Sonoma County’s restaurant scene grew up this year. The arrival of a two-Michelin-star restaurant in Sonoma, along with a wave of high-end French openings, made one thing clear: The region’s dining landscape is becoming more mature, more ambitious and increasingly attractive to top culinary talent.
The boom in fine dining also reflects a shift in how Sonoma County eats. Diners want more value in the overall experience, not just on the plate. If they’re dipping into college savings for a single meal, they expect flawless food, attentive service and a bit of theater. An influx of high-net-worth visitors and part-time residents has helped fuel the luxury tier. Newcomers such as Enclos in Sonoma are thriving on deep pockets and diners eager to add another square to their Michelin bingo cards.
On the other end of the spectrum, fast-casual chains such as Mendocino Farms have seen growth as customers look for alternatives to traditional sit-down restaurants. But even that segment is slowing as perceived value declines, according to Nation’s Restaurant News. A $22 salad or $18 sandwich doesn’t feel like much of a deal when you’re bussing your own table and eating with plastic utensils.
The real squeeze is on the middle.
As disposable income dropped from 5.1% in 2023 to 1.4% in 2025, many regular restaurant goers are choosing to stay home, according to the National Restaurant Association. Menu prices have climbed sharply: Salads and appetizers routinely cost $12 to $18, and entrees commonly run $22 to $38.
A dinner for two that once totaled $120 to $150 before tax, tip and drinks now often reaches $170 to $220 — without splurging. Service fees of 3% to 4%, credit card surcharges of 2% to 3%, and evolving tipping expectations add friction for diners. While some neighborhood spots have kept prices steady, a look back at my 2023 reviews shows many dishes have increased 25% to 40%, driven by higher labor and ingredient costs and rising overhead.
Restaurants are rarely an easy recipe for success. But despite the challenges, chefs and restaurateurs continue to take risks, opening dozens of new spots this year. Here are the best of them.
Best opening of 2025: Enclos
At $280 per person before tax and tip, Enclos sits firmly in ultra-luxury territory — a serious splurge or out of reach for many diners. After a quiet late-2024 debut, it shot to national attention when it earned two Michelin stars just seven months in, joining the ranks of restaurants such as Jean-Georges in New York and Birdsong in San Francisco. Critics swooned. Reservations evaporated.
It’s easy to dismiss the 13-course meal — complete with a box of smoking herbs — as one-percenter theater. But talk to executive chef Brian Limoges and the story shifts. The East Coast transplant has embedded himself in Sonoma Valley, hiking trails and studying the local landscape. His inspiration comes straight from the region: lichen that he cleans, pressure-cooks and deep-fries into a crunchy garnish for venison tartare served on an antler.
Backed by the late Mac McQuown of Stone Edge Farm and his wife, Leslie, Limoges has what most chefs dream of — time and resources. The ever-evolving menu includes ingredients that take days, weeks or months to prepare. Tuna is aged 60 days before becoming ruby-red tartare; its marrow is smoked over the hearth to season the rice beneath it. A tiny martini glass arrives with a dozen micro tomatoes, each peeled and prepared individually, topped with flowers and leaves so small they require a jeweler’s loupe to appreciate.
I could spend days trying to reverse engineer the details — the fermented garlic, the crushed spices, the steeped quail broth. And where does one even find a silver quail clamp?
Limoges and his team aren’t just cooking. They’re creating edible artworks — the originals, not the prints.
Why it matters: Enclos puts the town of Sonoma back in the national dining conversation. What SingleThread did for Healdsburg, Cyrus for Geyserville and The French Laundry for Yountville is the kind of attention many hope Enclos will bring to Sonoma Valley. Limoges and his team aren’t just sourcing locally — they’re shaping a flavor identity that could only come from here.
139 E. Napa St., Sonoma. 707-387-1724, enclos-sonoma.com
An evolution: Bijou
The rise of chef Stéphane Saint Louis is one of Sonoma County’s most compelling culinary stories. The Haitian-born chef cooked at Petaluma’s Della Fattoria and The Shuckery before launching a pandemic-era pop-up that hinted at his broader ambitions. Alongside his cult-favorite fried chicken, the menu included brioche, pomegranate-raspberry jam and crosscut potato chips with luxurious onion dip.
When dining rooms reopened, Saint Louis and co-chef Steven Vargas moved into a former chili diner and opened Table Culture Provisions, an 11-course tasting menu that held its own among Michelin peers. But Saint Louis wanted a second outlet. In June, he opened Bijou. Calling it a bistro undersells the upscale French experience, though the menu reads like a stroll through Paris: croque monsieur, French onion soup, oxtail, and more refined classics such as beef en croute and duck with orange sauce.
Despite the modest dish names, Bijou is all about elegant sauces, meticulous sourcing and refined plating — at midrange prices. Entrees range from $26 to $42, and snacks and shareable plates range from $18 to $22. A few staples anchor the menu — steak frites, a daily seafood catch and Saint Louis’ Parker House rolls — while other dishes rotate daily or weekly. The cooking remains grounded in traditional French technique.
190 Kentucky St., Petaluma. 707-753-9155, restaurantbijou.com
Glen Ellen French: Poppy
From my first visit, I knew this offshoot of Sonoma’s The Girl & The Fig would make my “Best Openings” list. It’s that good. The menu stays close to French bistro roots, with California touches: roast chicken with crisp skin and a vin jaune sauce, garlicky escargot and Mt. Lassen trout with melted leeks. The bread service divides opinion, but I’m a fan of the Acme epi with cultured butter and duck liver terrine. For dessert, don’t miss the choux au craquelin, a cream puff filled with espresso chocolate mousse.
13690 Arnold Drive, Glen Ellen. 707-938-2130, poppyglenellen.com
Impressive Italian: Stella
The much-anticipated second restaurant from Glen Ellen Star chef-owner Ari Weiswasser delivers. Stella celebrates pasta, taking a deep dive into Roman tonnarelli, Florentine creste di gallo, southern Italian rigatoncini and Emilia-Romagna tagliatelle. Served properly al dente, the dishes spotlight why pasta is central to Italian identity.
But pasta is only part of the story. The wood-fired hearth at the center of the kitchen kisses everything — whole dorade, chicken, steak, vegetables — with smoky, blistered flavor. For dessert, I’m all in on the Baked Gelaska, Stella’s take on baked Alaska, layering sponge cake, raspberry sorbet and vanilla gelato under a swirl of torched marshmallow fluff.
9049 Sonoma Highway, Kenwood. 707-801-8043, stellakenwood.com
A Healdsburg standout: Bistro Lagniappe
Chef Jacob Harth’s Healdsburg restaurant delivers wood-fired dishes inspired by California and the French countryside. The original wood-fired oven anchors the space, turning out lamb cassoulet, McFarland Springs trout and a standout roast chicken. It’s a welcome counterpoint to the high-end tasting menus and polished California cuisine that dominate Healdsburg’s dining scene.
330 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg. 707-473-8181, lagniappehealdsburg.com
Casual lakeside: Waterhawk Lake Club
The team behind Petaluma’s Brewsters Beer Garden has expanded north with Waterhawk, a lakeside restaurant built for sunshine and cocktail seekers, families and large groups. The menu leans crowd-pleasing (the loaded fries are a must-order) and the indoor-outdoor space is expansive. Since opening, the restaurant has added live music, weekend brunch and seasonal events that play to the Brewsters crowd. The much-anticipated Miracle Christmas pop-up debuts this year with maximalist holiday decor and themed cocktails. While the menu remains slim, Waterhawk plays to its strengths with straightforward, appealing fare.
5000 Roberts Lake Road, Rohnert Park. 707-355-4219, thewaterhawk.com
A return: Rosso
After a brief seven-month hiatus, one of Santa Rosa’s most beloved restaurants returned — this time under new owners John and Linda Ahmadi, the husband-and-wife duo behind Sandy’s Take and Bake Pizza. Their smartest move? Not messing with success. The menu remains almost exactly as locals remember it: wood-fired pizzas, tender meatballs and the legendary fried chicken with smashed potatoes and that sweet, caramelized pancetta glaze ($27).
53 Montgomery Drive, Santa Rosa, 707-615-7893, rossopizzeria.com
All in the family: Folia
Appellation Healdsburg is redefining Wine Country luxury. The 108-room resort spans 8 manicured acres with two pools, a spa, a panoramic bar and an indoor-outdoor event center. As with any Charlie Palmer project, the focus is on the food. Palmer’s longtime Sonoma ties appear in the resort’s cooking classes, garden-driven programming and local sourcing.
In the kitchen, his son Reed Palmer is finding his own voice with a three-course prix fixe built around standout pastas, Mt. Lassen trout and a roasted chicken that’s already becoming a signature dish. The setting is polished, with fire pits, imported 100-year-old olive trees (a true high-end flex) and a dining room that feels both resort-level and deeply rooted in the region.
101 Dovetail Lane, Healdsburg. 707-723-2130, foliabarandkitchen.com
Stay tuned for my Best Dishes of 2025 in the coming weeks.
Have a tip or want to talk? Email me at heather.irwin@pressdemocrat.com.