Best Yountville Restaurants
Where to eat in Yountville? Local Wally knows the BEST restaurants in Napa and Yountville, from cheap eats to 5 star dining, eat where the locals do!
Best places to eat in yountville
Napa's Best Yountville Dining Guide
In Napa the winery and culinary worlds collided when Thomas Keller took a humble restaurant called The French Laundry and single-handedly invented the Napa Valley haute cuisine scene that is still going strong today.
And The French Laundry today still stands as one of the best restaurants in the world. But if spending a thousand bucks on dinner for two isn’t in your future, no worries as Yountville is home to a diverse number of restaurants, chef-driven dining at all price points.
In Yountville you’ll find everything from fried chicken to foie gras, picnic tables to white tablecloths, and due to the intense competition nearly every restaurant is going to be a good one - but here are the best, the Top Restaurants in Yountville.
best restaurants in yountville
🤑 Cheap Eats around $20pp 💵 Moderate around $35pp 💰 Expensive over $40pp
Ad Hoc Restaurant
💰 Thomas Keller’s Goes Family Style
The French Laundry chef brings his food to the masses with Ad Hoc’s family style dining. One menu per day and everyone gets the same thing - I mean, everyone in the restaurant gets the same thing. Menu changes daily so it’s good to check before checking in to make sure you like what’s being served. Or just go with it - you know if Keller is behind it that it’s going to be incredible.
DON’T MISS: Monday night is typically Fried Chicken. Legendary fried chicken.
Addendum
🤑 And speaking of fried chicken….
Behind Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc restaurant is a tiny food shed with a few picnic tables, quaint and rustically elegant. Here you’ll find “take out” fried chicken - yes, the famous Thomas Keller fried chicken along with chicken and pulled pork sandwiches, all under $20. Don’t take it to go - savor in a Thomas Keller experience for all its worth.
DON’T MISS: Only open during spring and summer with limited hours, check their website to ensure they’re open.
Bistro Jeanty
💰 An authentic French bistro
The bustling front room, complete with communal table for those without reservations, the intimate outdoor seating tucked away on the side, the romantic backroom with roaring fireplace, Bistro Jeanty serves traditional French bistro fare that will transport you back to your favorite bistro in Paris.
DON’T MISS: Crême de Tomate en Croute, tomato soup with a puff pastry top, is a way better than you can possibly imagine.
Bottega Napa Valley
💵 Bold and rustic elevated Italian dining
Originally founded by famed TV Chef Michael Chiarello, Bottega Napa Valley has continued with his vision after his untimely passing in 2023. The food is elegant and inventive, the atmosphere sophisticated, the type of place you would go for a special occasion.
DON’T MISS: Polenta Sotto Vetro, polenta “under glass” (served in a jar, actually) with caramelized mushrooms is a signature dish.
Bouchon
💵 Thomas Keller’s French bistro
Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bistro is like a French brasserie, a bit fancier than Bistro Jeanty, a bit livelier, a bit noisier. Of course the food is pure Keller, classic dishes done with a finesse using the highest quality ingredients and artistically plated. Classic Keller dishes such as his deceptively simple but life changing roast chicken along with caviar and seafood towers. This is fancy!
DON’T MISS: Thomas Keller takes his French Fries seriously - drop in for an after lunch snack with a glass of wine Fri-Sun.
Ciccio
💵 Casual Italian restaurant with gourmet chefs
Housed in what was an Italian grocery store a hundred years ago, Ciccio is what happens when Chef Kostow (Restaurant at Meadowood, The Charter Oak, 3 Michelin star winner) and team tackles a small, family run Italian restaurant, creating innovative takes on pizza, pasta and salads. Rustic yet chic, it’s more than just wood fired pizza, it takes casual dining and elevates it to an authentic Napa experience.
DON’T MISS: Best Negronis in the Valley
Is The French Laundry Worth It?
💰 Yes, you want to dine here!
One of the very best restaurants in the world, The French Laundry offers a nine course tasting menu that takes 3+ hours and costs $425 per person. Reservations open on the first of each month for the following month and sell out within the first minute. So the big question is, is it worth it? And the short answer is, absolutely.
Now I know that spending a thousand bucks on dinner for two isn’t for everyone but if you do it will be a dinner you will talk about, dream about, for years to come. Every bite, delicious. Every plate, beautiful. The staff, like a fine choreographed ballet. You won’t believe you’re there and in a flash the three hours is over and you’re left with a memory that will last forever.
Mustards Grill
💵 A modern “truck stop” diner, a Napa institution since 1983
Inspired by a “truck stop” but I’ve never been to a diner that had food this good. Chef Cindy Pawcyn was a pioneer in what has become Wine Country Cuisine, elevated versions of our favorite comfort foods. Grilled and smoked meats, Asian influenced flavors, and plenty of diner standards, as the sign says, “Sorry, Everything is Delicious”.
DON’T MISS: The largest wine list I think I’ve ever seen.
R+D Kitchen
💵 Sophisticated Wine Country Dining
Owned by the same company as Rutherford Grill, R+D Kitchen offers American classics in a smart indoor/outdoor setting. It’s not fancy, but it’s nice and has a bit of a country club feel to the atmosphere, outdoor patio with fire pits, you know the vibe. Whether it’s a salad or burger, sushi or BBQ, it’s all done to perfection.
DON’T MISS: The Pan-Asian salad with mango, avocado, chopped peanuts, basil, mint, and chicken or BBQ pork.
RH Kitchen
💰 Wait, what? Restoration Hardware has a restaurant?
What happens when Restoration Hardware takes over one of Napa’s most beautiful historic buildings to showcase their elegant lifestyle? You get RH Kitchen, an elegant airy restaurant where there are full grown olive trees, a giant fountain and immense chandelier, design elements that only add to the extravagant ingredient driven menu.
DON’T MISS: Plenty to see and do here so give yourself time to visit the art installations and The Wine Vault for a tasting flight.
