Located on Westside Road, just a few minutes from downtown Healdsburg, The Madrona Restaurant in the Hotel Madrona features a fairy tale setting, picturesque vineyard views, and dreamy jewel box decor. This luxurious manor-style restaurant serves a menu inspired by seasonal Sonoma ingredients that locals and tourists love.
If you’ve ever watched Bridgerton or Pride and Prejudice, or any period piece that features incredible homes dripping with art, and painted in jewel box colors, then you must, must, dine at The Madrona, one of the best restaurants in Healdsburg.
The sign of great restaurant is one that both locals and tourists love, and the Madrona easily achieves that with excellent service, a great wine list, expertly made cocktails, a menu filled with local goodies, and a dreamy atmosphere that will have you making contented sighs throughout your entire meal.
There are a lot of great restaurants in Healdsburg, take a look at my reviews of Molti Amici and Lo & Behold for more inspo, but Madrona is at the very top of my list.
While you’re in Healdsburg, be sure to stop by these tasting rooms serving minimal intervention and natural wine in Sonoma,
The Madrona’s Healdsburg Location
Healdsburg’s Madrona restaurant is located within the Madrona Hotel, just off of Westside Road. The restaurant and hotel are about 5 minutes from the Healdsburg Square, making this a convenient dining option, regardless of where you’re staying when you visit.
If you’re driving from downtown Healdsburg, the Madrona will be on the right side of the road just past West Dry Creek Road and BACA Wines. Just drive up the short hill, and park on the right before you get to the mansion-like restaurant on the left. There is also some parking behind the restaurant if you continue driving.
What the Atmosphere is like at the Madrona, Healdsburg
Imagine dining in a large country estate in an immaculate home complete with ritzy parlors, curated art on the walls, and big, comfortable chairs. That’s the atmosphere at the Madrona. Once you learn that this boutique hotel and restaurant was once the home of a wealthy Healdsburg family, the vibe starts to make sense.
In its current iteration as a top restaurant and hotel destination in Healdsburg, the new owners have managed to strike the perfect balance of luxury and comfort, both in the guest experience in the dining room, and the items on the menu.
So, while you may be surrounded by 19th and 20th Century art, velvet couches, and dining rooms that look like they could have fallen out of Architectural Digest, this isn’t the type of restaurant where the waitstaff – or other guests, for that matter – will be focused on stuffy wine etiquette like how properly to hold a wine glass.
Seating Options: So Many Great Choices
Here’s the thing about Healdsburg’s Madrona restaurant: there’s not a bad seat in the house. The inside dining rooms – there are multiple rooms that the restaurant calls their ‘parlors’, are each a little different but equally enchanting and cozy. Think sky-high ceilings, fireplaces, art in gilded frames, and evocative wall colors that look great in photos.
I personally love the Madrona’s Palm Terrace, for its rich, romantic ambiance. If you’re a fan of alfresco dining with garden views, this is your spot.
Pro Tip: Dine on the Palm Terrace for brunch. It’s shaded with gentle, dappled light, and in the summer and early fall this space is pure magic.
The Menu at the Madrona Restaurant
The Madrona restaurant serves a lunch, dinner, and bar menu seven days a week. On the weekend, guests can also indulge in brunch. The menu at the Madrona is approachable elegance with a heavy influence on local fruits, veggies, and ranch-sourced meats.
In fact, Madrona diners are a little spoiled when it comes to the ingredients in Chef Patrick Tafoya’s dishes. Tucked behind this Healdsburg restaurant is a half-acre culinary garden where lettuces, veggies, herbs, and citrus are grown. Love estate-grown tomatoes? Chef Patrick has 20 varieties of tomatoes in the garden.
Speaking from experience, the flavors don’t get much fresher than this.
Must order items include:
Starters:
- Caviar & Onion Dip with trout roe, warm potato chips
- Deviled Eggs with Trout Roe
Mid-Course
- The Madrona Salad made with lettuces, estate vegetables, sunflower seeds, sherry vinaigrette – it’s amazing the difference that using estate veggies can make on the simple salad
- Kombu Cured Hamachi with beets, wasabi, citrus, vanilla
Entrees
- Snake River New York Strip with hashbrown, leeks, brassica, estate chimichurri
- Mushroom Agnolotti with truffle, goat cheese, creme fraiche
- Grilled Local Black Cod with carrot, caviar cream, fennel, kawa
Check out the current Madrona menu offerings here.
The Wine List
Wine list quality varies quite a bit when you’re dining out in California wine country. Some lean heavily into local wine, and others, like Healdsburg’s Madrona, take an all encompassing approach that includes lots of geographical and regional diversity.
Except to find local Sonoma wine producers making Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Gamay, and interesting white wine blends, Rieslings from Austria and Germany, wines from Burgundy, Piedmont, and Tuscany, and even stretching to Spain and Portugal. It’s a long list, and there is something for everyone.
Pro Tip: Start with a cocktail. The bartenders here make excellent drinks.
Who Will Love the Madrona
This is the kind of Healdsburg restaurant that is a lot of things to a lot of different types of diners. Ladies love the Madrona for its luxurious, historic atmosphere that literally makes you feel like you’ve stepped into your favorite rom-com. Like I mentioned at the start of this review, this place has all of the Bridgerton, Jane Austen energy a girl could want, but in California wine country.
Men love the Madrona because dining here also feels like a sophisticated private club where everyone is welcome, but it still feels exclusive. Think sipping negronis, ice cold martinis, and eating perfectly cooked steaks.
The Instagram crowd will crown the Madrona one of the best restaurants in Healdsburg because there are endless opportunities for getting just the right envy-inducing picture while standing in the eye-poppingly beautiful interior, on the expansive lawn, or the movie-worthy porch.
Making a reservation at the Madrona, Healdsburg
During peak tourist season (May through September), reservations fill up quickly – especially for brunch where you’re competing with locals for a table.
Pro Tip for making a reservation at Madrona: If your preferred reservation time isn’t available, try walking in and eating at the bar, like the locals. It’s cozy, fancy without being stuffy, and the burger is unbeatable.
Make your Madrona reservation here.
Tips:
- Arrive early for your reservation and have a cocktail, glass of wine, or yummy mocktail on the patio. The views from the Madrona’s wraparound patio overlook vineyards and a lush, English style garden.
- Don’t be afraid to sit on the patio for tea, coffee, or a cocktail. Blankets are available to warm up chilly laps.
- Searching for afternoon tea in Healdsburg? The Madrona offers seasonal high tea and it looks divine.
Other Fast Facts about the Madrona
- This property has 24 unique guest rooms with rates starting around $500 a night during the week and $750 per night on weekends.
- The property’s history dates back to 1862 when it was a farm complete with a Victorian mansion.
- This Healdsburg restaurant and hotel is listed on the National Historic Registry of Places.
FAQs
What is the dress code at the Madrona?
The dress code at The Madrona is wine country casual, with the lunch crowd dressed a bit more laid back than dinner. Women wear everything from dresses to dressed up jeans, and some men choose to wear casual dinner jackets. Having said that, the Madrona is hugely popular with locals, and they tend to show up in their flannels, jeans, and Blundstone boots straight from the tasting room or vineyard.
Who owns the Madrona in Healdsburg?
The Madrona is a Healdsburg restaurant and hotel owned by Jay Jeffers, Cory Schisler, and Kyle Jeffers. Jay Jeffers, a renowned interior designer, led a $6 million restoration of the property in 2022.