Station St. Helena — Restaurant in St. Helena

Roadside coffee plus light food eatery in the heart of St Helena. The outdoor space is lovely, especially given that it is in a very busy, noisy commercial part of town. They still make it welcoming and inviting. The beverages are quite high quality, maybe not artisanal level, but close to. The food, which is a combination of baked goods, sandwiches and breakfast wraps are tasty, albeit somewhat bland in some cases and not much in terms of testing or innovating with new items. The menu has not changed much in well over a year. Where they fall short is in service. Their mobile ordering is a disaster. I can order on Toast or Doordash for pickup and have to wait and wait, waiting for my order longer than when people just walk up and place an order. If I use mobile order and arrive, I will see 3,4,5,6 people walk up and have their orders filled before I ever get mine. And this is like for like. Meaning similar items being ordered. They deprioritize mobile to the point of it being a really bad experience. As of this writing, I am waiting almost an hour for a simple mobile order while countless customers have their walk up orders filled. The old saying is meet the customer where they want to do business, and the Station clearly has not gotten the message. Even when you do get your order the full rates are poor. On numerous occasions the order is not filled correctly with the wrong items being made or included in the order. Given their super premium prices, it's really...

Called in a lunch order to pick up for 7 ppl. Was told on the phone some sandwiches were sold out. No big deal we ordered something different. Checked in at the order window when I got there and they said they only had to finish up two things but they'd call our name shortly. When they called our name at the pickup window they gave us half the order and then told us that one of the other sandwiches we ordered was sold out. They had two chances to tell us this before that point. So we had to call up the group to see what that person wanted and compare it to what they still had available. While we were trying to figure it out one of the female employees told us to get out of the way so they could serve other guests their orders. And was trying to shove a drink carrier of hot drinks and a bag of our order in my hands while I was trying to talk to one of the other employees about what they had available and talk on the phone to our group about food selection. The place is tiny with little counter space so they really should have told us when we checked in at the order window there was an issue rather than at the pickup window. To yell at us to get out of the way when we were trying to solve the issue they created was really unnecessary. The food was really great but that service and attitude is atrocious. Should have just opted for Gotts or La Luna. Go if it's a couple ppl and you have time to wait but don't bother trying to order in...

4 Stars - A Gas Station with Gourmet Dreams

Okay, so Station St. Helena is a gas station, but don’t let that fool you—it’s also a sandwich shop with aspirations of grandeur. Yes, you’re filling up your car, but you could also be filling up your stomach with a sandwich that’ll make you question if you’re actually in a Michelin-star restaurant. It’s a little on the pricey side for what you’re getting, but hey, it’s a gourmet gas station, so who am I to complain?

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting much beyond fuel and maybe a stale bag of chips. Instead, I was hit with a perfectly crafted sandwich that was almost too beautiful to eat (but I did anyway). The flavors were bold, the ingredients fresh—clearly, they’ve mastered the art of fancy sammies.

Would I return? Absolutely, but maybe just for a snack, not a full-blown lunch. It’s a treat… for your taste buds and...