Sonoma County tops the list with 8 restaurants, compared to only 2 in Napa.
St. Francis Winery & Vineyards, Santa Rosa: This eastern Santa Rosa winery gets a five-star rating from OpenTable diners for its wine and food pairing experience. The multi-course, seasonal menu features dishes like king trumpet mushroom bisque with roasted cauliflower and crispy potatoes; seared duck breast with parsnip purée and toasted pecans; honey-dijon glazed pork cheek with popcorn grits; and braised red wine onions and chocolate budino cake with salted caramel and toasted hazelnuts. 100 Pythian Rd, Santa Rosa, 707-833-0242, stfranciswinery.com. (Courtesy of St. Francis Winery & Vineyards)
St. Francis Winery is located off Highway 12 in the Sonoma Valley. The winery's food and wine pairing has earned it a spot on OpenTable's list of best restaurants in Wine Country. (Courtesy of St. Francis Winery)
Terrapin Creek Cafe & Restaurant, Bodega Bay: Another five-star rating from OpenTable, Terrapin Creek is a perennial favorite among locals and visitors to the Sonoma Coast. Reviewers are excited about the food, the ambiance and the service. "We've been to Terrapin Creek several times and have never been disappointed. The quality of the food is outstanding. The service is superb. Their wine list is unique for Sonoma County. The seared scallop appetizer is one of the best I've ever had," says one happy diner. 1580 Eastshore Rd, Bodega Bay, 707-875-2700, terrapincreekcafe.com. (Chris Hardy)
Apricot tart at Terrapin Creek restaurant in Bodega Bay. (Beth Schlanker)
The Hamachi crudo with a parsley and radish salsa, horseradish, lemon juice, olive oil and sprouted watercress at Terrapin Creek restaurant in Bodega Bay. (Beth Schlanker)
Guiso Latin Fusion, Healdsburg: Dining editor Heather Irwin called Guiso a "jewel box of a restaurant" when it opened in 2016. It seems OpenTable reviewers still agree. The small bistro-style restaurant may only have a handful of tables, but its mix between Caribbean and Salvadorian cuisine provides miles of worldly flavor. We love their elotitos: small slices of corn in Jamaican jerk seasoning with butter, garlic and chive crema. 117 North St, Healdsburg, 707-431-1302, guisolatinfusion.com. (Heather Irwin)
Jamaican jerk chicken tacos at Guiso Latin Fusion Restaurant in Healdsburg. (Heather Irwin)
Mayo Reserve Room, Kenwood: Another wine and food pairing that made OpenTable's list, Mayo Family Winery's Reserve Room serves up a culinary experience that features seven artisan bites prepared by executive chef John Locher paired with seven wines, crafted by winemaker Michael Berthoud. The current pairing menu features dishes like Dungeness crab and avocado "Temaki" hand roll with heirloom citrus aioli; local mushroom ragu with housemade bacon and mascarpone polenta and housemade ricotta cheesecake with Marcona almonds and Yuzu lemon curd. 9200 Sonoma Hwy, Kenwood, 707-833-5504, mayofamilywinery.com. (Heather Irwin)
Kendall-Jackson Wine Estate & Gardens, Fulton: It seems visitors to Wine Country have some of their best dining experiences at wineries. Sonoma County superstar Kendall-Jackson made OpenTable's list for their culinary experiences, which include a four-course pairing focusing on a selection of small-production, limited-release wines; a cheese pairing with artisan cheeses from Sonoma and Marin counties; and a wine and chocolate pairing. The winery also hosts an annual farm-to-table dinner series set in the estate gardens and featuring produce from the winery's culinary gardens and local purveyors. 5007 Fulton Road, Fulton, 866-287-9818, kj.com. (Courtesy of Kendall-Jackson)
Kendall-Jackson hosts an annual farm-to-table dinner series set in the estate gardens, and also offers a wine and food pairing. (Courtesy photo)
Valette, Healdsburg: Valette is on the A-list when it comes to haute dining in a friendly atmosphere in Wine Country. Multi-course meals showcase the best local products and creative execution by Chef Dustin Valette. Here, every sense is stimulated before the food actually gets to your mouth. "Did the “Trust Us” 5 course. Everything was excellent, and the idea of giving the diners separate courses means you get to try a lot of different things," says one OpenTable reviewer. Day boat scallops en croute are our favorite. 344 Center St, Healdsburg, 707-473-0946, valettehealdsburg.com. (Chris Hardy)
Scallops en croute at Valette. (Heather Irwin)
Liberty Farms duck trio from Valette in Healdsburg. (Chris Hardy)
Dungeness crab-stuffed Petrale sole from Valette in Healdsburg. (Chris Hardy)
Street Social, Petaluma: A newcomer on the Sonoma County dining scene, Street Social is already popular with OpenTable reviewers. Dining editor Heather Irwin says it's the most exciting new restaurant in Petaluma. "With just six tables and 300 feet of dining space, Street Social feels like the most logical extension of the buzzy underground pop-ups that owners Jevon Martin and Marjorie Pier have hosted up and down the California coast for years. With just over a dozen diners in the restaurant at its busiest, it’s unavoidably intimate and makes you feel like you’ve stumbled across a secret culinary hideout." 29F Petaluma Boulevard North, Petaluma, 707-774-6185, streetsocial.social. (John Burgess)
Housemade Ricotta Toast with dill pickle powder and salmon caviar from Street Social in Petaluma. (John Burgess)
Chicken Liver Mousse with caramelized onion jam and a crispy Cassava waffle from Street Social in Petaluma. (John Burgess)
Sonoma Wine Shop - La Bodega, Sebastopol: This hidden gem gets a shoutout from OpenTable reviewers. It's a wine shop but it also has a tasty dinner menu, served Thursday to Sunday, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. The current menu features dishes like La Bodega's homemade organic egg pasta with meatballs, or wild Morel mushrooms. You’ll eat like family here, because it’s not exactly a restaurant, but more like a friend’s house for dinner. But better. 2295 Gravenstein Hwy S, Sebastopol, 707-827-1832, sonomawineshop.com. (Arthur A. / Yelp)
Kenzo Napa, Napa: An authentic Japanese dining experience in Napa lands on the OpenTable list. Kenzo Napa, led by chef Kenji Miyaishi, offers a seasonal prix fixe menu of sushi, sashimi and kaiseki that "fuses Japanese tradition with innovative techniques." Wines from owner Kenzo Tsujimoto's Napa winery are also on the menu, as well as sake. 1339 Pearl St, Napa, 707-294-2049, kenzonapa.com. (Courtesy of Kenzo Napa)
Sequoia Grove Winery, Napa: This family-owned winery, founded in 1979 in a 110-year old barn, produces cabernet sauvignon and serves up a food and wine experience featuring seasonal dishes prepared by the winery's in-house wine and food expert, Chef Britny Maureze. The tasting takes place in the winery's Cambium Room, overlooking a grove of towering Sequoias. 8338 St Helena Hwy, Napa, 707-944-2945, sequoiagrove.com. (Courtesy of Sequoia Grove Winery)
Looking for the best restaurants in Wine Country? Online reservation service OpenTable has just released its 2020 list of the top 10 restaurants in Sonoma and Napa counties. This year, Sonoma County tops the list with 8 restaurants (including wine and food pairings), compared to only 2 in Napa. The selection is based on more than 400,000 new diner reviews. Click through the above gallery to see which restaurants made the list.
