Dining in Sonoma County

I will be doing some wine tasting in Sonoma county next month (specifically through the Russian River Valley) and would appreciate any recommendations for a nice place for dinner. Looking more for a comfy bistro-type place where locals go for good food and good wine. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Haven't been there in a while, but I always liked Della Santina for Italian food. Right off the square on Napa St. in Sonoma.

Where are you staying? Only reason I ask is because of driving after dinner can be tricky.

My person favs...mostly on the casual side of thing..'cause that's how we roll up here..

Off the square in Sonoma...
The Girl and the Fig...everything is great...But, you gotta love Rhone wines 'cause that's all that's on the list.
Cafe la Lay...terrific fresh food, small and quaint, need reservations

Sebastopol...
Underwood Bar and Grill... Great bistro food
Sazu....small, fun...local ingredients, including their own cured stuff

Healdsburg
Willi's....I've never made it past the Bloody Mary's and the spinach salad, but this place is fav. Lot's of fun little bites. I haven't spent much time with the wine list ( I can't seem to make it past the cocktails!!) but it's looks reasonable and fun!

There's actually a handful of fun 'hard bars' around. Got plenty of suggestions on that side, too. Just send me a note!

Hope this helps a little!

Traci

Ackkk!!

How did I forget K&L Bistro in Sepastopol!!!! Classic bistro food!

Had lunch at 'Zin Restaurant and Wine Bar' in Healdsburg and that was great - probably fit the bill for dinner too.
http://www.zinrestaurant.com/wine.html

In a visit in 2006, I enjoyed the Girl and the Fig in Sonoma. The food was good, service was fine, and the atmosphere was cozy--I do remember not being wowed, but I would certainly try them again. In Healdsburg, I had a great brunch at Barndiva--funky atmosphere of a converted barn, lots of attention to where their ingredients come from (farm fresh and all that), friendly service, great casual weekend atmosphere for brunch, and the food was good, not stunning from my recollection, but definitely a really good brunch.

I may be repeating some that were suggested earlier, but if I can assume that you were looking for Healdsburg/Santa Rosa/and North, here are some that we've always enjoyued whenever in the area:

In Forrestville, there is the Farmhouse Inn for some very good wine country dining. http://www.farmhouseinn.com/

In Healdsburg, Willi's Seafood Bar is a must whenever we're in the area. Very good tapas-sized dishes and robust wine list by the glass. The other place at Santa Rosa, simply called Willi's Wine Bar, has less of the seafood but is equally good, imho.

http://www.willisseafood.com
http://www.williswinebar.com

Ravenous is a bistro type, also in Healdsburg that I would recommend.
Dry Creek Kitchen offers free corkage for Sonoma wines that you bring in.

In Geyserville, Santi's for some terrific wine country Italian.
http://www.tavernasanti.com

Enjoy.

Ramon

I'll second the recommendation for both Willi's spots, and also put in a plug for Café La Haye in "downtown" Sonoma (good wine list, too).

Mark Lipton

This all sounds good. But, any BYO places that are of note?

Or, is that rare in a region where everyone wants to flog the local wines?

The Girl and the Fig in Sonoma has a café where no corkage is charged.

The Girl and the Fig in Sonoma has a café where no corkage is charged.

Thanks. Someone else mentioned that as well.

We may give it a try.

Sonoma has so many great places to eat at and I agree that the restaurants mentioned so far are worth going to. One of my favorite restaurants not yet mentioned is in Windsor. It's Restaurant Mirepoix. From the outside, it does not look like it's going to that great....but the food and service is wonderful. It's a small restaurant so you really need to have reservations.

http://www.cheers2wine.com/Restaurant-Mirepoix.html

Not Sonoma, but a drive up to the Rendezvous Inn at Fort Bragg in Mendocino County is worth the effort, see http://www.rendezvousinn.com/ . Owners Janis and Kim Badenhop offer comfortably appointed inn rooms at reasonable prices, and in the words of the Lonely Planet Guide "Fort Bragg's best chef cooks breakfast". The Badenhops walked away from corporate careers to allow Kim to train in Georges Blanc' kitchen in France, and never looked back. Indeed breakfasts at the Rendezvous (served from 9 a.m.) are splendiferous, starting with freshly baked muffins of the house, and continuing with a large plate of whatever the chef feels like creating that morning. One of Kim's muffins followed by a plate of eggs benedict and ad libitum orange juice and coffee basically sets one up for a full day of hiking or kayaking or a very long siesta, depending on your whim. Another plus is that Fort Bragg has the feel of a real town, less pretty than Mendocino but without the touristy ersatz as well. We spent a day walking along the coast, staring at more seals, and a couple of afternoon hours listening to local jazz and catching up on e-mail at one of the local internet cafe's. Another charming aspect of Fort Bragg is the local coffee shops, which are not part of corporate chains (when Starbucks tried to set up in Fort Bragg the locals did a brisk trade in T-shirts proclaiming 'corporate coffee sucks'...). Evening time found us at the dinner table, poring over the menu at the Rendezvous. This changes with the seasons, featuring local ingredients as much as possible, and viewing a couple of old menus brings a strong urge to go back a few times a year to see what's new. The dishes we sampled were sablefish in a shallot-Madeira sauce (magnificent), pan roasted breast of Muscovy duck with a ginger-blood orange glaze (excellent), and medallions of venison loin in red currant sauce (need I say more). Desserts are made on the premises and we thoroughly enjoyed the frozen white chocolate soufflé with raspberry and passionfruit sauces, as well as the molten chocolate cake. The wine list is carefully selected to match the food, with many fine local wines at very reasonable prices. All in all a memorable dining experience in a beautiful area, reasonably close to interesting wineries in the Anderson Valley, and well worth multiple visits if you are in the area.