Grace's Table Review
A global menu with Latin, French, and Italian items co-existing with each other. More reasonable pricing than similar restaurants in the area. Good chance to become a locals mainstay.
1400 2nd Street
Napa, CA 94559-2824
(707) 226-6200
Sun- 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
Grace's Table opens up in Pizza Azzurro's old location which was taken up by Element's (which came and went within a year). Elements had ok food (sort of small dish / tapas style) but the prices were annoyingly high. That plus a recession plus being a relative newcomer led to a short lifespan. Grace's Table aims for a global flavor range but more reasonable pricing.
Grace's Table food
The menu draws from a number of influences. The two chefs, Mauro Pando and Nancy Lindaas Pando, apparently have a wide range of cooking influences. From the Napa Valley Register preview:
Chef Mauro has local experience at numerous Kimpton properties, including executive chef at Grand Café in San Francisco and chef de cuisine at Scala’s Bistro, and 11 years reign as executive chef at Red Star Tavern and Roast House in Portland. Lindaas Pando has more than 23 years of restaurant management experience.
And so you get Latin influences, French, Italian, Californian, and so on. Not everyday you see cassoulet, cornbread, and tamales on the same menu.
Grace's Table appetizers
We started off with the posole and chicken liver mousse. The posole was a soup with some hominy, chili pepper, and pork. I thought the flavor was reasonable good, but it came out to me lukewarm which took some zip out of it. I should have sent it back to get warmed up.
We also got the chicken liver mousse with some roasted bread. The flavors were good but slight problem in that it was perhaps too cold, thus making it hard to have with the bread. Instead of being able to spread it out, the mousse just had to sit on top of the bread.
Grace's Table entrees
We had the kabocha quash gnocchi wtih sage brown butter, pine nuts, spinach, and parmesan shavings. The gnocchi was very fluffy and light although they weren't formed in the usual mini-pillow that you usually see with gnocchi. Cook has a similar dish, and both are solid. You expect something heavy with the hearty smell of the butter and parmesan, but then you get this fluffy gnocchi in your mouth instead.
We also got the cassoulet which we thought was ok. Definitely not on par with say Bistro Jeanty's cassoulet. I thought it was a little under-seasoned unless you had some white sausage or duck in your bite, but my wife thought it was fine. Still a nice meal to have on a cold Napa winter night.
Grace's Table entrees
And finally dessert. A double fudge devil's food cake which was fine, especially when you have a bit of red wine left over to go with the chocolate.
Grace's Table setting and service
Service was fine. They had only been open for perhaps less than a month by the time we went, and things seemed to be going fairly well. It felt like a number of locals were there. Maybe the wait staff was a bit overly chummy with the locals they knew well, but you can forgive that sort of thing. Everything inside has a bit more of a modern chic feel vs. the normal restaurants in downtown. That location has always had a cozy feel. Maybe big enough to hold 40 or so people in a mostly open seating area. It'll get loud as it starts to fill up just as its predecessors did. Another plus is that the parking is easier than some of the other downtown restaurants.
Price of our meal at Grace's Table
2 appetizers, 2 entrees, 1 dessert, 2 glass of wine, plus tax & tip = $107
Overall, I think Grace's Table has a promising future. The pricing is relatively good vs. similar restaurants which gives the locals a chance to give the restaurant a solid base and that locals' vibe. Yes, I had problems with a few of our dishes. But they had only been open for a few weeks so I'll give them a few months to smooth things out since the pricing and flavors seem promising.
Other Grace's Table reviews and links
