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Spouses Andzia and Jenay Hofftin opened this organic restaurant, retail and wine shop, and community gathering spot inside Occidental's oldest building (1872). The "farm-fresh comfort food" menu encompasses everything from egg sandwiches and a yogurt and grain-free-granola parfait for breakfast to vegan bowls and pork melts for lunch and (three days a week) early dinner until 7.
3703 Main St., Occidental, California, 95465, USA
Known For
- Ingenious ingredients and spicing
- Children's menu
- Groceries, handmade jewelry, bath products, books, ceramics
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Tues. and Wed. No dinner Sun. and Mon.
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Skilled baristas churn out a dizzying array of coffee drinks—drip, cold brew, nitro cold brew, all the fave espresso options—in a clean downtown space with white walls and teal wainscoting. Pastries, tartines, avocado toast, quiche, and egg-inflected sandwiches (some vegan or gluten-free) are the breakfast hits, with banh mi and the like added for lunch.
324 Center St., Healdsburg, California, 95448, USA
Known For
- Superior bean sources and roasting methods
- Matcha, chai, and other teas and tea drinks and kombucha
- Seasonal drinks and pastries
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner
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Calistoga's flashy 19th-century entrepreneur Sam Brannan built the depot in 1868 to receive spa patrons, but it was looking careworn until his 21st-century equivalent, Wine Country vintner-showman Jean-Charles Boisset, restored the wood-frame building and opened a combination gourmet grocery, café, wine shop, distillery, and wine and beer garden. As at Boisset's historic Oakville Grocery, salads, artisanal sandwiches, and wood-fired pizzas headline.
1458 Lincoln Ave., Calistoga, California, 94515, USA
Known For
- All-day breakfast
- Wine and craft-beer selection
- Patio seating
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner
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A bright-yellow slice of France in downtown Glen Ellen, this combination pâtisserie, boulangerie, and café takes its name from its husband-and-wife owners, Pascal and Pascale Merle. Pascal whips up croissants, breads, turnovers, and sweet treats like Napoleons, galettes, and eclairs, along with quiches, potpies, and other savory fare; Pascale creates a cordial environment for customers to enjoy them.
13758 Arnold Dr., Glen Ellen, California, 95442, USA
Known For
- Memorable French onion soup
- Shaded back patio
- High-test French and Italian coffee drinks
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Wed. No dinner
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Christopher Kostow gained fame as the award-winning chef of the Restaurant at Meadowood, the essence of Napa Valley haute fine dining, but the fare and mood are more down-to-earth at the order-at-the-counter deli he and his marketing-whiz wife, Martina Kostow, opened at the Oxbow Public Market. Bagels and bagel sandwiches anchor the breakfast menu, with pastrami and smoked-whitefish-salad sandwiches appearing for lunch and early dinner, along with matzoh ball soup, latkes, and other stalwarts.
610 1st St., Napa, California, 94559, USA
Known For
- Updated take on deli classics (kimchi with Reuben)
- "always boiled," gluten-free bagels with trad (smoked salmon) and rad (miso vegetable) spreads
- Closing early
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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Delicate pastries and quiches, croques monsieur, and other bistro bites have made locals as passionate about this Highway 116 café as its executive and pastry chefs, who previously worked at establishments in Paris, San Francisco, and elsewhere, are about their cuisine and hospitality. Pastel-green walls, a wood-burning stove, and tables from reclaimed wood lend the small interior space a French-country feel; on sunny days the best seating is on the wooden deck outside.
4552 Gravenstein Hwy. N, California, 95472, USA
Known For
- Kouign-amann French pastry
- French-style coffee
- Joyous atmosphere
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner
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Regulars of this southern Petaluma "daytime café" with indoor and outdoor seating rave about its eastern Mediterranean–inflected cuisine—then immediately downplay their enthusiasm lest this unassuming gem become more popular. The menu changes often, but mainstays include shakshuka (a tomato-based stew with baked eggs) and a lamb burger dripping with fennel tzatziki.
500 1st St., Petaluma, California, 94952, USA
Known For
- Weekend brunch
- Fun beverage lineup, alcoholic and non
- Menu prices include gratuity
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Tues. and Wed. No dinner
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The restaurant at Solage attracts the resort's clientele, upvalley locals, and guests of nearby lodgings for sophisticated farm-to-table cuisine served in the high-ceilinged dining area or alfresco on a sprawling patio warmed by shapely heaters and a mesmerizing firepit. Dishes on the lighter side might include house-made pasta or sake-marinated fish, with duck breast, crispy pork, or a tomahawk steak among the heartier options.
755 Silverado Trail, Calistoga, California, 94515, USA
Known For
- Artisanal cocktails
- Festive patio
- Lunchtime salads and sandwiches
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The team behind this wine shop, bar, and restaurant across from Sonoma Plaza revamped a 19th-century adobe (though inside you'd never know it's this old) and expanded its outdoor patio, where most dining takes place. Sustainably produced seafood and meats find their way into "California home cooking"—summer dishes that might include halibut with corn and cherry tomatoes and winter ones like pork adobo or a half chicken with broccoli.
487 1st St. W, Sonoma, California, 95476, USA
Known For
- XO deviled eggs, shrimp rolls, and other small plates
- Organically and biodynamically farmed wines by iconoclastic producers
- Weekend brunch with traditional fare plus less common alternatives
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Tues. and Wed.
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A longtime Bay Area caterer opened this retail shop serving soups, salads, sandwiches, and a few entrées to go or eat indoors or on the front patio. Supplementing staples like turkey, tri-tip, and roasted portobello sandwiches—the Caesar salad is a town favorite—are surprise items, says the owner, "we just feel like cooking, like pot roast when it rains or Thai wraps on sunny days."
6490 Mirabel Rd., Forestville, California, 95436, USA
Known For
- Good stop for picnic fixings or dining back at lodging
- House-made blueberry-bacon maple scones
- Espresso drinks, chai tea, kombucha, Italian sodas
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues. No dinner
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Inside the bright-white 1907 Georgian-style structure anchoring the otherwise contemporary Alila Napa Valley resort, Acacia House serves ambitious cuisine—sea urchin cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper pasta), perhaps, or jamón ibérico schnitzel—that generally lives up to the elegant setting. At lunch, the chefs, who source ingredients from top purveyors (the quality duly reflected in the prices), also turn out comfort fare like avocado toast with trout and a burger with slow-cooked tomato and caramelized onion.
1915 Main St., St. Helena, California, 94574, USA
Known For
- Special-occasion feel
- Lounge menu 3–5
- Wraparound patio on a sunny day
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The culinary garden guests pass on their way to the Stanly Ranch resort's main restaurant supplies fruit, produce, and herbs for the artisanal cocktails and well-conceived dishes served inside the stone-and-glass structure. A salmon crudo appetizer exemplifies the approach: each of the pristinely fresh ingredients (yogurt, young dill, raw salmon, trout roe, green apple, Japanese spice) registers well enough separately but soars as an ensemble.
200 Stanly Crossroad, California, 94559, USA
Known For
- California-centric wine list with a global reach
- Grand yet comfortable interior
- Patio dining with pool and villa views
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Foodies love this grocery for its breakfast biscuits, clever sandwiches, and savory salads to go or eat here. Everything from butter and jam and mascarpone and honey to barbecue pulled pork with pickles and slaw accompanies the biscuits, whose mix made Oprah's Favorite Things list, and the sandwiches include the Colonel Armstrong (curried chicken salad with currants and cashews on brioche).
16228 Main St., Guerneville, California, 95446, USA
Known For
- Biscuits and heartier breakfast fare
- Wine Country lunches
- Excellent for a quick bite
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Tues. No dinner, Reservations not accepted
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After running one of Oxbow Public Market's busiest stalls for more than a decade, owner Catherine Bergen jumped at the chance to occupy the complex's largest restaurant space, which her design team transformed into a hip-casual dining spot with a full bar specializing in artisanal tequilas and mescals. Bergen expanded her Baja-inspired menu with meat, fish, and tofu dishes prepared in a wood-fired grill and rotisserie.
610 McKinstry St., Napa, California, 94559, USA
Known For
- Taqueria for to-go items from original space
- Breakfast tacos, huevos, and nachos
- Heated patio's Napa River views
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Longtime upvalley restaurateurs run this down-home diner whose efficient chefs churn out comfort food with a touch more flair than the zingy Cal-hippie decor might lead you to expect. Huevos rancheros and other egg dishes top the breakfast (until 2:30 closing) menu along with pancakes, waffles, French toast, and vegetarian and corned-beef hash; burgers (beef, fish, or black bean), tuna melts, sandwiches, wraps, and several salads headline at lunch, with sides that include crispy-golden onion rings.
1413 Lincoln Ave., Calistoga, California, 94515, USA
Known For
- Huge portions
- Create-your-own omelets and egg scrambles
- Cakes and deep-dish pies
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner
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Two chefs who've starred at fine-dining restaurants shifted gears to open this humble shop, expanded with seating in 2023, where everything's made from scratch, either by them or their vendors. The ingredients are all of the highest quality, which explains the long lines at breakfast for the Ham & Jam (buttermilk biscuits with molasses-brined ham and seasonal jam) and at lunchtime for the Cuban, mortadella, and a few others.
950 Randolph St., California, 94559, USA
Known For
- Cold and hot coffee drinks
- Salads and other sides
- Ice-cream sandwich with homemade chocolate cookies
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon. No dinner
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Breakfast, served all day at this bright-yellow French-style bakery and café, includes the signature omelet (sun-dried tomatoes, bacon, spinach, and Brie) and French toast made from thick slabs of cinnamon-walnut bread. French onion soup and cranberry-turkey, chicken with Jarlsberg, and (on the cinnamon-walnut bread) Monte Cristo sandwiches are among the lunch favorites.
417 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg, California, 95448, USA
Known For
- Breads, croissants, and fancy pastries
- Quiche and omelets
- Front patio
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues. No dinner, Reservations not accepted
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"Elevate Your Everyday" glows a neon side at Crisp, whose spanking-clean interior mirrors the pristine food—avocado toast, beet-cured salmon tartine, breakfast and lunch bowls, and inventive juices, soups, broths, and smoothies—this health-oriented café serves. The location next to Sunshine Market (easy parking out front) may lack glamour, but the place exudes wellness, and the menu acknowledges the requirements of vegans, vegetarians, and carnivores alike.
1111 Main St., St. Helena, California, 94574, USA
Known For
- Build-your-own granola bowls, breakfast sandwiches, and morning porridge
- Grab-and-go bowls and salads
- Wellness and superfood lattes (regular coffee drinks, too)
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No dinner
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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.
405 1st St. W, Sonoma, California, 95476, USA
Known For
- Subtle tastes and textures
- Truffle-oil fries with Parmesan
- Takeout window for Mexican (plus the spicy burger)
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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.
11 Central Ave., Boyes Hot Springs, California, 95476, USA
Known For
- Crispy three-cheese potato tacos
- Handmade tortillas and tamales from organic stone-ground heritage corn
- Breakfast chilaquiles Merida (Friday--Sunday morning)
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Reservations not accepted