New Restaurant Openings in Napa Valley

The restaurant market in Napa Valley is expanding with many new locales already open and some that will debut shortly.

Alex: Located in the long-vacant space that used to house La Toque in Rutherford, Alex is an Italian restaurant owned by sommelier Alessandro Sbrendola, who brought on Nick Ritchie, former chef de cuisine of Bottega, to focus on cooking that is inspired by the regions of Liguria and Romagna.

Brassica: Formally Go Fish, owner Cindy Pawleyn opened Brassica a little more than a month ago. The cuisine is Mediterranean-based which serves as a great backdrop for the extensive by-the-glass wine list featuring small, local producers.

French Blue: This restaurant will open in the space that used to house Vanderbilt in St. Helena by Howard Backen, who has designed such high-profile places as Press and the new Ram’s Gate Winery and Harlen Estates. The dining room will seat 65 and will be open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food will be inspired from partner’s Leslie Rudd’s three gardens. No chef has been named yet, and the opening has been pushed back to February.

Redd Wood: Chef Richard Reddington is taking over this Yountville space that housed the short-lived Cantinetta Piero. Redd Wood will be a pizzeria and it is expected to be opened by the end of the year.

Farmstead: Not a new restaurant, but Farmstead received a new chef when Steven Barber took over the kitchen this summer and revamped the American-inspired menu.

Bardessono: This restaurant has been opened for two year, but well-respected chef Victor Scargle recently took over the kitchen and the place is beginning to receive a good buzz. Scargle is a Chronicle Rising Star in 2004.

Source: Inside Scoop San Francisco

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