LaSalette
| Address: | 452 1st St E, Sonoma, CA 95476, USA |
| Phone: | +1 707-938-1927 |
| Site: | lasaletterestaurant.com |
| Rating: | 4.3 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–2:30PM 11:30AM–2:30PM 11:30AM–2:30PM 11:30AM–2:30PM 11:30AM–2:30PM 11:30AM–9PM 11:30AM–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
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Sherry Li
I have mixed feelings about my experience at LaSalette. On one hand, the food was REALLY really good. But the circumstances of our dinner and the service just made it an awkward experience. We had a 7pm reservation but was in the area early so wanted to know if we can get seated early. The hostess was nice about it but couldnt accommodate us. When 7pm came around, she came to tell us that they couldnt seat us because the people before us were still on their entrees. She apologized profusely because they arrived late for their reservation but she sat them anyway. She offered to give us a table outside, turn the heat lamp on (it was windy and about to rain), and move us in as soon as possible. After about 40 minutes, it started raining too much to be sitting outside, so we went to wait inside. We finally got seated at an inside table after about an hour after our reservation. This by itself wouldnt have bothered me too much. But the service otherwise was very spotty. Our waitress was rarely seen. Our wine glasses sat empty on several occasions. She took forever to come around to check in on us. Im not sure if this is entirely her fault - it could have just been the fact that theyre severely understaffed. But there arent that many tables in the restaurant, so maybe its just an operations management problem. Anyway, the food: 3 item tasting plate: we got the baby octopus, pigs ear salad, and blood sausage. They were all delicious. My favorite was the blood sausage, but the others were very good too. The pigs ear salad was light and refreshing, and I love the texture of pigs ear. Theres a similar dish in Chinese cuisine, which I love, so this reminded me of that homey dish. The baby octopus was very flavorful. Caldo verde: I love soup! This was perfect for the cold rainy day. The consomme is thickened with some potato, so it was a hearty soup, but it wasnt heavy. I liked the linguica, but wished there was a little more in my bowl. Romaine salad: this was a simple salad, and was probably the most plain dish of the evening. The white anchovies were flavorful and very acidic. Scallop appetizer: this was AMAZING! The puree was hearty and citrusy. It went really well with the scallop. After eating the scallop, I wiped the bowl clean of the puree with their bread (which is also amazing!). Fishermans stew: this is a very hearty seafood stew. The broth is VERY flavorful. It was slightly salty for my taste, but with bread, it went very well. The fish was slightly overcooked. All of the seafood was very fresh. It was a delicious savory stew! Fish special - whole branzino: this was wood oven roasted with olives, red peppers and finished with a parsley vinegar sauce. This was absolutely wonderful! Im very snobby about fish and usually find that restaurants overcook fish and ruin it. But the branzino was both fresh and cooked perfectly. The other gripe I usually have with fish is that its flavorless. But the parsley vinegar sauce was very flavorful, without being heavy, and made the fish really easy to eat, despite its size. All in all, the food at LaSalette is amazing. I just hope their service issues are a rare problem. Its definitely a great place to eat, with good value for your money!
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Noah Gauthier
Tough review to write, as the food was approaching 5 stars. Unfortunately, they had some really bad service. Its a small restaurant, so maybe they attack different zones of the table chart with "teams" of servers, but either way we had 3 different people serve us and this created a ton of confusion for them and lead to mistakes. It was super awkward too in that after our food was dropped off nobody checked in on us until the very end when bus boy took dishes and the hostess made her hard-sell for dessert. During the actual meal we didnt know who to flag down for issues (more drinks, more bread ... both of which server #3 told us they were onto as she dropped off our main courses ... and then nobody swung by for over 30 minutes!) I had to leave a subpar tip + comment on the check, and gave cash to the bus/water boy on the way out because he was busting a$$! It just left a sour taste in my mouth as Im by no means a food snob and dont expect absurd levels of service, but this was the one time in Napa/Sonoma where both my wife and I were really pissed that a restaurant would have such good food, but inevitably stain our anniversary dinner via terrible service.
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Veronica P
UPDATE 01.2017 - Came back to Sonoma this year and was so excited to visit this restaurant again. Unfortunately, they changed their menu. They now have all the dishes listed out on their menu and charge either $55 for a 3 course meal or $85 for a 5 course meal. Since today was the first day they were launching the new menu, each course took very long to come out. The bacalhau came out very dry, the cozido was bland, and the São Jorge dessert I would have preferred as an appetizer (two slices of cheese and a small cookie with a sort of jam in the middle). The wild mushroom and the bife had great flavors. The service was great and they even comped one of our 3 course meals to apologize for the wait. We come to Sonoma once a year- hopefully we will see more of their old menu next year. 01.2016 - Great ambiance, great food, great service. The buttery escargot was delicious and the arroz de camarão was full of flavor. Portions are small but satisfying (no giant chain restaurant portions that you never finish). Will definitely recommend this restaurant.
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Elaine Mau
Cute restaurant tucked away in Sonoma square. I had a great time trying all sorts of different items on their menu, but I definitely want to come back to try the rest! I loved starting with the little tasting bites where you can choose 3, 5, or 7 items, great for those who are a bit more adventurous with food. The spicy pig ears and the sardine pate were delightful. I also had their version of paella, which included mussels, scallops, clams, chicken, and linguisa. This had great flavors and was super comforting. I liked how their menu differed from most restaurants… a great find indeed!
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Rachel Spiegel
After being in Portugal this summer, this restaurant brought me back with its incredible food. My mom and I started with the foie gras, then she got Portuguese fishermans stew, and I the special of the night - grilled whole branzino. The fish was cooked & seasoned perfectly with crisp, flaky crust, served atop fingerling potatoes and tomatoes. The flavors of all the dishes were excellent. The staff was friendly and prompt, checking in on us the right amount and quick to accommodate us. We will eat here again next time were in Sonoma!
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Betsey Shapiro
What a nice dining room with old-school elegance - beautiful table settings. The menu is Portuguese, a cuisine that we werent very familiar with, but enjoyed everything we ordered. Loved the fact that we could order a 5-item tasting plate, so we could try new things. We also had a the Portuguese wine flights, red for him, white for me. An extra amuse bouche and the dinner finished with a handmade truffle. We felt very special dining here.
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A Private User
Just on a whim, because the restaurant that we were going to go to was closed. So we ended up La Salette. The service was very attentive, the food was a pure delight and the atmosphere was just right. My wife had the Mediterranean Sea Bass whole, that was out of this world, one of the best I have ever tasted. I had the Portuguese version of Jambalaya, it was out of this world! Save room the the chocolate desert mmmmm....
