We went here for lunch while visiting Napa. Given what we read and the dress code, we were prepared for pretentious waiters and food snobs. We were pleasantly surprised and enjoyed every minute of our meal.

Of course the food was amazing, but more so it was a culinary experience that should be on any foodies bucket list. Our waiter explained every course and how the Chef took even the simplest of local food and created something delicious. At the end, the waiter gave us a list of our meal, a laundry tag with the bottles of wines we drank and small souvenir boxes of shortbread cookies. Be prepared to spend 3 hours and a lot of money to eat here, but it is worth every minute and every penny!

My husband and I celebrated our anniversary dinner at the French Laundry. The setting is very romantic, a little inn with small rooms, beams and fireplaces. The tasting menu options were limited (only two), but both had a wide variety of items and tailored one dish to our request.

I was dissapointed that there was no true wine pairing with the courses. We were guided by the somelier to order half bottles, which at the time seemed like a good idea, but given our cocktails & champagne, we had a hard time finishing our last bottle. However, it was a special night and we enjoyed it.

Just like the other reviewer, TFL has been on my restaurant bucket list. I finally got lucky with the reservation this month, we celebrate our husband's birthday. We are mid-level foodies, have been to quite a few really good restaurants in the bay area, such as Manresa, Coi,,,to name a few. The food was just as we expected, amazing! We especially enjoyed how they prepared the vegetables in every dish. Service was very attentive. The head waiter in the down-stair dinning room was very knowledgeable about every dish and about food in general. All other waiters were very friendly. I didn't find the service to be pretentious. My husband can't drink a lot of alcohol for medical reason and I am not a big wine drinker, I'd rather leave some room for the food. I told the head waiter we didn't want to order wine. Nobody came to border us about wine after that. I do think that you get more service if you order wine, but that's expected.
I was satisfied with the food and the service we get. We'll be back if we can get another reservation. If you love food, and you are in the area, this place is definitely worth a visit. That is, if you can get a reservation.

As a hobbiest chef who's a huge fan of Thomas Keller's books, I was thrilled to secure a reservation to dine at French Laundry in August. The meal and experience will be one that stays with me for my entire life. I dine out at nice restaurants as often as possible and yet still was served a number of "bests" in this one evening. Best paella, steak, amuse and desert I've ever been served. Is it worth the astronomical price (270 per person for food and easily the same again for wine)? I think so, but may not seem that way if you are not passionate about food, or very wealthy. My only complaints are small, was a bit confusing getting service while in the garden waiting for our table, rabbit was slightly overlooked, and many of the patrons were old, snobby, rich types which dampened the mood to an extent. In any case, best meal of my life and was excited to see that chef Keller himself was actually working in the kitchen that night - very cool.