The best spots in "Slownoma" for Portuguese food, moules frites, handmade pasta, and more.
LessA small restaurant hidden away from the buzz of Sonoma Plaza, Taste of the Himalayas serves Tibetan, Nepali, and Indian dishes. You’ll find Indian standards like samosas, tikka masala, and saag paneer, as well as Nepali classics like the lamb momo with tomato chutney or the mismas tarkari (mixed vegetable curry). For dessert, don’t miss the gulab jamun, delicately fried dumplings made from milk solids and served with cardamom honey.
This brunch spot on Sonoma Plaza has a big menu of smoothies, waffles, breakfast sandwiches, egg dishes, salads, and more—truly something for everyone. The buttermilk biscuit sandwich, with soft-scrambled eggs, cheddar, shallot-leek conserva, and gochujang aioli, is especially tasty. No matter the weather, grab a seat on their covered back patio, which has a bright and cheery vibe, with sunflower-yellow chairs and tons of brilliant greenery.
Located on Highway 12 just outside of the main Sonoma downtown area, you might end up driving past Il Fuoco, but it’s well worth stopping here for the fantastic wood-fired pizzas. Using organic flour from Petaluma and local farmers for as much of their cheese and produce as possible, Il Fuoco makes quality ingredients the star of every pizza they make. You’ll find standards like margherita and pepperoni, but we like to focus on the more interesting options, like their fresh clam pie.
It’d be easy to miss this small Portuguese restaurant hidden away from the crowds of Sonoma Plaza in a small courtyard, but LaSalette is absolutely worth hunting down. Start with a tasca board of small bites, like cheese from the Azorean island of São Jorge and linguiça, but it wouldn’t be a Portuguese restaurant if bacalhau (salt cod) didn’t feature prominently on the menu, so make sure you try either the cod cakes starter or the classic baked cod casserole with potato and olive.
Della Santina’s is an unfussy Tuscan trattoria that’s been around for more than three decades. This Sonoma classic is known for handmade pasta, and in particular, the potato gnocchi and Florentine-style cannelloni. Don’t get distracted by the meat and seafood entrees here: pasta is where Della Santina’s shines the brightest. Be sure to check their daily specials, which typically feature at least two more kinds of pasta—come with a group so you can try a bit of everything.
Oso Sonoma is a great spot on Sonoma Plaza with a bunch of options for when the group can’t agree on what’s for lunch. The menu has a little bit of everything, from pork chile verde tacos to harissa-roasted salmon to Thai-style steamed mussels, and while that might seem ambitious, everything works. It’s also a great place for Happy Hour if a day of wine tasting hasn’t yet wiped you out: we like their delicious red sangria.
Sonoma might be a small city, but it has more Portuguese restaurants than many much bigger towns. Tasca Tasca focuses on petiscos (Portuguese tapas), which you can order as a mix-and-match tasting plate from five categories: cheese, garden, land, sea, and sweet. Tasca Tasca also features an all-Portuguese wine list, so you can try some unique wines that you won’t find on most lists, like a crisp white vinho verde or rich reds from the Douro Valley.
Valley is a wine bar and restaurant located right on Sonoma Plaza, serving a varied menu of small bites, salads, and main dishes. You could go for lunch or dinner, but we’d argue brunch, when they serve an interesting menu perfect for pre-gaming a day of wine tasting, is the best bet. If you like sweets in the morning, grab their olive oil cake with sour cream and preserves or french toast with apricot butter. If you’re more in the savory camp, go for the burrata and tomato tartine.
Cafe La Haye is an upscale French bistro with a very romantic atmosphere of candlelight, white tablecloths, and dim-but-warm lighting that would make a rom-com director proud. The menu is all about simple yet beautiful ingredients prepared just right, like filet mignon with local Point Reyes blue cheese or Duroc heritage pork chop with mustard seed vinaigrette, mushrooms, and potatoes. Their daily specials always use whatever is in season, with a French twist on local ingredients.
One part tasting room, one part marketplace, one part restaurant, Taub Family Outpost wears a lot of hats and wears them all well. Stop in for one of their wine flights structured around a theme (such as light floral reds, rare white varietals, or unique sparkling wines and ciders) and pair it with some bar snacks. If you’re hungry, opt for the full-service restaurant upstairs, where the pared-down dinner menu mixes French bistro standards like beef tartare, trout rillettes, and steak frites.