Avis LOVINA Calistoga

Cute ambiance and an interesting menu, but overall very disappointing and terribly overpriced. I ordered an eggplant dish that turned out to be breaded, fried eggplant sticks like those you’d get at a mediocre pub. The wild rice wasn’t all the way cooked and my husband’s lasagna was drowning in too much cheese. Dinner salads were good but small and definitely not worth $23. And they tried to overcharge us for an already overpriced meal. Disappointed.

Food was DELICIOUS. Kind of expensive but well worth it.

This place is amazing and very vegan friendly. The staff are helpful and knowledgable. The food is FANTASTIC. For fellow Vegans - the eggplant Milanese was genuinely the best dish ive had recently. They have multiple options and can also adapt some dishes to be made vegan. If it seems pricey, they are adding the 20% tip into the cost - so its pretty reasonable.

Friendly and tasty

Very cool spot with fantastic dishes. The bread was out of this world.

Absolutely excellent!! From the food to the service. All around great! Will be back!

Our waitress was amazing. Chilaquiles very very good and the bolognese is the best we’ve ever had. Cinnamon roll 10/10. Go here.

Love coming for brunch and have come at least five times, almost always with our infant and then toddler. I love the outdoor patio, the French toast, how accommodating the restaurant is of our toddler and that there are tons of NA cocktails and beverages options. Service is always excellent and I love the food. Always feels like a treat to drive up here on a sunny day. Lots of vegetarian and vegan options too.

We got the grilled cheese, burrittom and deviled eggs. Grilled cheese was great, burritio was nice too but eggs could have been creamier. Everything was great, until we found out that they charged us 5$ for cutting the burrito in half!

Our team of seven felt the food was average at best. Most of what we received was lukewarm verging on cold. The deviled eggs we ordered were excessively salty and we were informed they were already two days old. We appreciated the host's agreement regarding the egg dish's overly salted state, which led to its removal from our bill. We unanimously agreed that the most enjoyable dish we had was the bread served with green butter. Meanwhile, the restaurant's setting was pleasant due to a snug little room on the second floor that we occupied. However, having a single small restroom created inconvenience as we constantly found ourselves in a queue. Considering the high price, we found the food experience unsatisfactory. Therefore, we won't be coming back and unfortunately can't recommend the place to others exploring Napa Valley.

Classiest restaurant in Calistoga with a great menu and unique cocktails

First time. Now I'll be a regular.

Bummed to write this. I love Calistoga and typically every place we go. Not Lovina. We went for a special occasion and left very disappointed. We were welcomed kindly and escorted to a table on the up stairs patio. We had reservations for 4 people at 5:30 and were basically the first people to come for the Saturday night dinner rush. We came with small children and were not offered a high chair and the table was as not ideal for a family with young children, near steep stairs and on a balcony. I asked for a high chair after appetizer course and was brought one promptly.
The food was okay and the wait staff seemed nice. Overall, we ordered 2 appetizers, 4 cocktails, 2 entrees, and a dessert. A tab well over $250.
During our entree course, the second table on the patio was sat. The patrons asked their server for the heater to be turned on. The heat lamp extended the length of the entire patio, so if the heater is on, both tables have to have the heater on. A staff person, who later on turned out to be the GM, came passed our table to turn it on, without asking our family if we had a preference. During our meal, the heater turned on, and it was extremely hot. The outside temperature in Calistoga this evening was around 65 degrees and a beautiful evening. My 4 year old and 1.5 year old both expressed that they were hot while eating their dinner. I then shut it off.
The male patron from the other table came over to our table and asked for the heater to be turned on and I politely offered him my coat and if he preferred to switch tables. He accepted the offer but then did not follow through since his tables dinner was then served.
At this point, our family had ordered our dessert and were waiting on it. Once our dessert arrived, the other table was brought blankets by the servers and the GM. The GM then turned her back to our table and was clearly apologizing regarding the fact that my table did not want the heater on. It was extremely uncomfortable and unprofessional. She then proceeded to come to our table and started to engage in kind talk with my 4 year old. I was very uncomfortable by this. She had clearly just been negatively talking about our table to the other table, and then tried to come be kind to my 4 year old.
The server brought our dessert and said “no rush” but then brought our check and picked it back up for payment extremely promptly. While she was running out payment, another staff person came to collect payment , even though our server had already taken it. They said “no rush”, but were absolutely rushing us.
We finished our dessert and paid.
As we were leaving, I went to speak to the manager regarding how we were treated. The was a man in a Hawaiian shirt that identified as a manager. I asked him if he knew why i wanted to speak with him, he said no, but then in the course of our conversation he had said he did in fact know why I was upset, clearly admitting to the fact that the servers and managers already brought this conflict to everyone’s attention.
The other female GM jumped in on the convo and admitted to comping the other table a salad, but at this point, still had not offered my family any compensation for mistreatment.
I explained to her that I felt uncomfortable when she had turned her back and was clearly talking about our table, and then came over to make nice and was talking to my daughter. When she told me that she comped the other table a salad, I expressed to her the feeling of inequity. Why did one table get something, the other table didn’t. Who were they and who are we not? She then said she would take 50% off our bill. That was kind and all, but this whole experience ruined our special occasion evening and it really wasn’t about the money.

All of this being said, I hope they fix that heat lamp to not be 100 degrees when on. There was no, low/med/high, and that they break it into two so each table can have whatever they desire.
The staff can use some professional development and unconscious bias training.
Do better.

Everything was lovely. The service was attentive without being overbearing and the food was delicious and balanced. Each component was prepared with care and made sense. They had numerous options for a variety of diets. Their business model is also excellent, they genuinely care for their employees and it shows!

The bolognese (with the “make it dirty” addition) was honestly some of the best pasta I have ever had (including pasta from all over Italy)! Ambience was so lovely and romantic and everyone was very kind. Also love the no tip/living wage and benefits system. My partner and I both loved it here. I never write reviews but had to for this one!

Excellent value and tasty food. Cozy atmosphere in a rainy day. The spicy pork and beef bolognese was exceptionally good. The fettuccine had great texture in homemade style. The seared wild halibut went well with the creamy sauce and mushroom. The polenta mushroom cube were crunchy and tasty. The drinks were refreshing and good pairing with the dishes. Staff was friendly and attentive.

Delicious food served quickly and with friendly service!

Honestly amazing experience so we went back two days later. The mushroom polenta bites, beet salad, mushroom soup and mushroom truffle risotto were to die for. Amazing staff as well. My favourite Napa restaurant so far.

Lovina Roving Fest - I LOVE CALISTOGA says it all. The layered tastes included a delightful menu while on a downtown stroll: Lovina, EV Flowers, Picayune, and Cami. What a treat—photo story!

Very sweet little restaurant with good ambience. The service was very impersonal esp given the price. I had the Halibut -- it was $49.00 but it was too dry and not worth half the price. We ordered the bread pudding and didn't like it much, but the waitress who could see that we barely touched the dessert, didn't care to ask if we liked it even. The only thing I liked was the appetizer - a polenta/mushroom dish

We came for brunch and we're blown away by the incredible quality of the food! We enjoy the household back potato and the French omelette and we're very pleased.. however... The service was very very sloooooowww.. but the ambience made up for it!

Really enjoyed our first dinner at Lovina! New tastes, textures and tipping philosophy.

We were seated at a corner table for 2 with the patio view. The acoustics were not good. We could hear the entire conversation from the table of 4 seated across from us and could not have a conversation because of everyone around us was so loud. We started with the sourdough bread and butter spread which was too salty. My husband ordered the lasagna and he said all he could taste was cheese. I ordered the risotto and a side of broccollini. Although the risotto was very good and tasty, the broccollini was undercooked and again salty. I asked the waiter for a steak knife to cut the broccollini as I could not cut it with a butter knife. At this point we lost our appetites. We do not plan on returning to this restaurant in the future. Big disappointment.

A cozy place right in town, walkable from most locations. The service was excellent and the meals were fantastic. Try the halibut. It will make you happy.

Excellent and Vegan friendly

Entièrement d'avis avec Petit Futé à propos de la cuisine de Lovina. Très originale. Adresse gourmande à Calistoga.