Bistro Ralph Head Office

stopped on thursday night at 8:30, only to find they were done serving for the night. but it looked intimate, we made reservations for saturday night. when we arrived it was packed; we were seated by the kitchen (fine). the lighting was much brighter than the night before, and the staff said the kitchen was closing. on the menu, lots of innerds, tongue, etc and my husband was hoping for a nice steak au poivre, like at any french bistro. the food was actually pretty good (he had the chicken), but the service (especially the bus-girl) couldn't wait for us to leave. rather irritating when you're trying to have a nice eveing. we all left with a bad taste in our mouths. there are lots of wonderful places to eat in healdsburg. try ravenous for less attitude and no hurried-ness. more

Typically I go to wine country twice a year and typically I like to hit Bistro Ralph at least once. Consistantly good food, great dinner rolls (as mentioned in the other review) great steaks and an excellent wine list. I don't recall corkage being too high so feel free to bring in a bottle you found tasting locally. Service has been alway professional and friendly. It's small so make reservations ahead of time. The outside tables do have heaters but are not nice as the ones inside. Finally the owners had opened an italian restaurant across the square, Felix and Louis, which is ok but not as good as Bistro Ralph's. Pros: menu, service, wine list Cons: small more

And the rest of the food is pretty good too. Be sure to get the small, square, fennel and anise flavor dinner rolls - they're great. The calamari appetizer with soy sauce was fresh and good. Of the two fish entrees, the sturgeon was the better. The wine list, as you'd expect in this location, is all local and offers good variety with affordable prices. more