Patio Dining
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Published February 23, 2006
Here’s how to contact Sonoma Valley restaurants with outdoor dining. All area codes are (707). Basque Boulangerie Café:
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Even with a false spring alarm a couple of weeks ago, that season that makes us all smile truly is just around the corner. And so is a chance to dine outdoors in Sonoma Valley. While Sonoma Valley has loads of good restaurants, some offer especially attractive outdoor experiences. El Dorado Kitchen (EDK): Chef Ryan Fancer has reincarnated what had been Piatti in the El Dorado Hotel as a fine restaurant with a great smoked salmon salad, daily flatbread sandwich or quiche, short ribs, pizza, Caesar salad with Nicoise olives and sundried tomatoes, and lamb in the $7-$27 range. Interior and patio (pool) design is abstract and relatively flower free for those of us with allergies. Full bar. Sunflower Caffé: Popular chef Curtis Dorsett recently took over as manager of old Coffee Garden, to instantly wild success. Try roast pork loin or smoked duck breast sandwiches, Albacore tuna salad, omelets, even oatmeal and Italian Ecco coffee, all under $10. Tables in front facing Plaza, garden in back patio with fountain amidst historic adobe buildings. Breakfast, lunch, early dinner. Wine and beer. Harvest Moon Café: Nick and Jen Demarest from Eccolo and La Toque opened recently, with soul-warming Mediterranean and North African cuisine and great success, at site of former Sonoma Saveurs and one time home of Steiner’s Bar, now up the street. Back garden truly feels French and gives an instant intimate feeling. Dinner only, so far. Red Grape: Fantastic thin-crust “New Haven-style” pizzas, squash ravioli, large Cobb and Caesar salads, grilled sandwiches with cole slaw or baked “fries,” thick Boston clam chowder, with cozy but large greenery — and flower-surrounded patio in back. All under $14. Wine and beer. 599 Thai Café: Tiny Thai restaurant with elegant menu and reasonable prices, colorful food presentation, bargain lunches including soup or salad and entrée. Many pad choices, and your choice of meats or tofu with all cooking methods from garlic to basil, and more. Side patio feels cozy yet urban; three doors from Post Office. All under $12. Wine and beer. Della Santina’s: Local trattoria, rosticceria, and pasticceria, family-related to Marin Joe’s, serving always reliable sandwiches and Caesar salad, Italian soups, pasta from lasagna Bolognese to cannelloni Florentine, gnocchi, and their specialty, roasted meats, including chicken, pork loin, turkey breast, rabbit, Petaluma duck, fish, and pastries. Fabulous old feeling flowered brick patio in back. $10-$25. Wine and beer. Rin’s Thai: A local favorite, Rin’s serves rice plates from chicken satay and Japanese eggplant with minced pork, fabulous nearly boneless five-spice pork ribs with chili garlic sauce, curries, noodle plates, as well as famous “puffys” of chicken, potato and onion stuffed into wontons and deep fried, veggie pot stickers, and a delightful crispy salmon, all under $13.00. Covered patio between Rin’s and Della Santina’s. Wine and beer. Harmony Restaurant at the Ledson Hotel, built recently with old-world elegance and black wrought iron tables in front facing Plaza. Cardoons and cauliflower on grilled radicchio, seared Sonoma foie gras, lobster salad sandwich, Kobe beef burgers, pancetta wrapped quail, lamb shank with Israeli couscous, Maine diver scallops, grilled Meyer filet with toasted brioche and foie gras pate with truffle bordelaise. Wine and beer. $10-$33. Taste of Himalayas and Murphy’s Irish Pub: Both located down walkway in Place des Pyrenées, Taste of Himalayas offers foods of Nepal, India, and Himalayan trekking, with a lunchtime buffet ($7.95) and samosas, pakoras, daal bhat or naan, tandoori and loads of curries. Wine and beer. Murphy’s Irish Pub serves excellent Irish pub grub, including colcannon, mushy peas, shepherd’s pie, bangers and mash, and pasties, as well as healthy salads, the best fish and chips, steak or lamb sandwiches, burgers, and veggie alternatives. Full bar, lots of live entertainment. $4.50-$12.95. Basque Boulangerie Café: Francoise Guerra Hodges’ packed bakery and café makes, sells, and serves unique Dutch Crunch rolls, fine cakes, pastries and breads, a great Nicoise salad, grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches, excellent soups and espresso drinks. Café seating on sidewalk with lively red and white flower planters, bike rack. $1.45-$9.95. Wine and beer. La Salette Restaurant: Manuel and Kimberley Azevedo serve contemporary Portuguese cuisine, including Portuguese sardines, bacalhau, tripe, cod cakes, seafood and white bean stew, linguica, salads, pork stew, beef, and fish. New additions include breakfast omelets and interesting crepes, such as Dungeness crab, vanilla bean custard, Nutella and banana, and farmers’ cheese with marmalade and honey. Breakfast $2.49-$7.99. Lunch and dinner$10-$24. Wine and beer. Plaza Bistro: Serving brunch Saturday and Sunday, guests can sit at sidewalk tables facing the Plaza for omelets, eggs benedict, crepes, salads, burgers, and even coriander encrusted salmon. Duck bruschetta, tomato and brie sandwich with sliced prosciutto, grilled salmon B.L.T., half-pound burger, endive and apple salad, steaks and porcini gnocchi range from $8-$26. Full bar. La Casa Restaurant: Located directly across from Mission San Francisco de Solano, La Casa is well known for its margaritas, generous portions, burritos, salmon entrees, shredded cabbage salad, tortilla soup, fajitas and Macho Nachos. Full bar. Happy hour Monday-Friday 4-7 p.m. Back deck overlooks historic Hooker House, aka Vasquez House and inner courtyard of El Paseo de Sonoma. $4.94-$16.95. Mary’s Pizza Shack on the Plaza: Great year-round “outdoor” seating with fireplace and heaters with windows opening onto Plaza, dining room windows also open out to patio. Hearty salads, locally famous pizzas, pastas, garlic bread, great lunch deals, prize-winning martinis. Planter flowers match red and white table cloths. Full bar. $2.95-$21.95. Swiss Hotel: Café tables in front, plus peaceful and colorful back patio combine with California Italian food, including fried calamari, clams with mussels and chorizo, excellent salads from gooey Caesar to chophouse, sandwiches from Italian sausage to Harris Ranch ribeye, pastas, wood-fired oven pizzas, grilled polenta, thick pork chops, rosemary chicken, steaks, eggplant and Portobello mushroom. Famous for Glariffee Irish Coffee drink. Full bar. $6-$27.50. Depot Hotel: Across from Depot Park, an Italian hideaway with lovely covered patio and shimmering pool facing west toward historic state park and Vallejo home. Several antipasti selections, soups, salads such as insalata Livornese with tomatoes topped with anchovy fillets and sliced red onions, cannelloni and other pastas, pannini, lunch entrée salads, roasted chicken, scaloppini, veal Parmesan, filet mignon medallions, seafood specials. $7-$25. Wine and beer. General’s Daughter: Recently reopened for dinner with facelift and new “Low Country” menu featuring spicy Yellowfin tuna tartar, Sonoma foie gras caramels with truffled mushroom cream, Diver scallops and King salmon, rock shrimp risotto, veal tenderloin with bourbon braised sweetbreads, confit pork shoulder with hoppin’ john, steaks, chicken, artisinal and farmstead cheeses. $8-$29. Full bar. Deuce: Most beautiful restaurant rose garden in Sonoma Valley, Deuce offers a Bento Box at lunch (contents vary daily), chicory salad with poached egg and goat cheese, burgers, crab soft roll sandwich, polenta, roast Wolfe Ranch quail with walnut stuffing, butternut squash risotto with Diver scallops, and braised lamb shanks. Full bar. $8.95-$22.95. Saddles Steakhouse: Fun luxurious western motif at MacArthur Place Inn, a true steakhouse offering the best in beef, chicken, crab cakes, Portobello mushroom fritters, roasted artichokes, haystack onion rings, great outdoor patio in back. $9.50-$32.50. Full bar. On to Arnold Drive: Juanita Juanita and Follini & Eichenbaum: Side by side with very different food. Juanita Juanita has funky and good Mexican food with a colorful patio to the south, while Follini & Eichenbaum is a “Mediterranean” deli with lush salads, large creative deli sandwiches, killer cheesecake and cookies, Sunday brunch, and a lovely garden patio in back. Both inexpensive with wine and beer. Glen Ellen— Glen Ellen Inn Oyster Bar & Grill: Year-round patio room with sliding windows, terraces down hill. Lunch includes an oyster sampler, salmon Nicoise salad, crôques monsieur, My Big Fat Greek Lamb Burger, fried oyster po’ boy sandwich, pulled pork sandwich, salmon pasta, spinach and Stilton cheese ravioli; dinner adds perfect steaks, wild cod with crab cake and spinach flan, breast of duck, sesame seared Ahi tuna. $8.95-$22.95. Kids menu designed by Savannah with crab pot stickers, grilled cheese, linguini with butter and Parmesan, and desserts. Special tasting menu $24.95-$34.95. Full bar. Kenwood— Kenwood Restaurant: Fabulous patio and garden facing south in this super wine country restaurant. Views include Kunde vineyards and Sugarloaf Mountain. Favorites include Dungeness crab cakes, porcini mushroom ravioli, Ahi tuna sashimi, half-pound Angus burger with salad or fries, steamed mussels marinière or poulette, poached salmon, pork tenderloin with cabbage, chicken breast with wild rice, sautéed calf liver with onions and bacon, beef bourguignon, veal piccata with artichokes, and huge steak. $7-$30. Full bar. Café Citti: Magnificently informal Italian trattoria where you order at the counter and feast on salads, roasted chicken, sandwiches such as tuna and egg salad or coppa, polenta, pizzas, soups, pastas and a wild array of pasta sauces for here or to go. Patio faces north and west with glimpses of mountains and vineyards. $4.00-$10.95. Wine and beer. Enjoy! Kathleen Hill is co-author of six guidebooks to the West Coast, including “Sonoma Valley—The Secret Wine Country” and “Napa Valley—Land of Golden Vines.” Catch her “The Kathleen Hill Show” on KSVY-91.3 FM Mondays at 3:00 p.m. Send tidbits to hilltopub@aol.com. |
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