I recently had lunch at El Dorado Kitchen. El Dorado Kitchen is located inside El Dorado Hotel on the plaza in Sonoma. This restaurant is casual but elegant, and the food is exquisitely prepared and beautifully presented. They focus on using fresh local, seasonal ingredients. I had heard so much recently about this restaurant that I had to try it.
Executive Chef Ryan Fancher is no longer there, but the food is truly amazing and reasonably priced. Pastry Chef, Octavio Alcantar, who worked for years at French Laundry, turns out an impressive assortment of desserts daily.
We started our lunch with a cheese plate featuring Cypress Grove’s Bermuda Triangle chevre, Abbaye de Belloc sheep’s milk cheese and Bleu de Causse. These cheeses were served with poached apricots and other delicious housemade condiments. We then moved on to some of the chef’s choices. First was a salad of heirloom tomatoes (that were perfectly ripened), super sweet watermelon and a marvelous basil reduction. What an outstanding combination that proved to be! Our main course was likely the most incredible pasta that I have ever tasted. It was a bow tie pasta dish with fresh corn, chanterelle mushrooms and tomatoes in a concentrated (and extremely flavorful) corn reduction sauce.
We had two desserts because who could choose? One was an amazing peach creation with a bit of almond ice and the other was a fresh berry clafoutis. Both were specials of the pastry chef that day and were absolutely delicious.
We dined inside because there was some construction work going on outside on that particular day. However, the restaurant has a stunning outdoor patio with shade trees.
I can hardly wait to go back to this restaurant. It is absolutely worth the trip.
By the way, I also checked out the hotel while I was there, just in case I would like to have a group stay there. They have 27 guests rooms and 4 bungalows that are separate from the main building. The rooms are beautifully decorated with attention to detail and all have fine linens. The prices are not bad either, ranging from $195 to $225 per room for weekend stays, less for nights during the week.
El Dorado Kitchen
El Dorado Hotel
405 First Street West
Sonoma, CA 95476
(707) 996-3220
www.eldoradosonoma.com