Oso Sonoma

There is barely room to pass between the tables at Oso, and that is the appeal. Chef-owner David Bush cooks small plates out of a narrow nineteenth-century building on the Sonoma Plaza, food he calls eclectic but not esoteric, crossing borders without trying to show off. The kombu-cured salmon and the baked oysters Rockefeller are the orders to start with; a five-course tasting with wine pairings is there if you want the kitchen to drive the evening.

The Kitchen

David Bush is the executive chef and owner. Before opening Oso on the Sonoma Plaza in 2014, he ran the kitchen at St. Francis Winery for six years, where his team took an OpenTable award for Best Restaurant in America in 2013. That winery background shows in the way the food is built to drink with Sonoma bottles rather than fight them.

The cooking is small-plate and border-crossing without being scattered. The signature is a shiitake and kombu-cured salmon with a tamari-soaked egg, Serrano ham, tobiko and Kewpie mayonnaise; the baked oysters Rockefeller and the braised short ribs are the other dishes regulars return for. Plates start around $15 and a full meal lands at roughly $45 to $75 a head, with a five-course tasting and wine pairing for a longer sit at 9 East Napa Street. The menu changes often, driven by what is good that week and what local growers bring in. Bush keeps the kitchen tight and the plating clean, and the result is a room that punches above its size on the square.

The Room

Oso sits in a small, low-ceilinged nineteenth-century building right on the Sonoma Plaza, and it seats only a few dozen. Tables are close, so the room fills with a warm, easy hum rather than a roar, and on a busy night you will hear your neighbours. Lighting is low and flattering, candle-bright after dark. Seating is mostly small two- and four-tops with a short bar, and there is a handful of patio tables in warm weather. Dress is smart-casual; nobody needs a jacket. Service is friendly and knows the wine list, which leans hard on Sonoma producers.

Best for First Date

Book Oso for a first date because the room does the quiet work. The tables are close and the light is low, so two people lean in without trying; the small plates give you something to share and talk about rather than a three-hour tasting to sit through; and the Sonoma wine list gives an easy way to keep the evening moving by the glass. Order the kombu-cured salmon, a few plates between you, and a bottle from the square. Picture a corner two-top, a candle, and a Sonoma pinot. For more rooms like it, see our guide to first dates.

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