The Healdsburg Bar and Grill is noticeably changed under the watch of Cyrus’ Nick Peyton and chef Douglas Keane.
Though the look and feel is still very much the same as the old HBG–casual inside tables, t-shirted waitrons and kids running around the bocce ball court outside–the menu has been elevated to haute burger status.
Starts include a very grown up mac ‘n cheese with Fiscalini, Parmigianno-Reggiano and Hobb’s bacon, lobster bisque and the sweet-tangy Alexander Valley gourmet pickles. Three types of cracker-thin pizzas are handmade to order, from a simple margherita to the tony goat cheese, arugula, caramelized onion and portobello-topped.
What you’re really there for, of course, are the HBG burgers, which are some of the best BiteClub’s had in, well, at least a few weeks. With the Cyrus crew in charge, there’s a pedigree to every ingredient (quel surprise). All that matters to your tastebuds is that they’re juicy, tasty and nicely pink on the middle without being raw or greasy. And at $7.75 (that’s before you add all the fancy pants toppers like Rogue Creamery blue cheese), about the cheapest thing on the menu. As long as you’re indulging, though, the truffle oil fries make the meal, dipped in a side of creamy horseradish and roasted garlic mayo.
Save a little room for the Brownie Surprise, bite-sized chunks of rich chocolate brownies swimming in a fudgy pudding. What’s the surprise? It comes with jazz hands, according to our server. Your results may vary.
Sticker shock can be a bit steep, considering the $10 mac ‘n cheese, $12 pizza and a $15.50 seared tuna sandwich (though worth every bit of the pricetag). This is Cyrus-quality fare, after all. The prices don’t seem to be scaring off crowds who are already
waiting upwards of 30 minutes for a table.
Fortunately, they’ve brought over a few Cyrus-inspired cocktails (the Wonka Drop and Mango Mai Tai) as well as a impressive wine list to keep folks relaxed and happy. And hungry for those truffle oil fries.
Healdsburg Bar and Grill, 245 Healdsburg Ave, (707) 433-3333.
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How about trying out The Healdsburger! The best darn Hamburgers in town. They’ve got burgers you can’t even finish. But they are sooo good you will definately try eating it all. And the Fries…to OMG! If you don’t know where the Healdsburger is, it’s the old A&W couple blocks down from the river and the Memorial Beach Bridge. The owner also has a kick ass dinner on Piner Road on the corner of Piner Ct and Piner Rd. It’s called “The Piner Cafe”
Check it out! you won’t be dissapointed.
Piner Cafe is not real large and gets a croud really really fast.
Nathan (19/07/2008 6:21:33 PM)
Comment: Not only add earplugs – don’t sit near the kitchen. On a recent visit (July 08), the Chef was yelling at the staff to “get their heads out of their asses” while throwing food across the counter. I have never seen such a display in front of customers in my life. On top of that – after talking with the waitperson about the great taste of the french fries – one of our party who is vegetarian was agast to find out that they are fried in beef fat – with not warning on the menu. So if you are going to try this place – stay a long way from the kitchen and ask what’s REALLY in the food. Definitely not your high class Sonoma County place to eat!
Posted By: Keith (29/05/2008 7:42:06 PM)
Comment: Hi everybody! I just wanted to share with you my recipes for perfect steak and truffle parmesan fries. They are great. Its too much to post here, but check out the blog I just created which gives the recipes. easygourmetrecipes.blogspot.com I hope you enjoy!
Posted By: lmiller (28/05/2008 11:23:31 AM)
Comment: Ate a late Sunday lunch there. Split the burger, truffle fries and the margarita pizza, and we liked everything. BUT, the best part is, complimentary corkage!!
Posted By: Jay and Pam (25/05/2008 8:57:53 PM)
Comment: What a let down! Could not wait to get home and post a comment about tonites bad experience. My dog could do a better job managing this place. The only staff with a smile on their face was the girl washing glasses and the bartender. Bathroom required waders and of course the garbage can overflowed. I’ve seen cleaner toilets in an outhouse. Now the food… the order was two burgers and an order of those “heavenly” truffle oil fries. Both burgers were ordered med which the menu says gets you a little red in the middle… one was actually as described, the other was raw. No consistancy here! The cheap hamburger meat at Safeway has much better flavor and probably less fat. $.75 for a teaspoonful of over grilled red onion ha! Truffle fries were cold and tasted rancid. The Beaver Brand mustard was the only good flavor on my plate. Wish we’d gone to the Bear or McDonald’s…
Posted By: Bring ear plugs (23/05/2008 2:23:08 PM)
Comment: I guess for Healdsburg it’s fine dinnig for those of us that life a bit more inland it’s better than Bakers Square but not much different. You can tell that most of what you get is frozen, small and they really rely on the sauce to please you. Bar not bad if there are no other choices. For me it’s a nice mid stopping place on the HOG run but wouldn’t take a date there.
Posted By: Good food but (23/05/2008 2:15:04 PM)
Comment: The last time I eat there it was lunch for 1 adult 2 kids and $65.00 later my belly was full but the wallet was empty.
Posted By: Susan (22/05/2008 10:29:44 AM)
Comment: First time in since the new owner change. My lunch partner and I got a burger to go and the regular fries. Upon opening the container back at the office, we were surprised at how small the burger was. The flavor was pretty good, but it wasn’t juicy, like the Ravenous burger is. While I enjoyed the fries, my friend thought they were frozen. Could that be? I agree with another poster about one small soggy piece of lettuce, a slice of red onion and some pretty tasty bread and butter pickles. Oh, the buns from Costeaux are nice. The lunch cost $13.00. Is it worth it? I’m not sure.
Posted By: Emily (16/05/2008 1:09:28 PM)
Comment: The food is awesome. It is SO fast and quality local ingredients. Pizzas, burgers, sandwiches, salads and fried, what more do you want on Bar and Grill menu? Great stop on the Healdsburg square!
Posted By: chris (15/05/2008 4:20:37 PM)
Comment: Hopefully the service and food has improved with new ownership. We really used to like this place, but went down hill quickly. The Mrs. and I had completely crossed that place off the list. The service was absolutely horrid the last few times we were there. When my burger came out like a hockey puck then the waiter used his hands to pick it off my plate to check when I said something about it being over done kinda killed it for me.
Posted By: Annon (15/05/2008 3:46:07 PM)
Comment: First off, I am glad that most of the original staff was kept. The food is a big improvement, the cost has gone down quite a bit and the quality up. If you are going to hang out and have a drink… well that’s another story. The “bar” in bar and grill is gone. Even with all the improvements the fun, laid back feel is gone. The drinks are more expensive, with a smaller selection. The fun parts of the bar experience, like a jukebox, are gone. For a dinner spot it is a go, but for a fun place to hang with your friends, it really doesn’t suit.
Posted By: caroline (15/05/2008 7:30:22 AM)
Comment: Ate there last night around 5:30. Had to wait to get seated, then waited almost 10 minutes for a waitress to come over. Menu is way too limited, and it’s ridiculous to have to pay extra for fries when the main dish portion you’re paying for is already small. While my chicken sandwich was very tasty, the fries were too thin and overcooked, not very flavorful without dunking them in the dregs of the sandwich sauce. All in all very disappointing.
Posted By: Dee (12/05/2008 1:20:04 PM)
Comment: We went there Saturday at 5:50 and although we saw almost half of the patio tables vacant, we were told there was a 20 minute wait. That didn’t make any sense. We overheard two other parties remarking about how they were told the same thing. We took a walk around the plaza, came back, and were seated. Food: okay. It came out about 4 to 5 minutes after we ordered which seems a little fast. Salad was tasty, burger okay. My burger plate came with one leaf of iceberg lettuce, some red onion, and a pickle. That’s it. Menu is quite limited. Service: a nice waitress, but we had to ask for ketchup, then we were given an empty bottle, and water refills came when we were given the check. I cannot believe that this place is in anyway related to Cyrus. I cannot recommend; if you go, prepare to be underwhelmed. Check out other reviews at yelp.com
Posted By: Andrea (12/05/2008 12:21:05 PM)
Comment: New Owners are taking the fun out of a “Bar and Grill” They took A LOT of beers off their list, the olny light beer is BudLight?! And they were sold out of it in a Friday night at 8:30 PM? Ordering alcohol can not be that hard! They do not carry Corona and many other beers! Beer selection is VERY disapointing!
Posted By: Karen (10/05/2008 7:19:15 AM)
Comment: Went to the preview night, after a small mixup at the door, everything was made right and received very friendly service. Fries were excellent and seared tuna sandwich lovely. As a local that had horrible service with previous owner, look forward to what the new HBG has to offer! Weekend entertainment would complete the package.
Posted By: Oenophilus (09/05/2008 9:09:49 PM)
Comment: Just walked in the door from dinner. Loved it! My Seared Tuna was great. The Truffle Fries were well balanced – some can be way over the top with truffle flavor. And the service…some of the best I’ve had in a lomg time. I’ll certainly be a regular.
Posted By: Perry (09/05/2008 1:41:20 PM)
Comment: Had lunch there yesterday. Nice greeting when we walked in; quick efficient and not overbearing service. Excellent chicken sandwich; flatbread w/a trio of sauces was ok. The substitution of a heart of romaine in the classic wedge salad in place of iceberg is weird, at least to me. Will definitely go back.
Posted By: Mark (09/05/2008 1:09:51 PM)
Comment: “Sticker shock can be a bit steep, considering the $10 mac ‘n cheese, $12 pizza and a $15.50 seared tuna sandwich ” c’mon it’s “Sew Kew” lol…but seriously though atleast it’s cheaper than the frozen mess at Healdsburger. Gonna try and make it there one of these days. Thanks for the review!
Posted By: Kate (09/05/2008 11:56:17 AM)
Comment: Group of 8 of us were just in for dinner, everyone really enjoyed their meals. There were some very minor hiccups both with food and service, however they were quickly corrected. Loved the chipotle aioli dipping sauce with the fries! It’s definately nice to see something positive happen in that space!
Posted By: Jenny (09/05/2008 11:13:05 AM)
Comment: Went last night and agree the burgers were great. The Cesaer salad was barely 3 bites for just under 8 bucks but they did appologize and give us a bit of a credit service was great. Very noisy inside but then it is bar.
Posted By: Pendolino (09/05/2008 10:48:27 AM)
Comment: Good comments, Heather. As to the service, the day I was there, Nick Payton, Chief of the Cyri, made several appearances to check on things. If Nick’s past results in the restaurant business are any indication of the future service levels, things will get straightened out fairly soon. I believe that the negative comments that I have heard from other people are a result of unrealistic expectations. It’s a pub!
Posted By: VinoChick (09/05/2008 10:44:47 AM)
Comment: Went the other day – food ok, service needed work-3 tries to get a beer order right? Fries were no where near as good as the truffle fries at Underwood in Graton. Lot’s of potential, will definately go back again.
Posted By: Sarah (09/05/2008 10:41:50 AM)
Comment: The service at the previous incarnation of HBG was some of the worst that I have experienced, so when I dropped into the new HBG for lunch last week my expectations were pretty low. I was shocked and thrilled when we ordered and were served our drinks within FIVE minutes of being seated! The food was great, the service was fantastic and the patio was lovely on a warm spring day.
Posted By: Alex (09/05/2008 10:23:38 AM)
Comment: Is the service any better? Last time my wife went, it was horrible.