We are meeting 2 other couples in Sonoma in July for 4 days because none of us have been there. I know nothing about the area and welcome all recommendations. Thanks in advance.
Start with this topic from Brian
I’m assuming you are talking about the town of Sonoma, not Sonoma County, which is much larger. We usually go for nice, clean places to stay but not super expensive so the El Pueblo Inn in Sonoma fit the bill perfectly. Restaurants we liked included La Salette, Cafe La Haye, and Glen Ellen Star (just a couple of miles up the road). Our favorite winery visits were Bedrock, Kivelstadt and Darling.
We are talking about the town of Sonoma. Marshall’s response was great and I will be happy to hear from anyone else.
Hotel budget? At the high end MacArthur Place. Mid/high Inn at Sonoma. Mid Best Western Sonoma Valley.
New spots for eats:
Valley Swim Club - Casual/Fun
Valley Bar and Bottle - Breakfast, Lunch, Brunch, Dinner… In/Out dining
Go see Hardy Wallace at Extradimensional Wine Co. Yeah! Great wines great people!
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I always make time for at least one lunch at El Molino.
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Restaurants-
California Cuisine-
Valley Bar & Bottle
Wit & Wisdom (best wine list)
Valley Swim Club
Glen Ellen Star
Mexican
El Molino Central
Sonoma Eats* (a great back up if the line or parking at El Molino is tough)
Bakery
Monday Bakery
Thanks Brian! See you this weekend!
Tasting Rooms around the plaza-
Bedrock
Winery Sixteen600
Darling
Non-Wine
Pomme Cider bar - I love this place. Artisanal ciders are great pre-dinner / post wine tasting.
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This is wonderful. We booked the Inn at Sonoma and the restaurants sound great. Keep it coming.
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Was there 6 weeks ago. Just a day in Sonoma sonce we were in Yountville.
Enjoyed https://www.thegirlandthefig.com/ For lunch
If you want/can visit a winery, go to Littorai. Great great wines. Laid back experience…
Don’t forget about going to nearby Healdsburg. It’s been over 10 years since I was in the area but had a lot of fun in that town.
You may want to look into Three Sticks winery tasting room right off the square. Wonderful Pinot Noirs. It is house in an old adobe, very walkable from the restaurants, etc., in downtown.
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Restaurants in Sonoma:
Girl & Fig is classic, but I’ve been mildly disappointed in both food and service the past couple of times I’ve been there. We actually prefer El Dorado Kitchen.
Valley is fun, good food, interesting lower priced wine list, very casual.
Several people told us about Wit & Wisdom, which we have not been to, but looks good.
La Salette is good
Avoid Della Santina, it’s a pleasant setting, but ordinary americanized italian.
Layla restaurant is actually quite good, at MacArthur Place. The bar and restaurant are very nice rooms, breakfast is particularly good. Don’t have to stay there to eat, they’ll valet your car for free.
Had lunch today at Girl & Fig. What Mr. Rath said. La Salette…good Portuguese cuisine. Nice court yard.
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We just completed our trip. Thank you to everyone for the recommendations. In general I just followed the board’s advice.
The Inn at Sonoma was perfect for our visit. Being 2 blocks from the square was ideal for 3 couples with no car. I wouldn’t want to stay any further distance.
We visited Extradimensional and Bedrock. Hardy was a wonderful host and it was a great visit. Bedrock outdoors in back was the perfect setting for an 11am visit. The charcuterie board was excellent and the setting was beautiful despite backing to a parking lot. Aiste gave a great explanation of Bedrock and the wines.
The food in Sonoma was great. It’s hard to rank La Salette, Wit and Wisdom, and El Dorado(perfect paella) because all were top notch. Girl and Fig and Valley were also very good and might be ranked excellent if I hadn’t eaten at the first three.
Mary’s Pizza and La Casa both served good lunches.
Tuesday night in the square was a delightful food truck/live band/ farmer market/arts and craft market weekly event. Don’t miss it.
We went to Napa for the day and had lunch at Cook. It was as good as the last two times I visited.
It was a great trip.
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Jim- It was wonderful to meet you and host your group. Thanks for making us part of your trip!