Open Table's 100 Best Al Fresco Restaurants Include 3 From Sonoma County

SONOMA VALLEY, CA - A newly-released list of the 100 best restaurants in America at which to enjoy a superb outdoor dining experience includes three establishments well known in Sonoma County.

Open Table says it analyzed more than five million reviews of verified diners who chose outdoor seating at more than 20,000 restaurants across the nation.

When the results were tabulated, Rustic in Geyserville, The Restaurant at Russian River in Forestville, and Depot Hotel Restaurant in Sonoma were both included in the Open Table 100 Best Al Fresco Dining list for 2016.

According to Open Table, the restaurants listed offer "stunning views, regional cuisine and, above all, fabulous outdoor dining experiences."

By the way, Wikipedia says the phrase al fresco is "borrowed from Italian for "in the cool [air]", but is not used in that language to refer to dining outside. Instead, Italians use the phrases fuori or all'aperto. In Italian, the expression al fresco usually refers to spending time in jail."

Here's the list of all Northern California restaurants noted on the Open Table 100 Best Al Fresco Dining list for 2016:

• Auberge du Soleil - Rutherford, CA - French
• Depot Hotel Restaurant - Sonoma, CA - Italian
• El Techo - San Francisco, CA - Latin American
• Laili - Santa Cruz, CA - Mediterranean
• The Restaurant at Russian River Vineyards - FKA: Corks at Russian River Vineyards - Forestville, CA - Californian
• The Restaurant at Wente Vineyards - Livermore, CA - American
• Rustic, Francis's Favorites - Geyserville, CA - Global, International
• Sam's Social Club - Calistoga, CA - American

Bon Appetit!

-images via star5112/Flickr