John Ash doesn’t cook here any more but executive chef Thomas Schmidt has continued his defining legacy of wine country dining at the Vintner’s Inn, drawing ingredients 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, beef tartare, and veal, but are executed with absolute 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.

Peruvian cuisine — as interpreted through a grandmother’s Lima 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 newly opened Deli by Sazón, now adjacent to the dining room, offers traditional deli sandwiches as well as some more Peruvian-inflected to-go fare.

A sister to the Bistro and true to its name, this is the spot to slurp healthy clean food that satisfies and heals.

Whatever the French equivalent of an Italian red sauce joint might be is defined by the old school pleasures of this long-standing Santa Rosa institution. Gen X-ers remember prom dinners there; Boomers, their first taste of beef Wellington. From veal dijonnaise to frog’s legs to coq au vin, La Gare has maintained its menu (and client base) for some 30 years by keeping a romantic menu heavy on shared “for two” meals that are irresistible and still excellent, even after all these years. Come hungry: all entrees include soup and salad. Vegetarian and gluten-free items available.

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 “Undecided” pizza, which requires the customer to trust the kitchen to put together something great, is always a happy surprise. 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: Nutella pizza for dessert and four kinds of soft serve!

Serving the community from breakfast to late night, Spinster Sisters has helped to revive the South A Street neighborhood and weary Santa Rosans longing for interesting choices. Chef/owner Liza Hinman works with the seasons and her own award-winning palate to keep menu regulars like the veggie-rich South A scramble breakfast or the daily macroBowl in compelling alignment with the harvest. Wednesday nights are all about hamburgers, there are always great wines on tap, a comfortable wooden bar wraps the room, and winemakers come to hang out every few weeks.

Tucked away from other downtown restaurants, this tiny French bistro specializes in the buckwheat crepes of its Breton heritage, using them in both savory and sweet dishes. Focused on the lighter side of French cooking, with plenty of lemon to brighten, the menu runs to seafood and chicken with a paté and boeuf au daube for good measure. Weekday prix-fixe is just $34 for four courses and the Happy Hour times, on Wednesday and Friday from 5 p.m.-6 p.m. only, are worth memorizing.

This old-fashioned Santa Rosa landmark has become a hipster heaven of sorts due to its innocently retro bar. Featuring full dinners that begin with appetizers, soup and salad, and bread and butter, Willie Bird’s is all turkey, all the time, from barbecued to teriyaki-style to the kind of open-faced-white-bread-and-gravy dinners that Grandpa knew.

Duck confit or fried chicken is a breakfast question at Dierk’s. 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, oven-roasted tomatoes, and sautéed spinach all napped with a fresh hot hollandaise and nestled next to crispy home fries. And have a danged cinnamon bun. Breakfast and lunch only, but look for the occasional special dinner event.

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.

Futbol is king at Rosso’s, and so is crust, made via a reverse osmosis process that puts air into dough as vigorously as an Italian puts fut to bol. Wood fire-fueled 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.

Secreted in between a juice franchise and a grocery store, Cascabel Santa Rosa is worth the slight hunt it requires to find. Deceptively large, with a covered side patio and a deep interior dining room, this informal Mexican-style house offers freshly made chips and three types of salsa as a welcoming gesture, assuring guests that they’re in good hands from the start. Specializing in tequila and mezcal, Cascabel has a lively bar, but it’s the fresh food that emphasizes plain old-fashioned deliciousness that makes it a hit. A newcomer, this is a welcome addition to Santa Rosa’s increasingly encouraging scene.

Gary Chu gave up his eponymous Chinese place downtown last year 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.