Sonoma's restaurant scene punches well above its population size, driven by the wine country economy and proximity to excellent local produce. The Girl & the Fig on the plaza is the most celebrated restaurant in town — a French country bistro with a serious local wine list that has been there long enough to feel genuinely rooted. Café La Haye, a few blocks off the plaza, is smaller and even more focused, with a menu that changes with what's seasonal and available.
The Sonoma Cheese Factory on the plaza sells the eponymous jack cheese alongside other local dairy products and makes a good stop before a picnic in the plaza park. The Tuesday and Friday farmers' market on the plaza square is worth timing a visit around — some of the best stone fruit, vegetables, and small-production wines in the county turn up here.