Rutherford Grill — Restaurant in St. Helena

I grew up in the Bay Area, and dining at Los Altos Grill (formerly Bandera) was a family staple! I haven't lived there in quite some time, but think back often to the grilled artichokes, the skillet cornbread, and the prime rib French Dip sandwich. When we found ourselves in Napa last week, a stop at Rutherford Grill -- another Hillstone Restaurant -- was a must.

We made a reservation in advance, and were greeted/seated promptly. The vibe was very similar to Los Altos Grill: dim lighting, big bar in the center of the restaurant, large leather booths, etc. The food was, as expected, delicious. The cornbread is no longer served in a skillet, and instead is 5-6 small cubes of cornbread in a bowl. The prime rib French Dip was just as I remember: tender, savory, and elevated with that creamy horseradish!

If I'm being picky -- and I feel like patrons should be, especially at establishments that are picky with their guests (we see you, Hillstone "Attire Standards and Dining Guidelines" lol) -- our server was quiet and had a very cold demeanor. I'm not sure if this was just her personality or a directive from management to their staff in how to interact with guests. Professionalism is one thing, but the lack of any kind of emotion was off-putting and inhospitable. The other miss was that I ordered a glass of Merlot, and it never arrived to our table. The appetizer arrived... then our dinner arrived... at which point I realized the wine had likely been forgotten. I didn't want to slam a glass of wine after we had already started eating our entrees, so I didn't say anything... but I noticed and was disappointed.

Overall, the food was good and the experience scratched the itch of "Memory Lane" for me. But Napa wasn't really the vibe for us, and we likely won't seek out another Hillstone Restaurant elsewhere. I guess I prefer a different flavor of hospitality,...

Stay tuned for the hack I learned. The fact that Rutherford grill will not let you make a 5 person reservation caused so much unnecessary drama tonight. Let me explain. This is the third time this has happened to us between their local R&d restaurant and Rutherford grill. We go out with our couple friends who have a teenage son. Always 30 -45 minutes wait because again they will not accommodate a reservation for any group over 4 even though they have 5 top tables. We arrive. Several groups before us and after us arrive too. All get seated before us. But the last group was the final straw. Walked in said they had a reservation for 4 people but then asked to be sat at 5 top even though there were plenty of 4 tops available. We were told reservations have priority. Not only did the couple get our table but then 3 more people arrive. Wait what? No reservations for 5 but the hack I guess is lie. Make a reservation for 4, then when you arrive change it 5 or demand the larger table. You apparently still get priority. I don’t normally get openly mad about stuff like this but I was hungry. After everyone else being sat before us, I thought for sure that table we were waiting for would be ours. The hostess's attitude about it was kind of rude like it was our fault. But at the end of the day you sat them at 5 top we were waiting for and if I could have made a reservation I would have. So why did I still give 4 stars. Because they tried to make up for it. The server was the best! I think her name was Ana. The hostess I do believe heard my frustrations and tried to make the night better through the other staff. And the food and drinks were great. However, this will be the last time in a long time I come here. They make group dining reservations an awful experience. Our groups spends good money when we go out, too much to not...

The wife and I came up to Napa for our yearly Super Bowl Sunday tasting trip. We always come up on this day because Napa is relatively dead which makes hitting wineries much more enjoyable since you don't have to fight with tons of other people. Our first stop was Elizabeth Spencer which is right across the street from Rutherford Grill. So when we were done there we made the easy drive about 100 feet away to have lunch.

Even though it was SB Sunday, Rutherford Grill was packed at 1:45pm. Luckily we had made reservations so we got seated right away. The decor of the place is very nice with the open kitchen in the rear center of the restaurant.

The wife ordered the BBQ combo plate, (chicken and pork ribs, cole slaw) and I had the Enchilada and tri tip. I was a bit confused by this plate so I asked the waitress, "Is this just an enchilada with a hunk of tri-tip on the side?" She said, "Exactly." The cucumber salad that comes with the dish was soooooo good. Even though I picked out all the cucumber and just ate the olives and onions and stuff. I commented to the waitress how much I enjoyed the cucumber salad, minus the cucumber and she thought that was hilarious.

I thought the enchilada and tri-tip were excellent. The wife liked her BBQ ribs but wasn't into the chicken. I tried a bit of the chicken and thought it was quite tasty.

We also split an order of the cornbread. The cornbread was excellent. Just the right amount of heat from the jalapenos inside.

We were too stuffed to have dessert but because we were also celebrating the wife's birthday they gave us a free order of cornbread to take home. Very nice.

Overall the experience at Rutherford Grill was great. Good food, good service. I would definitely recommend reservations if you are going...