I have been to this restaurant on more than one occasion. Â I am a big fan of the cheeseburger. Â I also like to visit on Thursday night around 7:00pm, when there is a hosted trivia contest for those who would like to play. Â Around 9:00 pm, a group of local musicians play for those who like dance after dining or just to listen to the vibe. I have only listened to the group play once, and they sounded very good.
Review Source:Well I have been going to Laurens for years and I have to say that it is one of my favorite places to dine in the valley and it deserves 5 stars. Â I am asked weekly by travelers on what the options are for dining and I always recommend Laurens as one of the best choices. Â It is very much a casual locals place that welcomes visitors, the atmosphere is relaxed and warm, as is the service. Â The wine list is extremely reasonable in the pricing and the menu is diverse enough where anyone can find something that they will like. Â My favorite is the spicy noodles, but the meatloaf and specials can also be like that hearty home cooked meal you long for and don't always get around to making. Â Really worth checking out if your in the area!
Review Source:A group of 7 of us stopped by the place without reservations and close to their closing time this past Saturday. Â They were able to accommodate us and provided excellent service. Â Their food was way above expectations and featured local fresh ingredients. Â I was very impressed as were my entire group. Thank you Lauren's!
Review Source:My family has been going to Lauren's for years. Â The food is great and a lot of the ingredients are local to Anderson Valley. Â The (forget actual name) vegetarian sandwich with fries is amazing. Â My wife loves the corn cakes and their salads. Â Nora's Noodles are huge hit for my youngest daughter. Â BTW - don't miss out on the the local wine and beer; the house wine is from Husch, and the beer from Anderson Valley Brewing is literally around the corner.
Review Source:While attending an event over the weekend I noticed a nice restaurant close-by. Â The service was friendly and I selected a table outside. Â The landscape art/flowers were nicely decorated and the ambiance was good- very casual outside. Â The food was good and I highly recommend getting a salad! Â The ingredients are grown locally - I got a garden salad on the side and the fresh jicama and beets were awesome!
Review Source:4.5 Stars -
I've lived in this town on and off for 8 years. Lauren's was a place I went maybe once a year. However, I've been going to Laurens a lot lately, and you know what? I've really grown to love the place. The food is excellent, fresh, healthy, and fairly priced. The staff are nice and drama free.
The minus 1/2 star is because I love a good bar to belly up, and that, they do not have. It would be a perfect place with a few more beers on tap and a smallish HD TV well placed as to not to disturb the dining room, but allow us sports fans to catch a Giants game with no sound...
At the risk of giving away a great off the beaten path kind of place, I am sharing.
I love Lauren's. Â It is great, even casual gourmet and well worth the stop. Â Prices are very reasonable, they have a great wine list - they are in the Anderson Valley so we're talking lots of good venues at hand.
Have fun!
I have never been so surprised by how amazing a diner is until coming to Lauren's...wow! There aren't too many places to eat in the area for dinner however Lauren's seemed like a welcoming local spot with good reviews so my friends and I stopped in while spending the weekend up in Anderson Valley.
The staff is friendly, however it did seem like they were ignoring us for a bit as we arrived and there were plenty of open seats but it took a while to get us seated. As soon as we were though, service improved significantly. The menu has something for just about everyone. From salads, to Asian inspired noodle dishes, pot roast, pasta and more!
The food is local which is fantastic, it was fresh and tasted very good. I ordered a Cobb Salad and it was stacked with just about every vegetable imaginable, I was impressed! Probably one of the best Cobb salads I've ever consumed. My friend got some Asian peanut noodles which I tried and they were good, other one got some soup which she liked, and my hubby got some pasta. Everything was well priced and very very good. We definitely didn't leave hungry. We also ordered up some desserts to share. The baked peaches and ice cream were awesome and the brownie sundae totally hit the right spot! YUM! Sweet tooth soothing was in full affect.
It's slim pickins for dinner in Philo, but Lauren's sure makes up for the lack of options! Even though it looks like a funky small town diner at first sight, the menu is an impressive assortment of seasonal goods that will leave you feeling healthfully indulgent.
The menu has an interesting array of choices from Italian to Asian to New American (in a small town, I guess you've got to span multiple categories of cuisine), but they execute everything really well. It's quality grub. My pal had the Asian noodles with sweet peas and a nice peanutty sauce - a huge portion that easily became leftovers. I settled on the winter squash soup du jour with fresh baguette, and a mixed salad with beets, gorgonzola and walnuts - the perfect healthy ending to a wine-soaked day. My friend got the cobb salad entree, a masterpiece of fresh-from-the-garden looking greens and layers and layers of fixins, enough to feed a few hungry herbivores. Very impressed.
Desserts were too luscious to pass up - one brownie sundae and one honey poached pear a la mode made Lauren's a lasting memory in our Philo book. Service is pretty laid back, representative of Anderson Valley in general, so you're sure to get an authentic experience. There's even a little bar area and pool table if you really wanna get friendly with the locals. Study up on your Boont!
We had Lauren's recommended to us by the owner's of the Ravenridge Cottages. Â They said it was where all the locals went, a really nice down home place. Â And they were right. Â Good well priced comfort food (although a little rich on the cheese, we just couldn't finish). Â Simple but nice decorations (a nice display of yukeleles on the walls). Â Lots of locals who all knew each other near the bar, many with their families). Â A stage area where one local girl (elementary or jr. high) played the piano for part of the time while we were eating. Â Certainly not professional, but it was such a nice touch. Â Waiter was quite friendly. Â Had a very nice dinner here.
Review Source:Our family loves Lauren's ... and Lauren! Tonight we had roasted garlic (awesome), house salad (so fresh), french onion soup (dark and flavorful), fresh corn cakes with cilantro and salsa. Â And that was just the appetizers! Â Try the pizzas. Â It's like a very comfortable community kitchen. Â Lauren is really committed to supporting the local community, artists and farms and the food is consistently fresh and tasty. Â A wonderful place for families.
Review Source:I'm an AV local and I love Lauren's.  My family has eaten at Lauren's every Friday evening for the past few years. It's our "Family Friday" restaurant of choice.  It is SUPER CONSISTENTLY GOOD. And there's PLENTY OF VEGETARIAN OPTIONS.  Lauren uses fresh, organic, local ingredients whenever possible, and the menu is pretty  diverse. It has Americana (meat loaf, chicken pot pies), Mexican (flautas), and Thai bowls.  The service can't be beat. Lauren has an experienced staff and it's the fastest kitchen in AV. Your party will generally  be served in 10-15 minutes (unless its crazy crowded.) Lauren's has a web site where you can check out what's on the menu, what's on the wall (art) and what's playin' (music.)
Review Source:We came here for lunch based on the other Yelp reviews, and it was true to form. Â Service was friendly and quick. Â The food was delicious and fresh. Â I had the open faced egg salad sandwich - a tad bland but good overall. Â My husband thought his cheeseburger was amazing (and it was quite good - I tried it). Â We ate on the dog friendly patio.
Review Source:We come here every year when on vacation. Good food, but I generally find it a little too "gourmet" for my taste. Best place in town, though, that's for sure! Everything is fresh, and mainly locally grown. The menu changes depending on what is in season. I can always find something on the menu that looks good. The desserts are fresh fruit based, and pretty good, though not outstanding. It is somewhat expensive though - about $20 per person.
I like the ambiance of the place - relaxed and casual and there's paper and colored pencils at every table so even the grown-ups can have fun :). Actually, come to think of it, I haven't seen any small children ever at Lauren's, it's mostly adults with maybe a teenager with his/her parents. It's a cute place, with good food, but more oriented toward "adult" tastes.
(full disclosure: i am a relative of lauren, but my reviews are always honest regardless!)
i would classify "lauren's" as refined comfort food. meatloaf, burgers, pizza...traditional but high quality and delicious. fresh local ingredients. the fries are to die for (i can't stand thin, stringy fries...these fries are thick cut potatoes, just how all french fries should be). oh and get the garlic appetizer. just trust me, get it. :)
Lauren's is one of those places that you can always count on being good. Whether you drive up to Boonville just to sit at the cozy bar and have a great appetizer like Roasted Garlic, Goat Cheese and Toast Rounds or eat in the spacious dining area it is always wonderful. Lauren's uses the freshest ingredients and Lauren herself comes over to chat and make sure you are happy with your dinner. We recently stopped by for Pizza with spinach, mushrooms and goat cheese. The crust was heavenly and everything was so fresh including the side salad. We also had the Asian Big Bowl with Green Curry Sauce and it was delish! My husband loved it. For dessert we had the Strawberry Rhubarb Shortcake with vegan Bliss Ice Cream. The Rhubarb was cooked and combined with fresh strawberry slices. I took one bite and thought it tasted like strawberries and flowers. Nice delicate fresh taste. Every time I eat here we are delighted. Casual attire and neighborhood feel.
Review Source:Stopped by for lunch with a group of friends. Â Nice place, large and airy. Â I would say the food is a bit of hit or miss. Â
Egg salad sandwich - very bland
Chicken sandwich - slightly bland
Cheeseburger - I didn't have a bite but was told by my sister and her husband that it was great
Pizza - this was their pizza of the day and had some greens and bacon on a thin crust. Â The bite I had wad delicious and everyone at the table who tried it enjoyed it too. Â Definitely a winner.
Service was friendly and low-key. Â We were only visiting the area for a couple of days but we ever come back, we'll stop by Lauren's again.
I really liked Lauren's. Â We were staying at the Boonville Hotel and the staff recommended this place for "mom's cooking" food, which is exactly what it is. Â None of the food is going to blow you out of the water, but they have a tasty burger with fresh ingredients, and all sorts of creative sandwiches/main courses/even pizzas. Â You can even get a big salad, which sometimes I crave on vacations after I've been eating out constantly.
You know what WILL blow you out of the water? The wine and wine prices. Â Coming from the Bay Area, mark-ups on wine in restaurants are like, quadruple (or so it seems). Â Here, they actually sell the wine for . . . how much it would cost you. Â We were flipping out. Â We ended up drinking a whole bottle of Navarro Pinot Noir just because it was so cheap (this is after some pre-drinking at wineries) although we "paid" for it the next morning. Â Anyway, that wine list would seriously be like all 30-100 dollar bottles of wine anywhere else and instead, they're like 15-50.
Last thing - they have live music on weekends, and some trivia nights, and a good slice of local culture. Â I felt happy seeing local kids playing on the piano and running around.
DEFINITELY go to Lauren's if you're staying for multiple days in the Anderson valley. Â You're stomach will thank you for the down-home food, and your wallet will thank you for the fancy, yet inexpensive wine.
Lauren's is my kind of restaurant. The food is local, fresh and amazing. The atmosphere is cozy and down to earth. The people are real and unpretentious. It's kid-friendly without being covered in clown decor. I have never gotten a bad meal at Lauren's. She changes the menu on a regular basis by adding specials based upon what's in season. She buys local produce. The meals are on the pricey side (expect $30 for dinner for two, sans alcohol), and she doesn't take credit cards (cash or local check only). She also exhibits local artists work for sale, so you get a free gallery tour as a bonus!
Review Source:"See you at Lauren's!" Â That's a standard phrase you'll hear among the locals in Anderson Valley, where Lauren's is the heartbeat.
It's the place to come for good food (with a heavy emphasis on local ingredients), and to catch up on all the local news. Â Their revolving art show is often a draw in and of itself, as is their incredibly affordable wine list (again, with a heavy emphasis on local producers). Â The musicians on the stage? Â Locals. Â The artwork on the menus? Â Customer's.
Want to know what's going on at the Grange? Â Stop in at Lauren's. Â Wondering when the Pinot Fest is? Â I'll bet they know that too, and if they don't there's likely a local Winemaker dining nearby who can tell you all you'd like to know.
One of the biggest challenges for any business in Anderson Valley is finding good employees, but Lauren has a reliable crew who provide a service level that matches her pleasing, made-from-scratch, garden-fresh menu items. Â Her menu is seasonal, and is impressively ambitious. Â We'd eat here far more often if we didn't enjoy cooking so much during our weekend get-aways!
Stop in at Lauren's as you drive Highway 128 and visit one of the hardest working restaurateurs in the county.
Unexpectedly good food cooked with the freshest and most sustainable ingredients full of love by Lauren and served in her retro cafe. They even have live jazz on most nights! I had their burger (excellent, with handcut fries to die for), my girl tried their tomato & roast pepper soup (delicious - tomatoes must have just arrived from the farmer's market).
No doubt that's where I'll be dining at any of my future Anderson Valley beer or wine expeditions...
This review was taken down for some strange reason, but I'm re-posting it because this needs to be said!
Ok, So I have to say my piece.
I'm not an Anderson Valley local. I have lived in some pretty foody cities (Portland Oregon currently, which is quickly becoming one of the best) and I would like to toot my own horn a bit by saying that I know about good food.
Lauren's is not what I would call fancy by city standards, but what she lacks in "decor" she makes up ten fold in food quality and in sweet loving personality - (by the way, I personally LOVE that she supports the local art and music scene, and realizes that children also need to eat, and are not interested in wine and adults talking so therefore has a place for them to go play within view of their parents. This by and far means more to me than a swank table cloth and ultra cool lighting).
The pasta I had 3 nights ago had the most fresh morels I have ever tasted in a creamy sauce with absolutely the most amazing sugar snap peas ever, with a side of delicious broccoli on the side. This is by far not the first time I have eaten at Lauren's and it seems that every time I go there the food only gets better. So honestly I have no idea what people are talking about when they say that the food is "occasionally tasty" or even "good" and what on earth is up with suggesting that you skip Lauren's and go to the Boonville Hotel? Hello???
Sorry this has been so long, but after such an amazing meal, once I got to a computer that had internet (not so much of that up where I was staying the in AV) I had to leave a review, and after reading the ones up here I had to do something to set the record straight. So in conclusion if you are in Boonville, and you're interested in eating some really great, local food, (which is locally grown) that has awesome atmosphere and amazing people, go to Lauren's. Not only is she an absolute sweetheart, but she cooks a heck of a lot better than my mom (and that's saying something!!)
Take this review with a grain of salt-- when we ate here, we were starving and exhausted and very ready to devour comfort food!
I am extremely particular about pizza, and possibly even more particular about french fries. I very rarely order them, not because I'm particularly health-conscious when eating out, but because I just can't handle the disappointment. The french fries at Lauren's are definitely some of the best I have ever had-- top three, for sure. They are sliced thin with skin on, stay crisp thanks to their golden-to-brown hues, and were the perfect texture and flavor combination. With these amazing fries, I enjoyed a grilled sandwich with whole-grain bread, fresh avocado, basil pesto, incredibly ripe tomato, beautifully sweet, warm onions, and fontina cheese. My favorite dining companion had a cheeseburger that was described as possibly the best cheeseburger he's ever eaten in his life.
I thought it was a little strange that the root beer wasn't made locally or even in CA and it also contained high fructose corn syrup. Otherwise, the menu and list of specials all indicated (and promoted) local produce and products.
There's lots of art all over the walls available for purchase including colored-pencil drawings; we received a stack of paper and a flower pot full of colored pencil stubs at our table, which was covered in a red and white checkered plastic tablecloth, but were far too desperate for sustenance to feel even remotely artistic.
Four stars, especially for those fabulous fries!
I'd give the food probably 3 stars, but the warmth and sense of community you get here kind of trumps anything else you can draw from this experience.
Lauren herself is a very sweet lady who welcomed everyone into her restaurant with open arms. The space is a bit interesting and looks like someone set up a restaurant in a community center. There is local art on the walls and families with children coming in and out of here and Lauren knew the names and stories of every single person there.
Against my better judgement, I ordered a wild mushroom and leek pizza instead of the chicken pot pie. It wasn't bad and the ingredients were fresh and local, but I wasn't blown away as much as I would have liked to have been. Although I wasn't bowled over by the food, I was impressed by the people and the giant octopus in the back. Come here the next time you roll into Boonville and you'll know what I mean.
This place is basically a really nice woman cooking you food in what happens to be a restaurant. Checkered tablecloths, jovial staff, and fresh, local, decent enough food. I even saw her the next morning perusing the offerings at the farmer's market.
My pork sandwich wasn't really that great, but the spring rolls were good and everyone seemed to like the chicken pot pie and squash a lot. Don't expect a lot from decor, and they seem to cater to kids (there's a play area in the corner near the bathrooms and next to a boarded up pool table), but it's Boonville! Â
Lauren's is good for a solid, no-frills dinner in the middle of Anderson Valley.
Tasty food. Â It's like a step above mom's home cooking. Â The meatloaf is excellent, as are the spicy sesame noodles. Â
Live music on the weekends, and when you dine here, you feel like you're part of the Valley. Â Tons of people there with their families and friends, all enjoying a meal together. Â It's pretty cool.
Cheap prices for good wine? Â I'll give you that. Â Occasional tasty entree or desserts (e.g., summer pasta with fresh basil, tomatoes, and brie or blackberry pie), but the food is overpriced and usually not worth the price. Â Skip Lauren's and spend a little more at the Boonville Hotel.
Review Source:
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