With so many places to enjoy good and high-end cuisine in Napa Valley, Auberge du Soleil also offers stunning views.
I’m a sucker for nice views, especially views from up top. While searching for places to eat in St. Helena, I wanted to make sure that one of them had a stunning view of the rolling hills of Napa Valley. I wanted it to look like Tuscany. And although, surprisingly, the best views I saw in St. Helena were from a friend of a friend’s estate called Caspar Estate, Auberge du Soleil had some amazing views as well.
Pat and I ate at Auberge du Soleil Bistro & Bar, not the Michelin-starred restaurant next door, for lunch. It’s terrace offered expansive views of the hills below. The place is packed all day long, so reservations are required if you want to try and get a seat at the edge of the terrace.
We were able to get a seat on the edge of the wrap around terrace and Pat ordered one of their rum cocktails. A nice cold cocktail is exactly what one needs after drinking wine for 3 days straight in the hot and humid California heat.
For lunch I ordered the Market salad with shrimp. It was small in size, especially for the $17 price point. Pat ordered the Northern Halibut, with string beans, shell beans, bacon, and basil broth. A bit heartier, but still pretty expensive at $32 for it’s size. The restaurant slightly changes its menu depending on the time of year. It uses local ingredients that are in season so you might have string beans in the summer but walnuts and eggplant in the winter. Although expensive the quality of both our meals was high. You could taste the ingredients were fresh and local. We were ok with paying what we did, one for the quality of the food, and two because of the views.
When on vacation, no meal is incomplete without dessert of course. We ordered from the brunch dessert menu. I’d usually go for something chocolatey, but it was so hot that I was in the mood for something tangy. We ordered the brown butter almond shortbread and lemon meringue with poppy seed gelato di bufala. Creamy and soft, it was refreshing and exactly what I was craving.
Following lunch we headed downstairs to explore the rest of the property. We weren’t allowed to go passed a certain point because a wedding was going on, but we explored the lower terrace with it’s beautiful views. Auberge du Soleil is perfect for a romantic dinner, elevated lunch, or even just for cocktails to watch the sunset.
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