John Ash’s defining legacy of wine country dining lives on at the Vintner’s Inn, where ingredients are drawn largely from the lodge’s own gardens and relationships with some 30 local farmers. Meant for expense accounts and special events, the entrees are expensive and tend to the aerie of foie gras, short ribs, and veal, but are executed with care. Locals know that the excellent and inexpensive happy hour staged daily in the Front Room bar area is a wonderful way to unwind and enjoy some of the same views and quality care that the expense account seats get.

Formally Santa Rosa Avenue landmark Willie Bird’s, the Bird is its similarly old-fashioned reincarnation, located across town on Sonoma Highway. Willie Bird’s was known for offering Thanksgiving dinner all year round, and it’s still all turkey, all the time here, just with additional sandwiches, entrees, appetizers, and barbecue on the menu, as well as a full bar. The Bird hosts live music regularly.

Every town needs a place like Betty’s — a little seafood diner that’s family-owned, has a secret batter recipe, and is going strong after 56 years. Consistently friendly service keeps Santa Rosans returning for lunch (12 to 2 p.m.) and early dinner (4 to 7:30 p.m.) near daily (closed Sundays and Mondays). Icelandic cod has been the fish of choice here for the duration and is offered in various portion sizes, from one piece to five, the latter dubbed “the Colossal.” Prawns, scallops, and calamari are also available, as are a number of cold and hot sandwiches — fish tacos fall in the second category. Just about everything comes with homemade coleslaw, and a solid selection of bottled beer and local Kendall-Jackson wines are on offer. Of critical importance is the dessert course: Betty’s makes its own pies, rotating the featured seasonal fruit. The ethereal Lemon Cloud is always there and always a necessity. 

A junior member of the Stark restaurant miniempire, the Bird and the Bottle follows in the footsteps of Mark and Terri Stark’s original restaurant Willi’s Wine Bar with small plates and international wines by the glass, split, and full bottle. Willi’s has served the Santa Rosa community for two decades, and its younger sibling distinguishes itself with a youthful American bistro vibe and the addition of excellent cocktails, including some large format options; a few full entrees; fanciful tacos, including a rendition with housemade pastrami; and jarred desserts. There are Eastern European, Latin American, and Asian influences woven throughout the menu. For example, pimento cheese pull-aparts riff on both the Parker House roll and a Southern biscuit and are spiced with a Korean chili sauce.

Brought to Santa Rosa by chef Tony Ounpamornchai of SEA Thai Bistro, Tony’s Galley opened in 2021 and presents a fortunate conundrum: do you want classic seafood or Thai food? No fear, you can have both. Fresh lobster is flown in from Maine for a taste of the East Coast via a lobster roll two ways — Connecticut style, with drawn butter and chives, or Maine style, chilled in a mayo salad. Steamed mussels show Thai roots in their silky Panang curry broth. And a side of green beans may be the best mashup, sweet and salty at once, dotted with crunchy chopped peanuts. (The actual fries, in the shape of muted crescent moons and dusted with just the right amount of salt, are absolutely worth it, too.) Elegant cocktails like the popular Empress, with gin, elderflower, lemon, and sparkling wine, shine among perennial classics and are perfect with lunch or dollar oyster happy hour.

Futbol is king at Rosso’s, and so is pizza crust, made via a reverse osmosis process that puts air into dough as vigorously as an Italian puts fut to bol. Woodfired pizza is the main, but making a meal of such starters as beef and veal meatballs or house-made burrata offers reliable excellence. The menu changes with the seasons and the bar at Rosso is an exciting place to be when the first tomatoes are picked for caprese or the blood oranges have ripened for spritz. In other words: Go often.

Gary Chu gave up his eponymous Chinese place in 2017 to focus exclusively on sushi at his small fish house and sake bar. Featuring robato open-grill cooking as well as numerous rolls, sashimi, and nigiri, Osake is a beloved favorite, as admired for the freshness of the food as for Chu’s friendly presence at the counter. The sake menu is divided into four categories, ranging from “Deep & Earthy” to “Clean & Elegant” and is available in single and double pours as well as by the bottle.

Occupying the historic 19th century “White House” in the downtown residential district, Ca’ Bianca exudes a date night charm that beguiles even the food, about which there is nothing particularly notable or poor to report. The white tablecloth service, handsome wooden bar, and rose-heavy gardens add enchantment to the expected array of pastas and meat dishes sourced from all corners of Italy.

Overlooking Courthouse Square in the former Christy’s on the Square, this is a solid date spot for its sunset views, good drinks, fresh seafood, and parallel play side-by-side window seating. Bright, creative preparations of fish and vegetables, show-stopping cocktails, and a strong weekend happy hour have made it a Santa Rosa go-to since it opened in 2018.

Happy Hour, oysters, and steaks are the defining nouns for this retro meat palace, part of the Stark family’s Sonoma County dynasty of dining. Dark and masculine, the moody bar hosts weekday happy hour with martini specials and a range of reliably fried and doused snacks. The dining program centers around different a la carte meat cuts with sauces, veggies, and sides available on a per-dish basis. With banquets and plenty of dark reds, the restaurant has an up-do, date-night feel to it.

Chef-owner Josh Silvers named this place for his son and it does his boy good stead, offering consistent American food ranging from salads to burgers to wood-fired pizzas. The full bar area, set in dormer windows at the restaurant’s front and the lively crowd there make this a good first date meeting place. Plus: beignets and Nutella pizza for dessert, including a gluten-free version.

There’s no front counter or splashy signage here. Only a lone baker wearing a baker’s hat and apron will signal the treasures within the tiny commercial kitchen adjacent to Dierk’s Parkside. Clare Elaine is the pretzel savant, “baker, owner, CEO, and lead pot scrubber” of Wooden Petal. She’s taken her bar and cafe experience from San Francisco to open her own jewel box of a business, where she, as the sole employee, does it all. Pretzels must be ordered ahead for pickup and come in groups of 8, 15, or party platters, as well as in either savory (sea salt, cheese, herb parmesan, or everything spice) or sweet (cinnamon-sugar dusted) or a combo of the two. Seasonal pretzels — pumpkin spice, for instance – make regular debuts, and all pretzels come with cheese dips: cream cheese icing with the sweet ones, and either spicy mustard, jalapeno queso, or cheese and onion for the savory sort. 

Its counters crowded with plates of freshly frosted cinnamon buns, Dierk’s is a place to indulge. Make certain to include the Country Benedict, which builds upon a thick baguette slice and flows into mushrooms, bacon pieces, roasted tomatoes, and sautéed spinach all napped with a fresh hot hollandaise and nestled next to crispy home fries. Breakfast and lunch only, but look for the occasional special dinner event.

Peruvian cuisine — as interpreted through Sazón’s kitchen — appeals to all tastes with six types of ceviche and main dishes heavy with plantain, cassava, and sweet potato. Native Peruvian aji amarillo sauce touches many dishes brightly. Don’t miss a chance to have a purple corn drink. Meanwhile, the Deli by Sazón, adjacent to the dining room, offers traditional deli sandwiches as well as some more Peruvian-inflected to-go fare.