From food trucks to Michelin stars, sweeping vineyard views to downtown patios, Sonoma County offers an exciting mix of dining experiences. Chefs know their farmers, and chances are good that the Little Gem lettuce, roasted beets, and top sirloin you’re eating were grown and raised just a few miles away. The following is not a comprehensive list, but rather a sampling of some of the best gastronomic encounters in Sonoma County across a range of price points, settings, and cuisines.
Read More14 Top-Notch Restaurants in Sonoma County
Find flavor in every corner of the county
Pearl
One of the many joys of this daytime cafe in Petaluma’s wharf district is the ability to order a Turkish coffee with a splash of milk to go with a zhoug trout BLT. Or a cold brew-spiked Mediterranean fizz to savor alongside a traditional Spanish tortilla served in a cast iron pan with romesco. The menu changes frequently but a shakshuka with griddled halloumi and lamb burger with fennel tzatziki express the California-by-way-of-Marakesh cuisine. Enjoy it all on the sun-splashed patio or inside the small dining room.
Street Social
In a quaint little dining room that sits just 26 people, chef Jevon Martin and bar expert Marjorie Pier serve comforting food that packs huge flavor punches — with or without a scotch-infused cocktail. Choose from mains like root vegetable Bolognese and fried chicken marsala, and always save room for dessert, especially when bergamot ice cream with brown butter crumble is on the menu.
Spread Kitchen
An homage to chef-owner Cristina Topham’s Lebanese roots, this restaurant leans into California’s fresh and local ethos. In keeping with the wintry season, Topham’s tabbouleh swaps quinoa and apple for the usual bulgur and tomatoes. Grain bowls are fragrant with saffron rice and apricots, and “dirty fries” are dusted with za’atar and jacked up with pickled onions and yogurt-tahini sauce. Extra points for a shaded, dog and kid-friendly patio and a tight wine list focused on Lebanon, Tunisia, and other less-common regions.
El Molino Central
This casual, counter-service spot serves high-quality Mexican food, including beer-battered fish tacos, pork tamales, anda Yucatan turkey lime soup. Picnic tables on the huge shaded patio make for a pleasant place to sip a cerveza and dunk house-made tortilla chips into the kicky pumpkin seed tomato habanero dip or made-to-order guacamole.
Glen Ellen Star
Hailed by New York Times wine critic Eric Asimov, this unpretentious, locally beloved restaurant does everything right — from crispy chicken roasted beneath a brick to wood-fired branzino to Brussels sprouts coated with a brown sugar bacon marmalade. Helmed by chef Ari Weiswasser and chef de cuisine Bryant Minuche, the open kitchen restaurant sources most of its produce from nearby biodynamic Glentucky Family Farm, and the extensive wine list includes categories for “interesting” whites and reds.
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Oyster
Brought to Sebastopol by the same team behind nearby Sushi Koshō, the oyster bar at the Barlow knows its way around seafood, delivering American-style food in a chic French-style bistro setting. Grilled Spanish octopus gives way under your fork, kampachi tartar glistens under dollops of white soy and dijo, and crispy oysters arrive in a paper-lined basket atop duck fat fries. A short list of French wines seems well-suited to match the vibe.
Hazel Restaurant
The 800-degree wood-fired oven at the heart of Jim and Michele Wimborough’s Occidental restaurant hogs the credit for the house-made sourdough with peppery olive oil and spicy sausage and egg pizzas with blistered crusts. But bold flavors across the menu mean lettuces splashed with Banyuls vinaigrette and a red quinoa entree smacked with salsa verde. On days when the small dining room gets cozy, the slim patio offers sunny respite.
Mitote Food Park
With seven rotating, family-run food trucks in the Latinx neighborhood of Roseland, this is the place to nab a variety of Mexican street eats, such as rich birria, succulent goat meat stewed with ancho chilies; crunchy Yucatan panuchos; Oaxacan tacos; and spicy seafood stew from Pezcow, which also has a permanent restaurant in Windsor. Picnic tables are arranged beneath a well-lit tent for outdoor dining, and a shipping container-turned-bar slings mezcal and tequila cocktails to keep you warmed up from the inside out.
The Spinster Sisters
For more than a decade, chef Liza Hinman has kept a warm light glowing in Santa Rosa’s artsy SOFA district six evenings a week, serving hyper-seasonal fare that’s updated even more frequently than the dining room walls, which are hung with the output of local artists. Wintry offerings spotlight Dungeness crab, wedded with kale in a baked dip and fried into fritters offset with frisee and grapefruit. Orange wine and house-made shrub sodas are standout libations.
Loro Di Napoli
This cozy, two-story dining room conjures a charming Italian vicolo, complete with laundry hanging over a balcony and warm blankets for your lap, presided over by a giant wood-burning stove where classic Neapolitan pizzas emerge blistery and fragrant. Whether smeared with pistachio pesto or butternut squash cream, topped with smoked fior dilatte and Roman mortadella or oyster mushrooms and spicy salami, the only problem with these wonderfully thin and crispy pies is settling on which to order.
Willi's Wine Bar
Restaurateurs Mark and Terri Stark have opened eight outstanding restaurants, but none can top their inaugural Willi’s Wine Bar, which rose from the ashes of the Tubbs Fire better than ever. The small plates menu is designed to pair with the extensive wine offerings, many of which are available as flights or two-ounce pours as well as by the glass or bottle. Standout plates include ahi tuna tartare with pine nuts, loaded baked potato mac n’ cheese studded with bacon and charred broccolini, and roasted bone marrow with toasted brioche, enjoyed either indoors or on their year-round patio.
The Matheson
It’d be hard to miss the Matheson, with its premier location just off the Healdsburg main plaza and tall three stories. Step inside and you’ll be welcomed by a wine wall, complete with 88 by-the-glass options, and a view into the open kitchen where the team pushes out plates like wagyu beef tartare, wild mushroom risotto, and king salmon with guanciale and blue lake beans. Upstairs, a rooftop bar and a more casual restaurant Roof 106 serves pizzas and small plates.
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Little Saint
With the goal of educating and cultivating community, this vast two-story space dedicates its first floor to a cafe, bakery, and market with communal seating, grab-and-go options, and rotating small-batch drip coffees. Upstairs the team serves a multi-course prix fixe menu ($120) of entirely plant-based courses sourced in part from the restaurant’s own farm. Choose from more than 500 bottles of sustainably grown and packaged wine or try one of the “closed-loop” cocktails, which reduce kitchen waste.
Cyrus
For a seriously luxurious experience, Cyrus delivers a progressive dinner during which diners move between various rooms including the Bubbles Lounge, Kitchen Table, and the Chocolate Room. The many-coursed meal will cost a cool $295 for the tasting menu, plus $280 for an accompanying wine pairing. But chef-owner Douglas Keane has a vision to make the restaurant industry more sustainable for workers, which may have helped him earn a Michelin star just two months after opening — which he retained at the awards in July 2023.
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