6 Best Restaurants in Napa and Sonoma, California

Pink on the outside, with tutti-frutti walls on the inside and colorful chairs painted by a local artist, Sebastopol’s hands-down favorite for all-natural ice cream and sorbet often appears in feature stories listing the nation's best shops. Mimi's Mud (espresso ice cream, cookies, chocolate chips, and homemade fudge) and strawberry made from local fruit are among the popular ice creams, with lemon, raspberry, and mango among the top palate-cleansing sorbets.

Succulent fried chicken and St. Louis ribs whose meat glides off the bone are among the hits at this open-air, partially covered restaurant where diners sit at sturdy oak picnic or high-top tables. Many of the ingredients come from top artisanal protein and produce purveyors; most of the two dozen beers on tap are by craft breweries.

A chef formerly with the Stark organization (Willi's Seafood and others) opened this casual restaurant—a good bet for families—whose decor of rich pastels sets a placid tone. Hits here include Parmesan arancini, fried calamari, and burrata with lemon honey starters, as well as shrimp diavolo pasta and halibut piccata entrées.

Sebastopol’s former Fosters Freeze location, now a 21st-century fast-food palace, won design awards for its rusted-steel frame and translucent panel-like windows. The menu, a paean to coastal California cuisine, includes oysters raw and grilled, fish tacos, ceviche, tostadas, three burgers (beef, vegetarian, and fish), and, honoring the location's previous incarnation, chocolate and vanilla soft-serve ice cream.

Bookended by culinary gardens and constructed of corrugated-metal former shipping containers, redwoods felled by wildfires, and other ingeniously recycled materials, this 3½-acre open-air hangout has a block-party feel, especially at weekend brunch or when area musicians perform. The gardens inspire the seasonal comfort-food menu—summer tomatoes give way to fall beets in the burrata salad, for instance—with staples like fish tacos, grilled chicken wings, tri-tip, and plant-based variations appearing year-round.

A microbrewery, a wood-fired pizza stand, and a barbecue joint anchor this downtown food park with indoor and outdoor dining areas, the latter a patio with fire pits. On weekends, food trucks motor over, adding, depending on the day, Greek, Mexican, Filipino, and other cuisines to the mix.