Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
We've compiled the best of the best in Napa - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
A vaulted wood-beamed ceiling and paper-topped tables set the scene for romance at this softly lit French bistro inside an 1890s boathouse. Look for clever variations on classic dishes such as croque monsieur (grilled Parisian ham and Gruyère) and salade niçoise for lunch, with veal sweetbreads, cassoulet, beef bourguignon, and, in season, mussels steamed in aromatic fennel, white wine, garlic, and thyme for dinner.
Giovanni Scala opened this boisterous roadhouse restaurant in the mid-1990s, and it's still a hangout of Napans who appreciate its Cal-Italian bistro cuisine, prepared with flair by Scott Warner, Scala's executive chef and partner. Warner augments the greatest-hits lineup—fritto misto (deep-fried calamari, onions, fennel, and shrimp), spinach ravioli with lemon cream or tomato sauce, slow-braised lamb shank, and wood-fired pizzas—with daily specials based on seasonal ingredients.
Two chefs who've starred at fine-dining restaurants shifted gears to open this informal eatery where everything's made from scratch, either by them or their vendors. The ingredients are all of the highest quality, which explains the long lines at breakfast for the Ham & Jam (buttermilk biscuits with molasses-brined ham and seasonal jam) and at lunchtime for sandwiches that usually include mortadella, chicken Parmesan with heirloom tomato sauce, and pimento cheese.
From the limestone floor to the cedar walls and cypress tabletops, most of the materials used to build this downtown Napa restaurant specializing in seasonally changing, multicourse kaiseki meals were imported from Japan, as was the ceramic dinnerware. Delicate preparations with sea urchin, Hokkaido scallops, bluefin tuna, and slow-roasted Wagyu tenderloin are typical of the offerings on the prix-fixe menu, which also includes impeccably fresh, artistically presented sashimi and sushi courses.
Christopher Kostow gained fame as the award-winning chef of the Restaurant at Meadowood, the essence of Napa Valley haute fine dining, but the fare and mood are more down-to-earth at the order-at-the-counter deli he and his marketing-whiz wife, Martina Kostow, opened at the Oxbow Public Market. Bagels and bagel sandwiches anchor the breakfast menu, with pastrami and smoked-whitefish-salad sandwiches appearing for lunch and early dinner, along with matzo ball soup, latkes, and other stalwarts.
Northern Thailand–born chef-owner Lalita Souksamlane decorated her Wine Country restaurant with the same upscale flair—Thai wall ornaments, ornate wallpaper, cushy leatherette chairs, quartz tables adorned with roses—as her longtime San Francisco flagship. The decor signals that in their delicacy and finesse, her aromatic entrées (some garnished with orchid buds) are on par with similarly bedecked fine-dining establishments.
The brightly lit dining room's mural map of the Naples coastline emphasizes the chef's focus on frutti di mare (seafood) at this downtown homage to southern Italian cuisine from the folks behind valley-fave Bistro Don Giovanni. Raw oysters, cooked whole fish, tuna carpaccio, and pork chop Milanese rank among the hits, along with pizzas hot out of a wood-fired oven.
The late chef-restaurateur Charles Phan's team executes his rarefied Vietnamese cuisine at this Wine Country outpost with the same precision as their counterparts in San Francisco. When the weather's right, the outdoor courtyard is the place to be, and the high-style gray-toned bar is always the right spot for specialty cocktails and solo dining.
A French-trained chef with Napa Valley haute-cuisine chops transformed a cavernous auto-repair shop on downtown's periphery into a clean-lined, order-at-the-counter homage to the Kansas City–style barbecue of his youth. Chef Darryl Bell Jr.'s access to the area's best protein and produce purveyors ensures steady lines for lunch and dinner (after 1 pm and right at 5 pm are good times to dodge the wait).
Torc means "wild boar" in an early Celtic dialect, and owner-chef Sean O'Toole, who formerly helmed kitchens at top Manhattan, San Francisco, and Yountville establishments, occasionally incorporates the restaurant's namesake beast into his eclectic offerings. A recent menu featured hamachi tartare, romesco risotto, three hand-cut pasta dishes, a side of mushrooms foraged by a local pro, and Maine diver scallops, all prepared by O'Toole and his team with style and precision.
The focus at festive ZuZu is on cold and hot tapas, pintxos (bar bites), paella, and other Spanish favorites, often washed down with Cava (Spanish sparkling wine), sangria, or a specialty cocktail. The restaurant, which opened in 2002 and contributed to downtown Napa’s renaissance, still draws crowds for flounder ceviche, jamón ibérico, seared pork cheeks, grilled lamb chops with Moroccan barbecue glaze, and many other shareable plates.
The culinary garden guests pass on their way to the Stanly Ranch resort's main restaurant supplies pristine fruit, produce, and herbs for the artisanal cocktails and well-conceived dishes served inside this stone-and-glass structure. Start with vegetables and dip, raw oysters, or the more unusual bison tartare for lunch or dinner, before moving on to a Wagyu burger or hot chicken sandwich for lunch or scallops, lamb ribs, or quail for dinner.
This small spot that melds rural charm with industrial chic serves updated American classics such as fried chicken (free-range in this case), burgers (with Kobe beef), steak, fish, and a pasta dish or two. The flatbreads—including smoked salmon with fromage blanc, Parmesan, lemon crème fraîche, and capers—are worth a try.
Wall-mounted game trophies and two tables with leather saddles doubling as seats contribute to the whimsically rustic atmosphere of this wine store, wine bar, and restaurant. The small menu’s standouts include the pulled-pork and smoked beef-brisket sandwiches served with three types of barbecue sauce, the meltingly tender St. Louis–style ribs, and the signature beer-can chicken (only Tecate will do).
Sommelier Matt Stamp and restaurant vet Ryan Stetins opened this combination restaurant, wine bar, and wineshop that’s a hot gathering spot for its youthful vibe and eclectic menu. Starters might include deviled eggs, beef tartare, yellow tuna crudo, or harissa lamb, with fried chicken, pork loin, local rockfish, or the Compline burger—best enjoyed with duck-fat fries and, per Stamp, Champagne—as an entrée.
Wicker baskets hanging from the ceiling and dried-plant wall arrangements provide rustic flourishes to this intimate, otherwise urban-leaning bistro (the name is Spanish for "steak"), which two Argentine architects turned restaurateurs opened along downtown's Riverfront Promenade. Tipping its hat to their origins and California's agricultural abundance, the menu adds salads, sandwiches, and lamb and beef burgers to the expected mix of grilled steaks.
A dependable varied menu makes this modest corner restaurant occupying a brick-and-glass storefront many Napans' go-to choice for a simple meal. Empanadas and iron-skillet cornbread with lavender honey and butter show up at all hours, with buttermilk pancakes and chilaquiles scrambled eggs among the brunch staples and cassoulet and roasted heirloom chicken popular for dinner.
The owner of casual and fine-dining restaurants in Japan and elsewhere, Kobe-born chef Haruyuki Yamashita gained fame within his native land for techniques that modernized Japanese cuisine. At his sparsely decorated Napa location—black, gray, and brown tones, polished concrete floor, gleaming open kitchen—his team prepares prix-fixe multicourse meals, but you can also order sushi, tempura, and other items à la carte.
Chef Ken Frank serves French-inspired cuisine in a formal dining space, his dishes complemented by a wine lineup that has earned a coveted Wine Spectator Grand Award for a decade. Ingredients appearing on the à la carte and six-course prix-fixe tasting menus often include caviar, bluefin tuna, Wagyu beef, and rich cheeses in dishes prepared and seasoned to pair with wines jointly chosen by the chefs and sommeliers.
Napa River views and multiple indoor and outdoor dining spaces make a visit to this pet- and family-friendly restaurant and sports bar a decent choice for beer and cocktail-friendly comfort fare. Bourbon deviled eggs, adobo chicken wings, salmon lollipops (on skewers), and a combo of hash browns and mac and cheese are typical shareable starters, with tacos, smash burgers, and pasta dishes among the more filling options.
The vivid colors of the drinks, food, furnishings, and a mural by the Mexican urban artist Senkoe provide visual entertainment at this riverfront restaurant that evolved from a popular food truck. Oaxacan influences and spices like chileajo (vegetables, herbs, and chiles cooked and pureed) appear in the enchiladas, burritos, tacos, and other items, many inspired by southern Mexican street-food staples or recipes of the chef's extended family back home.
Not to be confused with chef Masaharu Morimoto's flagship sushi palace a few doors south, his pan-Asian restaurant serves dim sum, spicy Szechuan mapo ramen, orange chicken, and a slew of other Chinese-inspired apps, soups, salads, and entrées in a light-filled space with Napa River views. This culinary concept previously worked well for the chef in Orlando and Waikiki.
Iron Chef star Masaharu Morimoto is the big name behind this downtown Napa restaurant where everything is delightfully over the top, including the desserts. Organic materials such as twisting grapevines above the bar and rough-hewn wooden tables seem earthy yet modern, creating a fitting setting for the gorgeously plated Japanese fare, from straightforward sashimi to more elaborate seafood, chicken, pork, and beef entrées.
Bookended by culinary gardens and constructed of corrugated-metal former shipping containers, redwoods felled by wildfires, and other recycled materials, this 3½-acre open-air hangout has a block-party feel, especially at weekend brunch or when area musicians perform. The gardens (like the restaurant temporarily occupying a site slated for development into a hotel-commercial complex) inspire the seasonal comfort-food menu, with staples like fish tacos, grilled chicken wings, and plant-based variations appearing year-round.
Chef-owner and Napa native Tyler Rodde is ever on the lookout for fresh produce to incorporate into his rustic southern Italian cuisine. His restaurant, a brick-walled contemporary space with tall windows and wooden tables, is a lively spot to sample thin-crust pizzas and house-made salumi and pasta.
Tourists and local loyalists mingle at this restaurant whose perpetually in-motion chefs fry, barbecue, and smoke their way through a Southern-tinged menu that also includes Italian chicken soup and vinegar chicken. The baby back ribs, fried-chicken sandwich, cheddar-cheese burger, wedge salad, deviled eggs, and fried pickles score high with patrons, who somehow make room for the Q lime pie, brown-butter chocolate brownie, and other desserts.
You can build a meal at Tarla by combining traditional Mediterranean mezes (small plates)—stuffed grape leaves with fresh tzatziki, perhaps, and spanakopita—with contemporary creations such as a barley and kale salad with seasonal fruit. Entrées include updates of moussaka and other Turkish and Greek standards, along with modern items like beef short ribs braised with a pomegranate-wine sauce.
The strip-mall location of this restaurant couldn't be more modest, but the chef is a charmer and his Nepalese, Tibetan, and Indian dishes are flavor revelations. Pakoras (fritters), samosas, dal soup, and momos (steamed dumplings) all make excellent starters, with meat and vegetable curries and sizzling tandoori platters among the mains.
