Author: GCS

Restaurant @Wente Winery
5050 Arroyo Road, Livermore
http://www.wentevineyards.com/restaurant/menus/
Review date:  May 2010

We took our friends Mel and Christie to the Restaurant at Wente Vineyards, which has been around forever although we’ve never gotten around to trying it before. It’s a rather ordinary-looking compound of white stucco buildings on a back road, so if it hadn’t been for the GPS telling us to make a U-turn, we wouldn’t have realized we had blithely driven past the entrance!

Oddly enough they’ve never been reviewed by the SF Chron food critics, an oversight that surprises me. The restaurant’s reputation has gone up and down, but recent diner reviews on OpenTable persuaded me to select it. Valet parking is complimentary. It’s lovely inside, making you forget that oddly industrial exterior.

There’s several moderate-sized dining rooms, so although the noise level can be energetic it isn’t deafening, which is a relief. We had an excellent waiter as well, which helps make the dining experience all the more pleasant. There’s good views out towards the garden and vineyards, and had it been warmer we might have ventured to sit outside on their expansive outdoor patio. Alas, it was sunny but very windy, so we chose to stay indoors.

They have ‘Nibbles’ as well as ‘Starters.’ I ordered a couple of these to start with – mixed olives with garlic, glazed spicy nuts, grilled fresh fava beans in the pods. They were a nice way to start the meal. Mel and Carlos decided to split the double prime rib entrée, and Carlos started with a clam chowder as well.

This was an interesting variant on clam chowder – steamed clams in the shell, with the resulting broth used to make a soup with just a bit of cream. There was a little too much onion in it for my taste, but it was a nice change from the usual version. Carlos was okay with it, but wouldn’t order it again (he’s a clam chowder traditionalist).

The prime rib came medium-rare as requested, with sides of potato gratin with Swiss cheese, and kale from the garden outside. The meat was very nicely trimmed, with a mild flavor and the slightly chewy texture of range-fed beef. Mel had never had kale before, and liked it very much.

Christie got the pork chop with bleu cheese polenta and a few grilled radicchio leaves. The polenta was fine-milled resulting in a creamier texture than she was used to, and the bleu cheese added a wonderful savoriness. The pork chop, which the waiter said was their most popular dish, was outstanding. It had the smokiness of bacon, was thick and juicy, and amazingly tender. Altogether, an inspired dish for meat-lovers that deserves its popularity.

I chose two of the starters: a pork confit with kale, seedless grapes and tiny cippollini onions. The confit also had a smoky taste similar to Christie’s pork chop, but was in soft shreds formed into a small cake that was nicely crisped on each side. The side of kale was yummy, even though I’m not usually a fan of grapes with leafy greens. I also got the fritto misto, a mix of squid, green beans, fennel and lemons, in crispy batter with lemon aioli. Carlos really liked the one piece of squid I doled out to him, but the rest of it I happily finished myself.

We finished with a cappuccino for Carlos – a bit milky but a nice bitter blend – and three desserts with a late harvest Reisling (2007 Wente Small Lot Arroyo Seco) to share. The vanilla marscapone cheesecake was creamy and delicious, especially with wonderful fresh raspberries. Mel’s chocolate torte was actually a mousse with whipped cream, tasting like a really good chocolate pudding. Christie opted for the almond sponge cake, which was actually a trio of desserts: a small round almond paste sponge cake, a blueberry/blackberry cinnamon crumble (they called it a ‘bushberry crumble’) and a remarkable Bellwether Farms Sheep’s Milk Frozen Yoghurt – it was like eating an ethereal mild goat cheese, very nice.

I had advised the restaurant that we were celebrating double birthdays for our friends. Unlike Lake Chalet who blithely ignored my notation about my MIL’s birthday, Wente decorated Mel’s and Christie’s dessert plates with “Happy Birthday” in drizzled chocolate, which was appreciated.

Overall we were very pleased with our meal here. The food was very good, the service was excellent, and it’s a handsome restaurant. The entrees are a substantial size, to the point where I’d choose a 2-course meal instead of three courses. All this food came at a very reasonable price, as well. The two ‘nibbles, two starters, three entrees, three desserts, three beverages, one glass of wine, with tip came to $301. This was not much more than what Carlos and I paid for the two of us at Madrona Manor in Healdsburg, and was certainly more satisfying.