Napa Food Guide

Napa is not a resort town pretending to have food culture. It is a working city of 80,000 people where winemakers drink at the same bar as the workers who built the tasting rooms, and where the best-sourced farm-to-table cooking in Northern California sits three blocks from taqueria trucks that have been feeding the vineyard workforce for decades. The Oxbow Public Market anchors the Oxbow District along the river, with Hog Island Oysters, Ritual Coffee and the Model Bakery in the same building. First Street runs east from there with a terrace of restaurants, wine bars and a rooftop, and the side streets hold the real city: a Filipino-fine-dining debut from a French Laundry alum, a Kansas City smokehouse in a Quonset hut, a Spanish tapas room with the liveliest lunch crowd on the river. Michelin-starred Kenzo and Ken Frank's long-running La Toque, a former star holder, sit within five minutes' walk of a taco truck known to every vineyard worker in the valley. Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is the unavoidable context for every meal here, and every serious restaurant holds a list of small producers and back-vintage bottles that would be difficult to find anywhere else on earth.

Signature dishes in Napa

The plates that define eating in Napa.

Wood-Fired Neapolitan Pizza with Valley Farm Produce

Oenotri on First Street has refined what it means to make pizza in wine country: the menu changes daily based on whatever arrived from Napa Valley farms that morning, and the wood-fired oven builds a properly charred base from flour that has been sourced as carefully as the toppings. The result is not a fixed dish but a daily expression of what is growing within 20 miles of the kitchen. In spring that means morel mushrooms and spring onions on a white base; in summer, heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil that were picked that morning; in autumn, winter squash and house-made sausage. The wood-fired oven is the constant; the rest changes every day. This is what the farm-to-table idea actually looks like when it is applied to pizza without compromise.

Where Oenotri

Where to eat Wood-Fired Neapolitan Pizza with Valley Farm Produce in Napa →

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Restaurants to know in Napa

A handful of the places we send friends to when they are in Napa.

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Where to eat by neighborhood

Eat your way through Napa

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A sample of Napa hotels from our booking partner, who list 448 here. Live prices and availability open on their site.

Napa Valley Hotel & Suites A stay at Napa Valley Hotel & Suites places you in the heart of Napa, within a 5-minute walk of Uptown Thea... Check dates Chardonnay Lodge With a stay at Chardonnay Lodge in Napa, you'll be within a 5-minute drive of Downtown Napa Association and... Check dates SpringHill Suites Napa Valley Located in Napa, SpringHill Suites Napa Valley is a 2-minute drive from Eagle Vines Golf Club and 7 minutes... Check dates Bel Abri Napa Valley Inn With a stay at Bel Abri Napa Valley Inn in Napa, you'll be within a 5-minute drive of JaM Cellars and Quent... Check dates Napa Winery Inn With a stay at Napa Winery Inn in Napa, you'll be within a 5-minute drive of Alston Park and Napa Premium O... Check dates RiverPointe Napa Valley Resort With a stay at RiverPointe Napa Valley Resort in Napa, you'll be on the riverwalk, just a 1-minute walk fro... Check dates Hotel Indigo Napa Valley, an IHG Hotel Located in Napa, Hotel Indigo Napa Valley, an IHG Hotel is within a 5-minute drive of Alston Park and Andre... Check dates Hilton Garden Inn Napa Located in Napa, Hilton Garden Inn Napa is in the suburbs, a 5-minute drive from Uptown Theater and 5 minut... Check dates Napa Inn When you stay at Napa Inn in Napa, you'll be in the historical district, within a 10-minute walk of JaM Cel... Check dates Marriott Napa Valley Hotel & Spa Located in Napa, Marriott Napa Valley Hotel & Spa is in the suburbs, within a 5-minute drive of Alston Park... Check dates Andaz Napa - a concept by Hyatt A stay at Andaz Napa - a concept by Hyatt places you in the heart of Napa, steps from JaM Cellars and 3 min... Check dates White House - Napa Valley Inn With a stay at White House - Napa Valley Inn in Napa, you'll be a 4-minute walk from Napa River and 6 minut... Check dates

Also compare: Holidu in Napa from USD 144/night · LateRooms in Napa · Expedia in Napa

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Map of Napa

Every restaurant, cafe, market and bar we cover in Napa, pinned. Click a pin for the page.

When to come hungry in Napa

Peak food season: September through November (harvest season, when chefs source from their own kitchen gardens and the farmers market is at its most abundant). May through July is the second peak, before the crush. January brings the Truffle Festival.

Local dining hours: Lunch 11:30-14:30, Dinner 17:00-21:30. Wine bars typically open from 15:00. Many kitchens close by 21:00 on weeknights.

Tipping: Standard US tipping: 18-20% for sit-down restaurants. Counter service and market stalls do not require a tip.

Napa food, FAQ