Chalkboard

I went to Chalkboard for my birthday dinner in late November with my girlfriend and family. It had been about 3 years since my last visit, and I was really happy to see the positive changes they've made while still maintaining what they've always been great at. The food was amazing – we had a variety of cocktails, starters, salads, and main courses, and none of them disappointed. The service was top-notch too, and a special shout-out to Kayla L. for her fantastic service and attitude. I highly recommend Chalkboard if you're looking for quality food in a great spot.

I was in a little bit of a funk, had a couple of hours to kill before a meeting; and decided to stop in to Chalkboard. I spent my evening with Jackson, Kaija, and Yana who totally turned my mood around and I left feeling delighted. Watching Jackson carefully and thoughtfully curate cocktails for customers, Kaijia caring for each guest as they came in and even after, then there’s Yana who puts so much energy into making sure each guest has the best experience possible. I thought to myself during this visit- does the owner know or care about these amazing employees or are they lost individuals in a billionaires business portfolio and I sure hope the later is not the case. Employees like these are priceless and especially because I interviewed each one of them and they care about the owner, company, brand; even more importantly is they care about every customer. Regardless of who you are, this posh property and dinning establishment is what it is- because of its employees like Yana, Jackson, and Kaijia. Thank you for turning my evening into a lovely experience- you truly never know how your sweet souls might just turn someone’s “rough moment in life” into a happy sweet moment. I hope this review brings a smile to your face, touches your hearts, and brightens your day- like you did mine ;)

We recently visited a local restaurant, Chalkboard, that had a great vibe. The atmosphere was lively and fun, but it was a bit too loud for my taste. It could be a good thing if you're with a group of friends, but it might not be ideal for a first date. We ordered a few dishes, including the fried chicken, mushroom pasta, and pork belly bites. Unfortunately, we found the bites to be a bit too “chewy and heavy”, and the other dishes were just lacking in flavor. I was disappointed because I had high expectations based on the restaurant's positive reviews. Overall, the restaurant was still worth checking out.

( ) Sticky ribs: good but a little disappointing. It was just boneless tempura covered ribs and I feel like it could have been elevated in some way. (+) Tomato panzanella - really good, the tomatoes were very yummy (+) Porcini gigli - best dish of the night. Ample mushrooms, gigli was well cooked. yum. (+) Halibut - cooked well, good dish. ( ) Roasted carrots. Meh, I make better sous vide brown butter carrots at home. (+) Desserts were both super yummy. I think we got the olive oil cake and the cheesecake.

Upscale casual bistro located in the Les Mars Hotel just off the square in Healdsburg. Tapas type of menu and the servers do a good job explaining portions etc, so we were perfect on what we ordered. We started with an excellent steelhead trout crudo- so delicate it melted in your mouth and was paired with an excellent hot pepper and citrus sauce. We each got a salad - the Caesar was very good and the market salad had an amazing vinaigrette dressing. For dinner the steak came perfectly prepared medium rare and the clams were served in a hearty spicy and garlicky sauce. For dessert we chose the Toffee cake with ice cream - this was the only improvement I noted - basically a small 1.5” scoop of ice cream with a 6” diameter cake - just a slightly larger amount of ice cream would have been perfect. The wine list is thorough.

Great lunch / brunch experience. The outdoor patio is so pleasant and spacious. They have some outdoor heaters and fire pits that makes the place even more comfy. The staff were all very nice with us, I felt really well taken care of. The food was delicious, we had one of the pastas, pretzels, the cheese and charcuterie board and the pumpkin pudding bread. The mezcal cocktail was amazing and a must if you like spicy cocktails. Our pasta was so tasty but all others seemed nice too! Pretzels were really warm which felt quite nice.