Ristorante La Strada

I was looking for a place where eight to 10 women ranging geographically from Sacramento to Palo Alto could meet for a very long lunch, and La Strada more than met my expectations in every way. The food was delicious. Our group tried everything from the calamari steak with polenta and vegetables, to the fettuccini con melanzane (wonderful vegetable concoction with lots of eggplant and mushrooms in a light tomato sauce), to the house special of the day, a cannelloni with chicken, cheeses and a "pink sauce" made of tomato sauce, cream and herbs. The salads that came with each order were just what one would expect in freshness and tastiness, the bread and olive oil dip was superb and the desserts were out of this world.

Best of all for our purposes, the house--while set up with white tablecloths and napkins for a large number of people--was nearly empty while we were there and we lingered for three hours. The staff could not have been more helpful or welcoming. The ambiance was rustic Italian with lovely theme music that delighted the members of our group who remembered the crooner Dean Martin. Our server cheerfully turned the volume down a bit at our request.

The only drawback is that our Google maps and GPS made the restaurant a bit hard to find coming from the Bay Area. The restaurant fronts a four-lane highway with rather fast traffic so you have to keep an eye out for it. I highly recommend La Strada Napa.

I feel this place has been Yelp-bombed (and Yelp-bombed up, not down!). It is definitely not 4 stars, and *definitely* not 4 stars in Napa. It's 2.5, and honestly I'm rounding down because of where we are. I had the calamari, which was plentiful if not particularly good, and a gamberi linguine pasta which was much the same. It was like the pasta had a few stray shrimp thrown in and was bathed in a very wet garlic sauce as an afterthought.

Perhaps the ratings are a function of the bar as opposed to the food. I'm not sure. What I am sure of is that if you're reading this, you're in the heart of American wine country and there are many better options nearby.

Amazing amazing food. I could not have ask for a better restaurant. Gnocchi was flavorful and delicious service was awesome and very attentive even on a very busy full house. Servers were very knowledgable. The atmosphere was very romantic low lit with an amazing painting on the back wall making it look as if we r in Italy. I will be returning.