The Matheson — Restaurant in Healdsburg

To me, The Matheson seems like four different experiences that co-exist under one roof. On the first floor, there are three distinct spaces - the bar area/wine wall, the chef’s counter, and the dining room. Then there is the rooftop bar (Roof 106) on the third floor which has its own listing on Google Maps, but often gets reviewed here as well. I think to really enjoy this place, you need to choose your space carefully.

We were at The Matheson from about 4 to 7 PM on a Tuesday, and this is how I would describe the different areas. The bar/wine wall quickly filled up with Gen Z and Millenials who were drinking cocktails, pouring from the wine wall, and ordering from the Happy Hour menu (the burger and the beef tartare seemed particularly popular). Very different from the chef’s counter which felt like the retirement home of the restaurant (basically old couples). The first floor dining room was mostly empty until about 6 PM when it started filling up quickly with a mixed crowd of all ages. The rooftop bar was mostly 20-something tourists and middle-aged hipsters until about 5 pm when it started getting loud when the locals started showing up. Just my impressions.

We had pre-dinner drinks at the rooftop bar and then had dinner at the chef’s counter. This is a review of the chef’s counter.

So just to clear up one thing - this is not a chef’s table or an interactive experience where the cooks are serving you the food. This is counter-style seating that looks directly at the open kitchen with waiters serving everything. The super-personable Chef Valette came over a few times to chat which was nice, but it’s more of a voyeuristic experience. With that said, the food was very good and generously portioned. The 3 course Spring Menu for $55 with accompanying wines for $28 is a very good deal right now. We ordered a la carte though and asked the sommelier to pair wines by the glass with our food and were not disappointed. If you enjoy wine, I would highly recommend that you ask for suggestions because they have lots of by-the-glass offerings, and you may find a wonderful combination that you would not have tried otherwise. As far as prices, given the restaurant is located right on the square in super-bougie Healdsburg, I thought it was reasonable. If you are price conscious, there is the Happy Hour menu (which actually looked pretty good) but it’s only available at the bar from 4-6 PM (daily). Overall, the service was friendly and professional, but then again, we were seated at 5 PM, so it was still relatively empty and quiet for most of the time we were there.

We ate at Valette (Chef Valette’s other Healdsburg restaurant) the night before and personally, we liked The Matheson better because of the bigger selection of wines and the open kitchen. But the food is great at both places. The Matheson is just a louder,...

If you want a good $350 meal for two, go to Starks.

If you want a halfway decent meal, a good ambiance, and to be treated like a human, go to Francis Ford Coppola winery. You may save some money, but not much.

If you want to waste $350 on two people and regret it, go here.

Staff is pretentious, judgey, and uppity. If you don’t wear a 3 piece suit, you’re not treated very well. I wear suits for work, so why can’t I wear a carhart shirt and enjoy a meal? I would have been happier had I just been denied and told there was a dress code. Then I might come back.

The place looks like a scene from the movie “The Menu” which is a horror film.

The “chef” as they like to nonstop refer to him/her/they, obviously went to chef school, maybe CIA, and just fell in love with flavors, using an insane amount of them. I get that these flavors are exciting and that you can enhance flavors ten fold with other ingredients, but this was over the top and the flavors are too much. “Chef” needs to go to the willowwood and taste their hollandaise sauce, or go to Starks and taste their free bread. That is how subtle flavors will win over most people. Maybe food critics like this over the top taste, but it’s too much. Hopefully this critique doesn’t get me on “The Menu 2.”

Why I say judgey: I have been on the roof a few times and it seems like they have a completely different menu and vibe. I love it up there. The food is great and so are the staff. I tried to take my wife here for a date night but was not allowed upstairs.

I asked for outside thinking it would be the roof. Nope. It’s in the back. We should have left but we tried it. For a $350 meal, this place is no good. We are sat in a back alley, the staff treats you like crap, until you spend $350, and then magically they invite you upstairs to go on the roof. They told me the roof was full when I got there and they put me on a waitlist. They said no, it’s too full. So now that you see I can afford my dinner I am allowed to go upstairs. I just went to the Final Edition where I can feel like I am wanted as a guest.

To clarify, the server was very good. He was actually the only non-judgey person there. This is NOT a reflection on the one server who helped us. He is amazing. He went out of his way to make the night bearable. It was literally everything else.

I worked in restaurants for about a quarter of my life. I almost never bash restaurants. This place is just not for me. This is the vibe I expect at a Lamborghini dealership. If you want to feel rich and are willing to dress nice for this night, this is your place. They will treat you like a...

I really wanted this not to be as good as it was, because now I’ll want to be here every night it’s open. We’ve popped in for dinner at Rooftop 106 twice and just laughed about how good it was, and how reasonable, before finally snagging a table downstairs for our anniversary dinner. Turns out my sister made a surprise swing through town and we thought we’d have to cancel, seeing as how insanely busy they always are, but honestly, they could not have been kinder about accommodating a party of 3 instead of 2. We felt terrible taking up prime real estate but Carl, our server, was so amazing and kind and his SA Charles was also fab- and we felt like family straightaway. We started with the sushi- and it was all it’s cracked up to be- trying 2 rolls to share, and the corn soup as our starter. Something about the corn soup felt incredibly nostalgic to both my sis and I. I’ve rarely had a food evoke such a distinct memory like this. We each had an entree and while each was superb, I won the plate war with the halibut. Again, I don’t know if it evoked some childhood memory or what, but we were all fighting over my last bites- the flavor combination of the charred veg, the pickled accoutrements and the hollandaise just made the incredible, clean, freshness of the fish explode and, honestly, had other people not been around, I probably would have picked up my plate to lick it clean. (Other entree selections were the salmon and duck) Dessert was also a stand-alone rockstar event. If you can’t do the whole dinner bit but can pop in after for dessert and drinks- highly recommend. We’ve been fortunate enough to dine in Michelin starred kitchens all over the world, and I can’t say I’ve enjoyed any meal more. Kudos to Chef Valette and his incredibly talented team. We loved it so much, we sent a round of beers to the kitchen. We are so excited and lucky to have you...