376600 Fri Mar 02 08:54:31 -0800 2007 16 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 2345124 I would like to take a good friend up to Napa/Yountville for her birthday and am looking for a good restaurant around Yountville. I've read a lot about Bouchon and Redd. Both sound great...does anyone have an opinion? We are looking for great food and a great wine list. Also, I heard that Redd can be quite noisy....this is a concern, because we'd also like to have a conversation while eating. Fri Mar 02 08:54:31 -0800 2007 45139 janey 1 2345563 Pilar. Okay, between the two, I'd go to Bouchon. But between the three, I'd go to Pilar first... Fri Mar 02 10:30:06 -0800 2007 2345124 16933 Carrie 218 1 2345911 Redd is excellent and the cuisine refreshing. It can be lively but you are able to have a conversation. Fri Mar 02 11:31:56 -0800 2007 2345124 13289 Porthos 1 2345935 You can't go wrong with either Redd or Bouchon. I like the bistro-type intimacy of Bouchon, but found when seated at the banquette tables against the wall, it was sometimes difficult to hear my dining companion (this drives me nuts) but I could hear the folks talking on either side of me. Other tables in the restaurant are fine. I like the ones under the painting in the back. Redd is bright acoustically, but I've had wonderful meals there, and have been able to have good conversations. I know Carrie 218 is a huge fan of Pilar but I do not care for it at all. Fri Mar 02 11:36:45 -0800 2007 2345124 18222 maria lorraine 1 2348842 Redd hands down. Amazing food. In my opinion, Richard Reddington is one of the finest chefs in the Bay Area. His dishes are a wonderful balance, of classic, innovative, seasonal, and complex. The layers of flavor make it a perfect match for many types of exciting wine. Explore and indulge in their wine book. As for the noise, they recently closed their doors for a couple of weeks to add sound barriers to the dining room. The addition was very successful making the dining room much more conversation friendly. Moreover, when it is noisy, it is only because they are always busy....not a common thing for napa valley restaurants in the off season. Sat Mar 03 10:49:13 -0800 2007 2345124 77972 seasonal 1 2349166 It's a toss-up; my preference is for Bouchon, but I doubt you'll go wrong either way. Sat Mar 03 13:17:11 -0800 2007 2345124 28122 zin1953 1 2349416 I'd go with Bouchon. Redd is just ok for me: http://tinyurl.com/244c8a Sat Mar 03 14:51:21 -0800 2007 2345124 79585 lushlulu 1 2349901 Can't go wrong with either...Redd has a newer and fresher vibe with a good set menu with wine pairings. They pair each dish with a wine which takes a load off if you don't know much about wine. AND THE PORK BELLY IS PRETTY DAMN GOOD Sat Mar 03 18:25:59 -0800 2007 2345124 76488 EnderWiggin 1 2350020 Redd always good. Why not Ad Hoc right down the street? Thomas Keller's new restaurant. Good food and good service. Sat Mar 03 19:21:14 -0800 2007 2345124 79148 emmisdad 2 2350481 I love Ad Hoc--great food, good service, and I like that I never feel rushed when I go there. I rarely order wine there, though, and I've heard from several people that the wine list is less than impressive. Plus the corkage fee there is $25 (the first and last time I tried that was about 6 weeks ago). Sun Mar 04 00:27:35 -0800 2007 2350020 16301 Non Cognomina 1 2350478 For a special dinner like a birthday, I prefer Bouchon. I like the ambiance there much better than Redd. The food at Redd is good, but I do not care for the dining room--too noisy and the ambiance feels rather cold. When I do go to Redd I prefer to sit in the bar area where you can order from the full menu or bar menu. I agree with EnderWiggin that the pork belly at Redd is outstanding. The ambiance at Bouchon is much more comfortable and intimate. Bouchon also has a very good wine list and I've found the manager and wait staff to be knowledgeable about the wine they serve. Wherever you decided to go, I suggest making a reservation as early as possible. Sun Mar 04 00:24:46 -0800 2007 2345124 16301 Non Cognomina 1 2350940 Gosh, both restaurants sound great and now you've suggested a few more. I guess I'm going to have to make multiple trips up there to try them all. Thanks for all your input. Sun Mar 04 08:46:58 -0800 2007 2345124 45139 janey 1 2473715 I tried Redd last Saturday for dinner. We arrived at 5:30, pretty much when the place opened. They weren't quite ready yet, so we had a drink in the bar. They came to get us a few minutes later. Everything on the menu looked great. We ended up trying the tasting menu. All parties at the table need to do the tasting menu if you decide to go that route. It's 5 courses but they do a different item for each person. There were 2 of us, so we had 10 different items which we ended up sharing. The first course was a raw fish, one dish was tuna and the other was hamachi. Both very tasty. The 2nd course was a cooked fish, one dish was scallops and the other was a white fish. The scallops were tender and in a thick cream sauce. I though it was yummy, but my dinner partner thought the cream sauce was a bit heavy. The 3rd course was a game dish. We had squab and pork...both good. The 4th course was a meat dish, one was lamb and the other was beef. The lamb was very tender and nicely seasoned. The beef was good, but nothing really special. The last course was dessert. Both of the desserts were just okay... My dinner partner had the wine pairings (I don't drink) and all the wines went very well with the meal. The service was good...very attentive but not over bearing. Redd recently put in something to reduce the noise. I didn't think it was too loud and we were able to talk at a normal level even when the restaurant was full. The interior is a bit stark...it would be nice if they added some color to warm the room up, but I think they were going for the stark affect. I would go back again as there were a few other items on the menu I'd like to try. Thu Apr 12 07:53:33 -0700 2007 2345124 45139 janey 2 2475058 Glad you liked Redd. I like the fact that they take the effort to offer everyone at the table a different course for the tasting menu. It shows effort and dedication. Also, like you pointed out, the wine pairing enhances the dinner significantly. The desserts with our tasting menu was just okay also. So we ordered a dessert off the regular menu for overkill. It was well worth it. Thu Apr 12 13:12:09 -0700 2007 2473715 13289 Porthos 2 2475587 can you describe what they put in to reduce the noise? thanks, sounds interesting Thu Apr 12 15:03:46 -0700 2007 2473715 76488 EnderWiggin 1 2498290 Redd, hands down. Some of the best food in the bay area. Thu Apr 19 21:32:39 -0700 2007 2345124 92808 vinoveritas 1 2498647 I agree with many, you can't go wrong. Redd is quieter (relatively speaking) than Bouchon as the tables at Bouchon on practically inches apart. I'd decide based on whether you want a refined take on french bistro classics or inventive California cuisine. Better yet, go to Bouchon for dinner, spend the night, and have Redd for lunch. Fri Apr 20 05:02:09 -0700 2007 2345124 67950 rollledspleen