Sonoma Bistro — Restaurant in Rutherford

The popular Sonoma Bistro I originally bookmarked this spot for brunch per reviews I read and pics I had seen. I was open like a teenager having their first crush LOL. After getting some intense competitive bowling with the fam on Father's Day we worked up an appetite and I saw them on my Yelp bookmarks only 2 miles away from Bowlero even though it was not brunch I said I wanted to try them out and the fam agreed. Google maps folks because if you are not familiar with this area you could pass it and may kill someone breaking your neck trying to look for it while driving. This is based on my dinner experience

Customer Service: (3.5 out of 5 Stars) The staff was friendly and upbeat. Very helpful when we arrived and answering questions about the menu. Made a couple of errors on the final bill and disappeared for a minute at one time we thought dude got kidnapped LOL but overall okay.

Food: (4 out of 5 Stars) The food was surprisingly Very Good. My Chicken Parm Linguine was VERY GOOD especially the chicken. Perfect tenderness and flavor. The Linguine itself was good could have been cooked a little longer in my opinion and the sauce was very good. The "Chicken Empanadas" stuffed with chicken chilate was also pretty decent had a surprising kick at the end of but it did not over power the taste of the chicken itself inside. The "Garlicious Penne" Spicy Italian sausage, escarole, plum tomatoes in a garlic white wine sauce tossed with penne with Parmesan topping was REALLY REALLY Good from the sample I had. That sauce was HEAVEN on a plate. The fam enjoyed the food overall and said they would come back and the plates were clean lol which is always a good sign. One major plus for me was all the dishes came out Piping HOT so no worries about food getting cold for those like me who hate cold Italian food which is not sexy. The Quantity VS Cost/Quality ratio was a plus because the food was good and prices were not bad overall. (Insert Thumbs Up Emoji Here)

Decor/Ambiance: (3.5 out of 5 Stars) Nothing that will blow you away but it is simple and comfortable. Well spaced to have privacy with your eating party. Decent view of the street and other stores for my nosey people out there lol. Solid atmosphere and decor overall nothing special just right.

Overall food was very good. Parking can be annoying depending on when you go. I will definitely be back to try the brunch which was the reason why I bookmarked this business in the first place lol. Just need to tighten up on the customer service a little bit but other than that I was pleasantly surprised by the dinner...

The Grand Re-Opening In 2015, a new restaurant opened their doors at the location that was home to Kracke Florist for years. A few other eateries tried to make a go of it there when Kracke closed, but they just weren’t able to find the recipe for long lasting success. Then rumor had it that a chef from the demolished Rutherford House restaurant was taking over the corner spot AND he was bringing back the famously delicious and sorely missed Rutherford House salad. This was an exciting moment. We had to check it out. It was just as we remembered it. The rest is history. The owners of Sonoma Bistro knew the recipe for success and had it safely in their pocket. Great food, exceptionally friendly service, hard work and determination, and Sonoma quickly became a success and staple restaurant in our community. For my family and friends Sonoma has become “our go to” restaurant, a place where we are treated like family and we know we will be guaranteed a delicious meal. It IS our home away from home. Recently Sonoma acquired a liquor license in what was once a dry town. It was a bittersweet moment for us as we were sad to see the BYOB aspect go, but we were so very excited for the owners, and now our friends, of our favorite spot to begin a new chapter. Last night we attended the soft opening of the new Sonoma Bistro. New softer decor, which has noticeably positively impacted the acoustics, gorgeous warm lighting (that they are still working on - waiting for different lighting fixtures) a brand new full service bar with excellent cocktails (my fave was called Ocean Eyes), AND a new menu with some new really interesting and delicious options sprinkled with some of our original favorites. I had the paella, which was amazing! A.J. got the stuffed rigatoni and sausage -simply delish. And in case you were wondering - yes, The Rutherford House salad still firmly sits safely imbedded on the menu in all its glory.

Please stop in and experience the new Sonoma Bistro! I can guarantee you won’t be...

First time here. Made a reservation online for a nice dinner with my dad while we were in Rutherford (our former hometown), sadly for a friend's funeral.

It's one of the few restaurants in Rutherford with a full bar, which shocked us because historically (like 75 years+) Rutherford was a dry town! But I honestly welcome the change because I enjoy a nice cocktail or glass of wine with a good meal.

Dad ordered a scotch and I had a cocktail (it's name escapes me) with a pear puree and a cinnamon stick that was lit by our server and gave a nice smoky essence. Very tasty and lovely presentation.

We had the fried calamari to share as an appetizer. It came with fried/breaded jalapeño peppers which we didn't really touch (we are "heat" wimps), but the calamari and marinara were both very good.

I had the chicken saltimbocca which had a cream sherry sauce, mushrooms, and risotto. The chicken was a little tough, but the flavor of everything was very good. Dad had the seafood risotto which had all manner of shellfish with a lobster cream sauce. He seemed to have enjoyed his too.

For dessert we each had a cappuccino and shared the zeppoles for dessert. The plate came out with 4 enormous puffs of zeppole, which seemed intimidating, but unlike the traditional Italian street fair variety we were used to, they were hollow inside and not balls of thick dough. So it was like a deep fried crispy "skin" with drizzled chocolate but totally hollow inside. Not heavy at all, but also not what we were expecting.

Service was very good. Our server left us to talk and attended to our needs all at the right time. The interior was quite beautiful with this gorgeous illuminated tree adorned with white lights and icicles for the holiday season. Bathroom was very clean, well equipped, well decorated and inviting. Parking was convenient; we parked right on the side street, and due to the holiday it was free parking! Bonus!

I will most certainly return next time I'm...