Ok, the king is TFL, but any others? I hear Meadowood is re-opening soon?
TFL was the best I have had, never got to the old Meadowood, I come from the days of going to Mustards, Ad Hoc, farmstead, Press was just getting going (and was mediocre about 10 years ago - but its steak sooo…), Cindy’s Back Street is closed…anything below Yountville is not appealing for the drive as we are staying in Calistoga.
Solage for fine dining. Pico Bar at Solage is a “hip” outside (but covered) poolside, upscale Mexican place. Not enchiladas with beans and rice, more like duck mole tacos, fish tacos, bean dip, etc. My favorite. Brasswood on 29 between Calistoga and St. Helena, especially fun crowd at lunch. Ask for “the cheese,” which is not on the menu.
We haven’t been to Napa in a few years so take it fwiw (likely very little). But our tastes look similar and on my list for next time are Charter Oak, Cook, and Brasswood. Loved Cindy’s and Mustards always super solid. None fine dining, per se. And none Per Se, per se.
We had an enjoyable lunch at the bar yesterday at The Charter Oaks. Excellent dry chicken wings and an eggplant dish. Some nice white burgundy. Nothing mind blowing but it did the trick.
French Laundry is hands down my favorite. We are up in Napa frequently and will usually rotate between Charter Oak, Farmstead, RD Kitchen, and Bottega (although less so now).
Several good choices above but Farmstead is our overall favorite. If you are looking for a French Laundry type experience set a reservation at Single Thread in Healdsburg. From Calistoga it’s 23 miles, 36 minutes. Not much different than going from Calistoga to Yountville which is 21 miles and 31 minutes. Single Thread is one of the “best”for sure.
Back from our trip a few days already, the food scene is pretty…uneventful…but we did not try too, too hard. Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Charter Oak over-delivered on expectations and was the surprise to the upside for us.
Huge drop-off after TFL…(Meadowood not open yet)
Charter Oak was our fave of the spots (also went for lunch) we hit that included:
Regiis Ova Caviar (very good but VERY $$$, could use another 8-12 champagnes that are not the big houses)
Ad Hoc was better than Bouchon
Farmstead was good, if a little boring and lacking in wine breadth
Model bakery in St. Helena was solid, good alternative to Bouchon (also satellite in Yountville)
Gott’s was good, maybe not as good as I remember
Oakville Grocery’s charm is gone, all but extinguished by the new ownership and I am sure covid
La Toque has always been a fave but staying in Calistoga made that impractical for dinner
Heard good things about Brasswood but too late to try
Over in Healdsburg Matheson was excellent for lunch on the roof and Single Thread would have been nice but could not make it happen with their inconvenient times that popped up last minute for dinner.
How are you all getting into the French Laundry? I’m going to St Helena later this week, but couldn’t snag TFL tickets even though I was on tock when they were released. Pretty disappointed, but oh well.
We love Torc, Morimoto, Kenzo, Bistro Don Giovanni, Bouchon Bakery (order ahead via app), Model Bakery (order ahead) and Monday Bakery. There is a super cute shop next to Monday Bakery and she sells a very special bread out of her goods shop. We love Napa and the dining scene! Angele is great for homey French food as well.