GLEN ELLEN STAR - Restaurant Reviews, Photos & Phone Number - Tripadvisor

MICHELIN Guide's Point of View

The country charm of this quaint cottage belies the level of culinary chops that will impress even a hardened city slicker. With knotty pine tables, we...
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Bib Gourmand: good quality, good value cooking
About
Glen Ellen Star offers a menu featuring wood oven dishes, including pizzas, vegetables and main dishes to pair with its Sonoma and Napa-focused wine selection. The wood-fire oven, chef's counter and rustic tables set a charming tone in the intimate space.
PRICE RANGE
$26 - $58
Special Diets
Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options, Gluten Free Options
Meals
Dinner
CUISINES
American, Pizza
FEATURES
Takeout, Reservations, Seating, Parking Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Street Parking, Free off-street parking, Wine and Beer, Digital Payments, Non-smoking restaurants, Gift Cards Available
Reviews (648)
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636 results
Traveler rating
404
138
65
24
5
Traveler type
Time of year
LanguageEnglish
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Traveler rating
404
138
65
24
5
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All reviews brick chicken brussel sprouts pizza marmalade rigatoni brown sugar bacon steak pie white fish duck salad cakes the wood fired oven the homemade ice cream make reservations sit at the counter chef's table
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Reviewed January 17, 2020

It was my friends birthday and just about everyone of the staff last night wished her a happy birthday. We had three of the vegetables that are served in a small cast iron pan. All super yummy. For our entrees we ordered the pizza with...the white sauce and the chicken dish. Followed by salted peanut butter ice cream! this ice cream is out of the world! Our server Olivia was top notch and took great care of us and made it a very special night!More

Date of visit: January 2020
Helpful?
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed August 25, 2020

The tomato cream pizza pie is not to be missed. I'm a traditionalist and was set on ordering a Margarita pizza when our server said we should try this special pizza. It was fantastic. A nice melding of spicy and pizza flavors on a perfectly...baked wood fired crust. Yum. We also had the carrots and panzanella salad as well. We loved the outdoor seating they created in front of the restaurant.More

Date of visit: August 2020
Helpful?1  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed September 5, 2020

Had takeout from here during COVID. First, the takeout process was really smooth- ordered online, and then there was an area to pull in at the front of the restaurant to pick up without getting out of the car. It seemed very vibrant with lots...of outdoor tables, many of which seemed to be under an awning. The food was very good- in particular the Tomato Cream Pizza- really unique (and slightly spicy). We had a total of three types of pizza and all were good. Look forward to coming back here in the future. Definitely recommend if you are in this area of Sonoma.More

Date of visit: August 2020
Helpful?3  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed November 4, 2021

We were staying at the Kenwood Inn and looked forward to eating here. We made a reservation for 8:15pm and the hostess was very nice and we were seated right away. The server came over eventually and was very brusk and just did not want...to be helpful. We asked her about a couple of the appetizers and entrees and she was very dismissive and unhelpful and just didn't want to provide any information. Then we ordered the bread and she said they might be out, but then quickly said she would check. She came back and let us know that she saved the last one for us. Then she came back about 15 minutes later and said it was taken. Ok. So we were disappointed she didn't apologize or try to be nice or do anything about it. Then the heater was right in our faces and was extremely hot so we asked her to move it away slightly or turn it down a little, and she completely turned it off making the outside room cold. We eventually had another employee help us turn it back on. She was just in general very rude, unpleasant and brusk. I am not usually that concerned about service and am pretty easy going but I just felt like her attitude just kind of ruined the experience. The food was pretty good and we might have ordered more items then just the two entrees and the wine but we were so turned off by the experience we just did not want to spend any more money at the place.More

Date of visit: November 2021
Helpful?1  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed September 13, 2020

In July we ordered take out here frequently while staying in Kenwood. You can't go wrong with any item on the menu- we tried most of them. I especially appreciated the delicious and fresh tasting fish offerings: salmon and branzini. Once there was a mix...up with our order and they quickly delivered the correct items to us.More

Date of visit: July 2020
Helpful?3  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed January 12, 2023

We were excited about Glen Ellen Star after the reviews we'd read and the food and service were good, but we're unlikely to return. The ambiance was below the bar for us, particularly for such a high-end meal. In particular, we were at a table...near the door and there was a constant stream of waitstaff going in and out to a second dining room outside of the restaurant. We immediately asked to be moved, but despite being nearly the first customers in the restaurant, we were told it wouldn't be possible. It was freezing cold with the door being opened every few minutes and we couldn't relax because of the constant flow of traffic inches from our table. Definitely not the special evening we'd planned for. Having said that, the wagyu beef was fabulous and the salads were incredibly fresh and tasty. The budino was a bit too sweet for us, but that may just be personal preference.More

Date of visit: January 2023
Helpful?
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Reviewed September 27, 2021 via mobile

Enjoyed dinner here with friends. Started with some wood roasted vegetables- the cauliflower and the eggplant. Both were excellent. Shared a pizza - the Tomato Cream Pie. Again, excellent. Shared the Rigatoni and the Radiatori pastas. Both were excellent. The waiter was very helpful with...suggestions on what wines would go with our dishes. An overall excellent experience.More

Date of visit: September 2021
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Reviewed June 13, 2022

We are spending a few days in Sonoma and dined at the Glen Ellen Star our first night. We were seated at the counter and it was fun to see how the pizza and some main and appetizer dishes were cooked in the open fire....I ordered the wood fired whole fish (branzino) and my daughter had the rigatoni pasta. For appetizer, we had the brussels sprouts with brown sugar bacon marmalade - it was decadently delicious! We both enjoyed our main dish, and they seemed to be the most popular dishes since more than a dozen of each were prepared while we dined there for almost 2 hours. The branzino was visually unique in its cut with delicious trimmings adorning the body of the fish. This was one of the best branzinoI've ever had - very moist and flavorful! Great food and service - I highly recommend this restaurant!More

Date of visit: June 2022
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Reviewed January 18, 2020

The restaurant is small and cozy, but not overcrowded. We were lucky enough to sit at the chef's table and see the extremely talented chef and kitchen staff at work. The veggies + bread were amazing starters and we loved the pork special.

Date of visit: January 2020
Helpful?
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Reviewed April 11, 2020

Extremely impressed with the takeout experience from the Star today. The food was as delicious, fresh-flavor-forward, as ever. Our vigilance on food safety is extremely high in light of SIP and we saw tremendous care in the preparation from Ari, Erinn and their teams, which...put our OCD minds at ease. Hope others will delight in this wonderful establishment and support their kind, dedicated team.More

Date of visit: April 2020
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Reviewed October 11, 2021 via mobile

I can't say enough great things about this experience! The food, the service, the setting- everything was perfection. We went on Wednesday night and we're thrilled to find complimentary corkage fees (Wednesdays only). We shared several appetizers, the Brussels are amazing, and were extremely impressed...with our entrees. Will definitely visit again- make sure to make a reservation!!More

Date of visit: September 2021
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Reviewed March 31, 2022 via mobile

Sometimes I’m fearful of returning to a restaurant that I enjoyed in the past, worrying that it won’t be as good as I remembered. Not the case with Glen Ellen Star, which remains excellent. The only disappointment was the wood roasted beets. Everything else we...ordered - pizza, salmon with bean cassoulet, rigatoni in a broccoli pesto sauce and radiatori with lamb - was fantastic. Our meal ended with the exceptional lemon poppy seed trifle. Glen Ellen offers a wide range of Napa and Sonoma wines at very fair prices.More

Date of visit: April 2022
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Reviewed June 3, 2023 via mobile

This highly rated restaurant was a disappointment. My husband and I ate here on a Thursday night and had a delectable grilled asparagus salad, but the brick chicken was extremely salty. I could not eat it, but my husband did simply because he didn’t want...to waste money. We thought this was a fluke and ordered a takeout pizza the next night. It was too salty to eat, so we threw away a $35 pizza (cost after tip). We were concerned that this was a kitchen mishap and called to let the restaurant know about it. The girl who answered the phone didn’t seem concerned at all. We regret not asking for a refund. If parking in that area wasn’t so difficult, we would have taken it back and addressed it with the manager.More

Date of visit: June 2023
Helpful?2  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed August 9, 2021

We had a wonderful meal at the Glen Ellen Star in late July 2021. We sat inside in the wooden and glass room in a separate structure to the right of the the main room - and the ambiance was excellent. To start, we had...the roasted brussel sprouts with candied bacon, which was delicious and a very generous portion. We also had a chilled gazpacho soup and a watermelon and feta salad (with several other delicious ingredients) that were both very fresh and excellent. I had the whole roasted branzino with a peach mole sauce that was outstanding, and my wife had a rigatoni dish with pesto and about 8 vegetable ingredients. The pasta was inventive and very fresh. We enjoyed some homemade ice cream for dessert, and a local Zinfandel with dinner. The service, ambiance and food were all extremely good. We'd highly recommend the Glen Ellen Star to anyone visiting the Sonoma area.More

Date of visit: July 2021
Helpful?
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Reviewed June 22, 2022

We were blessed to stay at the Gaige House Inn and one of the other hotel guests suggested that we make reservations at the Glen Ellen Star. So glad we did. We simply made the quick walk down the street, enjoyed the Chef Counter seating...and loved our meals and the experience. It was "Local's Night" and all of the locals were very friendly. I enjoyed the Grilled Eggplant and my Husband had an amazing Chicken Dish. Definitely worth your time.More

Date of visit: June 2022
Helpful?
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Questions & Answers
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ShelleyS483
November 2, 2017|
AnswerShow all 6 answers
Response from Grey C | Reviewed this property |
If you check their website you will note that the corkage is $20 but they waive one corkage fee for each bottle you purchase from their nice wine list. Also, they are running a special dinner now with no corkage.
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GLEN ELLEN STAR - Restaurant Reviews, Photos & Phone Number - Tripadvisor

Frequently Asked Questions about Glen Ellen Star

Yes, Glen Ellen Star offers takeout services.

Yes, Glen Ellen Star is taking precautions against COVID-19. A full list is available within the "safety precautions" section of this page.

Glen Ellen Star is rated accordingly in the following categories by Tripadvisor travelers:
  • Food: 4.5
  • Service: 4.5
  • Value: 4
  • Atmosphere: 4