Located in the h2hotel, the ultra chic Spoonbar was a must try on our recent Sonoma wine country weekend. The joint was packed every night, but fortunately we were able to make a day-before reservation for four.
h2hotel with Spoonbar at ground level
stunning community table at Spoonbar
This place has a really open, warm feel, surrounded by tall picture windows overlooking the street, with lots of gorgeous exposed wood, comfortable stylish seating and flowing bars. There’s even a fascinating water fountain at one entrance made up of hundreds of spoons that move as the water tinkles past.
They’ve embraced an eat-local style of gastronomy. Many of the ingredients come from Northern California. Their web site particularly recommends their small bites and specialty cocktails, which they call potions. I tried the Smokey Local, a kind of Manhattan made partially of local things, including the delightful Qi Black Tea Liquor produced in the Bay Area. Delicious.
The menu was a bit all over the place, offering standard American fare, like burgers and fries; various Italian inspired dishes; and more exotic things with descriptors like “Moorish,” “Moroccan” and “Mediterranean.”
We arrived a bit early for our 8PM reservation, thinking that we’d wait at one of the crowded, cool bars, but they sat us immediately. Two of us started with cocktails and we had wine for the table.
We all shared a few appetizers and salads. The “mixed breads served with all three spreads” was really enjoyable. The three were the Mediterranean hummus, Moroccan eggplant and a white bean dip.
our cute tray of four appetizers
We ordered a dish of four small plates: batter fried shrimp, giant beans in some kind of olive tapenade, cucumber and tiny mozzarella balls wrapped in prosciutto. All of these were good (Hegui and I skipped the forth).
I was amazed by the Heart of Romaine salad with Lemon Cured Sardines and Caesar Dressing. The fish were huge and really flavorful. Hegui ordered the chicory salad with candied walnuts, which, though a bit bitter, was cleansing and enjoyable.
Heart of Romaine salad with Lemon Cured Sardines and Caesar Dressing
Hegui and Veronica toasting life at Spoonbar
pan seared salmon with root veggies
pasta with shellfish: look how messy the plate is, right from the kitchen
Veronica had the pumpkin stuffed pasta
chicory salad with candied walnuts
For my main, I got the spaghettini with shellfish in a seafood sauce. I only took a bite, as I ended up trading with my friend Karen, who ordered the pan seared salmon with root veggies. She has a real phobia of beets, and though she asked the waiter specifically, the dish arrived with lovely little beet cubes. I’m not much of a salmon fan but can tolerate it. The bed of smoky Swiss chard that it came with appealed to me. Hegui also had the salmon (we had initially planned on sharing) but he liked the fish but didn’t care for the chard.
Too full for dessert, we ordered it anyway. Karen and Veronica both selected the chocolate cake. It was a bit of a disappointment, as it arrived cold and tasted more or less like an ordinary brownie.
By chance, the night we were there, a colleague of mine from work was sitting with his wife and some of his friends at the next table. Since we were about 90 miles from home, that seemed uncanny. I had hoped to chat with them after their meal, but they left abruptly. On Monday we spoke about it. Apparently his party was so dismayed by the dreadful service that all eight of them ran out of there as soon as they could. Only after they left did he remember that he forgot to say goodnight.
messy salt shakers should be cleaned after
salt mingling with my dessert spoon
the pretty but rather sad chocolate cake
And it is true. Service was bad. We waited a long time for the waiter to mosey around to our table to take our order. Drinks arrived slowly though the wine, much quicker. Actually the young energetic guy acting as sommelier was really pretty good and attentive. Otherwise, we started to believe the drought was back on, after the endless delay for our water to be refilled. The food arrived at a slower-than-leisurely pace, and when the dishes were cleared, the table was never wiped, so large salt piles that leaked from the miniscule salt mill marred our table through dessert. Not cute.
We had a big debate about what to tip. I gave less than I normally do, though more than I wanted, committee procedures being what they are. I would try Spoonbar again sometime, perhaps in six months or a year, when hopefully they will have gotten their act together. If you were just going for a cocktail and perhaps a small bite or two, then no problem.
our miserably empty jar of h2O
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Oh no, sorry to hear about the service! It’s always such a let-down when the food is decent but the service is horrific…it’s hard to want to go back. But like you said, maybe over time they will improve. I have to say, the decor is lovely though, and I’d love to see that fountain made of spoons!