Since its purchase by a group of investors last year, the Silverado Resort in Napa has been undergoing renovations in all areas, from its beautiful golf course to its famed Royal Oak restaurant. After having been closed since last November, the Royal Oak reopened in late May with a new chef (Jeffrey Jake) and a revised menu that maintains the restaurant’s original focus on steaks and seafood (although Jake says that, over time, he plans to refocus toward a more California-style menu). Meantime, he sources local, organic ingredients for every dish. The service is also impeccable (thank you Samuel). The hostess even asked my mom, who was wearing black pants, if she’d like a black napkin rather than the white one that was on the table setting. Talk about attention to detail.
An amuse bouche of compressed watermelon with a dash of balsamic and a sprinkle of sea salt started us off with a tidbit of the summer to come. We then moved on to a lemon drop and a Tanqueray 10 gibson from the full bar, which both went well with a half-dozen plump, fresh Hog Island oysters served with a sparkling wine mignonette.
Next was the soup of the day, a smooth, creamy, brightly flavored local corn purée served very hot and garnished with a dollop of crème fraiche and squash blossoms. The “county line” mixed salad had vibrant greens, currants and fresh, sweet local peaches, all dressed in a walnut vinaigrette.
We switched to some wine for our main courses (steak and swordfish), a curvy Rombauer Chardonnay and a thick, full-bodied 2008 Sciambra Atlas Peak Cabernet Sauvignon.
There are 10 entrée choices that are done in the 2,500-degree Montague charbroiler (which Jake described as the “Lamborghini of charbroilers”). There are also seven sauces you can choose for your entrée. We went for the 16-ounce rib eye with shallot sea salt butter—so tender and flavor-packed, we barely needed a knife to cut it—and a melt-in-your-mouth swordfish (wow), served medium-rare with salsa verde (per Samuel’s suggestion). The sides we chose (one is enough for two people, by the way) included puréed potatoes (rich, buttery); roasted thumbalina carrots (not too sweet); sautéed spinach (earthy, salty and bright green); and plump green fresh asparagus.
We also tried the roast Fulton Valley chicken, which soaks in a Peruvian marinade overnight, then is dried and doused with butter before being roasted, then served with zucchini salad, herb fingerling potatoes and lemon aioli. The spices were lovely and its flavors lingered wonderfully.
Desserts were a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting (mmm) and a refreshing lime sorbet that came with crisp and perfect chocolate biscotti. Two fun ways to end a truly stand-out meal.
