n.v. Restaurant and Lounge

I willingly followed my brother and sister in law, Terry and Barbara Buss, into the maze of a mall in downtown Napa. We eventually found our destination, n.v. Restaurant and Lounge. The urban environment worked within the wine country setting. It was very much like some posh European restaurants remembered from a long ago past. The lounge seemed modern, attractive and probably hip later in the night after we had all gone off to sleep.

I liked the food a lot, Chef Peter Halikas does great with ingredients he finds in the local area. The night we dined, I thought we should try the winter prixe fixe menu, at $40 a head. My first course was the Dungeness Crab Wonton Soup, with Shitake Mushroom Broth. I loved the spices and thought it great. The table also had the Five Spice Marinated Quail Salad, which we all thought unusual, and excellent. My entree was the Venison Chop, accompanied by Sweet Potato Risotto and Cranberry Citrus Relish. The chop needed the sauce. Combined it worked, although the red wine we tasted with it needed the sauce.

Desserts included a Chocolate Coffee Torte (not to be missed) and I also tried a Banana Bread Pudding (from the table), with Maker’s Mark Hard Sauce, Oatmeal Streusel and Vanilla Ice Cream. No counting calories in thions meal…

Our extremely friendly and helpful General Manager, Sundiata White, is your person to call when you want to go to dinner at this lovely oasis in downtown Napa; and need any kind of information or advice. Now a few words about the chef: Chef Peter graduated from the New England Culinary Institute, and cut his teeth at the Ritz Carlton in Marina del Rey. Moving north, he worked at Domaine Chandon before deciding to look for more training. So, off he went to New York, and overseas, returning to SF to help open Restaurant Gary Danko. Then, back to Napa where he became Executive Chef for Leslie Rudd’s Dean and Deluca. Thus, after he felt comfortably grounded, he moved over to Napa, and began his own restaurant. In October 2005, the dream became a reality.

for reservations, call 707–265-6400

N.V. Restaurant and Lounge 1106 First St., Napa, California, 94559
Hours of operation:
RESTAURANT
Seven days a week 5 pm – 10 pm
LOUNGE
Sunday – Wednesday: 5 pm-12 am
Thursday – Saturday: 5 pm-2 am

-Cheers Joel