Smoked sturgeon and cauliflower rillettes with caviar at Violetto at the Alila resort.
The resort now known as Alila Napa Valley (formerly Los Alcabas) has always been one of my favorite properties in St. Helena for its striking juxtaposition between old and new.
In 2021, the Alila hotel group took over the property with its oversized, minimalist, gray-toned rooms with spectacular vineyard views, with the vines so close to the ground-floor rooms that you could walk out your terrace to touch them.
In May 2024, it completed its transition by debuting its new restaurant, Violetto, housed in the property’s beautifully ornate 1907 mansion.
Chef Thomas Lents serves a French-Italian menu with thoughtful options for a 7-course tasting menu ($145) with optional wine pairing ($85), four-course prix fixe ($105) with optional wine pairing ($65), or a la carte. There are also supplemental items you can choose to add.
Violetto is housed in a 1907 mansion.The main dining room.The bar-lounge area.
Recently, I was invited as a guest of the property and restaurant to stay overnight and to experience the new menu.
Let’s just say that when my husband and I went to Pasta Armellino in Saratoga for dinner recently, we ordered all six pastas on the menu, plus the garlic bread. We didn’t mess around with any soups or salads. We meant business — carb business.
But when the pasta is this dreamy, who can blame us?
After attending the media preview of the casual pasta restaurant that opened in February right across the street from its big sister, flagship Michelin-starred Plumed Horse, we were eager to go back to try more. A couple weeks ago, we were invited in as guests of Pasta Armellino to do exactly that.