At the end of a full day of wine tasting in Napa Valley with a bunch of friends, you’d think you wouldn’t be up for a heavy meal and yet, that’s exactly what we did.
We headed south to Santa Rosa, CA, which is a centrally located place to stay if you plan to do a few days of tasting in the area.
Through a recommendation, we landed at Riviera Ristorante, a family owned and operated Italian Restaurant whose inspiration comes from Mediterranean and local cuisines. They’ve been around for over 25 years and yet, I hadn’t been there despite the fact that I do visit friends in north Marin and beyond a few times a year.
Their main dining room has a cathedral ceiling, and there’s also a quaint and intimate garden room or al fresco under the arbor street side of the restaurant.
The table ordered fried calamari since its such a perfect dish to share and has substance to soak up several hours of cabernet sauvignon splashes and tastes.
Additionally, we opted for the Grilled rustic Italian bread, fresh tomatoes, basil and Tuscan Extra Virgin Olive Oil and the Thinly sliced raw filet mignon served with capers, arugula, lemon and Tuscan Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
Also to share, they have fabulous salads, such as their Arugula served with golden beans, fennel, goat cheese and balsamic vineagrette dressing.
A friend and I split the organic sonoma mixed greens with dried cranberries, candied almonds and tomatoes. (I wanted them….there’s very few things that don’t go well with tomatoes). 
If we had more mouths to feed, I think we would have also ordered the organic radicchio salad served with pears, gorgonzola cheese and fennel (love fennel) and tossed in a balsamic vinaegrette.
My only quirky thing was the fact that they didn’t have a wide array of dressings to choose from – it was either honey dijon mustard or balsamic and I’m not a huge fan of either.
The pasta more than made up for it though and certainly the greens were fresh and inviting. While they have a roasted rack of lamb, a half chicken, a New York steak and two veal entrees, the place is so authentically Italian, you may as well go for one of their delicious pasta dishes or as photographed above, the sauteed prawns, artichoke hearts and sun dried tomatoes or the prawns and scallops veneziana. Yum!
Our table sampled plenty, ranging from the Spaghetti Gran Fondo with seasonal vegetables, garlic, olive oil and dry ricotta, a richer fettuccine bolognese with meat sauce (or you can get with Italian sausage and broccoli), and the even richer Strozzapreti Scott Nydam with smoked chicken, peas, and a wild mushroom sauce. I ordered the latter but with a thinner flatter noodle and tomato sauce.
There’s also the Trofie from Recco: Traditional pesto with potatoes and green beans or the to-die for homemade wild porcini mushroom with cream or fresh tomato basil.
It was a great experience and the service is top notch!! We’d definitely recommend it when you’re venturing to northern California or are in the San Francisco Bay Area. For more food/wine posts, check these out, and also for California food/wine reviews and experiences. Photo credits: Renee Blodgett.
Renee Blodgett is the Founder and Managing Editor of We Blog the World, a global travel, culture and lifestyle publication exploring the world through the lens of meaningful experiences, human connection and cultural depth. Having lived in 10 countries and traveled to 95, Renee has spent much of her life immersed in the people, traditions, landscapes and ideas that shape how we experience the world.
Since launching We Blog the World in 2007, she has written and produced extensive editorial coverage spanning boutique and luxury travel, culinary experiences, arts and culture, wellness, adventure, technology, spiritual traditions and transformative travel. Her work is rooted in the belief that travel is about more than where we go—it is also about what a place, culture or encounter awakens within us.
Renee brings more than three decades of experience across journalism, photography, media, brand strategy, technology, wellness and global storytelling. She has worked with companies and organizations around the world on brand positioning, communications, product launches, media strategy, speaker positioning and storytelling. Through Blue Soul Media, she works with authors, entrepreneurs, thought leaders and purpose-driven brands to clarify their message and expand their impact, which includes speaker coaching/training for high-profile stages such as TED and bringing authors’ work to market while retaining authors rights.
She is also the co-founder of Blue Soul Earth, an educational platform exploring consciousness, ancient wisdom, spirituality, healing and the intersection between science and the nature of reality. Renee is the producer and host of the award-winning Blue Soul CHATS, a conversational series bringing together leading voices in science, technology, consciousness, wellness and spirituality.
Her growing body of work also includes Blue Soul Living, which extends her interest in consciousness and well-being into the spaces we inhabit, exploring how intentional design, energy and environment can support greater harmony and connection.
Renee is the award-winning co-author of the bestselling Magdalene’s Journey and founder of the Magdalene Collection, inspired by women’s voices, stories and wisdom across cultures and generations.
A longtime photographer and storyteller, Renee has documented people, places and cultures around the world and produced photographic collections focused on destinations including the Galápagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome and Ecuador. She also co-founded Traveling Geeks, an international initiative that brought entrepreneurs, journalists, creators and technology leaders together with their counterparts in other countries to exchange ideas and explore innovation across cultures.
Renee’s work has been recognized by Forbes, the United Nations and others for her influence in media and social storytelling. Across her work in travel, media, consciousness and culture, a common thread remains: curiosity about the world, the stories that connect us and the ways meaningful experiences can change how we see ourselves and one another.
