GUERNEVILLE, CA., 10/31/26 — The restaurant at the Lodge at Dawn Ranch in Guerneville received three stars from San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic MacKenzie Chung Fegan in a review published Oct. 29.
Chung Fegan based the rating on two full tasting menus and one a la carte dinner at the bar, she wrote. She found prime-time weekend tables still easy to book, and she predicted the kitchen would keep improving and draw more notice. Her review also asked whether a fine-dining restaurant could change the character of a town with a long history as a gay resort destination, the way the three-Michelin-star SingleThread changed Healdsburg.
2 chefs and a $175 tasting menu
Co-executive chefs Juliana Thorpe and Ignacio “Nacho” Zuzulich run the kitchen. Thorpe grew up in Brazil and Zuzulich in Alta Gracia, in Argentina’s Córdoba province, according to the resort’s website. Both cooked at Lasai in Rio de Janeiro, Mugaritz in Spain and the Restaurant at Meadowood in St. Helena. They joined Dawn Ranch when it relaunched in 2023.
The chef’s tasting menu costs $175 a person. A sample menu posted by the restaurant opens with an oyster in passion fruit leche de tigre, a squash blossom with oscietra caviar, and dadinho de tapioca with chili jam. Later courses include black cod in portuguesa sauce and Snake River Farms picanha with chimichurri. The restaurant says the menu changes often.
Two wine pairings go with it. The Sonoma Valley pairing costs $135. The “Decades” pairing costs $285 and ends with a 1905 Abudarham Sercial Madeira. A 3.5% kitchen appreciation fee and a 20% service charge are added to every bill.
The lounge serves an a la carte menu that includes a fire-roasted poussin. Dinner runs 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sunday and Monday, and 5 to 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with those times marking the last seating. The dining room is closed for dinner Tuesday and Wednesday. Breakfast is served 8 to 11 a.m. weekdays and brunch 8 a.m. to noon on weekends.
Dawn Ranch is a 22-acre resort at 16467 Highway 116. Its owner, the real estate company Bridgeton, lists it among its properties, along with others in Manhattan and Montauk. The restaurant’s number is 707-869-2023.
6 more places in Guerneville
Boon Eat + Drink, at 16248 Main St., is the farm-to-table California bistro Crista Luedtke opened in 2009, a year after she bought and renovated the resort that became Boon Hotel + Spa. The restaurant pours only Russian River wines. It takes no reservations, and walk-in parties are capped at six. Hours are 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and 4 to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday. It’s closed Monday and Tuesday.
El Barrio, at 16230 Main St., is an agave bar that pours more than 40 mezcals and tequilas and makes its tacos and quesadillas from scratch. It opens 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and takes no reservations. Boon’s website sends diners waiting for a table there.
Three Cultures Kitchen, at 16218 Main St., is a family-owned restaurant that mixes Mexican, Salvadoran and American food: handmade pupusas, chiles rellenos and burgers. It’s open 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday through Tuesday and closed Wednesday, with late-night tacos from 10 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday. It takes no reservations.
Trillium Oysters & Wine, at 16222 Main St., serves oysters on the half shell, soups and salads, seafood, tasting boards and house-baked bread.
Piknik Town Market, at 16228 Main St., sells seasonal, West Coast European-inspired food, baked goods and grab-and-go meals. It’s open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily and until 5 p.m. Saturday.
Saucy Mama’s Jook Joint, at 16632 Highway 116, is Yvette Bidegain’s Southern restaurant, drawing on her Louisiana heritage. Its website lists barbecue, fried catfish and fried chicken as the most popular plates, and it pours local wines, beers and ciders. It also caters and stages murder mystery nights.
German food and pizza in Monte Rio
In Monte Rio, Sarah’s Kitchen at the Highland Dell Lodge, 21050 River Blvd., serves German food with a deck over the river. The bar opens at 4 p.m. and the kitchen serves from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. The lodge, built in the first decade of the 1900s, calls itself the only lodging in the Russian River area that has run continuously under the same name.
Wonderland Pizzeria, at 20391 Highway 116, sells signature pizzas, wings in four sauces and salads, including one it calls the Gov. Moonbeam Green. It takes orders online.
Tuscan cooking in Forestville
Canneti Roadhouse Italiana, at 6675 Front St. in Forestville, serves Tuscan food from chef Francesco Torre and runs Tuscan cooking classes. Dinner is 5:30 to 9 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday, with brunch and lunch on weekends. It’s closed Wednesday.