☰Cafe Beaujolais

Cafe Beaujolais is the restaurant that put Mendocino on the culinary map, and it remains the most consistently excellent table on the North Coast. The setting is a Victorian-era cottage surrounded by raised kitchen beds, and the menu is built on local and seasonal sourcing taken seriously rather than as a marketing line — the chef works directly with local farmers and fishermen. The bread, baked in a wood-fired oven, arrives at the table still warm and is one of the best things to eat in the county. The room is small and warm; reservations are essential on weekends and should be made days in advance in summer. Prices are moderate to expensive by local standards.