Glen Ellen Star

My son's favorite spot to dine in the Napa Valley area.

Pros- the food, everything is delicious! The atmosphere- open kitchen (highly recommend sitting at the counter!), the staff- everyone is awesome! I went over my Napa Valley restaurant list with a few of the cooks and chef, they gave me a few new spots to try!

Cons- parking can be tight. The first time we came, we were at the hotel around the corner (kinda), second time I had to drive far (it's that tasty! And yes, kid is spoiled!) and was lucky enough to get a spot in the lot, but it's not big and there are two great places to dine (here and Fig Cafe), so something to be aware of. The ice cream, while it's delicious, it's expensive for the amount! And the flavors change, also something to keep in mind!

Headed for dinner here after wine tasting in the area. We were greeted by the hostess with warmth and seated quickly.

The food was pretty wonderful I have to say! The Brussels sprouts with the brown sugar marmalade and the cauliflower were exceptionally delicious and full of flavor. Hard to pick a favorite between the two but I have to say the cauliflower sizzling in its own cast iron pan was a particular revelation.

We continued our meal with an order of their sourdough with butter and olive oil which, though tasty, didn't stand out in my mind as much as folks have lead me to believe. The tomato cream pie on the other hand, well that was pretty sublime! It sounds like nothing special, but it is truly remarkable and tasty with a perfect crust.

There was a rabbit pot pie on the menu that night which, if available on the menu when you dine here, I cannot recommend enough-it was one of our favorite dishes of the night for sure. My only real disappointment was the wood fired baby artichokes with Rancho Gordo beans. The beans were not cooked through and almost inedible as a result.

Finally, for dessert, we had the flourless chocolate cake with garam masala ganache. The combination helped to cut the richness of the chocolate cake overall which was a lovely surprise. The coffee was solid to boot which is actually saying something because I feel like this is often an afterthought at many restaurants.

Easily made a reservation online through Resy, service was good, not necessarily exceptional.

We were excited to try this cute restaurant with a wonderful hostess at the podium to greet us. We actually arrived earlier than our reservation time and luckily were able to get seated out side where they turned on the propane heaters. Staff were pleasant and very busy busting empty plates and delivering food in and out of the door next to us.

The loaf of baked bread was good as was the roasted head of cauliflower but neither of them wowed me. Hubby had the lamb ragu pasta. I tried a bite. I actually liked my pea shoot pesto over rigatoni better but again neither were memorable. And the lamb was not that flavorful. They were both decorated with pretty nasturtiums.

The dessert was our biggest disappointment. It was a flourless cake but showed up as a blob of chocolate pudding with whipped cream on top. It really didn't taste that great.

The bathroom is in the next building where there. Is bar dining and the dish washer is. The space is very crowded. The unisex single bathroom has funny signs.
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Glen Ellen Star is a must visit when in Sonoma/Glen Ellen area! It's a casual yet elegant dining experience for anyone who loves food! They specialize in wood-fire cooking technique that bring out amazing flavors in their dishes. The menu features pizzas and vegetables and main dishes that pair well with Sonoma and Napa-focused wine selection. My friend and I ordered the rigatoni pasta and a white sauce pizza. Both were very flavorful and absolutely delicious!

Be sure to make a reservation before dining here as it is quite popular and there isn't a ton of seating. Seating options include chef's counter where you can see everything happening right in front of you as well as the dining room and outdoor seating when weather allows. I sat in the dining room during my visit and enjoyed the experience.

Took an impromptu weekend away to Sonoma last weekend and was recommended to try Glen Ellen Star by at least three people. Turned out it was just a couple doors down from our BNB! We were grateful to squeeze in a last minute reservation on a Sunday night.

The host was really friendly and knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the menu. Our server, Greg, was also super personable and gave great recommendations on the food and wine. We had a view of the kitchen, and was amazed at how efficiently the team worked to prepare these beautiful dishes!

Overall, it was a wonderful experience and would definitely come back. The menu is unique and changes seasonally.

OMG!! We visited GES a couple years ago and returned tonight! What an absolute delight!! We booked the chefs table bar seating and watched the magic unfold before our eyes! This place is top notch. 5 stars! Amazing service, food and ambiance. The "Wednesday night neighborhood special" delighted my husband with a two course, clam appetizer and grilled pork chop. I feasted on a half chicken that can't be beat. The bread, toasted carrots, ALL delivered tenfold! If you're in the Sonoma area, this is a must-dine treasure. Book in advance. The place opens and fills-up at 5 pm!! Go!! PS Julie W (best wait staff) Diego is the talented chef!!

I can't believe it's taken me this long to eat here. Our dinner was absolutely phenomenal. We tried about 7 different things between us and there isn't one thing we wouldn't order again.

The service was warm and friendly and the restaurant itself is cute and intimate in a lovely setting (it's Glen Ellen, after all).

We ordered:

Smoked sturgeon salad with fried saltines: great flavor and a wonderful way to start the meal

The sourdough: wow! Other this. If you think a good loaf of bread is a magical thing, you need this.

Tomato cream pie with Aleppo pepper: sounds simple but the flavors were complex. Crust was perfect. Chewy, crispy and supple all at the same time.

Rigatoni: With porcini, wild mushrooms and Point Reyes Truffle Toma. Pasta was perfectly al dente and flavor was earthy and decadent.

Brussels sprouts with brown sugar bacon marmalade: I generally prefer my Brussels with a bit of caramelization but the bacon brown sugar goodness made up for it.

Wood-fired cabbage with ssamjang marinated tofu: the star of the show. Flavors were on point. Smokey good cabbage. Pickled carrots for acid. Marinated tofu "scallops" were full of flavor. The biggest surprise of the night.

Flourless chocolate cake with garam masala ganache and bay leaf chantilly: This was so good. It was more like a dark chocolate custard than a cake and the spice from the garam and herbal qualities is the cream just rounded everything out. It was basically a big pile gooey crack.

I cannot recommend this place enough.

Food-Michelin star for many years, for a reason. All I need to say.

I ordered the margarita pizza and added the 5g of black truffles to it. I have never ate a $50 pizza but it was worth every bite.

I had the Cab by the glass (sorry I don't remember the name. The waitress told me she didn't have many by the glass wines and this was sine of them) to accompany it and it was a match made in heaven.

We also ordered the whole Branzino. It was as if the fish was plucked from the water, cooked perfectly in the wood fire oven and the chef just waived a magic wand. Simple , yet so delicious.

Service- top notch. They know their operation.

Ambiance- we sat at the chefs counter and I loved it. It was so relaxing watching the team make amazing dishes then being able to see the patrons reactions to the food. I felt privileged to have that opportunity.

Will definitely be back as it is only an hour drive from my house.

Service was great, food was good... personally missing depth of flavors (sweet, salty, sour, spicy, bitter, umami) from aromatics and spices. For example, pizza sauce tasted like crushed tomatoes and also topped with honey, both on the sweeter side and brussels sprouts were sweet as well, the salt of the bacon helped a bit. Daily bread and the beet dish tasted more complex and balanced; herby, creamy and earthy.

I was hoping for a birthday meal to remember since I've waited a long while to finally get there. We selected a pizza that what was told to us was the crowd favorite. I was underwhelmed, it was missing umami and salt. Garlic, crushed peppers and parmesan cheese would have helped but I don't think you should have to add anything to a $30 pizza.

Dessert was the redeeming factor, Maple bourbon ice cream and the rice pudding were very delicious!

The service is truly what is outstanding here and use of fresh farm ingredients.

Side note when making a reservation:

The alley bar is not described as high top against wall. We thought we were going to be sitting at a bar. Uncomfortable seating and very breezy on a cold day. I would not recommend this for anyone elderly or ADA. Not enough room for full course meal, maybe appetizers and drinks, just dessert, or walk ins only. Kitchen passing food through window right next to us did not feel like a 5 star Michelin dining experience.

Okay hear me out, my colleague (and friend, ofc!) once recommended this place to us and kindly gave us a gift card here ~2 years ago as a wedding gift and we finally redeemed this! Better late than never, eh? It could be worse, I could've accidentally deleted the email whenever I go through my annual digital mailbox purge... Almost time again, innit?

We ordered the following:
- Freshly baked sourdough with black mission figs & rosemary. This was highly recommended by my colleague and I couldn't agree more! The outside was very crispy and inside was super fluffy and moist from the olive oil and the figs had a nice flavor. The cultured butter with olive oil and and sea salt were a nice touch. We also dipped the bread in the marinara sauce from our other starter, 10/10 would recommended
- Wagyu meatballs in marinara sauce: the meatballs were tasty, but I didn't think they tasted any different than other meatballs I've had. The marinara sauce was probably the best part
- Brussels Sprouts with brown sugar bacon marmalade: mmm delicious, with sooooo much bacon! This can be a bit salty if you're not scooping the right ratio of bacon bits to brussels sprouts, as the bacon and marmalade are quite rich. Would definitely recommend this to share even for a party of 4
- Cacio e' pepe white pizza with 5g perigord black truffle: very rich and flavorful, so much umami in every bite from the thin truffle shavings! My partner said it was the best pizza he's ever had in the stateside as it's very savory without being salty! Pretty tough contender imo, the crust had the perfect crunch to it and optimal inner to outer crust ratio. We did end up taking half of the pizza, realizing that may have over ordered for two people... But I'll be damned, the menu descriptions sounded so good (ingredient word salad, NBD).

Wonderful service - we didn't wait too long for the food to come out, and the pacing was perfect. The evening did get quite chilly by sunset, but luckily all seats for the outdoor tables had clean blankets to keep your legs warm and a personal electric heater that was table height. The bathroom is super zen as well - smells like eucalyptus oil? - and I appreciate that there are small towels to dry your hands or face from all the olive oil you inhaled ;)

Glen Ellen Star definitely lives up to the hype my colleague built up and I'm excited to come back the next time we're in Sonoma!