Sonoma has no shortage of dining destinations, but Farmhouse Sonoma has filled a niche for a long-needed casual, affordable, family-friendly spot in Sonoma Springs. When it opened in April, the spacious restaurant almost instantly became a community hub, where locals gather for meals, cocktails, and gossip.
This charming bistro at the north end of Sonoma is owned by Pemba Sherpa, a well-known restaurateur whose extended family runs several Nepalese restaurants, including Taste of the Himalayas in downtown Sonoma.
Farmhouse is a change of pace for Sherpa, who came to California from Nepal in 1997 to attend college and culinary school. Instead of his signature Nepalese, Tibetan, and Indian cuisine, the menu here is brimming with classic American-Mediterranean fare like golden brioche French toast at breakfast, Cobb salad adorned with both blue cheese and ranch dressing, crisp fried calamari with saffron-lime aioli, and pastas made fresh daily.
Together with chef Sonam Sherpa, Pemba has created dishes that are surprisingly refined for such a relaxed, reasonably priced hangout. (The two are unrelated, despite the same last name, which is common in the Himalayas where many work as climbing guides.)
Sherpa spent a year renovating the restaurant space, which previously housed the Palms Grill. The transformed dining room gleams with newly exposed high ceilings, a sophisticated cream-and-black color palette, and bamboo accents. Sherpa’s landlord, Justin Altamura, crafted the dramatic steeple-style foyer using old-growth redwood reclaimed from a barn once owned by his grandfather in Napa — a place where the famed racehorse Seabiscuit was known to vacation. Additional woodwork in the dining area was done by Sherpa’s cousin from New York.
Every visit here feels like a family affair. There are handshakes and hugs all around — from both regulars and new patrons as guests pause to greet Sherpa and his wife, Tenzin Yangchen, who helps at the restaurant in the evenings after her day job as a pharmacist.
Sherpa says the new restaurant exists because of the community. “We’ve been through it all — recessions, the pandemic, wildfires — and the reason we’re still in business is because of the locals.”
Best Bets
Tuna Crudo: Dry aging for 10 days results in tuna that is meltingly tender with concentrated flavor. It’s a generous portion with a refined finish that includes sake, watermelon, and calamansi.
Bruschetta: Topped with burrata and caramelized peach chutney that is delicious enough to eat straight from a jar with a spoon.
Pappardelle Carbonara: Pasta is made fresh from scratch, then tossed with salty pancetta, English peas, wild mushrooms, and a delightfully rich cured egg-yolk sauce.
Grilled Branzino: Delicate whole herb-crusted fish is served tail-on and butterflied atop whipped potatoes then finished with grilled lemon and chimichurri.
18999 Sonoma Highway, Sonoma. 707-210-0515, farmhouse-sonoma.com
This article originally ran in The Press Democrat. Read the full-length article here.