Visited for dinner on May 14th, 2022
The experience and food at Bear is one that I will always remember!
Years back, my friends and I all lived close to each other in the bay area. Since, people have moved and it’s not often we are able to get together. This was one such occasion. We got together earlier in the day in Napa. We kicked the day off with pool-time at one of the nearby resorts. We were supposed to head out to wine tasting in the afternoon, but instead we spent the day catching up at the pool. Don’t you love the feeling of meeting up with friends after years and just picking up where you left off? It’s refreshing and also brings a sense of calm and relaxation along with it.
While at the pool, we made a reservation at Bear, located at Stanley Ranch and were not disappointed!
Anyway, after day at the pool, we got ourselves cleaned up and headed over to Stanley Ranch, which is where Bear is located. I’ll note that while using Google to navigate to Stanley Ranch, it is easy to get lost. And by easy, I mean we got lost! Google does not take you on a direct route through roads that are permissible. So, take a few minutes and map your route prior to heading out. Of course we ended up finding our way to the parking lot and walking up to the restaurant. The grounds are beautifully curated with nice paths through the ‘ranch’.
When you walk into bear you can definitely see that this is a fun and fresh new California restaurant. The decor is modern, and the host was bright and cheerful – definitely good spirits when you walk in. We were lead by the host to our table, which was outside. This was perfect as the weather was delightful. The ambiance of the back patio, watching the sunset while we dined was beautiful. The sky did not disappoint and provided brilliant pastels as our backdrop.
The menu at Bear looks to change seasonally, and we ordered quite a few things so we could have a nice sampler. Also, the wine menu (not pictured) was nicely curated. There were light reds and both California and old world wines.
To start, we ordered the farm vegetables which were slices of raw veggies, mostly consisting of carrots and radishes with a few pieces of endive. Essentially was like hummus and veggies.
We also ordered the sourdough, which came with a very creamy butter. Throughout the evening, we ended up ordering a couple of these little loafs because they were delightfully crispy on the outside and the perfect amount of soft on the inside.
As another share plate, we decided on the sun choke, which came with cheddar yeast and a little bit of a cream sauce (the menu describes it as brown butter, but it tasted more like a light & cool yogurt). The sunchoke (if you’ve never had it) is hard to describe – almost like a potato, but not quite. Best way I can describe the taste & texture of this dish is that it was crispy like a fried sweet potato on the outside and delightfully buttery like a yukon potato on the inside. It was delicious!
We also decided on the crispy rice dish, as we were intrigued by the description. I’m not sure what I was expecting from the menu, but when the fried rice squares arrived, I will say I was intrigued! The texture of the fried rice was perfect. You know when you have a good Bipimbop with the crisp/charred rice at the base? That is what these were – except that delightful crispy rice in every square! The pickles and coconut shavings for the presentation were a nice addition.
In terms of vegetarian entrées, as you can see they didn’t have any on their menu. So, I talked with the server and they offered to make a linguine pasta with a pesto sauce.
The pasta had mushrooms and some freshly grated Parmesan cheese and the noodles definitely tasted like they were freshly made so that was a good plus. I appreciate when a place gets noodles right! The sauce had good flavor and was a bit thin, but still coated the noodles well enough, so I enjoyed each bite. Overall, I think they did a good job with the linguine and if you’re in a pinch like I was, it’s a decent choice, but given the option would try something else next time. As you’ll hear me say a lot – I really wish that they had at least one permanent vegetarian entrée on their menu. This allows folks like myself to feel included and not that they need to make a special request.
As a main entrée the meat eaters in the group got the short rib. When the short rib arrived at the table, the server cut fresh (and large) basil leaves over the plate. The aroma of the herbs was great. Everybody who had it said it was delightful and melted in their mouth. Due to the flavors (and appetites) we actually ended up ordering a second plate so that folks could have some more! I got a high thumbs up from those of my friends who ordered this.
Overall, this place was a delight. You can’t beat the ambiance of being in Napa, particularly on a warm night with a beautiful sunset. The servers were really fun to be around and we laughed with them quite a bit. Also, with their well rounded selection of wines by the glass and by the bottle, you can’t go wrong, even if you just come to share a small bite. Honestly, it’s even a nice place to hang out after your meal is complete! There’s places to sit watch the sunset.
Would definitely recommend a visit if you find yourself in wine country 🙂
~Jeremy
