We headed into the Napa region to just get away from our homes. My bf wanted to do something special to treat me and my besties to some food. We had previously dined at Press for another occasion and recalled getting really prime dry aged steaks. So we were hoping to get some of the same. Alas...COVID. I guess they don't really provide dry aged steaks anymore and just dry aged steak tartar. We decided that we could just get a fancy meal because we deserve it! In short, though the service was superb and the dishes plated to tantalize the eyes, each had something good as well as something less appealing which fell a little short of me being a fan.
L O C A T I O N
Press is located in St. Helena, right across from V. Sattui which was really popping. They have a small parking lot shared by other shops nearby like Gary's. No shade for your car so if you want stuff to melt in the car, you may want to bring it in with you.
C O V I D P R O T O C O L
Folks are asked to be masked as long as they weren't at their table. All the workers were masked. They had hand sanitizers available.
D I N I N G A R E A
You can dine inside as well as outside. It was a little warm today and although they have large ceiling fans that turned fairly slowly, it might just be a little too warm if you want to dine outside. We did ask for a fan and they easily accommodated. We also had a puppy with us and they are a pet friendly establishment and offered a bowl of water which was nice of them.
S E R V I C E
Loretta was a doll. She was friendly, provided suggestions and was candid with us. Everyone else was also quite friendly and checked in on us to make sure everything was tasting delicious and refilled our water as well as provided us with some ice. It was quite hot though not as hot as potentially other days! They also took all our Bouchon bags to keep inside to "keep cool." Greatly appreciated it!
F O O D
We opted to do family style and ordered a bunch of items. They do have your starters/appetizers, main dishes, and desserts. We opted to stick to a bunch of starters and a couple mains. They also had cocktails and drinks available.
~ Benton's bacon griddled cornbread - $10 ~
A surprise but if you just get a piece without bacon, it's a "whomp whomp" moment. I wish this had more bacon like marbled all over because it was delicious. The truffle butter didn't need to have truffle. I wish it was salted instead. Still a bite of the cornbread with bacon was perfect.
~ Beef fat potato - $16 ~
You get 3 pieces of potato. I wish there were more. So you get large rectangular pillars of potatoes, deep fried in beef fat alongside broccolini on a wild ramp aioli. This could've been spectacular. The flavors were there. Crispy, fried, you can taste the fat, but it was just a bit too much. I know some folks really like that heavy fat taste and having it coat your throat, I just would've liked the flavor of it without the extra oiliness.
~ Ricotta Gnudi - $20 ~
We didn't know what to expect, but out came these little dumplings of ricotta wrapped in squash blossoms. They were beautiful. Then they poured the parmesan consomme. I didn't taste the parmesan in the consomme. It was quite light. Don't be like me and bite the gnudi half way. Just eat them in one bite. The ricotta was fresh, smooth, creamy. The squash blossom a good carrier to it. But was there flavor? I don't know. But if you want something light, this would be the dish for you.
~ Sweet & Sour Pig Ears - $16 ~
This was another surprise for me. I've never had pig ears. I didn't know what to expect. The dish came out with strips of pig ears. They reminded me of chicharrones. The texture was great, but the flavor was overwhelming in vinegar (I love vinegar but this was unbalanced for me) and just a tad too spicy. If I would get this again, I would ask for it to be less spicy. My uneducated self didn't know that espellette was a pepper. If you want a crunchy, more sour than sweet and spicy kick, this is your dish.
~ Alaskan Halibut - $44 ~
The halibut was well cooked. Very sturdy meat on this fish wrapped in some summer squash. The green garlic whey looked like moss/foam and it was beautiful. Again quite a light dish with a hearty fish.
~ 60-day Tomahawk - $152 ~
It says it serves 2, but if you had a bunch of starters already, then this might be a bit much. It fed 4 of us quite well. We asked for medium rare, but on one of the ends it was closer to well which was a shame. The slices were quite thick. The steak knives didn't slice through the meat easily. The bites were chewy. I was hoping for a melt in your mouth experience. The hollandaise was also less creamy than expected.
O V E R A L L
The food was ok. The service fantastic. And it was nice to just dine outside with my buds having fancy dishes. No one dish really wowed me. I wouldn't come back again but it was nice to revisit after some time. read more