Press Restaurant is an upscale Michelin Guide modern American restaurant located in St Helena California. The executive chef is chef Philip Tessier. He previously worked for Le Bernadin and most of the Thomas Keller Restaurants that include The French Laundry. I read a few reviews and looked at pictures of some of the dishes from Press on review sites. They differed from what I got……..
It’s on the masculine side looks wise inside.
Lots of wood inside and classic decor.
We tasted a lot of wine today so I went with a cocktail.
Tried a roadrunner. It’s made with mezcal, rum, Campari, amaro, and a brûlée pineapple. It’s strong but smooth and not too sweet.
They don’t start you out with anything. No amuse, no bread……
We started out with the ricotta gnudi ($24.) Our waiter suggested adding one more gnudi (4 gnudi instead of the normal 3) for sharing ($31).
The gnudi are light and delicious. They are packed into squash blossoms and are in an amazing very flavorful parmesan consommé. This was the one dish that truly was amazing. There wasn’t much of it…..The two gnudi are more than a half order…..Normally you only get One and one half gnudi per person.
My dinner was the yellowtail.
I had three pieces of mild fish topped with some pretty blue flowers, less than a teaspoon of fava bean tapenade, green almonds and in lemongrass nage. It was really good………. but it was more like a tasting. I guess each person would do better ordering two appetizers here or you get hardly anything to eat. There were no side dishes to order so all you can add on are appetizers………..I chalk the problem I had up to the service. I KNOW IF I WAS THE WAITER I would have suggested two appetizers a person. I wouldn’t want my guest to leave unsatisfied….
My husband got a slightly larger plate than me.
He got the Petrel sole.
It looks like this below if you take it apart some.
It’s described as dungeons crab, crisped pumpernickel, cara cara orange, and spring onions. My husband thought that the crab was missing. He told someone and it turns out that the crab is a very slight amount of liquid ( about a teaspoon of liquid foam) that is under the fish……that is also the seasoning but is not enough because the fish just taste plain…….Up top is a very evaporated piece of pumpernickel crisp topped with pretty flowers.
We had plenty of room to try dessert so we tried the one called brown butter maple cremeux.
I like the honey nut squash ice cream and the huckleberries. The little brown disc taste burnt to me so I don’t like them and the white creamy disc ….I’m not sure what it is………something called pain d’ epices (French Spice Bread?) we both really don’t like the taste or texture…….The manager notices that we don’t like some of this and offers to get us something else. We decline and find out latter that they generously took the dessert off the check.
(Maybe?) We would have had a better time if we knew that we should have ordered more appetizers……..(and ordered a different dessert).
Press for us was an expensive tasting of a few dishes and a dessert that was 1/2 good and 1/2 inedible. Your experience may differ.
Press Restaurant St Helena CA
Did I eat?
www.PressNapaValley.com
587 St Helena HWY St Helena CA
707-967-0550
Everything is subject to change.
