Press

Three Stars
“One of the joys of eating at La Toque is the pairings created by Frank, sommelier Yoon Ha and wine director Scott Tracy. With pristine Bluefin tuna sashimi and fresh wasabi root, they match a 2007 Franz Hirtzberger Gruner Veltliner from Austria that helps to clean the palate without overpowering the delicate fish. Frog’s legs, fried and placed on top of fried green tomato in a puddle of garlic puree and a ring of sauce verte, were a perfect foil for the 2005 Ladoucette Pouilly Fume. Unlike chefs who create a dish and leave it to the wine guys to find the best match they can, Frank willingly adjusts dishes to bring out the best in the wine; in so doing he often brings out the best in the food.”

— Michael Bauer, San Francisco Chronicle

“A heightened wine sensibility informs this quintessential wine country restaurant, reminiscent of comfy lodges in Burgundy or the Loire… The wine list is long enough to include some of California’s hottest wineries (Staglin, Alban, Paradigm) and some depth in Bordeaux (mostly back to 1982) and eclectic enough to embrace a goodly number of nifty curiousities.”

— Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator

Note: La Toque was named by the Wine Spectator as one of the best 20 restaurants in America in its March 31, 2000 issue.

“Exciting restaurants abound in the Napa Valley nowadays, but La Toque honors timeless French culinary aesthetics while embracing the richness and boldness of contemporary California with a passion and sureness rarely found anywhere.”

— Mike Dunne, Sacramento Bee

“The born-again La Toque is a dream come true – a wine-country restaurant for serious diners…For all his fondness for foie gras, Frank’s touch is so light and his menu so well designed that there’s no sense of heaviness when you get up from the table, even if you’ve chosen a supplemental cheese selection…Moving to wine country may be the smartest decision Ken Frank ever made.”

— Caroline Bates, Restaurant Critic for Gourmet

“…this is probably the finest restaurant in Napa Valley. Take it! Yeah, baby.”

— Darryl Roberts, Wine X Magazine

“Half of the fun of being at La Toque is the inspired pairing of the four-glass wine package with the prix fixe five-course tasting menu. The other half is sampling of Frank’s ever-changing array of light, French-inspired dishes.”

— Martin Booe, Bon Appétit

“Even among chefs cooking in wine country, Ken Frank has an extraordinary interest in wine, and it shows in his food. Frank’s flavor and texture palette relies on classically French techniques, which he caries with an American sense of freedom and whimsy. The results take to wine as seamlessly as Frank’s light, fragile hollandaise sauce melds to white asparagus in one of the chef’s perfectly rendered dishes… for a complete food and wine experience, no restaurant in Napa Valley can match La Toque. Frank’s food is impeccable, and the servers handle the complex menu options with aplomb.”

— Tim Fish, The Wine Spectator