Troubadour Bread & Bistro — Restaurant in Healdsburg

Our visit in early August 2024. A couple of points to clarify as this is not apparent initially. Dinner is reservation only and prix fixe. It is expensive, $175 p.p. without wine. You must pay in advance. In addition, a 20% gratuity is added, also paid in advance. You discover when clicking through to reserve as I cannot locate on the web site.

I understand the prepaid tab in the current era of reserving and cancelling at the last moment, especially for such a small house.

However, I found the prepaid gratuity a little presumptuous. If it is a gratuity, I would prefer to have had been consulted on the percentage as I am not ungenerous. Perhaps it might be more diplomatic to have called this a service fee. Or do as many other local restaurants have done and roll the fee into the prices and note “service compris”. Further gratuities could be encouraged. Something to consider.

As it turned out, the service was impeccable and the tip was reasonable in light of the complexity of the service.

The food was very precise and well prepared, with beautiful unique plating and utensils for each course, teetering on the edge of twee without ever quite going over.

Wine list was remarkably short for a wine country location and heavily tilted to expensive bottles (multi-hundreds $). The wines we enjoyed were quite good, reasonably priced considering, and carefully served.

The room meets expectations for an upscale sandwich shop, but might be found a bit plain for the elegant dining experience. Not a hardship at all in any case, room to move around and comfortable chairs. Somewhat unpleasant music.

Overall, a fine evening and worthy of consideration....

We went to Troubadour for an anniversary dinner. Chef’s Table. Why not? Reviews were great.

Boy, were we surprised - on the upside! Great reviews do not suffice. It was a magnificent meal.

We first were led through the kitchen and a prep room round a corner to a sanctuary of peace and gustatory calm. A large oak table, two pendants hanging, a simple table setting for two. (Could be for 4 or 6 I’m sure) The room to ourselves. The service was perfect, attentive, not fussy, everyone introducing themselves, then introducing the dish. LPs and a turntable. Cookbooks and herbs surround. Subdued lighting off the table. Bright and spotlighting on the food on the table. Serene and welcoming.

I will not describe each course, as surprise is part of the joy. But a refreshing mini crushed iced up cherry cola started us off. Then followed a progression of small plates, each ordered to pique our tastebuds and surprise us with flavor combos. Crisped chicken skin and crème fraiche brics rolls. Egg custard caviar (that doesn’t do it justice). A trout dish were the trout, superb in its own right, was architecture for the plums to shine. Balero ginger candied carrot plate, not to be missed. Halibut with lobster cream disc and harlequin cut pickled butternut jewels. Squab two ways (at least). And from a bakery driven kitchen, desserts …. I cannot emphasize how much this dinner delighted us. French leaning small producer intriguing wine list, with local as well.

Please do the Chef’s Table. We will again. We will be back.

Thank you. Thank...

This review is only for the evening restaurant at the Chef's table.

If you want to experience fine dinning in a very private setting, this is the place to go. But make sure you reserve the Chef's table which can accommodate four people from the same group (I guess they can fit six if you cordially request). The Chef's table is located in the back of the kitchen, in a room that can be described in many ways. Nothing glamourous, yet the soft music, the cookbooks or the pile of flour bags give this room it's own place in a conversation. But it's only you and your closed ones and time will go by quickly.

About the food: absolutely terrific in combining the five taste. In the main sections, each dishes will make you feel all five. Don't expect the grandeur of presentation that you see in another restaurant nearby. But we were there for the food and it did not disappoint. The ingredients were fresh, mostly locally resourced and overall perfectly balanced in proportion, at least for us.

Service is what you expect from the best restaurants. We never felt the service was rushed, contrary the opposite. Also we never had a moment when we felt unattended.

If you are into wine and things, must try the pairing. What a fun experience that so beautifully complemented the dishes.

Chef Sean and the team, thank you for your service. This is one of the restaurants we would surely like to revisit in...