San Francisco hotels/Napa restaurants

We are heading to San Francisco and Napa in a few weeks and still haven't picked out our SF hotel. Any recs? We will be there our first night, and then 2 nights at the end. Also, what restaurants should we eat at in Napa? Tried for French Laundry but they are booked out for a private event two of our nights and we are wait listed for another. Where else do you recommend? We are staying in Calistoga at the Solage. Thanks!

Re: San Francisco hotels/Napa restaurants

http://warwickhotels.com/san-francisco/

FANTASTIC HOTEL!!
this was my itinerary:
(sorry for ALL the details lol!)

FRIDAY Aug 21
-Arrive SFO 8:01pm.
-Car rental: Dollar, shuttle to car
-Dinner: BOOKED @10:15pm. Cockscomb Restaurant, 564 4th St. (415) 974-0700
-Overnight: The Warwick, 490 Geary St. San Francisco
-Parking: ProPark, 433 Mason St. ($27/24 hours)

SATURDAY Aug 22
-Wake up @5:45am.
-6:11 outbound Powell-Hyde Cable Car to Fisherman’s Wharf
-Lombard Street
-Breakfast @8am: Mr. Holmes Bakehouse, 1042 Larkin St. San Francisco
-Check out @12pm
-Full House house: 1709 Broderick St. San Francisco
-Lunch @1:30: Oxbow Public Market 610 & 644 First St. Napa
-Napa Vineyard options:
Madonna Estate $15,
Acacia $15 (call),
Trinitas Cellars Cave $20
-Dinner: BOOKED @6:30pm. Ad Hoc, 6476 Washington St. Yountville
-Overnight: Wydown Hotel, 1424 Main Street, Saint Helena

SUNDAY Aug 23
-Balloon Ride: BOOKED @ 5:45am. Napa Valley Balloons (Domaine Chandon
Winery) 1 California Dr. Yountville (800) 253-2224
-Yountville Vineyard options:
Odette Estate Winery $15
Goosecross Cellers $20
Paraduxx Cellers $20
-Lunch: Bruschetteria Food Truck, 709 Main St. St Helena 707-301-7188
-St Helena Vineyards options:
Clif Family Winery $20
Prager Winery $20
V. Sattui $15
David Fulton $15
Twomey $15
Castello di Amorosa $25 (includes castle access + tasting)
Sterling Winery $29 (includes aerial tram + tasting)
-Dinner: BOOKED @5:30 Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen, 1327 Railroad Ave., St. Helena
-Spa @7pm: Calistoga Spa Hot Springs, BOOK Mud Bath & 1 Hour Massage $149
-After spa option: @9:30 Auberge du Soleil, 80 Rutherford Hill Rd, Rutherford
-Overnight: Wydown Hotel, St. Helena, CA

Re: San Francisco hotels/Napa restaurants

ad hoc and french laundry = same owners and WAYYYYYYY less expensive.


this was my FAV vineyard. its very small and personal. call ahead to let them know you are coming. best of all, its free! http://www.vincentarroyo.com/


theres also this : http://www.prioritywinepass.com/

its a good deal if you do a ton of tastings.

Message edited 10/6/2015 12:51:57 PM.

San Francisco hotels/Napa restaurants

Wow- this is fabulous!!! Thank you!!!!

Re: San Francisco hotels/Napa restaurants

mr. holmes bake shop is delicious!! walking distance from the Warwick hotel ( 10min? )

also, try to do the hot air balloon ride ( i have the company info in itinerary above) they are THE BEST!!!!! if you're afraid of heights, dont worry! there were a few kids under 5 on the balloon!
we almost landed on someone roof, so we all had to jump out but that was fun

San Francisco hotels/Napa restaurants

Definitely dinner at Auberge du Soleil when the sun is setting. The views from the restaurant are beautiful

Re: San Francisco hotels/Napa restaurants

We went over 5 years ago, so I don't remeber a ton but I do remember having a delicious lunch at Auberge du Soleil. Since we went during daylight, we were able to really enjoy the views from the balcony.

Another must do is a visit to Joseph Phelps winery. The Insignia blend is amazing, but super pricey. We were able to get a glass free by taking their wine blending class, which in itself was a fun activity.

Also had a good experience at Vincent Arroyo. They had heavy pours and kept refilling our glasses.

If you are looking for a quick lunch, Oakville Grocery is a good place to stop for sandwiches.

In San Francisco we stayed at the Fairmont which I remember liking a lot.

San Francisco hotels/Napa restaurants

DH and I just moved back to Ny from the San Fran area. We went to Napa pretty often. This is my list of recommendations I usually send out if people ask:
Napa:

Restaurants
Morimoto’s- I have been here a few times and the food never disappoints. Amazing bone marrow appetizer, my husband said their seafood toban yaki was one of the best dishes he has ever had. Their buri bop is pretty good too.

Celadon- Tapas style food. Can’t go wrong ordering a bunch of tapas for the table and some good wine.

Culinary Institute (in Yountville)- I have had lunch here, and Was here for a gala dinner for a conference we attended. Food is AMAZING and the grounds are really nice too. Some of the larger/commercialized wineries are up this way as well (if you are interested in that), Sterling, Beringer, Castello di Amorosa, etc

The French Laundry (in Yountville)- If you can get reservations… It’s a once in a lifetime experience but $$$. They open reservations 2 months in advance, it took my husband and I about 300 phone calls collectively from 3 phones to get through and we wound up with a 9:00 pm reservation. Food is really good and it winds up being about 13 courses, and you will leave stuffed. But overall we didn’t think it lived up to the hype and have had better tastings elsewhere. Thomas Keller has another restaurant in the area called Ad Hoc (menu changes every week). I have heard good things about it. He also has a bakery called Bouchon, you will stand in a long line to get your food in the morning, but it is really good.

Farm at the Carneros Inn-Food here was really good. Excellent wine selection. They have an outdoor area with fire pits and really nice patio furniture, where I am sure you could have a few drinks and appetizers. You may even be able to have your meal out there. Don’t know if you have a hotel reservation but this place is also a hotel. It looked really nice.

Oxbow market- More casual food with outdoor dining for some places.


Wineries-

If you are looking to do a tour (where someone else drives you around) we have used Platypus tours several times and always had a great time. They will pick you up at your hotel and drive you around to small wineries (usually 4-5) for the day. They also provide lunch. You will be on a bus with other people (usually around 10 total). They have taken us to some really great wineries and at some of them you will get a private tasting.

Hendry (probably one of our favorites)-small family owned, nothing fancy. But we got a tour/tasting from the owner. Great descriptions of wines, how they are made, what to pair them with. Very detailed tasting. The owner is an engineer (invented the molecules used for MRI or something like that) so his descriptions were very technical/scientific which was right up my alley.

Robert Sinskey- They do a small plate food pairing with their wine tasting. Their pinot gris is one of my favs. They also do a farm to table meal, which I assume is really good because their small plates have always been really great.

Sequoia Winery- they have a nice patio where you could bring your own picnic lunch. Pretty extensive range of wines to taste (red and white).

Trefethen- Really nice tasting room (although when I just googled, looks like they have some quake damage).


Other things to do-
Wine Train-we did this for our Thanksgiving dinner. Food was fairly good, nothing spectacular, but I think what you are going for is the ambiance of being on the train. Was dark by the time the train left so we didn’t get to see any of the wineries along the way.

I haven’t done it yet, but I hear the hot springs in Calistoga are really nice.
There are also outlets close, if you like shopping :)

San Fran-

Things to do
Muir Woods- paved/decked walk through the redwoods
Marin Headlands (nice upper view of Golden Gate bridge). If you only have one day in SF I might drive over the bridge on your way from the airport to Napa. If the weather is nice (no fog) stop at Marin Headlands to get pictures. There is a chance it could be foggy on Sunday and then you lose your photo opportunities!
Golden Gate Park-Japanese Gardens are really nice
Fisherman’s Wharf- If you want to do Alcatraz I would book it now, it fills up fast.
Elephant seals at pier 39. You can also do boat tours of the harbor out of here (Gold and Blue Fleet does a nice one).
Ghiradelli Square for ice cream, you can also do the Powell Cable cars right near here.
Cable Car museum-small but pretty interesting, plus they are run by really old GE engines :)

Restaurants
Michael Mina- $$ but really good tasting option with generous wine pairing
Wayfare tavern (it’s owned by Tyler Florence from food network)-Gastropub, kobe tartare and donut dessert were both really good..
Umami-really really good sushi
Fang-good Chinese food, if you go here just ask them for the chef selections for the table. They do this lobster and apple dish that is delicisou.
Fog Harbor Fish House- most restaurants at Pier 39 are touristy, but this one is pretty good for lunch.
Le Garage- If you make your way to Sausalito, this place has a nice view of the harbor and their brunch is really good.

Message edited 10/17/2015 4:17:40 PM.