Depot Hotel Restaurant and Garden Antonio Ghilarducci Depot Hotel Restaurant & Garden

Depot Hotel Restaurant & Garden Awards

A too-quiet secret one block from Sonoma Square’s historic mission.
Openings: Lunch & Dinner Wed.-Sun.

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Depot Hotel Restaurant & Garden, Sonoma, CA


Depot Hotel Restaurant & Garden Restaurant Review:


Depot Restaurant’s 1870 stone façade at one time welcomed train passengers disembarking across the street with the promise of a room and hot meal. Though overnighters are gone and the depot is now a museum, it’s still easy to conjure up history in the dining room. Grab a porch or sunroom seat overlooking the secluded brick patio and spouting pool where cherub statues have witnessed many wedding receptions. Reading the Italian menu, one might expect the food to evoke yesteryear. But no: not with chef Antonio Ghilarducci’s formative experiences in the kitchens of The French Laundry and Redd. In 2008, he relieved his dad Mike's quarter-century stint behind the Depot's stove, not aiming to deconstruct, but to execute classics so they’re spot-on and spry. It’s a pleasure to order such dishes as veal scallopine or orecchiette with smoked pancetta, green peas, bright cherry tomatoes and Gulf prawns. Try a range of antipasti including house-made salumi or pan-fried padron peppers. The owner’s wines appear with local and Italian selections.