal cooks in Italy before opening this restaurant specializing in wood-fired pizzas and house-cured meats, with a few salads and meaty main courses rounding out the menu.

This restaurant owes its visual appeal to its clean lines and svelte decor, but the eye inevitably drifts westward to the open kitchen, where longtime executive chef Armando Navarro's team crafts dishes full of subtle surprises. The menu might include ceviche or roasted maitake mushrooms as starters and pan-roasted salmon, fettuccine carbonara, or paella awash with seafood among the entrées.

The goodness at Karen Waikiki's roadside restaurant, which has more tables outside than in, starts with high-quality ingredients and authentic techniques. The stars include tamales (chicken mole and Niman Ranch pork), tacos filled with beer-battered fish or crispy beef, ahi tostadas poke style, and enchiladas and burritos.

The gas-lamp-style lighting fixtures, charcoal-black hues, and bistro cuisine at Evangeline evoke old New Orleans with a California twist. The chefs put a jaunty spin on dishes that might include shrimp étouffée, duck confit, or steak frites; the elaborate weekend brunch, with pamplemousse (grapefruit) mimosas an acerbic intro to everything from raw oysters, avocado toast, and smoked salmon to shrimp and grits and prosciutto Benedict, is an upvalley favorite.

Anchored by a large heated patio adjoining the pool, the Farmhouse Inn's casual all-day restaurant serves farm-to-table cuisine with ingredients as local as the herbs and vegetables from the on-site culinary garden and livestock from an owners' nearby ranch. Look for avocado toast, brioche French toast, and the hearty farmer's plate (eggs, meat, potatoes) for breakfast, smoked salmon salad and the sandwich du jour for lunch, and quail, bass, or a pork chop for dinner.

The compact menu at this cheerful bistro focuses on California and French comfort food—pot roast and duck confit, for instance, as well as flounder meunière and a few thin-crust pizzas. Steamed mussels are served with crispy fries, which also accompany the Chef's Burger (top sirloin with cheese), two of the many dependable dishes that have made the Fig a downtown Glen Ellen fixture.

Built-in wood-fired ovens anchor the open kitchen at this fun-casual spot with tile floors and bare light bulbs strung over the tables. Pizzas and pasta dishes made from farm-fresh ingredients dominate the menu, but straightforward fish, chicken, and steak entrées appear as well.

A Craftsman bungalow whose 1920s owner reportedly used the cellar for bootlegging during Prohibition houses this restaurant where the pairing of food and drink is as likely to involve a craft cocktail as a sommelier-selected wine. Main courses such as wood-grilled chicken or salmon, wet-aged black Angus rib eye, and the grass-fed G&G burger with Gruyère follow starters that might include corn croquettes, sticky pig ears, and harissa sausage with fry bread and baba ghanoush.

A 1950s-style outdoor hamburger stand goes upscale at this spot whose customers brave long lines to order breakfast sandwiches, juicy burgers, root-beer floats, and garlic fries. Choices not available a half century ago include ahi-tuna and Impossible burgers and kale and Vietnamese chicken salads.

A dependable, varied menu makes this modest corner restaurant occupying a brick-and-glass storefront many Napans' go-to choice for a simple meal. Empanadas and iron-skillet cornbread with lavender honey and butter show up at all hours, with buttermilk pancakes and chilaquiles scrambled eggs among the brunch staples and cassoulet and roasted heirloom chicken popular for dinner.

A chef formerly with the Stark organization (Willi's Seafood and others) opened this casual restaurant—a good bet for families—whose decor of rich pastels sets a placid tone. Hits here include Parmesan arancini, fried calamari, and burrata with lemon honey starters, as well as shrimp diavolo pasta and halibut piccata entrées.

Tablecloths, cut flowers, and the soft glow of liquid paraffin candles and strings of lights overhead draw most diners to this casual-elegant restaurant's expansive outdoor patio. Chef Bob Simontacchi relies on local sources for the organic, sustainable ingredients in vegan, vegetarian, and omnivore bistro-style dishes like beet salad, braised red cabbage with bacon and Sebastopol apples, vegetable stew, foraged-mushroom risotto, and duck confit.

The menu at this homage to Jewish delicatessens plays the greatest hits—blintzes, latkes, lox, chopped liver, and knishes, plus pastrami, corned beef, and Reuben sandwiches all on house-made breads—but mashes things up with chicken shawarma kebabs, fish-and-chips, and other atypical deli dishes. It's all executed with panache, and the retro-eclectic decor (black-and-white ceramic tile floors, colorful tropical-bird-print wallpaper, chunky stone fireplace) feels nostalgic yet of the moment.

The owner of casual and fine-dining restaurants in Japan and elsewhere, Kobe-born chef Haruyuki Yamashita gained fame within his native land for techniques that modernized Japanese cuisine. At his sparsely decorated Napa location—black, gray, and brown tones, polished concrete floor, gleaming open kitchen—his team prepares prix-fixe multicourse meals, but you can also order sushi, tempura, and other items à la carte.

Sebastopol’s former Fosters Freeze location, now a 21st-century fast-food palace, won design awards for its rusted-steel frame and translucent panel-like windows. The menu, a paean to coastal California cuisine, includes oysters raw and grilled, fish tacos, ceviche, tostadas, three burgers (beef, vegetarian, and fish), and, honoring the location's previous incarnation, chocolate and vanilla soft-serve ice cream.

Even before diners settle in their seats, the Montage resort's glass-walled destination restaurant captures the imagination with exterior views of vineyards, oaks, and far-off Mt. St. Helena and interior haute-luxury touches like chandeliers of locally handblown Czech glass. The Cali-Continental connection comes full circle in dishes—Pacific oysters with a spicy mignonette, perhaps, or halibut with shrimp, corn, and chanterelles—whose French flourishes elevate the seasonal ingredients.

The chef at this casual, family-friendly, mostly open-air spa restaurant promotes wellness via Southwest-inspired "booster food" like a quinoa-and-kale salad and bowls containing sautéed kale, red quinoa, green chilies, and avocado. To reel in the wary, House of Better hedges its bet with cheesy flatbreads and nicely spiced fish tacos, going full carnivore with a green-chili cheeseburger and pepper steak add-ons to nachos, enchiladas, and tacos.

The mile-long list of morning fare at Occidental's neo-hippie go-to breakfast and weekend brunch spot includes order-at-the-counter huevos rancheros, omelets, eggs Benedict, waffles, pancakes, French toast, and "healthy alternatives" such as oatmeal, house-made granola, and quinoa and brown rice bowls with kale and eggs. Soups, salads, burgers, and monstrous sandwiches are on the menu for lunch at this laid-back space with seating inside a 19th-century gingerbread Victorian and outside on its wooden front porch and covered back patio.

A dress-up multiroom special-occasion establishment that debuted in 1980, John Ash bills itself as Sonoma County's first farm-to-table restaurant, but its legacy extends even further: the namesake founder, no longer involved, was among several pioneering Wine Country chefs who tailored their cuisine to the region's wines. Though eclipsed as a destination restaurant by rivals in Healdsburg and elsewhere, this remains a worthy stop for well-crafted dishes like rack of lamb, pan-seared dayboat scallops, and brick chicken.

The fuel is more than petrol at this gas station–convenience store whose redbrick exterior recalls the heyday of Route 66 travel. The shop inside sells superb hot dogs, fresh scones from nearby R+D Kitchen, gourmet chocolates, and (in summer) ice cream—gas up, grab some picnic items, and be ever-so-merrily on your way.

Beef brisket and St. Louis ribs are the hits at this saloonlike, order-at-the-counter joint whose house-made sauces include espresso barbecue, South Carolina mustard, and the sweet-and-sourish KIN blend. Along with the expected sides of potato salad, corn bread muffins, and baked beans (the latter bourbon-infused), the spiced sweet-potato tater tots and Granny Smith–and-horseradish slaw stand out.

"The beer garden concept but with wine" is how winemaker Jordan Kivelstadt describes his roadhouse operation in southern Sonoma. Conventional wine tastings of Kivelstadt's sometimes unconventional wines take place here, with the outdoor space a lively combination restaurant and wine bar where local families and tourists mix it up while enjoying comfort fare that might include sweet-potato tacos, veggie potpie, smoked-chicken tostadas, and a mushroom Cubano on focaccia.

A few steps south of his Bouchon Bistro, chef Thomas Keller opened this ivy-covered restaurant serving Oaxacan-inspired Mexican cuisine. The decor inside is airily upscale casual, though on sunny days most patrons head to the street-side patio to dine on dishes like tacos al pastor (with slow-grilled pork), chicken enchiladas with mole, and pescado zarandeado verde (grilled marinated fish with green salsa).

The burritos, tacos, and quesadillas at this unassuming pit stop will fill you up before wine tasting or help absorb what you've imbibed. The super burrito laden with cheese, beans, sour cream, guacamole, and your choice of meat—winery workers swear by the crispy carnitas—provides a day's fuel in itself; for breakfast (before 11) there's a burrito with eggs, your choice of meat, and potatoes, beans, and salsa.

Inside a metal-and-glass structure design writers have described as industrial grange-hall chic, the chefs at this "farm-forward gathering place" prepare satisfying plant-based cuisine supporting the founders' goal of creating Healdsburg's first entirely vegan restaurant. With most ingredients rushed over from Little Saint's nearby 8-acre Russian River farm, the menu items change often.

The vivid colors of the drinks, food, furnishings, and a mural by the Mexican urban artist Senkoe provide constant visual entertainment at this riverfront restaurant that evolved from a popular food truck. Oaxacan influences and spices like chileajo (vegetables, herbs, and chiles cooked and pureed) appear in the enchiladas, burritos, tacos, and other items, many inspired by southern Mexican street-food staples or recipes of the chef's extended family back home.

Down-home Southern cuisine with modern flourishes remains the mission of this retro-yet-au-courant roadside restaurant—originally the Fremont Diner—whose vineyard-view outdoor patio has a backyard-party vibe. Local families and tourists savor biscuits and gravy, hash-brown casserole, and the fried-chicken waffle for breakfast, with more fried chicken, multiple burgers and barbecue dishes, and a sloppy-good shrimp po'boy among the lunchtime attractions.

In a modern space radiating offhand elegance, the Bardessono's restaurant seduces with sophisticated flavors, many from fruits, vegetables, and herbs grown in the hotel's on-site culinary garden. Although the cuisine is ultimately modern American, the chef might incorporate Japanese, Mexican, or other techniques and ingredients depending on the dish.

Relieve restaurant sticker shock (somewhat) and long waits by ordering bowls, salads, sandwiches, and desserts online for pickup at CIA at Copia's main-entrance takeout window. Some items' herbs, fruits, and vegetables are grown steps away at the culinary institute's garden.

With Edith Piaf as his background track, a waiter whose job at Yountville's Bistro Jeanty had become a pandemic casualty spent several months toiling to perfect the macaron, his wife's favorite cookie. Success selling his multiflavored confections at farmers' markets and placement at a few upscale grocers (Jeanty was the first restaurant customer) spurred the couple, Dennis and Aubrey McInnich, to expand into retail with this shop and café selling their brightly colored treats.