Any recommendations for dinner in the Calistoga or Napa Valley area? I’m looking for something affordable ($35-$50/per person). New American would be great.
Ate at JoLe and Solbar a few years ago and both were very good
Second JoLe at Mt. View hotel, downtown Calistoga. We ate there Nov 2015 and were wowed. But it’s Cal-French. The sweetbreads were stunning, and I don’t say that lightly. The night we ate there, we had eaten a $1K dinner at Auberge du Soleil the night before, but JoLe’s sweetbreads were better and more creative. Cute, lively, warm-hearted space; very good service.
New American I’d go for Archetype/St. Helena. Exec Chef Brandon Sharp oversees both Archetype and Evangeline, was ExecChef at Solbar/Solage Resort in Calistoga, and moved over to Archetype/Evangeline when Solbar Mgmt Group took those locations under their operations in an expansion move.
We had brunch, not dinner, at Archetype (same trip), but the food was good, very high quality ingredients. Not as ‘finished’ as Solbar (one of our favs) but way above a place like Grace’s Table/Napa. Note it’s a short menu so check it out on-line. Like Solbar, the waitstaff is very well trained, and the restaurant is super-comfortable: wide aisles, big plush comfy chairs, large tables you can actually eat on instead of doing the Dreaded Plate & Glass Shuffle. CA farmhouse decor, assuming the farmer had a few million $$$ to decorate, LOL; in an odd but restful shade of pale cool grey instead of the ubiquitous cream.
If you’re really broke and don’t mind a neighborhood restaurant-type, Fumé Bistro was a surprising find we discovered on the trip. Again, lunch not dinner, so check the menu on-line. There probably won’t be another tourist in the place. It’s a little west of downtown, right before Hwy 29.
Despite the fancy-sounding name it’s a totally CA menu. The grilled shrimp with bacon starter could have subbed for an entree. It was substantial and stunningly good. The burger was excellent, just skip the grilled onions (which weren’t grilled long ernough and thus weren’t worth it). Excellent brioche bun with great beefy patty, properly cooked.
JoLē Bistro @Hotel Mount View Hotel & Spa
1457 Lincoln Avenue, Calistoga, CA
menu: http://www.jolerestaurant.com/Menu/Dinner/
Archetype
1429 Main Street., St. Helena, CA
Fumé Bistro
4050 Byway East, Napa, CA
menu: http://fumebistro.com/#type=menus;menu_id=2;object_id=4
Sadly JoLe has closed.
