El Dorado Kitchen — Restaurant in Sonoma

Honestly this place came recommended by folks and we are unsure why. The space is lovely and it is located on the square. The service was great from Jordan however we felt that we could only give three stars for service due to the fact that no member of management came to visit the table and discuss the issues or receive the feedback. The food however was the most disappointing. We did enjoy the Wagyu Carpaccio, the Shishito peppers, Hamachi & Teriyaki Unagi bowl. The chicken was also nicely cooked and flavorful as was the Short Rib itself (although the dish as a whole left a bit to be desired). Dishes that were particularly disappointing were the Crab & Avocado salad (which the ingredients were fresh and lovely but the dish lacked flavor and texture which we found surprising based on the listed ingredients), the 'Carbonara' with over cooked pasta and flavorless sauce not even adding the lovely chicken to it could save this dish, and the most surprising fail of the dinner was the signature Seafood Paella. We were not expecting the quality we have had in Spain, but it was just an all around disappointment. The seafood seemed over cooked and although the rice did have the proper crispy bottom it was so dry. Our Server in an effort to fix the issues offered to replace it which we did give the risotto a chance but it was so over cooked and the rice being so broken down the texture resembled a Congi more than Risotto. It also had a lot of thin liquid instead of the rich liquid of a risotto. We decided not to give any desserts a try as we had lost all interest in dining further. Possibly it was an off night and truly we hope it was. But it seems that the issues could be easily rectified with a little quality control and possibly tweaking some...

My husband and I visited Sonoma from San Jose for our anniversary. Based on the excellent reviews, and the historic nature of the building we decided El Dorado would be the best place to eat while we explored! We were certainly glad with our decision; we were offered complementary champaign and a lovely anniversary card upon our arrival (my husband had made the reservation online and specified it was our anniversary), the service was excellent, but not overbearing, and the food/wine was delicious. So delicious I forgot to take photos of a majority of the meal (lol).

We ordered the ceviche as an appetizer, which was light and refreshing. Although, we both thought it could use a bit more spice to balance the acidity. Otherwise, it had a perfect mix of shrimp, onion, clilantro, tomato and avocado.

For our entrees, my husband ordered the poke bowl and I ordered the chilaquiles. My husband enjoyed the poke bowl so much it was gone in mere minutes. He works a second job at a poke place (just Bay Area things) and he said he could never eat at his work without thinking of this bowl. We were both skeptical of the pepitas, but they surprisingly added a nice texture to the bowl!

The sauce on the chilaquiles was also amazing, I kept tasting it trying to figure out what mix of chiles they used because it was perfect for my palette. Often when I have chilaquiles, the tomato is too strong/acidic or the chile is too spicy and I can’t enjoy it, but this was the perfect balance. I liked it so much, I’m going to play around this summer and try to replicate it. I’ve never had chilaquiles I wanted to replicate (don’t tell my suegra haha).

We really enjoyed our experience at El Dorado! Sonoma isn’t far from SJ, so we’ll probably make a day trip back and...

This restaurant is amazing!!

I did a sister valentine's trip with seven of us and it was pretty much the only restaurant in the area that would easily accommodate our group. Our server, Daniel, had such a great personality and provided amazing service! Seating in the outdoor courtyard area was gorgeous with a large olive tree right in the center! And we were kept warm with the right amount of heaters in the courtyard. Every single dish we had was UNBELIEVABLY delicious and came out SO quickly!

This experience was amazing! I was a hostess in my day so I know that their job is to be highly organized & provide AMAZING guest service since they are the guest's first impression of the restaurant. Unfortunately, the hostess who "accommodated" us was completely lost. I don't know how else to put it. (Didn't get the name but she had orange hair.) She clearly couldn't handle having a line of guests waiting to check in for dinner, struggled to understand that I was simply checking in for our reservation 5 minutes prior to it, provided no relevant information, and was complaining about personal issues like not getting enough sleep. As a guest I was frustrated-- I can only imagine how the servers must feel.

It was nowhere near professional and was the only miss in this otherwise perfect...