Perry's Novato — Restaurant in Novato

This was a fantastic experience, not only were waitstaff amazing, the food was great, and the place is perfectly well-designed to have a lovely night out.

First, the location: It's a renovated version of the old Wildfox restaurant, so you still get those lovely views of the hills. There's patio seating, indoor seating, and semi-outdoor seating in an atrium with a fireplace, and we're exited to come by in winter for the fireplace seating. That being said, even on a hot night and with the place packed, the air conditioning is able to keep everyone cool. Noise-wise, it is loud, but the place was honestly packed to the gills, and even then i could still keep up a conversation.

That being said, if you have kids, please do as one very wise set of parents did, and bring a tablet and set of headphones for the little ones. while the menu has some great options for children, it doesn't have anything to distract them while they wait for the food. Wait times aren't the longest, but "isn't that much" is also true for the average amount of patience a very young child possesses. But... this isn't a knock against the restaurant. Perry's never set out to be a all-ages location, it just set out to provide good food in a nice setting, and it does that very well.

The Food: Is dang good. At the table there couldn't be a wilder set of tastes and needs. while we were all diabetic, I had a love of seafood and tend not to go for pastas, another wanted steak and a nice drink, and the last one is allergic to about fifteen different things (one of which being seafood), is vegetarian, and doesn't like to experiment much. At home this tends to turn meals into a rough approximation of a senate meeting trying to pass anything, but here we were able to find something for everyone.

I had the lamb shank, which came just about swimming in it's own marrow and placed on a bed of mashed potatoes, with a side of creamed spinach. The person to my right had the fillet mignon and a very lovely double scotch, because they have an excellent full-service bar here. The last person in our group had the mac and cheese, with tomato bisque, and a whiskey. Their only real issue was a lack of bread to dip in the soup, though they were able to order tiny breadsticks (and the soup came with croutons, which they ended up switching to).

Everything was lovely, but it was slightly under-salted. Honestly while i do consider that a bit of a mark against Perry's, it's not much of one- they have salt and pepper shakers at the table if you need them, and it's better to be under-salted than over. Desserts were fantastic, with a quite lovely brownie and equally good in-house cookies. Price-wise it is on the expensive side, with our total bill and tip being around 190$, but you do get what you pay for.

All and all it was a wonderful experience. Even when the place filled up and everyone was busy, we still got constant attention at our table and the best of service. We'll absolutely...

So glad to have an SF restaurant in Novato, long overdue and glad the old Wildfox place is happening. I can't say enough about how great the bartenders and wait staff are in providing the friendly atmosphere and exceptional and accommodating service. My favorite meal here is the petrale sole. Only one time was it inconsistent, a Saturday night and it was lacking the delicious smooth better caper sauce usually blanketing the delicate fish and seemed fried more than sauteed. The petrale is a zero carb comfort food and delicious. I tried the lamb shank once. It was big and pretty good, and when I went to put it in my to-go box, did fall off the bone. The sauce was yummy but the chewy texture of the meat was disappointing. You can't rush lamb shank or other braised dishes like beef short ribs which I wished they offered. I've also splurged and had the halibut which is a generous hunk of fish, grilled, and topped with a ginger miso sauce. Served on a lovely melange of veggies which would make it carb free except for the fingerling potatoes, but WTH, live a little. The halibut is a gorgeous dish. If you can make this at home, please invite me. I've succumbed to my occasional desire for a big gooey sandwich and ordered the Ruben twice, and less than satisfied each time. The meat is extraordinarily salty and chewy. I'm used to the old Max's sandos where the meat was extra thinly sliced and tender. Also the very good coleslaw serving of about 4 cups is unnecessary. Just too much food on the plate. One day went for broke and had the filet mignon which was perfectly prepared. Comes with two sides, I had creamed spinach and something else which I've forgotten, and again, these side portions are way too big and unnecessary unless you're going to share. I haven't sampled desserts. Bartenders all make a satisfying Manhattan. Once again, wait staff is exceptional. Perry's is a warm, welcoming restaurant which is leaps and bounds over any other restaurant, on a reliable basis, that I've tried in Marin. Thank you Perry's and please keep the happy lights which trim the...

I went in with the fam for a week day dinner and to see the new restaurant. it used to be Wildfox which was a nice & decent place to take the family for a good meal. It was even a decent date place too.

When we went in it was pretty busy. Lots of people, lots of noise. I understand that as it is a new place and everyone and their mama is curious so no big deal there. The look is clean, simple with accents of bay area culture and their own history which is a cool touch. Anyone can walk in and feel comfortable. Not too stuffy, definitely not a dive. Hardwood floors and open spaces so the noise really accumulates. It's even so noisy that if you call in to make a reservation you cant even have a conversation with the host/hostess due to the noise level.

The nice thing is that the food is good. Pretty generous portions (your definitely not leaving hungry) and the pricing is in-line with portions, quality, etc. My only gripe is the fried chicken was a little dry but not the end of the world. We got calamari as an app and it was delicious. All 4 of us really liked it. Breading was right and it wasn't soggy which is one of my pet peeves.

One thing that struck me as odd (really odd actually) is that there was a large table of older folks not far from us and one of them had a medical emergency that required the Novato FD to show up and cart this person out. Emergencies happen and that's just the human condition. What I thought was odd in this case was that their party just remained for a while and talked amongst themselves after NPD carted their friend out. :-0 Hopefully that person is OK.

Anyways, swing by, check it out, have a drink (bar looks decently stocked BTW) and enjoy with friends & family. If you happen to be in the company of Friends & Family just be sure they are the ones to meet you at the hospital after they finish their meals...