I was hoping the CI at Greystone would be the same wonderful experience we had in New York a few years ago. Unfortunately I cannot say it was. We had added another person (number 6) to our party and waited an hour+ to be seated despite our reservation. The service was slow, slow, slow. The food was good, not great and BEWARE of the wine prices (in Wine country no less) and mediocre by the glass. Bring your own bottle (corkage $20) if you insist on going. It was enough of an experience for me as I will not return, there are too many great restaurants in the area.

We read the reviews of this restaurant, but the majority were not recent. We made reservations for 7:30 p.m., but were not seated until 8:05 p.m. The décor of the restaurant is beautiful with various woods, stone and unusual light fixtures. The kitchen is in the center of the restaurant and if you sit at the bar counter, you may be able to watch the cooks prepare the food. There is an extensive wine and cocktail menu. My husband ordered the Crispy Skin Will Bass ($28) with sweet corn, chanterrelles, snap peas, Serano ham and tomato foam. I ordered the Pan-Seared Day Boat Scallops ($31) with Yukon gold “risotto” with peas, rock shrimp and artichoke-mushroom relish. Both were exquisite in taste and presentation. Definitely culinary school “Top Chef” style, but with generous portions. We started with an appetizer of Phyllo-wrapped herbed goat cheese ($11) with chioga beets and a tarragin vinaigrette. My husband enjoyed it, but I am not a goat cheese fan, herbed or not. My husband rated the Wild Bass and the Goat cheese a 9 out of 10. I rated the Scallops a 9.5 out of 10. Definitely a high point of our culinary experience in California. I am sure there are probably fairly frequent changes in the menu, but if these entrees are available, highly recommend.

The The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone is located in a beautiful old stone building. The restaurant is as fine as any, it has an open kitchen where the 'students' are clearly viewed from every table, If you prefer you can sit at the counter and watch close
up while you eat. The service was fabulous and the food was sublime.

We ate here on a Sunday night during a recent weekend trip to Napa. The "temptations" plate was disappointing; only the soup was good, so I'd skip it. The mushrooms on toast appetizer was great - we ordered one for the table and fought for the last bites.

Everything else was well prepared, but we were seated near the open kitchen and it was very loud. I'd recommend getting a table away from the kitchen. I thought it was good value for money, especially in Napa, and the grounds are interesting.

worth noting - even though it's the CIA, students don't cook; they're mostly pros behind the stoves.