The Naked Pig Cafe (2.0) has opened at 544 Mendocino Ave in downtown Santa Rosa (formerly El Capitan Taqueria) with a bigger, brighter and even more stylishly-decorated space than their original shoebox-sized cafe at 435 Santa Rosa Ave.
We’ve always loved Jason and Dalia’s impeccably curated menus, filled with “urban foraged” flowers, fruits and veggies from throughout the nearby neighborhoods. The Eggs Benni ($15) with Meyer lemon Hollandaise, potatoes and salad were what we’ve come to expect in terms of preciousness and deliciousness.
A wild fermented sparkling wine ($10) was a unique change of pace from the usual Mimosa. A ruby-colored, unfiltered beverage its somewhere between cider, beer and wine, with a tart, fermented (natch) flavor reminiscent of their “hooch” at nearby restaurant Flower and Bone.
Service can be snail-paced on busy mornings, and the restaurant has taken some hits on Yelp for long waits, but this is slow food after all. For a 20 percent included gratuity, however, we’d be flattered to get just a teensy bit more waitstaff love (and homemade ketchup) with our Benni next time. Nothing over-the-top, mind you. But I’m pretty fond of tiaras and ermine robes.
Open Wednesday through Sunday, 8a.m. to 3p.m.