After a long day exploring the St Helena area, we dined in the highly regarded PRESS. They got their star in 2022 and retained it in 2023.

With a bucolic location off Highway 29, PRESS restaurant enchants with a fireplace and lofty ceilings, and the well-to-do crowd marvels at the decorative ceramic clock sourced from a bygone NY train station. This modern American dining room exudes all the Wine Country vibes, and just so happens to boast the largest collection of Napa wines in the world.

Under the leadership of chef Philip Tessier (formerly The French Laundry, Bouchon, Per Se, Le Bernardin), Press highlights California cuisine with a seasonal menu that includes popular dishes such as the sweet and sour pig ears, fruits de mer and roast chicken. The all-Napa Valley wine list also happens to be the most extensive collection of Napa Valley wines in the world, collected since the late founder/wine maker Leslie Rudd started the cellar and currently curated by the award winning sommelier Vincent Morrow.

The real driving force is the produce they get from the different farms. PRESS works with five to six different farms with strong personal relationships and a strong seasonal influence dictates the menu change. The kitchen is led by Chef de Cuisine Vincenzo Loseto who came from Eleven Madison Park in May. The food here is approachable but has a sense of refinement and an unexpected level of technique and thoughtfulness.

FIRST

fluke crudo, salted plum, citrus marigold

Fluke is a flounder just like bluefin tuna is a tuna. The recipe is very simple. Take some fluke sashimi, dressed it like a Peruvian ceviche with marigold infused olive oil and citrus vinegar, and decorated with salted California plums.

The ingredients were made from the freshest picks from the regional produce, and the quality of the fluke was tip top. But the dressing was so sour, I had to stop after two pieces.

grilled lobster, pickled farm cucumber, green curry

Darling picked the grilled lobster, an excellent choice. The Maine lobster tail was grilled only so a la minute, with a perfect texture and all the sweetness retained. It is accompanied by a sauce made with Thai green curry and softened with pickled cucumber done like our achar.

I do not understand why all Western seafood must be made sour even when the main ingredients are so fresh. The fluke is of Japanese sashimi quality and can be eaten without any dressing, simply with soy sauce and wasabi. The lobster is most likely still alive when it was processed. But the rule of thumb called for citrus with seafood, and so be it.

SECOND

dry-aged beef tartare, garden broccoli, sunchoke chili crisp, puffed naan

This dish took me by surprise not because it was awesome, but how sour it was. I never thought beef tartare would be done at such a high acidic level.

Even eaten with the puffed naan, it did not help at all with the sourness. I had to turn back the entire dish. By the way, the puffed naan was quite greasy too. I had spent the whole day wine tasting, I was already queasy so it didn’t help.

ricotta gnudi, burgundy truffles, parmesan consommé

The ricotta gnudi was delicious. Gnudi are gnocchi-like dumplings made with ricotta cheese instead of potato, with semolina. It is roughly translated to mean “naked” in Italian. 

These “naked” balls were further enveloped in a wonderful consommé made from Parmesan rinds. The usual broth was milky, I did not know how they managed to clear up the broth. The single slice of Burgundy truffle was a good touch, but I would prefer a shaving of truffle if possible.

sweet & sour pig ears, espelette glaze, jacobsen orchard figs

They were apologetic with the tartare and gave another Secondi as a replacement. The fastest that can come without breaking the pace for dinner was their signature sweet and sour pig ears, which I tried to turn down after the disastrous first two courses for me. They also gave us a complementary side of beef fat potato topped with beet chutney.

The pig’s ear was made like Chinese sweet and sour, with a hint of heat coming from a glaze of Piment d’Espelette, which is an essential flavouring to Basque and regional French cooking. The fresh fig and fennel pollen custard with basil whey helped to round up this course.

THIRD

truffle-glazed chicken, autumn squash, smoked bacon, caramelized fig, sauce vin jaune

This is the best piece of chicken I have eaten in 2023, bar none. Between the chicken breast and the skin it is stuffed with sausage meat made of chicken confit, this is all steamed and finally glazed with a truffle. The chicken breast was absolutely juicy and tender. Served with grilled fresh figs and autumn squash fried with smoked bacon fats. They left the sauce vin jaune on the side just in case I could not stand the sourness, but it was just right but I did not need any of it. The chicken on its own was delicious.

35-day new york strip, fairy tale eggplant, meyer lemon kosho, pimenton jus

By comparison, the New York strip was medium doneness and a tad too dry for my liking. The sauce was made from Pimenton (paprika) and au jus from the beef was slightly spicy.

FOURTH

sweet corn pavlova, chamomile ice, blueberries, popped sorghum

Interesting dessert, a strange combination of flavours. I have some childhood memories of this flavour – the Magnolia sweet corn flavoured ice cream. But of course with a much more complex texture and profile flavours.

jivara chocolate crème, orange-cocoa crumble, olive oil sorbet, chocolate sponge

Tasted like a chocolate lava cake deconstructed. Please eat this with a cup of coffee or tea as it was overpowering rich.

Some hits and misses, but I was expecting more especially when I did not order from the cellar. Service was not what I expected, and there was not white table cloth that evening we went. We were expected to use the same utensils throughout the first two courses? And there was no bread service. It must be the chef’s off day then.

Press St Helena
607 St Helena Hwy, St Helena, CA 94574, USA
Tel : +1 (707) 9670550

Visited Oct 2023

Michelin Bay Area Guide 1 Star 2022-2023

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