Guide to Restaurants in Healdsburg

When you think of fresh and flavorful Sonoma Wine Country dining, the town of Healdsburg, California, springs to mind. Top chefs in Healdsburg go hand in hand with the area’s abundance of farm-fresh ingredients and famous wineries. Area restaurants dazzle travelers who come from far and wide to visit famous winery estates like Seghesio Family Vineyards, Quivira Vineyards, and Ferrari-Carano Vineyards & Winery.

Here is a sample of the wonderful dining options that await you in Healdsburg.

SingleThread Farm Restaurant & Inn 

Restaurateurs Kyle and Katina Connaughton finessed every last detail of this combination restaurant and luxury inn. They planted their own five-acre farm and established a 3,000-square-foot rooftop garden above the restaurant, both dedicated to ingredients for their dishes and drinks. The food concept here is kaiseki (elaborate multicourse meals crafted as art) and donabe (rustic clay pot cooking). Menus change daily, but might mean delicacies like black cod with root vegetables and walnut pesto or wild smoked salmon with ginger.

Valette 

Kitchen talent Dustin Valette is bringing in crowds for his contemporary Cal-global cooking in his open kitchen full of ambiance. Reservations are recommended to score a table laden with seasonally changing dishes like crispy skin sablefish with soba noodles and kimchee purée. Be sure to start with hand-crafted charcuterie from the custom curing case, and if you’re feeling adventurous, tuck into the “Trust Me” menu, where Valette sends out a multi-course feast of his daily picks.

Bravas Bar de Tapas 

If you’re craving Barcelona tapas like boquerones, creamy chicken croquettes, and local sardines with black olives, this fashionable dining room and bar from chef Mark Stark will do you right. Set in a chic cottage, the boisterous spot offers specialties that may include treats like a ham-and-cheese bar, fried pig ears, and signature gin and tonics with orange, saffron, and cardamom.

Journeyman Meat Co.

In addition to its Old World-style deli counter, Journeyman Meat Co. offers a changing menu from its wood-fired oven that includes handmade salumi and smoked sausages, tasty pizzas, and seasonal meat and wine pairings. Nosh on gourmet offerings like roasted Market Steak served with Parmigiano and grilled bread, a Sausage Trio Board showcasing family recipes, a Bacon Burger, or Bianco Pizza with bacon and farm egg. 

Costeaux French Bakery & Café 

A bakery that’s been open since 1923, like this one, has to be doing something right! Their pies are made with pure butter, farm-fresh eggs, and real vanilla. Classic fruit pies are deep-dish with seasonal fruits, and the creamy Bavarian custard pie is encased in buttery pâte sucré and topped with fruit. The chic café also serves quiche, omelets, and salads like smoked duck breast, sliced almonds, and chèvre. The cranberry turkey sandwich is a year-round favorite on nine-grain toast with brie, baby greens, and avocado mayonnaise.

Baci Cafe & Wine Bar

Baci Café & Wine Bar serves regional Italian and Mediterranean cuisine paired with wines from Sonoma, Napa, and Italy. Baci (which means ‘kisses’ in Italian) is highly regarded for its creative and sumptuous menu and organic cooking. Choose from pizza from the wood-burning oven, a wide variety of pasta dishes, the Chef’s Tasting Menu (five to seven delicious tasting courses), large combination platters, or seasonal dishes like Al Forno — pasta rolls filled with fresh Dungeness crab. 

Agave Mexican Restaurant & Tequila Bar 

Focusing on the flavors of Oaxaca, chef-owner Octavio Diaz impresses with homemade moles and salsas for refined dishes like Mole Negro de Oaxaca. The pretty dish brings chicken draped in rich mole made from a rainbow of dried chiles, herbs, spices, almonds, and chocolate. The patio is a favorite for casual dining and savoring hearty dishes like molcajete — a volcanic stone bowl brimming with sautéed prawns, steak, grilled chicken, grilled peppers, chipotle chiles, and ranchero sauce.

Find all dining options with this searchable listing of Sonoma County Restaurants.

Discover more Things to Do in Sonoma County, including Sonoma County Hotels & Lodging.

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Written by Sonoma Insider Carey Sweet