Catelli's Restaurant — Restaurant in Healdsburg

My boyfriend and I came here the Saturday before Valentine's Day to celebrate. I called and made a reservation and was informed that the patio was the only thing available -- which I agreed to because it's heated. We arrived a little early and pushed through the mass of people standing around haphazardly around the bar to get to the hostess stand. Our reservation was at 7:30 and they close at 8, we arrived at 7:20 to be courteous of the kitchen and waitstaff.

We were promptly ignored by both women at the hostess stand for about 3 minutes before I spoke up and asked to check in for our reservation. They saw we were a little early and the older hostess said she would go check on our table--- then went behind the bar for the next 15 minutes while we stood there waiting to figure out what was going on.

The younger hostess was either clueless or just didn't care. She watched us stand there past our reservation time and never checked in with us or let us know about a table. After I walked back up to the stand she asked if I had checked in, I gave her my name and informed her the other woman said she was going to check on our table-- and without missing a beat, said 'oh ok!' and turned her back on me.

They then called for my name party of two after another 5 min... I walked up to the hostess stand... Ignored again. Another couple pushes past me and she claims to have the same name--- I am obviously confused by this-- I asked the hostess if there were two different Mollys-- she says not to her knowledge and I inform her that I believe someone just took my table. She says she will check and turns away to another customer again. My boyfriend follows them because at this point we have been standing with zero direction or offer to get anything at the bar or a seat-- NOTHING-- just standing aimlessly in a very crowded room for 30 min. Turns out there was a second Molly--after that delightful embarrassment, we still had to wait 5-10 minutes for our table, being seated closer to 8pm.

At the table, service was still subpar. We waited 15 min for someone to get our drink order and at least 20 minutes for some water.

The food was very good and the wine list was a decent selection. This was honestly hard to enjoy after the clusterF-- of a front of the house wait we experienced.

Additionally, there is a bar next door with live music-- just so you're aware of that little feature for the patio seating.

We started with the garlic bread, which was excellent. I had a glass of the Old Vine Red, Beet Salad and Chicken Cacciatore-- all were great and if I could get them elsewhere, I'd love to enjoy them again.

The beets in the salad were a bit small for my personal preference, I like larger cubes or slices-- but there were lots of them. I highly recommend the goat cheese on top of the beet salad as well. The chicken was delicious and very tender, with a wonderful balanced sauce, served over a perfectly cooked polenta.

My boyfriend did not enjoy the meat ravioli, but did say the minestrone was very good. I tasted the Minestrone and it had a wonderful flavor-- great to dip the garlic bread in.

However, based on my experience in total at Catelli's, I do not...

It’s been a long time since I’ve left a restaurant and immediately started trying to find an excuse to book my next reservation. But Chef Domenica Catelli and the entire team at Catelli’s achieved this, and then some!

Knowing that this was a special dinner for me and my friends visiting from out of town, the service team welcomed us with an incredible surprise of fresh prosciutto, house made burrata, arugula and toasted bread along with the sweetest welcome note. What a way to start!

When you think home style Italian in America, many of us think rich sauces, heavy entrees, and large portions. While the third point couldn’t be more true her(thanks to my friend Annie for the leftover pasta!) our entrees were full of flavor, made with fresh local ingredients and so nice and light that we couldn’t help sharing amongst the three of us. My friends had the fresh pasta with butter and cheese (simplicity at its finest), Chef Domenica’s famous lasagna (not your grandmas lasagna.. and I mean that in the best way possible!) and I had the Chicken Parmigiana served in a cast iron skillet. Gorgeous presentation, beautifully cooked crispy chicken, and a delicate topping of fresh mozzarella and a light, yet savory tomato sauce.

Since we weren’t completely stuffed from our meal, we opted for two desserts to share, the chocolate molten cake with rich (yes, this one was rich… and the crowd favorite!) dark chocolate and the tiramisu which was equally delicious.

The meal was paired with five-star service from the entire team, from our server (I’m kicking myself for forgetting his name but he was a young gentleman and exemplified wine country hospitality to a T) to the manager who graciously came to check on us at the end of the meal. And yes, the wine did flow from the bottle of local Dry Creek Valley Pinot that we all shared.

As a local Santa Rosan who should have gone to Catelli’s a long time ago when I moved out here, I recommend you don’t just walk, but run, to Catelli’s on your next visit to Geyserville. From the intimate decor to the classic Italian fare and warm, gracious service, you’ll be ready to plan your next...

This is the third time coming here, and now I will write my review. The first time I came the food was too salty. The second time the homemade pasta wasn't good. The third visit I ordered chicken Parm over polenta. The dish came in a ceramic trivit on a small wooden board. It was so Fricken hot! I had to wait a full 15 minutes ad the other diners were digging into their entrees. I wife ordered Chicken Marsala, I couldn't believe how dry the chicken was. The sauce was really runny. It had the consistency of water. I dipped a piece of garlic bread into it to soak it up. It just made it unpleasant. As I was waiting for my dish to cool off a bit, I mad several slices into the chicken to release some heat. Someone passed me some Ceasar salad. It was ok, a bit over dressed for my palate but I was hungry, and I needed to eat something as I was drinking and filing up on bread. When I finally was able to take a few bites of my chicken parm, I couldn't believe how dry this was too. The red sauce was bland. What the heck, did anyone taste this sauce before putting it on anything? The polenta was ok, but I had better. We were brought a plate of a dessert sampler of petit fores and mini canolis and a piece of red velvet cake. I'm pretty sure they were all bought because they were sitting in there original wrapper and folded up the sides of the desserts. I was taught never to put it on the plate if it can't be eaten. This place gets great reviews, and it's setting is a very small downtown of Geyersville. It's a great location and there's no wifi. The wine was great, and the bill was extremely outrageous. There was a huge line waiting for tables when we left so I'm sure if you get tipsy at the bar, you won't notice the flavor of the food. Good people who own the restaurant, but they need to spend a little more time in the kitchen perfecting the flavors that...